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James A. McClure papers, 1961-1990

Overview of the Collection

Creator
McClure, James A. , 1924-2011
Title
James A. McClure papers
Dates
1961-1990 (inclusive)
Quantity
732 cubic feet
Collection Number
MG 400
Summary
Congressional papers of Senator James A. McClure.
Repository
University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives
Special Collections and Archives
University of Idaho Library
875 Perimeter Drive
MS 2350
Moscow, ID
83844-2350
Telephone: 2088850845
libspec@uidaho.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

James Albertus McClure was born on December 27, 1924, in Payette, Idaho. McClure served in the United States Navy during World War II, earned a J.D. degree from the University of Idaho in 1950, and subsequently returned to Payette where he practiced law with his father, W.R. McClure, and served as city attorney before being elected Payette County prosecuting attorney. A Republican, McClure was sent to the Idaho state senate for three terms, 1961-1966, and in the latter year was elected to the United States Congress from the lst District of Idaho (the northern panhandle and the southwestern quarter of the state), being reelected in 1968 and 1970.

In 1972, Idaho elected McClure to the United States Senate, and reelected him in 1978 and 1984. His service in both House and Senate reflected the public lands and natural resource issues of interest to his constituents. His committee assignments included the House Interior and Insular Affairs Committee; the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, of which he was chairman 1981-1987 and thereafter the ranking minority member; the Interior Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee; the Senate Rules Committee; the Senate Republican Steering Committee; and the Helsinki Commission on Human Rights. In 1987 he served on the Senate Select Committee to investigate the Iran-Contra Affair.

McClure married the former Louise Miller of Nezperce, Idaho, a fellow student at the University of Idaho, and the couple raised three children, Marilyn, Kenneth, and David.

McClure declined to run for reelection in 1990 and upon his retirement from the Senate he entered a partnership with his former legislative director and administrative assistant, forming McClure, Gerard, & Neuenschwander, Inc., a Washington, D.C. consulting firm. Senator and Louise McClure made their retirement home in Boise, Idaho.

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Content Description

The papers of James A. McClure span the years 1961 to 1995, with the majority of the material dating from the years 1967 through 1990 when he served first in the United States House of Representatives and then in the United States Senate from Idaho. The overwhelming bulk of the collection comprises the records of McClure's Congressional and Senatorial office staffs, including, in the Senatorial period, records of his Idaho offices. The is little relating to McClure's life outside of politics and public service.

Among record types are correspondence; newspaper clippings; photographs; sound and video recordings; speeches, including many drafts; memoranda; mailing lists; legislative material such as bills sponsored by McClure and by others, reports, and related documents; Congressional Record inserts; news releases; invitations and responses; and other records, including associated printed materials. Correspondents include the presidents and vice presidents of the United States during McClure's terms in office, as well as other senators and congressmen, governors of Idaho, other federal and state officials, and members of the public, who were overwhelmingly his constituents in Idaho. There is also a significant amount of material relating to McClure's campaigns for election and his participation in the elections of others. Topics include virtually every matter of public interest in Idaho during McClure's terms, as well as a significant volume of material reflecting national and international affairs, especially in regard to energy resources. The collection is particularly strong concerning politics in Idaho and concerning management of federal lands and natural resource policies, nationally, but especially as they affect Idaho. Well represented are policies concerning mining, timber, grazing, energy, water and irrigation, and wilderness and outdoor recreation, as well as other natural resource and environmental matters. There are also small quantities of material reflecting McClure's service in the Idaho state senate, 1961-1966, and some of his public service activities after leaving the United States Senate in 1990.

The arrangement of the collection reflects, to the extent practicable, the filing systems employed over a quarter century in McClure's office. Thus, very prominent are the evolutions in the original subject arrangement which McClure adopted soon after opening his Congressional office and the partial revolution that took place when a computerized correspondence system was adopted midway in his Senatorial career.

Senator McClure donated this collection to the University of Idaho by deed of gift dated July 13, 1990 and the material was shipped by United States mail from each of his offices and received between July 1990 and January 1991. A very small amount of material, mostly concerning McClure's post-senatorial activities, was forwarded from the Washington, D.C., office of McClure, Gerard and Neuenschwander, Inc., in 1995. While title transferred to the university, Senator McClure retained copyright during his lifetime to materials written by himself or his staff.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

[Description of Item], James A. McClure papers, MG 400, Special Collections and Archives, University of Idaho Library, Moscow, Idaho.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

The congressional papers of Senator James A. McClure were donated to the University of Idaho Library by the Senator upon his retirement from the U.S. Senate in 1990.

Processing Note

The papers were processed by Andrew Arconti, Chris Karn, Ken Lahners, Chelsea Leeds, Judy Nielsen, Shannon Roberts, Kate Schlack, Wendy Steele, Anna Thomas, Molly Viola, John Whitmer, and Wilma Woods-Davis, under the direction of Richard C. Davis, between 1991 and 2002.

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Detailed Description of the Collection