SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Materials documenting Anderson's activities as convention director for the President Ford Committee. President Ford's annotated original reading copy of his nomination acceptance speech to the Republican National Convention is the collection highlight. Other files concern convention scheduling, communications, staff assignments, budget, security, space allocation, and liaison with the White House staff and the Republican National Committee.

QUANTITY
0.8 linear feet (ca. 1,600 pages)

DONOR
Stanton D. Anderson (accession numbers 1991-NLF-059 and 2007-NLF-033)

ACCESS
Open.

COPYRIGHT
Stanton D. Anderson donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain.

Prepared by Leesa Tobin, August 1992; revised by William McNitt, June 2012
[s:\bin\findaid\anderson, stanton - papers.doc]

INTRODUCTION

Stanton D. Anderson, an international lawyer, long-time Republican political activist, and White House staff member during the Nixon administration, was the President Ford Committee's (PFC) convention operations director in 1976. He was the PFC's principal liaison with the Republican National Committee during planning of the party's national convention in Kansas City in August 1976. Anderson was also in charge of logistical planning for all PFC activities at the convention. The Stanton Anderson Papers provide partial documentation of his activities in this position.

Anderson had previous experience coordinating Republican conventions. In 1972 he handled the scheduling operation for William Timmons, President Nixon's convention director. Although some printed materials from the 1972 Republican Convention appear in this file, Anderson's 1972 convention activities as Timmons' deputy are not represented in the collection. The bulk of the collection dates from December 1975 through the convention in August 1976. For a larger and somewhat more complete record of Anderson's PFC activities, researchers should examine the Convention Office File, a part of the President Ford Committee Records, Administrative Office File.

The Anderson Papers reflect his responsibility for planning and coordinating PFC activities during the convention which were not related directly to garnering delegate support. James Baker handled the PFC's delegate operation, a responsibility he had held since May 1976. Anderson's convention responsibilities fell into three broad categories--logistics, the President's schedule, and scheduling auxiliary events and the appearances of other campaign principals.

Logistical planning included arranging for hotel and office accommodations; developing a complex security system at the PFC's on-site headquarters; securing telephones, rented cars and air charter tickets; assigning persons to particular duties; and planning the PFC's command center in a trailer outside the convention site. Anderson also worked closely with White House schedulers to coordinate the President's many convention appearances, as well as those of the First Lady and the President's children. 

These extant files provide some insight into the complexity and political maneuvering associated with a national party conventionHowever, this collection does not document strategic decisions concerning how President Ford intended to win the party's nomination on the convention floor.

Related Materials (August 1992)
Additional files accumulated by Stanton Anderson and his assistants are in the Administrative Office Files (B15 - B17) of the President Ford Committee Records. The PFC Records also include the files of James Baker's delegate operation (J1 - J15). Information concerning other aspects of the 1976 Republican National Convention is scattered throughout many White House staff files and various categories of the White House Central Files Subject File. Researchers are encouraged to request a PRESNET search for extensive additional citations.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Subject File, (1972) 1975-76 (Boxes 1-2, 0.8 linear feet)
Memoranda, correspondence, lists, handwritten notes, schedules, printed material, and staffing diagrams accumulated by Stanton Anderson during planning for the PFC's participation in the 1976 Republican National Convention in Kansas City. The file partially documents the selection of a headquarters site, staff and delegate housing arrangements, security, communications, facilities rental, and participation of the President and First Family in convention events. Also included are occasional printed materials from the 1972 Republican National Convention.

View container list for this series

CONTAINER LIST

Box 1 - Subject File

Box 2 - Subject File