Summary Information
Dick Thornburgh Papers, Series IV. Politics
AIS.1998.30.04
Thornburgh, Dick
1960s-1970s
4.38 linear feet
Language: English
Abstract: Dick Thornburgh's participation in rebuilding the Republican Party became pronounced after the 1964 presidential election, resulting in his article "The Republican Party in the City of Pittsburgh: A Tentative Analysis and Some Recommendations," available here online. Subsequently, Thornburgh was appointed to the GOP Platform Committee, became increasingly involved in political organizations, wrote other articles, and participated in many campaigns at the local and state levels. At the national level, Thornburgh was active with the John Lindsay campaigns for Congress and Mayor of New York, and Nelson Rockefeller's campaign for the presidential nomination in 1968. These varying campaign files provide an excellent look at politics of the time, particularly in Allegheny County. Those interested in campaigns of this period should also refer to "Campaign for U.S. Congress, 1966." The files here are in five sections: GOP Committees and Activities; Research and Notes on Politics; Campaigns; John Lindsay Campaigns; and Rockefeller for President. Digital reproductions of portions of the collection are available
online.
This finding aid is available on line as result of a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania grant to the University of Pittsburgh and with collaboration of the Archives Service Center and the Digital Research Library.
ULS Archives Service Center
University of Pittsburgh Library System
7500 Thomas Boulevard
Pittsburgh, PA, 15260
412-648-3232
archives-ref@mail.pitt.edu
June 30, 2004
Finding aid prepared by Nancy Watson
July 1, 2006:
Converted from EAD Version 1.0 to EAD Version 2002
Subject Terms
- Political corruption -- Pennsylvania
- Political corruption -- United States
- Urban renewal -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Pennsylvania -- Politics and government -- 1951-
- Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Politics and government
- Government
- Personal papers
- Politics
Access and Use
No restrictions.
Gift of Dick Thornburgh, February 27, 1998
Dick Thornburgh Papers, 1932- , AIS.1998.30, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh
This collection was processed by Nancy Watson, Curator of the Thornburgh Papers, Holly Mengel, Project Archivist, and a team of graduate students. Processing was made possible by a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 2002.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Holly Mengel in 2004. Information about the collection title and the controlled access terms was extracted from the MARC record in the University of Pittsburgh catalog Voyager ID number: 3608599
Permission for publication is given on behalf of the University of Pittsburgh as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Collection Inventory
Series IV. Politics, 1960s-1970s
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Scope and Content Notes: While interested in politics generally, it was after the 1964 presidential election when Lyndon Johnson (D) defeated Barry Goldwater (R) that Thornburgh's participation in rebuilding the Republican Party became pronounced. In his book,
Where the Evidence Leads, Thornburgh writes of a dinner party where his hostess responded to his political diatribe by suggesting that he "...do something about it." He states that "over the next six weeks, I undertook a crash course in Practical Politics 101, [and by] studying census tracts and election results, I constructed a fairly reliable political profile of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, the extent of my immediate horizon" (
Evidence, p. 22). These files are, in many ways, the documentary evidence of Thornburgh's research which resulted most notably in his article "The Republican Party in the City of Pittsburgh: A Tentative Analysis and Some Recommendations" which was circulated privately among local and state party leaders and is available here online.
Subsequently Thornburgh was appointed to the GOP Platform Committee, became increasingly involved in political organizations, wrote other articles, and participated in many campaigns at the local and state levels. At the national level, Thornburgh was active with the John Lindsay campaigns for Congress and Mayor of New York, and Nelson Rockefeller's team recruited Thornburgh as their Western Pennsylvania chairman in his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968. These varying campaign files provide an excellent look at politics of the time, particularly in Allegheny County.
Those interested in campaigns should also refer to the section entitled "Campaign for U.S. Congress, 1966." One of the results of all Thornburgh's research was this determined campaign for Congress that is well documented in the archive. His loss was not surprising, running against a strong Democrat incumbent, but the experience served well to stimulate him into increasing political activity, particularly the Lindsay and Rockefeller campaigns, more national in import. The Campaign for U.S. Congress falls in the same time frame as these "Politics" files, but the campaign files are in such quantity and depth that they have been arranged separately.
Researchers also should note the unavoidable overlaps in time and even some content with files in "Early Legal Career," "Pittsburgh Civic Activity," "Campaign for U.S. Congress," " Constitutional Convention," and "U.S. Attorney." For example, correspondence in one section may well pertain to issues or situations in another area and political activity is represented in the "Campaign for U.S. Congress" as well as more generally here. Also valuable, Ginny Thornburgh put together scrapbooks of Thornburgh's clippings that effectively document his increasingly public career and activities during these years. This valuable resource has been reformatted and is available in the archives (Section 21).
