Oregon Rockefeller Campaign records

This collection contains materials related to the Oregon campaign of Nelson Rockefeller, a candidate in the 1964 presidential race. Rockefeller, who later went on to serve as Vice President under Gerald Ford from 1974-1977, campaigned as a member of the Republican Party. He won Oregon's primary in an upset, setting his campaign on an upward swing, before eventually losing the California primary and withdrawing from the race. The material in this collection was collected and kept by campaign chairman William E. Walsh. Included are executive committee memoriada, financial records, correspondence, itineraries, personnel records, campaign literature, and newspaper clippings. Major correspondents include: William Walsh, William Moshovsky, Clay Myers, Robert Ridgley, Edward Paul Mattar III, R. Mort Frayn, and George Hinman. The material primarily dates from January through May, 1964 and represents the inner workings of a political campaign.

The committee files contain information about the Republican National Convention, Rockefeller's visits to Oregon, local campaign literature originated by the committee, advertising records, letters to the committee for and against Rockefeller written by Oregonians, and general correspondence. Most of the correspondence contained within this collection are unique letters, rather than form letters, and include carbon copies of mail sent from Nelson Rockefeller and Edward Paul Mattar, National Youth Director. Anti-Rockefeller correspondence tends to focus on moral issues such as his divorce and subsequent re-marriage. Most of the correspondence represented in this collection is pro-Rockefeller and indicate a robust grass-roots organization to promote his campaign. After Rockefeller's withdrawl from the presidential campaign, many letters reflect upon the Goldwater nomination and disappointment in the Republican party.

Other records related to the committee include delegate lists, a copy of the National Convention keynote address, meeting minutes, and itineraries for travel including lists of attendees and planned events.

Financial records include reports and memos documenting the financial health and predicted financial needs of the campaign. These include financial projections, reports, statements of contributions and expenditures, ledgers representing accounts held at several national banks, expenses paid, receipts, invoices for freight charges, vouchers paid, contracts and insurance papers covering office space, invoices for office supplies, petty cash accounts for headquarters, and book sale records and receipts for donations. There is a small amount of campaign finance-related correspondence in this series.

The office records series mostly contains material related to office volunteers and campaign staff, often organized by Oregon county or region. Records include address and mailing lists, volunteer and clerical worker information, the office guest book, an inventory of literature, meeting records, and student club files.

Campaign literature includes press releases, statements and memos by the National Headquarters, surveys of Oregon voters, a Rockefeller research kit including statements and FAQ files, publicity and photographs, a committee guidebook and speaker's manual, analyses of speeches by William Scranton and Barry Goldwater, local and national publicity material, and published books about Rockefeller.

Also accounted for in this collection are newspaper clippings related to Rockefeller, his campaign, and his political platform. Included are clippings from GOP publications as well as Oregon newspapers. This series also contains letters written to the editors of various newspapers by campaign volunteers.