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Frederick Steiwer Papers, 1903-1938

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Steiwer, Frederick, 1883-1939.
Title
Frederick Steiwer Papers
Dates
1903-1938 (inclusive)
1922-1938 (bulk)
Quantity
25 cubic feet, ((18 records cartons and 10 v.))
Collection Number
Mss 1496 (collection)
Summary
Papers of a Republican United States Senator from Oregon who served in Congress from 1927 to 1938. The collection consists of official and personal correspondence; election materials, including files on Steiwer's keynote speech at the Republican National Convention of 1936; materials relating to the Supreme Court controversy; files on speeches and addresses; and subject files. The collection is a valuable source of documentation for the Republican opposition to the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration and its programs. Also included are records of the Butte Creek Land, Livestock and Lumber Company of Fossil, Oregon.
Repository
Oregon Historical Society Research Library
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR
97205
Telephone: 503-306-5240
Fax: 503-219-2040
libreference@ohs.org
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

The collection is stored off-site. Researchers must contact the repository a minimum of one week in advance of use. Arrangements can be made by calling 503-306-5241 or sending email to libreference@ohs.org.

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Frederick Steiwer was born October 13, 1883, near the town of Jefferson in Marion County, Oregon, the son of John F. and Ada May Steiwer. His grandparents had come to Oregon by wagon train in the 1840s and 50s and had settled in Marion County. Frederick entered Oregon State College at 15 and graduated in 1902. After teaching school he entered the University of Oregon in 1903 and became active in student organizations. Graduating in 1906 he worked in a bank and studied law briefly in Portland, passing the Oregon bar in 1908. He then went to Pendleton, Oregon, to work in a law firm. From 1909 to 1910 he served as the deputy district attorney of Umatilla County and in 1912 was elected district attorney. His political career began in 1916 when he was elected to the Oregon State Senate from Umatilla County. In 1911 he married Freida Roesch, and the couple had two children.

With the U.S. entry into World War I, Steiwer enlisted in the army and received a commission as First Lieutenant of Field Artillery. He served on the front lines, first in the French army and then with the U.S. Army. After his discharge in 1919 he returned to Pendleton to enter a law partnership, Raley, Raley & Steiwer, remaining with the firm until its dissolution in 1927. In that year he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served on the Oregon delegation until 1938.

Steiwer quickly gained prominence as a defender of Republican policies and a strong supporter of veterans. After the election of Democrat Franklin Roosevelt in 1932, Steiwer devoted considerable effort to lambasting the administration. He served on the Finance and Judiciary committees and was especially critical of the New Deal and its related programs. In 1936 he worked strenuously on behalf of the Republican presidential contender, Alfred Landon, and in the summer of that year he was asked to deliver the keynote speech to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. His "Three long years" speech, broadcast on national radio, won him many admirers as well as many enemies. In 1936 and 1937 he fought Roosevelt's legislation to expand the number of Supreme Court judges. That year he fell ill and underwent a gall bladder operation that removed him from the Senate for many months.

Although Steiwer returned to Capitol Hill and continued his active legislative work, his health further deteriorated. In November of 1937 he announced his resignation from Congress, saying he wished to return to private law practice. He died at the age of 55 in Washington, D.C. on February 3, 1939, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetary.

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Content Description

Although the collection covers most of Steiwer's public career, it is the most comprehensive for his U.S. Senate activities from 1936 to 1938. Included is a large body of correspondence relating to President Franklin Roosevelt's attempt to increase the number of Supreme Court Judges in order to override judicial resistance to the New Deal programs. Also well documented is the public reaction to Steiwer's 1936 keynote address to the Republican National Convention. The collection also contains records of the Steiwer family ranch, the Butte Creek Land, Livestock, and Lumber Company of Fossil, Oregon.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The Oregon Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Research Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the Research Library prior to any use of reproductions. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use of reproductions may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation

Frederick Steiwer papers, Mss 1496, Oregon Historical Society Research Library

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into the following series

  • Series A: Correspondence, 1925-1938
  • Series B: Election materials, 1926-1938
  • Series C: Supreme Court controvery, 1936-1937
  • Series D: Speeches, addresses, and related materials, 1925-1938
  • Series E: Ephemera, 1926-1938
  • Series F: Butte Creek Land, Livestock & Lumber Company records, 1891-1926

Acquisition Information

Records of the Butte Creek Land, Livestock and Lumber Company, gift of Jack P. Steiwer, 1973.

Separated Materials

Photographs acquired with the collection are located in the Photograph Self-Indexing Files, in files numbered 561, 570, and 1003.

Related Materials

The University of Oregon Library, Special Collections, holds a collection of Frederick Steiwer papers, cataloged as collection Ax 80.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Contents List


2003

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