The "Politics" files are organized into five sections: "GOP Committees and Activities"; "Research and Notes on Politics"; "Campaigns"; "John Lindsay Campaigns"; and "Rockefeller for President."
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Subseries 1. GOP Committees and Activities
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Scope and Content Notes: The files here document the Republican committees and activities in which Thornburgh was involved in efforts to revitalize the party locally. The materials are arranged chronologically and consist of correspondence, annotated notes, minutes, memoranda, and reports. Included are two articles Thornburgh wrote about the Republican Party in Pittsburgh, both of which are available here online and indicative of Thornburgh's energetic participation in the political scene at the time.
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Box 17
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Political Correspondence 1964-1965
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Republican Platform Committee, Correspondence and Notes 1965
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Republican Research and Planning Corporation, Notes and Research 1965
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Proposed Allegheny County Republican Forum: draft memorandum by Dick Thornburgh and John Heinz, Co-chairmen of Committee December, 1965
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"The Republican Party in the City of Pittsburgh: A Tentative Analysis and Some Recommendations," by Richard L. Thornburgh 1965
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Republicans for Progress 1965-1967
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Ripon Society 1965-1974
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Political Correspondence 1966
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Allegheny Republican Council By-Laws, Correspondence, and Minutes 1966-1968
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Correspondence 1967
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Allegheny County Republican Party Rules Committee 1967
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Allegheny County Republican Research and Issues Committee: Memorandum, Correspondence, Notes, and Reports 1967
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Republican Executive Committee of Allegheny County 1967-1968
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Box 18
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14th Ward Republican Committee 1967-1971
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Political Correspondence 1968
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Pennsylvania Council of Republican Women 1968
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1968 Republican Convention, Programs, Schedules, and Memorabilia July-August, 1968
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Subseries 2. Research and Notes on Politics
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Scope and Content Notes: The files here successfully represent the political scene in Pittsburgh at the time, including several local campaigns and the state of Pittsburgh's finances and mayoral politics. Files are arranged chronologically and consist of annotated notes, newspaper clippings, reports, and news releases about Pittsburgh politics and issues. The news releases are available here online.
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Notes and research on statistical material regarding politics 1960-1965
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Research on the Republican Party 1964-1966
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Biographical information, notes, and clippings on Honorable Michael J. Musmanno 1964
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Thornburgh's research and notes on politics 1965
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"The State of Allegheny: The Republican Party in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County from 1930-1961," by H. Sheldon Parker 1965
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Republican Party in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, reports and notes 1965-1977
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Research on election reform matters 1967-1974
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Mayor Joseph Barr regarding Pittsburgh's financial crisis 1968
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News Releases regarding politics in Pittsburgh January, 1969
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Research and correspondence regarding elections and polls in Pennsylvania 1961-1972
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Information regarding Mayor Zoran Popovich 1972
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Observations on the Pennsylvania political scene 1972 and 1974
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Subseries 3. Campaigns
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Scope and Content Notes: The breadth and depth of Thornburgh's political participation is well documented in these numerous and various campaigns during the sixties and seventies. Many are local (Cohill for Judge, Bob Friend for Comptroller, Gary for Alderman, for example), some statewide (Scranton for Governor, Judge Hannum, State Senator Clark, and McGregor for State Senator, for example) and others national (Heinz for Senator, Eisenhower-Nixon, for example). These files consist of correspondence, annotated notes, and campaign material. There is also material about a potential Thornburgh Pittsburgh mayoral candidacy (1972).
