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White House Central Files: President's Personal File

Dates: 1945-53

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Size: 335 linear feet.
Access: Open.
Copyright: President Truman donated his copyright interest in any of his writings in this collection to the people of the United States. In addition, documents prepared by United States Government employees in the course of their official duties are also in the public domain. Copyright interest in documents which do not fall in these two categories is presumed to remain with the writers of the documents.
Updated by: David Clark (2001).

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Collection Description | Folder Title List]

COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The President’s Personal File (PPF) is one of the four principal series within the White House Central Files, the other three being the Official File, the General File, and the Confidential File. The President’s Personal File contains materials interpreted by the White House Central Files unit as being primarily political, social or ceremonial in character. The companion Official File (OF), in contrast, contains materials interpreted as being primarily official or semi-official in nature.

Since documents received by the White House often contained a mixture of personal and official information, the distinction between the two series is very imprecise. A third series within the White House Central Files, the General File, acts as an index, primarily by name, to both the Official File and the President's Personal File.

President Truman's President’s Personal File contains 6,249 numbered files pertaining to broad subject areas, organizations and individuals having business with the President. The files are elaborately cross-referenced both among other files in the President’s Personal File, and among the files of the Official File and the General File. A single original document may be represented by five or six cross-references distributed under file headings devoted to agencies, individuals, countries and subjects. The cross-references typically give a document's correspondents, date and purpose, as well as other appropriate information. A researcher may follow these cross-reference trails through the three linked file series in search of related documents.

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Collection Description | Folder Title List]
FOLDER TITLE LIST

Box 1

  • PPF 1 President, The
  • PPF 1 (1945-46)
  • PPF 1 (1947-48)
  • PPF 1 (1949-50)
  • PPF 1 (1951-53)
  • PPF 1 – A (Apr-May 1945)
  • PPF 1 – A (June-July 1945)
  • PPF 1 – A (Aug-Oct 1945)
  • PPF 1 – A (Nov-Dec 1945)

Box 2

  • PPF 1 – A (Jan-Apr 1946)
    • [1 of 2]
      [2 of 2]
  • PPF 1 – A (May-July 1946)
    • [1 of 2]
      [2 of 2]
  • PPF 1 – A (Aug-Dec 1946)
  • PPF 1 – A (Jan-Apr 1947)
  • PPF 1 – A (May-July 1947)

Box 3

  • PPF 1 – A (Aug-Dec 1947)
  • PPF 1 – A (Jan-June 1948)
    • [1 of 2]
      [2 of 2]
  • PPF 1 – A (July-Dec 1948)
    • [1 of 2]
      [2 of 2]
  • PPF 1 – A (Jan-Mar 1949)
  • PPF 1 – A (Apr-June 1949)
  • PPF 1 – A (July-Dec 1949)
    • [1 of 2]

Box 4

  • PPF 1 – A (July-Dec 1949)
    • [2 of 2]
  • PPF 1 – A (Jan-June 1950)
  • PPF 1 – A (July-Dec 1950)
  • PPF 1 – A (Jan-June 1951)
    • [1 of 2]
      [2 of 2]
  • PPF 1 – A (July-Dec 1951)
    • [1 of 2]
      [2 of 2]
  • PPF 1 – A (Jan-June 1952)
    • [1 of 2]

Box 5

  • PPF 1 – A (Jan-June 1952)
    • [2 of 2]
  • PPF 1 – A (July 1952-53)
    • [1 of 2]
      [2 of 2]
  • PPF 1 – B Requests to Dedicate Books, Musical Compositions, etc. to the President (1945-49)
  • PPF 1 – B (1950-June 1952)
  • PPF 1 – B (July 1952-53)
  • PPF 1 – C Towns, Clubs, etc., named for the President (1945-48)

