Dates: 1944-1957
The papers of John C. Houston consist of correspondence, reports, speeches and other papers related to Houston’s governmental positions with the War Production Board, the Civilian Production Administration, the White House, and the Munitions Board.
Size: Less than one-half of one linear foot (about 800 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: The donor retained his copyrights in this material during his lifetime with the provision that those rights would pass to the United States upon his death. Documents created by U.S. government officials in the course of their duties are in the public domain. Copyright interest in other documents presumably belongs to the creators of those documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Philip D. Lagerquist (1962).
Updated by: Rosemary Lantz (2007) as part of the Truman Library Internship Program.
Supervising Archivists: Randy Sowell and David Clark.
[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]
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1909 (January 17) |
Born, Paterson, New Jersey |
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1929 (February 25) |
Married Elizabeth Ellis |
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1942-1945 |
Director, Programs Control Bureau, War Production Board |
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1945-1947 |
Deputy Administrator, Commissioner of Civilian Production, Civilian Production Administration |
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1950-1951 |
Special Assistant in the White House Office, working under Dr. John Steelman |
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1951-1952 |
Executive Vice Chairman, Munitions Board |
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1953 |
Acting Chairman, Munitions Board |
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1954-1955 |
Advisor on Military Procurement, Hoover Commission |
The papers of John C. Houston consist of correspondence, memoranda, reports, press releases and other items related to Houston’s various positions with the U.S. government. The collection is comprised of one series, a Subject File, arranged alphabetically by folder title.
Included in the collection is information on the creation of the Civilian Production Administration (CPA) and its duties. Also included are documents from the steel dispute in 1952 between the United Steelworkers of America and various steel and iron ore companies. Other documents outline Houston’s position with the Munitions Board.
The collection contains many speeches by President Truman, and documents pertaining to economic policy during World War II, the conversion to a peacetime economy after the war, defense mobilization during the Korean War, and the dismissal of General MacArthur. Also included are a few documents relating to Houston’s deposition in a 1957 lawsuit involving steel allocation after World War II.
The Truman Library also has the papers of Russell P. Andrews (Special Assistant to the Assistant to the President, 1950-1952) and John Steelman (The Assistant to the President, 1946–1953), as well as Steelman’s oral history interview. Houston worked under Steelman and with Andrews on the White House staff.
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Container Nos. |
Series |
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1 |
SUBJECT FILE, 1944-1957 Correspondence, reports, memoranda, printed materials, press releases, speeches, and other items mostly relating to the government service of John C. Houston. Arranged alphabetically. |
Box 1
- Civilian Production Administration
- Department of Defense (Personal)
- Directory of Key Personnel - War Production Board
- Steel Dispute - 1952
- War Production Board
- White House