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Section: Pittsburgh and Allegheny County
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Pittsburgh and Allegheny County political scene 1965
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Judge Maurice Cohill campaign management September-November, 1965
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Judge Cohill Campaign Correspondence July, 1965-January, 1966
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Bob Friend: Candidacy for Comptroller, Allegheny County 1967
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Algia Gary: Republican Candidate for Alderman, 13th Ward of Pittsburgh 1967
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Box 19
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Republican Party of Allegheny County, Richard Thornburgh, City Coordinator, Primary March, 1967
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Pittsburgh and Allegheny County Political Scene 1967-1968
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Political Party Campaign Mailings 1968
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Candidate Campaign Mailings 1968
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Pittsburgh and Allegheny County political scene 1969
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Campaign materials 1969
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Pittsburgh and Allegheny County political scene 1970
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Pittsburgh and Allegheny County political scene, Primary 1971
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Pittsburgh and Allegheny County political scene 1971
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Catarinella for Congress (14th Ward, Pittsburgh) ca. 1971
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Pittsburgh and Allegheny County political scene 1972
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Information generated in response to Thornburgh's potential Pittsburgh Mayoral candidacy 1972
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Pittsburgh and Allegheny County political scene 1973
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Section: Pennsylvania
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Citizens for Scranton-VanZandt, correspondence and notes June-November, 1962
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Citizens for Scranton-VanZandt, county citizens checklists 1962
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Senator Jack E. McGregor, correspondence 1965
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Judge John B. Hannum, Superior Court of Pennsylvania Campaign 1968
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U.S. Senate Campaign in Pennsylvania 1968
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Joseph S. Clark: Campaign for State Senator in Pennsylvania, campaign mailings 1968
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Richard Schweiker: U.S. Senate Campaign in Pennsylvania, campaign mailings 1968
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Jim McGregor: Campaign for State Senator 1970
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Jack McGregor: Campaign for PA Governor 1970
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John Heinz, U.S. Senate Campaign in Pennsylvania, correspondence, notes, and news releases 1976
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Section: National
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Eisenhower and Nixon, Presidential Campaign 1956
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Johnson and Goldwater, Presidential Campaign 1964
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Election '64: A Ripon Society Report 1965
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Subseries 4. John Lindsay Campaigns (Mayor and Congress)
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Scope and Content Notes: Thornburgh's interest in John Lindsay was due to "his rising stature as a symbol of moderate Republicanism," ("Evidence" draft, p. 91). Thornburgh had first heard him speak in Pittsburgh at a 1961 campaign rally for Pittsburgher John Tabor, then running for city council. Lindsay at the time was a U.S. Congressman and went on to a surprising victory in the New York mayoralty campaign in 1965. The files here consist of campaign material, correspondence, annotated newspaper and magazine clippings, statements and news releases.
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Box 20
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Campaign Material for Lindsay's Re-Election Campaigns for Congress 1962-1964
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Correspondence between Thornburgh and Lindsay 1963-1965
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Newspaper and Magazine Clippings about John Lindsay (annotated) 1964-1967
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Campaign Material for Lindsay's Campaign for Mayor of New York 1965
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Newspaper and Magazine Clippings regarding Lindsay's Campaign for Mayor of New York (annotated) 1965
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Lindsay's Statements and Press Releases 1967-1968
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Campaign Material for Lindsay's Re-Election Campaign for Mayor of New York 1969
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Magazine Articles Post Lindsay's Election to Mayor of New York 1965-1978
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Subseries 5. Rockefeller for President
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Scope and Content Notes: Shortly after Dick Thornburgh's participation in Pennsylvania's Constitutional Convention (see extensive files here in Section 6) the national political scene in 1968 included New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller's campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, contesting former Vice-President Nixon. The Rockefeller forces had recruited Thornburgh as their Western Pennsylvania chairman. These files are organized into the "Presidential Campaign Scene in 1968," "Campaign fact sheets, mailings and handouts" and "Western Pennsylvanians for Rockefeller for President." The material consists of reports, correspondence, campaign handouts, mailings, Rockefeller speeches, news releases, position papers, and annotated notes that together well represent national politics in action at the local level.
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Section: Presidential Campaign Scene in 1968
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"Metropolitan Areas and Key Counties in the Presidential Election of 1964," by the Republican National Committee June, 1965
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"Presidential '68," in Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report September 29, 1967
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Correspondence, Notes, and Clippings on 1968 Presidential Campaign 1968
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Humphrey for President, Campaign Mailings 1968
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Nixon for President, Campaign Mailings 1966-1968
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GOP Truth Squad Information for 1968 Presidential Campaign October, 1968
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McCarthy for President, Campaign Mailings 1968
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Wallace for President, Campaign Mailings 1968
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Section: Campaign Fact Sheets, Mailings and Handouts
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Fact Sheets and Information on Rockefeller 1964-1968
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Campaign Mailings 1968
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Media and Handouts 1968
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"News from Rockefeller for President" 1968
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Rockefeller's Speeches and Position Papers 1968
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Newspaper and Magazine Clippings 1968
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Section: Western Pennsylvanians for Rockefeller for President
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Pennsylvanians for Rockefeller News Releases 1968
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Western Pennsylvanians for Rockefeller News Releases May-August, 1968
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Western Pennsylvania for Rockefeller, Correspondence and Notes 1968
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Rockefeller for President Committee, Correspondence, News Releases, and Notes 1968
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Endorsements for Rockefeller 1968
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Anti-Rockefeller Correspondence 1968
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Letter from Rockefeller to Thornburgh June 11, 1968
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Campaign Correspondence 1967-1968
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"The Case for Nelson Rockefeller," by Dick Thornburgh 1968
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Campaign Headquarters Notes 1968
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Campaign Headquarters Staff and Volunteers 1968
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Young Republicans and Pennsylvania Students for Rockefeller, James Seif Correspondence and Notes 1968
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Resumes for Campaign Headquarters Staff 1968
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Campaign Supplies 1968
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