Box 6

  • PPF 1 – C (1949-53)
  • PPF 1 – C Kfar Truman Project
  • PPF 1 – D Requests to use excerpts, etc. from letters and addresses of the President (1945-47)
  • PPF 1 – D (1948-53)
  • PPF 1 – E Engagements of the President [folder empty]
  • PPF 1 – F Personal Memoranda, Drafts of Messages and Speeches, etc. of the Presidents (Apr-June 1945)
  • PPF 1 – F (July-Aug 1945)
  • PPF 1 – F (Sept 1945)
    • [1 of 2]

Box 7

  • PPF 1 – F (Sept 1945)
    • [2 of 2]
  • PPF 1 – F (Oct-Dec 1945)
    • [1 of 2]
      [2 of 2]
  • PPF 1 – F (Jan-Apr 1946)
    • [1 of 2]
      [2 of 2]
  • PPF 1 – F (May-June 1946)
  • PPF 1 – F (July 1946)
    • [1 of 2]
      [2 of 2]

Box 8

  • PPF 1 – F (Aug-Oct 1946)
  • PPF 1 – F (Nov-Dec 1946
  • PPF 1 – F (Jan-Mar 1947)
  • PPF 1 – F (Apr-June 1947)
  • PPF 1 – F (July-Sept 1947)
  • PPF 1 – F (Oct-Dec 1947)
  • PPF 1 – F (Jan 1948)

Box 9

  • PPF 1 – F (Feb 1948)
  • PPF 1 – F (Mar-Apr 1948)
  • PPF 1 – F (May 1948)
  • PPF 1 – F (June-Dec 1948)
  • PPF 1 – F (Jan-Mar 1949)
  • PPF 1 – F (Apr-May 1949)

Box 10

  • PPF 1 – F (June 1-19, 1949)
  • PPF 1 – F (June 20-30, 1949)
  • PPF 1 – F (July 1949)
  • PPF 1 – F (Aug-Dec 1949)
  • PPF 1 – F (Jan-Mar 1950)
  • PPF 1 – F (Apr 1950)

Box 11

  • PPF 1 – F (May 1950)
  • PPF 1 – F (June-July 1950)
  • PPF 1 – F (Aug-Oct 1950)
  • PPF 1 – F (Nov-Dec 1950)
  • PPF 1 – F (Jan 1951)
  • PPF 1 – F (Feb 1951)

Box 12

  • PPF 1 – F (Mar 1951)
  • PPF 1 – F (Apr 1951)
  • PPF 1 – F (May 1951)
  • PPF 1 – F (June-Sept 1951)
  • PPF 1 – F (Oct-Dec 1951)
  • PPF 1 – F (Jan-Feb 1952)
    • [1 of 2]

Box 13

  • PPF 1 – F (Jan-Feb 1952)
    • [2 of 2]
  • PPF 1 – F (Mar-Apr 1952)
  • PPF 1 – F (May-June 1952)
    • [1 of 2]
      [2 of 2]
  • PPF 1 – F (July 1952-53)
    • [1 of 2]
      [2 of 2]

