Scope and Contents note
The majority of the Stone Papers center around the issue of tax reform, and include correspondence, publications, and administrative materials of four organizations: the American Progress Foundation, the Organization to Repeal Federal Income Taxes, Inc., the National Committee for Economic Freedom, and the Liberty Amendment Committee of the U.S.A. Also included in the collection are Stone's personal papers; research materials for his books, articles, and radio broadcasts, as well as copies of the articles and broadcast scripts; newspaper clippings which discuss the Liberty Amendment and its progress in the state legislatures; and five scrapbooks dating from 1949 to 1957 containing newspaper articles about Stone as well as copies of his "American Way" column.
Dates
- 1955-1982
Creator
Conditions Governing Access note
Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.
Conditions Governing Use note
Property rights reside with Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish collection materials must be submitted to Special Collections and University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.
Biographical/Historical note
Willis Emerson Stone was born in Denver, Colorado on July 20, 1899. He attended local schools and was a graduate of the University of Denver. As a young adult, he was, at various times, a newspaper reporter, an advertising executive, and a realtor. In 1930 he found his niche as an industrial engineer.
He retired from that profession in 1958 to devote his energies to the ratification of the 23rd Amendment to the U. S. Constitution. This was called the Liberty Amendment, and was first proposed by Stone in a newspaper column in 1944. The Amendment, which called for the elimination of the federal income tax, was introduced in Congress in 1959 by James B. Utt. By 1981 it had been ratified in nine states: Wyoming, Texas, Nevada, Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Arizona, and Indiana.
Stone founded the National Committee for Economic Freedom in 1959 to assist state groups supporting the Liberty Amendment. In 1962, the name was changed to Liberty Amendment Committee of the U.S.A. Stone served as national chairman until he retired in 1976. Stone was also active in the American Progress Foundation and the Organization to Repeal Federal Income Taxes, Inc. which combined their Board of Directors in 1966 and placed Stone as head. He also served as National Secretary of We, the People, and was a member of the American Legion and the Lions Club.
As an author, Stone wrote a syndicated newspaper column, "American Way," which was featured in. about 3,000 newspapers. He also wrote Where the Money Went (1971) and Ten Lessons on the Constitution (1974). In addition, he served as publisher of American Progress magazine and Fact Sheet.
He had numerous awards bestowed upon him, including: George Washington Medal, 1962, Freedom Foundation; Liberty Award, 13 times 1964-1974, Congress of Freedom; Patriotic Service Medal, 1967, American Coalition of Patriotic Societies; and the American Leadership Award, 1969, We, The People.
Willis E. Stone is retired and currently residing in Florida.
Extent
58.5 linear feet (39 containers)
0.1 Unprocessed linear feet (1 container) : 1 legal size folder
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Collection largely centers around the issue of tax reform and includes correspondence, publications, and administrative materials of four organizations: the American Progress Foundation, the Organization to Repeal Federal Income Taxes, Inc., the National Committee for Economic Freedom, and the Liberty Amendment Committee of the U.S.A. Also included are Stone's personal papers; research materials for his books, articles, and radio broadcasts; newsclippings; and published articles.
Arrangement note
Collection is organized into the following series: Willis E. Stone personal papers, 1917-1955Administrative records and correspondence, 1956-1962American Progress (magazine)ScrapbooksPhonorecordsAddenda, December 1969Addenda, 1976Addenda, 1986
Other Finding Aids note
Paper finding aid with additional information available in Special Collections & University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries.
Other Finding Aids
See the Collective Name Index to the Research Collection of Conservative and Libertarian Studies for a cross-referenced index to names of correspondents in this collection, if any, and 37 related University of Oregon collections, including dates of correspondence. See index instructions on use.
Processing Information note
Collection processed by processing staff.
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
- American Progress Foundation
- Caine, Curtis W.
- Clise, James William, 1900-1961
- Conservatism Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Courtney, Kent, 1918-1997
- Crippen, John K.
- Doenges, James L.
- Everingham, Harry T.
- Fowler, George B. (George Bingham), 1903-1974
- Gwinn, Ralph W. (Ralph Waldo), 1884-1962
- Hanson, Dan, 1906-
- Heinsohn, A. G., Jr. (Augereau Gray), 1896-1980
- Income tax -- Law and legislation Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Jaggard, Robert S.
- Kimmel, Joseph Stephen
- King, Gordon van B.
- Lee, Wallace L.
- Lemly, William C.
- Libertarianism Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Liberty Amendment Committee of the U.S.A.
- Morgenthaler, Paul K.
- Moths, Armin R.
- National Committee for Economic Freedom
- Nelson, Alfred H.
- Organization to Repeal Federal Income Taxes
- Parker, Thomas
- Peck, George
- Piggott, Donald R.
- Political campaigns Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Prentice, Sartell
- Ruhtenberg, Polly King, 1907-1983
- Schuchman, F. E.
- Scripts (documents) Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Smith, Laurence C.
- Sound recordings Subject Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus
- Utt, James B. (James Boyd), 1899-1970
- Williamson, Roger
- Title
- Guide to the Willis E. Stone Papers
- Status
- Revise Description
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by processing staff
- Date
- 2007
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Repository Details
Part of the University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives Repository
