Collections : [New York State Modern Political Archive]

New York State Modern Political Archive

New York State Modern Political Archive

Elected officials, interest groups, and activists from New York State.
The New York State Modern Political Archive (NYSMPA) was established in 1982 to document the work of individuals and private interest groups concerned with New York State public policy issues in the 20th century. Originally named the Archives of Public Affairs and Policy, the NYSMPA collects, preserves, and facilitates access to primary sources pertaining to New York State public affairs and policy, and now includes the personal papers of members of the gubernatorial administrations of Nelson A. Rockefeller; papers of former New York Congressional members and elected officials who served in New York State Legislature; and the official records and papers of numerous private groups, professional associations, individuals, public-sector labor unions, community groups, and other organizations concerned with Empire State public-policy issues.

Search Results

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This series consists of the constitution and by-laws and annual reports of the Clubs (1960-1998). The constitution and by-laws provided the organizational structure of the Clubs. It includes printed copies of the articles of incorporation and by-laws of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs (1924, 1930, 1933, 1938), certificates of incorporation and by-laws (1944, 1946, 1950, 1962, 1973), and proposed revisions to state by-laws (1967, 1974).

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Administrative, 1892-2007 2.35 cubic ft.

The Administrative series consists of Board and business meeting minutes, constitutions, proposed changes to the constitution, annual and executive meeting files, files of some Club Presidents, some show planning, finances, and budgets. It houses some of the earliest records about the organization. This series also contains information about membership, but not in depth information on specific reporters.

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This series contains records dating from 1889 to 1996, with the exception of one bond agreement dating from 1863, prior to the creation of the YWCA of Albany, NY. It includes account reports, annual reports, bills of sale, program operating expenses, correspondence, grant applications, insurance policies, incident reports, membership ledger books, mortgages, deeds, bonds, and the history of the YWCA.

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Series 1, Administrative Files, includes official documentation of the boards including meeting minutes, agendas, treasurer reports, and correspondence. It contains the board meeting minutes and agendas from 1961 to 2000, but with several gaps in time. The series also contains information about the LWVRC's annual meetings (1966-1999), membership (1942-1998), by-laws and policy, and tax returns (1967-1985), again with several gaps in time.

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Online
The Hudson Valley Area Joint Board was formed in 1957 through the merger of the Columbia County and Mid-Hudson Valley Joint Boards. At that point, the two joint boards were affiliated of the Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA), which merged with the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) in 1976 to form the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU). The collection documents the organization, administration, and activities of the Hudson Valley Area Joint Board and its predecessor organizations.
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Online
Papers of eugenics researcher Arthur Estabrook focus on racial integrity, sterilization of the mentally defective, venereal disease, intelligence, and criminality. Limited material is availible on the Jukes of New York state, the "Tribe of Ishmael" of Indiana, and the Carrie Buck trial.
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Rhoda Fox Graves' personal and political papers are interfiled. Much of what is contained in these records are correspondence between her constituents and fellow legislators, legislative bills, and pamphlets distributed by various Republican organizations. Personal letters and records reflecting daily activities are included as well as files dating before her election into the Assembly.

Collection
Online
The Associated Industries of New York State/ Business Council of New York State Records contains documents which were created during the group's 66 years of business. Among the contents are files on the group's former directors, correspondence and legal council records. The records of the association also contain some publications from other sources.
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The highlights of Miles' life up to about 1945 are contained in a typewritten manuscript of 138 pages. This item, meant for his children and grandchildren, is divided into eleven chapters and titled True Tales From Tin Lizzy Times and Other Sketches. Biographical information can be found on Boyd Fisher (chap. VI), the force behind the Ohio Relief Production Units (1934-1935) and the Rural Electrification Administration; Sally Rand (chap. IX), the exotic dancer; Franklin Roosevelt's Aunt Bessie (chap. X) and John Pratt Whitman (chap.XI), mystic, teacher, social worker, actor, journalist and author who is Miles' "most unforgettable character". This series also includes a five page statement, written in 1986, concerning his undergraduate experience at Antioch College as well as materials related to his first published article in 1932.

