PRESIDENT FORD COMMITTEE RECORDS
Chairman's Office Files
The Chairman's Office Files provide
documentation of administrative, fiscal and strategic issues handled by Howard
(Bo) Callaway and his immediate staff from the formation of the election
committee in June 1975 until Callaway resigned in March 1976. These extant files do not reflect the
activities of Roger C.B. Morton, chairman from April to August 1976, and James
Baker, chairman during the general election campaign. The only material from the post-Callaway
period included in the Chairman's Office Files is a subject file maintained by
Edward DeBolt, counsellor
to all three chairmen.
President Ford appointed Callaway,
secretary of the Army and an active Georgia Republican, as PFC chairman in June
1975. He remained as head of the
Committee for eight months until charges that he had abused his office as Army
secretary for purposes of private gain resulted in a Justice Department
investigation and his resignation.
Rogers C.B. Morton left his White House position as counsellor
to the President to assume the Committee's leadership until the President won
the Republican nomination in August.
When Morton stepped aside citing poor health, James Baker replaced him
as chairman. Baker, who directed the PFC's delegate office before the convention, served as
chairman for the duration of the campaign.
The campaign chairman acted as the
chief executive officer of the campaign organization. He kept the President and his staff informed
about PFC activities, oversaw the development of a nationwide organization,
contributed to strategy development, coordinated fundraising activities, served
as a spokesman and representative for the President on campaign matters, acted
as liaison with the Republican National Committee, and had responsibility for
all major policy, program, personnel and budgetary matters.
Throughout the primary campaign, the
President Ford Committee experienced factional strife. The chairman's files document the Committee's
slow start with fundraising, several high-level staff resignations over policy
differences, problems with White House communication and coordination, and the
Reagan challenge. They also provide a
record of the Committee's exhaustive early efforts to build a national organization.
The extant files of the Chairman's
office, even for this early period, are not complete. They do not include Callaway's weekly written
reports to the President, his notes or agendas for high-level campaign
meetings, nor do they reflect input he may have had on strategy development. (See section on "Related
Material.")
The Callaway series include material
accumulated by the chairman and his assistants, Mimi Austin and Judy Harbaugh. The work
of Leo Thorsness, another of Callaway's assistants,
is not represented in the files. A third
series, the DeBolt Subject File, reflects the
activities of Edward DeBolt, a Republican political
consultant who acted as counsellor to all three
chairmen throughout the campaign. DeBolt handled the PFC's special
voter groups program, developing appeals to various racial and ethnic groups
during the primary campaign. His
extensive contacts with these groups, particularly blacks and Hispanics, are
reflected in the file. He had
miscellaneous administrative duties as well, although these are not as prominent
in the file as is the record of his political activity.
Related Material
(As of August 1991):
The White House files of Chief of
Staff Richard Cheney reflect aspects of the PFC chairman's work not documented
in the Chairman's Office Files. Cheney's
Files, for example, include a complete set of weekly reports prepared by
Callaway for the President. Callaway
recently donated a small collection of personal papers (less than one foot)
which reflect various aspects of his activity as chairman. This collection will
be processed and made available to researchers soon.
The White House Central Files
Subject File (PL - Political Affairs) and the PFC's
Political Office File include material on PFC state organizations and delegate
monitoring.
For material on appeals to special
voter groups during the general election campaign, the researcher should
consult the files of People for Ford, the volunteer arm of the PFC.
The Records of the President Ford
Committee do not include files accumulated by Rogers C.B. Morton or James Baker
during their tenure as chairmen.
Portions of the Rogers Morton Papers, housed at the
A1-A4 Chairman's
Office: Callaway Subject File, 1975-76.
(1.6 linear feet)
Memoranda, correspondence, strategy
papers, agendas, schedule proposals, clippings, and printed material compiled
by Callaway and his assistants, Mimi Austin and Judy Harbaugh. Prominent topics include early organizational
efforts at the national and state level, liaison with White House staff,
administrative and personnel matters, support for the President among members
of Congress, and campaign finance. Included
in several folders is material created by Bryce Harlow, an informal advisor to
the President, during the period before the President formally announced his
candidacy.
Arranged
alphabetically by subject.
A5-A10 Chairman's
Office:
Memoranda, correspondence, reports,
press releases, resumes, strategy papers, itineraries, and schedule proposals
compiled by Callaway and his assistants, Mimi Austin and Judy Harbaugh. Political
Office staff and state PFC officials created most of the material filed in this
series. The materials concern such
topics as: state Republican party organizations, the selection and approval of
PFC state executive and finance chairmen, rules governing delegate selection,
and reports concerning the activities of local PFC organizations. Many files include "memos for the
record" drafted by Callaway. Some
files include documentation on issues of concern in various states, such as
common situs picketing, activities of the First Lady,
taxes, and energy.
