Civil Rights during the Carter Administration, 1977-1981
James Earl (Jimmy) Carter’s Presidency marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education. Nevertheless, as this collection underscores, there was still much to be done in the way of addressing civil rights issues. The documents in Part 1: Papers of the Special Assistant for Black Affairs, were collected by the office of Louis E. Martin, special assistant to the President. While focusing on African Americans, this collection also contains material relating to civil rights issues facing Hispanics, Native Americans and women. Three broad topics are covered: economic problems, social issues and White House politics. Key figures who appear in the collection include Carter; Vice President Walter F. Mondale; Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall; administration officials such as National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, Chief of Staff William Hamilton Jordan, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and later Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare Patricia R. Harris, Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young; Congressmen Walter E. Fauntroy and Charles B. Rangel; civil rights leaders such as Benjamin Hooks, Jesse L. Jackson, Vernon E. Jordan and Coretta Scott King; and celebrities like Muhammad Ali. This collection provides fascinating insight into the continuing struggle to ensure equal rights for all Americans and demonstrates that the Carter administration oversaw solid, if unspectacular, advances in the field of civil rights.
FINDING AID: Part 1: Papers of the Special Assistant for Black Affairs, Section A, 28 Reels
FINDING AID: Part 1: Papers of the Special Assistant for Black Affairs, Section B, 21 Reels
FINDING AID: Part 1: Papers of the Special Assistant for Black Affairs, Section C, 20 Reels
FINDING AID: Part 1: Papers of the Special Assistant for Black Affairs, Section D
Jimmy Carter and Foreign Affairs, 1977-1981
This collection offers a unique, internal perspective on the Carter administration’s foreign policy-making. It covers all the most important issues of the era, including the negotiations leading to the Camp David accords, the development of the Iran hostage crisis, several analyses on the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, studies on NATO policies and on the restructuring of its nuclear posture in Europe, the US involvement in and commitment to SALT II and Human Rights, and the evolution of bilateral relations with China.
The nature of these documents is varied. They include memoranda and internal cables, telegrams, presidential correspondence, official reports, as well as briefing books for conferences, international treaties, and ambassadorial appointments.
The first part of the collection is organized geographically and mainly offers an overview of US’ consular and formal diplomatic relations. Reel 10 to 29 mostly focus on technical matters such as waterway regulations, offshore fishing rights, boundary disputes, and economic development programs. Financial relations, trade exchanges, public and cultural diplomacy, international conferences and treaties are the subjects of the last part of the collection.
FINDING AID: Part 1: White House Central Files. Section 1: Foreign Affairs Subjet File, 46 reels