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This series contains Norman Studer's curriculum vitae, a partial autobiography, a brief biography, memorial tributes, family photographs, family records, and correspondence. The correspondence has been identified by correspondent's name only when the volume or significance warrants such separation; however, the bulk of the correspondence is arranged chronologically. Notable correspondents include Pete and Toshi Seeger and David Dunaway, Seeger's biographer as well as a former Camp Woodland camper.

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This series includes material about Helen Quirini's life and achievements. This series has correspondence, awards and certificates, newspaper articles by and about Quirini and her activism, letters of recommendation, theses, interview transcripts, diaries of her time on the shop floor at General Electric, her memoir, photographs, ephemera and more. This series covers the entirety of Quirini's life and work starting with the Brother Sister Cash Market where she worked with her brother in the late 1930s and early 1940s, her 39 years working at General Electric and then her post-retirement activism. The original order, titling and folder contents were preserved wherever possible. Quirini received a variety of national awards including the Beirne Award from the United Way and the Phillipe Award from General Electric. She also received local accolades such as the Patroon award in her hometown of Schenectady, New York. Included in the award folders are nomination materials, letters of recommendation, resumes, related materials and the awards themselves. This series contains extensive correspondence regarding Quirini's personal life, employment, activism and fundraising. There also are many VHS cassettes of Schenectady City Council meetings which Quirini attended as a citizen. Series 1 covers her activism, awards and achievements as both the subject and author of newspaper articles. Several students also corresponded with Quirini and wrote about her in papers and masters theses. Scholarly publications which predominantly feature Quirini are located in this series. Please see Series 2 and Series 3 for other scholarly writings about unions in general, Local 301 or General Electric.

Collection
Online
The collection of papers is about drugs and drug related crimes in the United States. It is written by Carleton P. Simon. Simon is a psychiatrist by profession and is very much interested in crimes. This passion led to his next profession as a criminlogist. His writings focus on crimes and examine the motives behind the crimes. Simons has also written fiction magazines and poems.
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These records of the City Teachers' Association of Schenectady include minutes (1918-34), and general files (1937-43) which contain bulletins, correspondence and other records. Also included in these records are the minutes of the Delegate Assembly of the Department of Public Instruction of Schenectady (1928-31), which was a body consisting of members from the faculty, staff and supervisory personnel of the Schenectady City School District.

Collection
Online
This collection documents the day-to-day activities of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) from 1918 to the present. There is no documentation of the organization's initial years of existence, but significant material about administration, meetings, membership, agreements, publications, and organizational history.
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The Clarence Eugene Hancock Papers document Hancock's time in the House of Representatives in the United States Congress. He was the representative of the 35th District of New York from 1927 to 1945 but came to represent the 36th district from 1945 to 1947 after New York State was redistricted. The collection includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, Congressional bills, transcripts of Congressional hearings, telegrams, and handwritten notes.
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The collection contains the constitutions for 1898, 1903, and 1927-1991. The Constitution includes Articles, By-Laws, and Amendments. The Club's By-Laws specify the procedure by which new members are proposed. The earliest Pine Hills Fortnightly Club Constitution is handwritten in a notebook followed by the first recording of membership names dated 1900. Included in the constitutions are by-laws, articles, and amendments to the Constitutions. Constitutions often contain hand annotated revisions for incorporation into the next year's constitution.

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Series 1 includes the proceedings from New York State Republican Committee meetings. One of its most useful features is the quantity of information about legislation passed and the voting statistics for counties. These would be useful for those writing political histories; one could follow trends in voting patterns to determine how the composition of counties has changed and what issues have become more important than others. Another useful element one can find in this series is the differences of voting trends in times of war and depression. The minutes also give insight into the various personalities of those involved in state politics. The minutes are also good sources of quotations for particular committee members' stands on legislation. Many of the minutes include the current party platform, allowing one to determine how the goals of the party have changed over time. An in-depth picture of the New York Republican State Committee is available through the minutes.

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Dutton S. Peterson was born in Costello, Pennsylvania on December 10, 1894. Peterson served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War I and was a Methodist minister. Peterson was a member of the New York State Assembly from Schuyler County (1937-1942) and the New York State Senate (46th District 1953-1954, 50th District 1955-1964). Peterson died on October 20, 1964 and was buried at the Laurel Hill Cemetery in Odessa, New York. This collection contains materials relating to his time in the New York State Congress.
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This series contains a scrapbook of news clippings from Guy George Gabrielsons early political career in New Jersey state government (1925-1940), materials related to his role as the chairman of the New Jersey Campaign Committee for U.S. presidential candidate Wendell Willkie, additional news clippings related to New Jersey Republican political activities, rules and resolutions of the Committee, and correspondence with private citizens and various New Jersey politicians. Topics include finances, elections and organizations.

