Harry S. Truman Papers Staff Member and Office Files: Ken Hechler Files

Special Assistant in the White House Office, 1950-1953

The Ken Hechler Files primarily document his service as Special Assistant to President Truman from 1950 to 1953, and include material primarily relating to the 1950 and 1952 campaigns. The files consist of background information for President Truman’s speeches including correspondence, handwritten notes, meeting minutes, memoranda, press releases, reports, speeches and speech drafts, newspaper clippings, printed material, and telegrams.

See also Kenneth Hechler Papers finding aid.

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

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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Size: 6.8 linear feet (approximately 13,600 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: Harry S. Truman donated his copyright interest in writings in these files to the United States government. Documents created by U.S. Government officials in the course of their official duties are likewise in the public domain. Copyright interest in any other writings in these files is assumed to remain with the authors of the documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Philip D. Lagerquist (1956); Jeremy Spencer and David Clark (2004).

The creation of this online resource was made possible in part by funding from the William T. Kemper Foundation - Commerce Bank, Trustee.

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

1914 (September 20)		Born, Roslyn, Long Island, New York
1935		A.B., Sawrthmore (Pa.) College
1936		A.M., Columbia University
1939-1940		Teacher, Barnard College
1939-1950		Research Assistant on President Roosevelt's Public Papers
1940		Ph.D., Columbia University
1940		Section Chief, Bureau of the Census
1941		Personnel Officer, Office for Emergency Management
1941-1942		Administrative Analyst, Bureau of the Budget
1942-1946		U.S. Army, discharge as Major
1946-1947		Administrative Analyst, Bureau of the Budget
1947-1949		Instructor, Princeton University
1949-1953		Special Assistant to the President
1953-1956		Associate Director, American Political Science Association, Washington, DC.
1956		Research Director, Adlai Stevenson's presidential campaign
1957		Professor, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia
1957		Administrative Aide to Senator John A. Carroll of Colorado
1957-1958		Television Commentator, Huntington, West Virginia
1959-1977		U.C. Congressman from West Virginia
1964, 1968, 1972, 1980, 1984		Delegate, Democratic National Convention
1982-1984		Professor, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia
1985-2001		Secretary of State, West Virginia

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

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COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The Ken Hechler Files mostly relate to his service as Special Assistant to the President from 1950 to 1953. The Hechler Files are a part of the Staff Member and Office Files of the Harry S. Truman Papers. This material was shipped to Kansas City as part of Mr. Truman's presidential papers. Truman subsequently donated his papers to the United States government. The collection is approximately 6.8 linear feet in volume and is comprised of four series.

The Subject File consists of correspondence, legislation, handwritten notes, memoranda, newspaper clippings, printed materials, reports and speeches primarily relating to the 1950 and 1952 elections. The documents pertain to agriculture, electrical power, school lunches, airports, campaign trips, flooding, foreign policy, housing, social security, education, health, veterans, natural resources, reorganization of the federal government, science, the Point Four Program, the United Nations, Korea, and the Soviet Union.

The Regional File consists of background materials for President Truman’s speeches given in the Missouri River Basin, New England, the Pacific Northwest, the South and the Southwest. The background materials consist of correspondence, handwritten notes, memoranda, newspaper clippings, printed materials, reports and speeches. The documents pertain to flood control, industry, textiles, the economy, unemployment, labor, utilities, agriculture, foreign policy, health, housing, land, water and mining.

The State File contains background information pertaining to major issues in the different states in addition to telegrams, correspondence, handwritten notes, memoranda, newspaper clippings, press releases, printed materials, reports, and maps used in preparation of President Truman’s speeches. The documents include specific information about counties, cities, the economy, history, and key people. Other materials relate to power, water, flood control, industry, labor, agriculture, foreign policy, shipping, roads, hospitals, mining, the economy, defense, foreign trade, education, housing, civil rights, income, health, and education.

The Trip File consists of telegrams, correspondence, handwritten notes, itineraries, schedules, memoranda, newspaper clippings, press releases, printed materials, speeches and maps pertaining to speeches given by President Truman during five campaign trips in 1952. Much of the material in this series was sent to Ken Hechler by Steven Mitchell, the Democratic National Committee Chairman, and Charles Franklin, the Acting Director of the Research Division of the Democratic National Committee. The Trip File contains background information specific to the cities where the speeches were given including materials relating to the history of the cities, current economic conditions, federal projects, Congressional representatives, election statistics, rent control, principal local industries, housing, health, universities and public roads.

Additional information about Ken Hechler and his service in the Truman administration may be found at the Truman Library in an oral history interview with Hechler, the Ken Hechler Papers and the Truman Post-Presidential Papers.

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

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