Pollard, Alice H. Papers

Dates: 1947-1955, 1977

Supporter of the Marshall Plan

The papers of Alice H. Pollard relate to a five-year period in Mrs. Pollard’s life when she was writing to University Professors, U.S. Senators and Congressmen, and members of the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government concerning her idea to supplement the Marshall Plan by training young American women to go to Germany and assist in the rebuilding of Europe. The papers include correspondence, handwritten notes, newspaper clippings, and an index listing those to whom Mrs. Pollard sent her idea.

[Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List]

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Size: 10 linear inches (about 1,600 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: The donor gave to the U.S. government her copyright interest in her unpublished writings in this collection, and in any other collection of papers in the custody of the U.S. government. Documents created by U.S. government employees in the course of their official duties are also in the public domain. Copyright interest in any other documents in this collection presumably belongs to the creators of the documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Erwin J. Mueller (1977).
Updated by: Philip Nicolaus (2008) as part of the Truman Library Internship Program.
Supervising Archivists: Randy Sowell and David Clark.


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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

1908 (March 16)

 

Born

1926

 

Graduated from Wellesley College

1947-1952

 

Created her plan and corresponded with University Professors, U.S. Senators and Congressmen, and members of the U.S. Executive Branch concerning her plan. Mrs. Pollard continually revised her plan throughout these years.

1977

 

Her collection of papers was donated by Mrs. Pollard to the Harry S. Truman Library.

1992 (January 2)

 

Died

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COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The papers of Alice H. Pollard concern Mrs. Pollard’s plan to supplement the Marshall Plan with a peace-time volunteer force. Her plan included such ideas as sending American women into Germany following the Second World War to help with the raising of German children. She also included her desire to have community centers set up throughout post-war Europe which would provide support to Europeans who were rebuilding their own homes. These community centers would help by providing supervision for their children as well as lending tools with which to build. She associated these ideas with the Quaker ideal that “common work makes friends.” The collection includes correspondence with college professors, U.S. Senators and Congressmen, members of the State Department, and other prominent persons.

The papers are arranged in two series, a Correspondence File and a Subject File. The Correspondence File makes up about one-half of the collection, including letters from Eleanor Roosevelt, Alger Hiss, Hubert H. Humphrey, John Foster Dulles, Pearl Buck, Chester Bowles, Norris Cotton, and Charles Tobey. The Correspondence File also includes a card index of all of Mrs. Pollard’s contacts recording their reception of her plan. The other one-half consists of the Subject File, which includes records kept by Mrs. Pollard of Congressional action reflecting her plan, a Health and Human Relations report, her own progress reports, many newspaper clippings which were kept by Mrs. Pollard, all three of Mrs. Pollard’s versions and revisions of the plan, and Mrs. Pollard’s notes and working papers.

The Truman Library has other collections relating to various aspects of the Marshall Plan, including the Papers of Harry S. Truman (Official File 426), Joseph Jones, Harry Price, and Paul Hoffman.

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SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Container Nos.

 

Series

1-2

  CORRESPONDENCE FILE, 1947-1952
Correspondence relating to Alice H. Pollard and her plan; and index cards of her contacts and their reception of her plan. Arranged chronologically.

2

  SUBJECT FILE, 1947-1955, 1977
Handwritten notes and reports, progress reports by Mrs. Pollard, versions of Mrs. Pollard’s plan, and Mrs. Pollard’s personal working papers and notes. Arranged alphabetically.
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FOLDER TITLE LIST

CORRESPONDENCE FILE, 1947-1952

Box 1

  • October 1947-February 1948
  • March 1948
  • April 1948
  • May 1948
  • June 1948
  • July 1948
  • August-September 1948
  • October-December 1948
  • 1948- Drafts of Letters from Pollard
  • January-September 1949: Drafts of Letters from Pollard
  • January-May 1949
  • June-September 1949

Box 2

  • 1950
  • 1951-1952
  • Card Index of Correspondence [1 of 2]
  • Card Index of Correspondence [2 of 2]

SUBJECT FILE, 1947-1955, 1977

  • Address Book and Handwritten Notes
  • Congressional Action on S.R. 260
  • Health and Human Relations in Germany- Report, June 1950
  • Progress Reports- 1949, 1951, 1977
  • Publicity in the Media 1948-1949
  • Related Material [1 of 2]
  • Related Material [2 of 2]
  • Report on Germany, Ninth Quarterly- Office of the U.S. High Commissioner, October 1-December 31, 1951
  • Reports on Occupied Countries 1949-1951
  • Scrapbook
  • Use of Mrs. Pollard's Idea by Others, 1948-1955
  • Versions of the Plan, 1947-1950
  • We, the People: The Yearbook of Public Opinion, 1949
  • Working Papers and Notes
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