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Eunice Baird Whittlesey was born in Yorkville, New York. She married Joseph I. Whittlesey on August 30, 1947, and had one daughter, Anne Whittlesey Donlan. Mrs. Whittlesey graduated from the University at Albany (then known as the New York State College for Teachers) in 1944. Mrs. Whittlesey began her professional life as an English, Speech and Drama teacher in Connecticut and Massachusetts. She has also held several prominent positions in the New York State and national Republican parties.
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This collection contains documents, materials, and memorabilia spanning the life and career of former New York Attorney General Nathaniel L. Goldstein, who served the state from 1943 to 1954. Goldstein, a Republican, is largely remembered for his work to delegitimize the Ku Klux Klan and contributions to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (once part of Yeshiva University), as well as other facets of American security, philanthropy, and Jewish life in the mid 20th century. After his time in office, Goldstein continued his lifelong love of litigation by working in a private law firm.
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The Correctional Association of New York Records includes records from the Board of Directors, annual reports, prison visit files, Narcotics Committee files, program and bureau files, project files, subject files, and publications. The only records of the organization available from the nineteenth century are the annual reports, which have been microfilmed and are available in the University Library.
Collection
Online
The Guy Gabrielson Papers contain materials that document the political career of Guy George Gabrielson from his start in New Jersey state politics through his years as Chairman of the Republican National Committee. Many of the materials document the 1952 U.S. Presidential election and Republican National Committee Convention which Gabrielson presided over as chairman.
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This collection documents the life, work and activism of Helen Quirini of Schenectady, New York. The collection represents Quirini's numerous activities and interests including her early work owning a local market with her brother, her 39 year employment for General Electric, her activism in unions during her employment and retirement, as well as her charitable activities where she pursued civil, housing, pension, women's and senior citizen's rights.
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This series contains records related to the Hudson Valley Area Joint Board. This series is divided into four sub-series. The first sub-series contains the subjetc files of the Joint Board. The second sub-series contains records relating to the Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA), also known as the Amalgamated Clothing and Textiles Workers Union (ACTWU). The third sub-series cotnains local chapter files and the fourth sub-series is contains records associated with the union councils of the AFL-CIO.

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On November 14, 1946 the Carpenters' District Council of Ulster County and Vicinity was chartered. This council had local chapters in Kingston and Ellenville, New York. During the late 1940's local unions in the area began affiliating with the district council and eventually the district council, on May 4, 1949, was rechartered as the Hudson Valley District Council of Carpenters, the change of name more closely describing its jurisdiction. New local unions continued to be created, and independent local unions continued to affiliate with the district council. By the early 1950's the district council represented carpenters in Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Greene, Sullivan, and Ulster counties.
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John E. Kingston of Westbury, Nassau County, NY was born in 1920. Kingston was commonly known as Jack Kingston. He was a Republican member of the New York State Assembly, 1960-1974 (Nassau County 3rd District 1960-1965, 16th District 1966, 17th District 1967-1972, 15th District 1973-1974); a district judge in New York, 1990-1994; and a Justice of the New York Supreme Court, 1995. Kingston died on May 5, 1996, with interment at Nassau Knolls Cemetery, Port Washington, Long Island, NY.
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The Lee N. Vedder Papers contain 79 scrapbooks documenting the local histories of Montgomery and Schenectady Counties in the early to mid 20th century; the history of the Vedder Family; local, national, and international news; and Mr. Vedder's domestic and international travels.
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This series contains briefs, court transcripts, evidence, testimony, and other materials from legal cases. Manley was involved in most, if not all, of these cases. The cases concern a number of topics, several of which were related to Native American issues. Other cases include Calmes, Becker, Zehler v. Lehnis, and Trzecieski v. The State of New York, in which a dairy farmer made a claim for financial compensation after losing part of his herd to bovine tuberculosis.

