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Thor C. Tollefson papers, 1944-1964

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Tollefson, Thor C. (Thor Carl), 1901-
Title
Thor C. Tollefson papers
Dates
1944-1964 (inclusive)
Quantity
40.42 cubic feet ( 41 boxes)
Collection Number
0508 (Accession No. 0508-001)
Summary
Papers of a former United States Congressman for Washington state.
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Open to all users.

Records stored offsite; advance notice required for use.

Request at UW

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Biographical Note

Thor Carl Tollefson (1901-1982), Representative to Congress from Washington State, was born in Minnesota and later moved to Tacoma, Washington in 1912. In 1930, he graduated from the University of Washington Law School in Seattle, and became a Pierce County prosecutor in 1938. In 1944 Tollefson ran as a Republican in the race for Representative of Washington State in the 6th district, which then covered all of Pierce and King counties except the city of Seattle. He lost to Democrat John Coffee that year, but ran again in 1946 and this time was successfully elected to the 80th Congress. He was re-elected to the next seven congresses, serving as a Representative consecutively from January 1947 to January 1965. During his congressional career, he served on the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee from 1949 to 1964. In 1964, Tollefson was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the 88th Congress. Following his Congressional career, Tollefson was appointed director of fisheries for the State of Washington and later served as special assistant to the Governor in charge of international fisheries negotiations. He died December 30, 1982 in Tacoma, Washington.

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Content Description

The majority of the collection consists of the General Correspondence series. These files frequently include enclosures or accompanying material such as writings, reports, texts of bills, statements and clippings. The correspondence is divided into Agency Files, Subject Files and Legislation Files. The Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee series consists of general correspondence files, arranged chronologically by year, then subdivided by subject. The correspondence in this series contains a large number of enclosures and accompanying items; thus there are many reports, statements, texts of bills, writings and clippings. The Bills series (1949-1955) contain material identical to that in the Legislative files, which begin in 1955; the break in 1955 probably reflects a change in Tollefson's filing practice. The Campaign Letters series (1944 -1946) contains general correspondence from Tollefson's early campaigns, including Tollefson's requests for both electoral and monetary support. The Newsletters (1963-1964) were prepared by Tollefson's office to inform his constituents about some of his work.

In his eighteen-year Congressional career, Tollefson was involved in an extensive variety of issues, as reflected in the great number of different subjects listed in the inventory. However, the papers do reflect some major areas of interest.

First of these is his intense involvement in maritime and fishing industry policies and management. Most of the materials regarding these issues are found in the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee series. These materials relate to the maintenance of the American Merchant Marine, including letters about the $400 million dollar peacetime ship construction and repair program of 1950, of which Tollefson was a key supporter. This series also includes papers about fishing treaties and legislation, particularly pertaining to Alaskan fishing markets. While this series contains the majority of maritime and fishing papers, further material on these topics can be found in other parts of the collection. The Agency Files in the General Correspondence series include Maritime Commission correspondence; fishery-related Subject Files and Legislative Files pertain to specific fishery or maritime legislation.

Another of Tollefson interests was management of natural resources, especially in the Pacific Northwest region. The Agency Files contain correspondence about the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management. The Subject Files include materials on Olympic and Rainier National Parks, Cowlitz Dam and other dams in the Pacific Northwest, as well as files on land management.

The papers provide a view into Cold War politics and policies. The materials include a number of Subject Files on Communism, and this topic arises in other files, such as in the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee files on Alaska and the American Merchant Marine. There are Subject Files on hydrogen and atom bomb tests throughout the collection, as well as recurring Army, Navy, and Defense Department Agency Files. Correspondence with the Veterans Administration and files on various veteran-related legislation document the post-war period.

The papers reflect Tollefson's involvement in commerce and public development. For example, he was involved with the expansion of the Port of Tacoma, as reflected in the Subject Files for 1959 and other Tacoma commerce files. He was an advocate for public housing; the papers contain correspondence with the Federal Housing Administration, Public Housing Administration, the Public Building Service, and the Public Health Service, as well as several Legislation Files on housing.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Creator's literary rights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Preferred Citation

Thor C. Tollefson papers. Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries, Seattle, Washington.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged in 5 series:

  • General correspondence
  • Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee
  • Bills
  • Campaign letters
  • Newsletters

Preservation Note

Records stored offsite; advance notice required for use.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Thor C. Tollefson, January 5, 1965.

Processing Note

Partially processed in June-August 1985.

Guide written by Michelle Hajder in 2001.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Communism
  • Dams--Northwest, Pacific
  • Elections--Washington (State)
  • Fisheries--Alaska
  • Fisheries--Washington (State)
  • Fishery law and legislation--United States
  • Legislation--Washington (State)
  • Legislators--United States--Archives
  • Maritime law--United States
  • Merchant marine--Washington (State)
  • Natural resources--United States --Management
  • Nuclear weapons--United States--Testing
  • Public health--Washington (State)--Tacoma
  • Public housing--Washington (State)--Tacoma

Personal Names

  • Tollefson, Thor C. (Thor Carl), 1901---Archives

Corporate Names

  • United States. Congress. House--Elections
  • United States. Congress. House. Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries

Geographical Names

  • Mount Rainier National Park (Wash.)
  • Tacoma (Wash.)
  • United States--Politics and government--20th century

Form or Genre Terms

  • Bills, legislative
  • Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
  • Correspondence
  • Newsletters
  • Reports
  • Writings

Occupations

  • Legislators--United States

Other Creators

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)


2007 (Last modified: 4/19/2018)

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