Arranged alphabetically
by state.
A11-A15 Chairman's
Office: DeBolt Subject File, 1975-76. (2.0 linear feet)
Memoranda,
correspondence, notes, lists of names, agendas, schedule proposals, clippings,
and printed material compiled by Edward DeBolt, counsellor to the chairman.
A major portion of the file documents efforts during the primary
campaign to appeal to special voter groups, especially blacks and
Hispanics. Other topics include liaison
with the Republican National Committee and miscellaneous PFC administrative
matters such as personnel and budget.
Arranged
alphabetically by subject.
A1 Chairman's Office: Callaway Subject File
Advertising
Advisory
Committee
Bandouveris, Harry
Bennett, Doug
Black Voters
Budget
Burch, Dean
Cabinet
Involvement
Campaign
Strategy, April 1975
Campaign
Strategy, August 1975 (1)-(3)
Cheney, Richard
Christmas Card
List ‑ White House
College Young
Republicans
Congressional
Support (1)-(2)
A2 Chairman's Office: Callaway Subject File
Convention
Planning
Delegate Selection
Information
Domestic Issues
Finance (1)-(3)
Flanigan, Robert
Ford, Betty
Former
Congressmen
Gorog, William
Greener, William
Grenier, John
Gubernatorial
Support
Harlow, Bryce
Insurance
Jones, Jerry
Ladd, Bruce
Legal Matters
Mayoral Support
Meetings: PFC
Leadership,
Meetings:
Republican National Committee, 9/6‑8/75
Meetings: PFC
Leadership,
Meetings:
Republican National Committee,
A3 Chairman's Office: Callaway Subject File
Meetings:
National Federation of Republican Women, 9/11‑13/75
Meetings:
Republican Leadership Conference, 9/19‑21/75
Meetings:
Hispanic Leaders,
Meetings:
Western States Republican Conference, 10/2‑4/75
Meetings:
Advisory Committee,
Meetings:
Council of 100,
Meetings:
Federation of Republican Women,
Meetings:
Republican Governors Conference, 11/20‑22/75
Meetings:
Southern States Republican Conference, 12/12‑13/75
Meetings: State
Chairmen,
Meetings:
Meetings:
Members of Congress,
National
Federation of Republican Women
Nessen, Ron
Nicholson,
William
Nunn, Lee
Organizational
Issues
Personnel
Polling
Presidential
Spokesmen
Press/Media
(1)-(2)
A4 Chairman's Office: Callaway Subject File
Reagan, Ronald
Republican
Congressional Committee
Republican
Governors Conference
Republican
National Committee
Republican
National Hispanic Assembly
Research (1)-(3)
Rockefeller,
Nelson
Rumsfeld, Donald
Slight, Fred
Special
Interests Groups
Spencer, Stu
Staff Lists
Timmons, William
Voting Rights
Bill
White House
Invitations (1)-(3)
Young Republican
Leadership Conference
A5 Chairman's Office:
A6 Chairman's Office:
A7 Chairman's Office:
A8 Chairman's Office:
A9 Chairman's Office:
A10 Chairman's Office:
A11 Chairman's Office: DeBolt
Subject File
Advertising
American Voters
Abroad
Asians
Athletes
Blacks (1)-(4)
Blacks ‑
Job Applications (1)-(2)
A12 Chairman's Office: DeBolt
Subject File
Blacks ‑
Name Lists (1)-(4)
Blacks ‑
Voting Background (1)-(4)
A13 Chairman's Office: DeBolt
Subject File
Business and
Professional Groups
Campaign
Brochures
Campaign Reporting
System
Cuban
Delegate
Tracking Operation
Eastern
Europeans
Ethnics (1)-(2)
Ethnic Leaders
Ethnic
Leadership Meeting,
Ethnic Program ‑
1972
Greek
Hispanic (1)-(2)
Hispanic ‑
Job Applicants
A14 Chairman's Office: DeBolt
Subject File
Hispanic ‑
Name Lists (1)-(3)
Hispanic ‑
Presidential Meeting,
Jewish
Legal Matters
National
Republican Heritage Groups Council
Older Americans
Republican
National Committee ‑ Absentee Ballot Information (1)-(2)
Republican
National Committee ‑ State Reports (1)-(2)
A15 Chairman's Office: DeBolt
Subject File
Republican
National Committee ‑ State Reports (3)
Republican
National Committee Task Force
Special Voter
Groups
Special Voter
Groups ‑ Mailings
Staff Memoranda ‑
Baker, James
Staff Memoranda ‑
Callaway, Bo
Staff Memoranda ‑
Hughes,
Staff Memoranda ‑
Marik, Robert
Staff Memoranda ‑
Peterson, Elly
Staff Memoranda ‑
Spencer, Stu
Staff Memoranda ‑
Veterans
White House
Contacts
Youth