Collection
Online
The Michelle Crone Papers document her experience as a feminist and lesbian activist from the early 1980s until the mid-1990s. The collection includes material from here position as National Civil Disobedience Coordinator for the 1987 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, and as a member of the Executive Committee for the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation. Also present are records from Michelle Crone's management of a number of women's festivals from 1982 to 1996—most notably Rhythm Fest and the Cultural Festival at Gay Games IV—and records from her Capital District production company, Elword Productions. The collection also includes the records from her experience with the Seneca Women's Encampment for a Future of Peace and Justice, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and the National Lesbian Conference. Also included are her personal correspondence, records of her undergraduate studies with the theater and women's studies programs at the University at Albany, SUNY, and political literature from a number of progressive causes at the national and local levels.
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The Sheet Metal Worker's International Association, Local 83 collection documents the founding and daily activities of this organization from 1892-1984. In addition to the actual minutes, related materials that have been entered into the body of the minutes have been filed at the back of the folders. These related materials include correspondence, treasurer's reports and other documents referred to in the body of the minutes. The bulk of the business discussed within the minutes of Local 83 concerns grievance cases where the plaintiff was laid off unfairly.

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The Monday Music Club was formed in 1904 among twenty women, to practice their music skills. The women practiced their skills in workshops and other artistic excerices. Even though they were founded in 1904, the collection does not cover the first twenty years of the club.
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This series contains Persico's public papers, including press releases, transcripts of press conferences, television and radio interviews, and drafts of speeches written for New York State Commissioner of Health Hollis Ingraham and Nelson A. Rockefeller (1964-1977). Press releases and transcripts associated with the speeches are also present in the Persico files. Rockefeller's Messages to the Legislature and "Quotes on Issues" during the late 1960s and early 1970s have been filed in this series with the speeches written by Persico. Several boxes contained in this series are subject files relating personally to the author, his work, and to Nelson Rockefeller. A partial index to speeches is available in the Department of Special Collections and Archives. Consult a staff member for details. Also included in this series are subject files and news clippings. While most of these documents date from 1964-1977, some related materials date from 1947-1981.

Collection
Online
The Norman Studer Papers document his career as both an educator and ardent Catskill folklorist. The collection includes significant material relating to his work as director of the Downtown Community School in New York City and Camp Woodland in the Catskills.
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Series 1 contains material related to Professor Steen's oral history projects and their related material. Two of his major oral history projects were about Albany Mayor Erastus Corning 2nd and New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller. Other projects pertain to topics such as Albany's black community, the Holocaust, and radio. Please note that formal oral history interviews with prisoners of war were never conducted because grant funding could not be obtained. Folders typically contain correspondence with each interviewee as well as interview transcripts and background information. There are cassette tapes to accompany the interview transcripts. Cassette tapes with general dates or date ranges indicate multiple interview dates.

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This series consists of unpublished documents that were created or collected by Moffat and his legislative staff. Press releases designed to publicize Moffat's stance on state taxation, state and local bond issues and the relationship between state and local finance predominate. Other documents in the series detail Moffat's support for slum clearance and public housing construction (December 1936-January 1937, January 1938, January-March 1939), construction of the New York State Thruway and New York City-area bridges and tunnels (February 1929, March 1939, August 1940, March 1942), codification and publication of local and state laws and administrative codes (April 1937, February 1938, February 1943, July 1943), and prohibition of child labor (March-April 1937, January 1938). Moffat's opposition to the creation of New Deal-style Social Security and minimum wage programs in New York State (January-March 1937) and efforts to curb welfare expenditures (February 1937, April 1937, March 1938, March 1939, March 1941) are also documented. Some of the press releases drafted between April and July 1938 concern proposed amendments placed before the New York State Constitutional Convention. This series also includes typescripts of a number of speeches that Moffat delivered before various political and civic groups and on radio stations across the state. Many of the speeches concern the relationship between state and local finance, but others concern state and national Republican campaigns (1932 [no month given], September 1940, February 1943) and government planning for the postwar period (November 1942). Several of the speeches have extensive handwritten additions and revisions.

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The City Teachers Association of Schenectady was founded in 1918 to promote standards of professionalism in teaching. The group was chartered as a union, the Schenectady Federation of Teachers, in 1944. Local 803 went on strike in 1975 in violation of the NYS Taylor Law. The local is affiliated with New York State United Teachers, American Federation of Teachers.