Henry M. Jackson papers, 1912-1987  PDF

Scope and Content: The pre-congressional papers of Henry M. Jackson date primarily from his time as Snohomish County's prosecuting attorney. However, aside from some campaign ephemera and a small amount of personal papers, this accession includes only materials generated by the private law practice he maintained while he was the prosecuting attorney. The materials consist largely of general correspondence and case files. His correspondence touches on many of the local political issues of the day, including his unsuccessful bid to be named Snohomish County Superior Court Judge and his decision to run for Congress in1940. The case files consist of seven folders of correspondence relating to a variety of cases. They reveal a small, post-Depression law practice with the usual assortment of wills, deeds, contracts, and collection disputes.

Scope and Content: This accession documents Jackson's six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Arrangement of the papers follows that established by Jackson's staff and used throughout Jackson's congressional career. The filing categories include General (personal) Correspondence, Departmental Correspondence, Legislative Correspondence, Legislation-HMJ Sponsored Bills, Campaign Materials, Speeches and Writings, Lists, News Releases, Publications, Clippings, Scrapbooks, Subject Series, and Appointment Books.

General Correspondence consists of the Jackson's correspondence with friends and associates on a variety of personal and political topics. They are arranged alphabetically by correspondent. Some write on issues of national or regional importance, such as Edward Allen on fisheries, Oliver Colvin on merchant marine development, Frank Killien on commodity controls and allocations, Charles Gable on Everett housing problems, and General Mark Clark the 5th Army's Rapido River attack during World War II. Other correspondents, such as Nick Bez, Addis Gutmann, Harry Henson and Rogan Jones, touch on a variety of state political issues. Jackson had a network of correspondents feeding him information on political activities in his district. These correspondents included Frank and Leslie Cooper (Snohomish County), Orland Iverson (Whatcom County), Axel Nelson (Skagit County), Joseph Pemberton (Bellingham) and Phil Sheridan (Everett).

The Departmental Correspondence includes letters with various federal agencies, as well as constituent information and assistance requests bucked to agencies. They are arranged alphabetically by department or agency. The correspondence reflects a typical range of wartime and postwar problems: commodity shortages and rationing, demobilization, price controls, surplus military property disposition, etc. These files include documentation on Jackson's work to help secure funding for federal projects and facilities in the state, including military bases, Everett shipyards, Columbia Basin dam and irrigation projects, Puget Sound river and harbor improvement projects, and Olympic National Park. There are additional files on state projects among the House Rivers and Harbors Committee and the House Flood Control Committee records. These topics are also documented in the Subject Series.

The Correspondence with legislative colleagues (filed under "U.S. House" and "U.S. Senate") consists mainly of routine thank yous and birthday greetings, but a few letters do touch on the political maneuvering in Congress. The voluminous correspondence with John Salter, his aide, describes Congressional activities, particularly during the time Jackson was in the Army in 1942-43.

The Legislative Correspondence consists of letters between Jackson and his constituents on the legislative issues of the day, including education (Borden Bill), housing, Japanese relocation camps, public power, universal military training and un-American activities. Jackson's support of organized labor is reflected in a number of files, including those on the Taft-Hartley Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act and assorted other labor and anti-labor bills. His views on many of these legislative topics are further developed in his Speeches and Writings, which also often contain collected background material on a given topic.

Legislative materials can be found throughout several series besides the Legislative Correspondence series. In fact, materials in the Legislative Correspondence series overlaps topically with material in the Legislation-HMJ Sponsored Bills series, in which Jackson's own legislative program is most evident. Papers related to the drafting and passage of legislation can be found in the Subject Series, Speeches and Writings, and News Releases. These series contain notes, speech drafts, press releases, staff memoranda and additional correspondence. Legislative materials can also be found in the files of the various committees on which Jackson sat.

Jackson's own legislative program is most evident in the Sponsored Bills series and in the committee files. He worked on a number of regionally significant issues. Public power development was one of Jackson's priorities. In 1946 and 1949 he co-sponsored bills to establish a Columbia Valley Authority. And although he, Hugh B. Mitchell, Warren G. Magnuson and other Northwest Legislators pushed this issue for several years, the CVA was never established. Additional material on the CVA is in the Departmental and legislative Correspondence and in the Subject Series, as well as in the Mitchell (acc. no. 927) and Magnuson (acc. no. 3181-3) papers. Jackson also dealt with public power issues as a member (after 1947) of the House Appropriations Committee Interior Subcommittee. In his campaign literature he touted the fact that he was the only Western States member of this subcommittee.

Jackson represented Washington State natural resources interests as a member of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee and various of its subcommittees, where he worked on a variety of fishing and shipping problems. This committee was Jackson's first choice for assignment when he entered the House.

Jackson's growing interest in atomic energy issues is documented in the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy sub-series. In 1948 Jackson was named to the Congressional Joint Atomic Energy Committee, an assignment he kept even after his election as Senator in 1952. Although this committee assignment presages Jackson's later interest in national security and nuclear weaponry, at this time he was most interested in the development of the Atomic Energy Commission's Hanford Site. While much of the material is related to administrative issues at the Hanford site, the sub-series also contains materials outlining Jackson's early views on the role of nuclear arms in the nation's defense policy.

Native American affairs were a particular concern from 1944 to1947 when Jackson served as a member of the House Indian Affairs Committee and co-sponsored the Indian Claims Commission Bill. The Commission was established in 1946, providing Native Americans with a means to seek redress for treaty violations. There was a five year limit on filing claims and a ten year limit on the life of the commission. Prior to the establishment of the commission, Native American had been barred from the federal courts, pursuant to an 1863 law.

The Scrapbooks were assembled by Jackson's staff and include mostly clippings on topics of interest. The contents were removed from their original notebooks, then foldered, labeled, and arranged chronologically and then alphabetically by subject within each year. Microfilm copies of the scrapbooks from this accession are found in accession 3560-20.

This accession reveals a young, progressive congressman focused primarily on issues of local and regional interest. The General Correspondence includes letters from Jackson's network of political allies keeping him abreast of developments around the state. Correspondence with his aide, John L. Salter, provides a rich description of congressional activities, particularly during the time Jackson was in the army in 1943-1944.

The Campaign Material series contains materials related to Jackson's congressional re-election campaigns in 1942, 1944, 1946, 1948, and 1950. The materials include correspondence, speeches and writings, news releases, clippings, and financial records and are arranged chronologically by campaign.