Box 14

  • PPF 1 - F Address to the Joint Session of Congress in the House of Representatives (4/16/45)
  • PPF 1 - F Broadcast to the Armed Forces at Home and Abroad (4/17/45)
  • PPF 1 - F Address in Connection with the Opening of the San Francisco Conference (4/25/45)
  • PPF 1 - F Address and Proclamation in Connection with the Surrender of Germany (5/8/45)
  • PPF 1 – F Address to Congress after conf. Cong. Medal of Honor on Tech. Sgt. Jake W. Lindsey (5/21/45)
  • PPF 1 – F Address delivered at the closing session of the United Nations Conf. on International Org. (6/26/45)
  • PPF 1 – F Address in the Senate Chamber on ratification of the United Nations Charter (7/2/45)
  • PPF 1 – F Address of the President reporting to the Nation on the Berlin Conference (8/9/45)
  • PPF 1 – F Address after the signing of the Japanese Surrender (9/1/45)
  • PPF 1 – F Address to the members of the United States Armed Forces (9/2/45)
  • PPF 1 – F Address opening the 1945 National War Fund Campaign (10/2/45)
  • PPF 1 – F Remarks after pres. the Medal of Honor to 14 members of the Navy and Marine Corps (10/5/45)
  • PPF 1 – F Remarks at the Pemiscot County Fair, Caruthersville, MO (10/7/45)
  • PPF 1 – F Address at the dedication of the Kentucky Dam, Gilbertsville, KY (10/10/45)
  • PPF 1 – F Remarks at the conclusion of his address dedicating the Kentucky Dam, Gilbertsville, KY (10/10/45)
  • PPF 1 – F Remarks after pres. of Cong. Medal of Honor to 14 officers and enlisted men of the Army (10/12/45)
  • PPF 1 – F Message to Congress on Universal Military Training del. to a joint Session (10/23/45)
  • PPF 1 – F Address in connection with the Commissioning of the U.S.S. Franklin D. Roosevelt (10/27/45)
  • PPF 1 – F Address on wages and prices (10/30/45)
  • PPF 1 – F Address at opening of the Labor Management Conference in the Labor Department Bldg. (11/5/45)
  • PPF 1 – F Address at the lighting of the community Christmas tree on the White House grounds (12/24/45)
  • PPF 1 – F Address of the President to the Nation (1/3/46)
  • PPF 1 – F Address in behalf of the Infantile Paralysis Drive (1/30/46)
  • PPF 1 – F Remarks to the Heads of Departments and Agencies and their Personnel Directors (2/9/46)
  • PPF 1 – F Address in connection with annual Red Cross War Fund Drive (3/1/46)
  • PPF 1 – F Address delivered at the Jackson Day Dinner, Mayflower Hotel (3/23/46)
  • PPF 1 – F Address delivered in connection with Army Day observances (4/6/46)
  • PPF 1 – F Address delivered on the anniversary of the death of FDR (4/12/46)
  • PPF 1 – F Address to the Governing Board of the Pan American Union (4/15/46)
  • PPF 1 – F Address to the Nation Concerning the world famine emergency (4/19/46)
  • PPF 1 – F Statement when buying 100 CARE packages to feed Europe’s hungry (5/7/46)
  • PPF 1 – F Address to the President’s Highway Safety Conference (5/8/46)
  • PPF 1 – F Address delivered at Fordham University (5/11/46)
  • PPF 1 – F Address to the Nation concerning the railroad strike (5/24/46)
  • PPF 1 – F Address delivered before a Joint Session of the Congress concerning the railroad strike (5/25/46)
  • PPF 1 – F Address to the Nation re: prices and veto of the price control bill (6/29/46)
  • PPF 1 – F Address to the Nation on the meat shortage and the general price stabilization program (10/14/46)
  • PPF 1 – F Address delivered at the opening of the General assembly of the United Nations (10/23/46)
  • PPF 1 – F Address delivered at lighting of the National Community Christmas Tree (12/24/46)

Box 15

  • PPF 1 – F Message to Joint Session of Congress on the State of the Union (1/6/47)
  • PPF 1 – F Address concerning the March of Dimes (1/30/47)
  • PPF 1 – F Toast to President-elect Tomas Berreta of Uruguay at the State Luncheon held in the State Dining Room (2/13/47)
  • PPF 1 – F Address in behalf of the 1947 Red Cross Campaign (2/28/47)
  • PPF 1 – F Address delivered in Mexico City at the Palacio National (3/3/47)
  • PPF 1 – F Address delivered at Baylor University upon receiving the degree of LLD (3/6/47)
  • PPF 1 – F Address to Joint Session of the Congress on aid to Greece and Turkey (3/12/47)
  • PPF 1 – F Address at the Jefferson Day Dinner Mayflower Hotel (4/5/47)
  • PPF 1 – F Address on the FDR Memorial program Muehlebach Hotel (4/12/47)
  • PPF 1 – F Remarks to the mgrs. of nat’l and state press & publishers assns. and repr. of the Presidents Highway Safety Conference (5/1/47)
  • PPF 1 – F Address and additional remarks at opening of the Fire Prevention Program, Dept. Auditorium (