SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

A draft of Edward and Frederick Schapsmeier’s book, Gerald R. Ford’s Date With Destiny: A Political Biography (New York: Peter Lang, 1989), with handwritten annotations by President Ford.

QUANTITY
0.4 linear feet (ca. 700 pages)

DONOR
Edward L. Schapsmeier (accession number 2001-017)

ACCESS
Open.

COPYRIGHT
Mr. Edward Schapsmeier has not donated or transferred his copyrights to the materials, and they are presumed to remain with the author. 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.

Joshua D. Cochran, June 2004
[s:\bin\findaid\schapsmeier - papers.doc]

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Edward L. Schapsmeier

Feb. 8, 1927 - Born, Council Bluffs, Iowa

1949 - B.S., Concordia Teacher’s College, Seward, Nebraska

1952 - M.S., University of Nebraska

1954-64 - Public School Teacher, Hawthorne, California

1964-1965 - Lecturer, University of Southern California

1965 - Ph.D., University of Southern California

1965-1966 - Instructor in History, Ohio State University

1966 -? - Associate Professor, and later Professor of History, Illinois State University

Frederick H. Schapsmeier

Feb. 8, 1927 - Born, Council Bluffs, Iowa

1949 - B.S., Concordia Teacher’s College, Seward, Nebraska

1953 - M.S., University of Nebraska

1954-1962 - Public School Teacher and Principal, Omaha, Nebraska and Glendale, California

1963-1964 - Lecturer, University of Southern California

1964-1965 - Assistant Professor of History, University of Southern California

1965 - Ph.D., University of Southern California

1965 -? - Associate Professor and later Professor of History, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh

INTRODUCTION

Political historians, Edward and Frederick Schapsmeier, have co-authored several works on politicians of the twentieth century including books on Illinois Senator Everett Dirksen, journalist Walter Lippman, and Vice-President Henry Wallace. In 1987 they drafted a biography of President Ford and submitted it to him for comments and corrections. President Ford made several emendations in pencil. They mostly reflect corrections to factual material and consist of little commentary by President Ford on the detailed events that the Schapsmeiers narrate. Some revisions were incorporated into the text and appeared in the final published version of Gerald R. Ford’s Date With Destiny: A Political Biography, published by Peter Lang Publishers in 1989.

President Ford has commented on pages: 10, 17, 18, 19, 21, 28, 32, 34, 39, 42, 44, 48, 53, 54, 57, 77, 87, 153, 165, 240, 242, 273, 310, 317, 332, 335, 365, 376, 387, 395, 396, 398, 403, 406, 412, 413, and 421.

Related Materials (June 2004)
For a comparison between the original draft and the final work, a published copy of the Schapsmeiers’ Gerald R. Ford’s Date With Destiny: A Political Biography can be found in the Library holdings. In addition, the Library has three other works written by the Schapsmeiers about President Ford, A Time to Heal: Gerald Ford and Lincoln Legacy, President Gerald R. Ford’s Roots in Omaha, and Gerald R. Ford and Vietnam: His Views as House Minority Leader. Other notable biographies on the life of President Ford in the Library’s collection include President Ford’s autobiography, A Time to Heal (New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1979), and James Cannon’s Time and Chance: Gerald Ford’s Appointment with History (New York: Harper Collins, 1994).

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Edward L. and Frederick H. Schapsmeier, Gerald R. Ford’s Date With Destiny: A Political Biography. (Box 1, 0.4 linear feet)
Complete draft of the biography, Gerald R. Ford’s Date With Destiny: A Political Biography, by Edward and Frederick Schapsmeier, with handwritten annotations by President Ford.

CONTAINER LIST

Box 1 - Edward L. and Frederick H. Schapsmeier, Gerald R. Ford’s Date With Destiny: A Political Biography.

• Letter from President Ford to Edward Schapsmeier – 8/21/1987
• Title Page/Prefatory Pages—Date With Destiny
• Chapter I- “The Formative Years: Growing Up in Grand Rapids”
• Chapter II- “The Home Front: Entering the Political Arena”
• Chapter III- “Membership in the House of Representatives: Years of Apprenticeship”
• Chapter IV- “The Eisenhower Years: Moving Up the Political Ladder”
• Chapter V- “Ford as GOP Minority Leader: Leading the Loyal Opposition Against LBJ”
• Chapter VI- “The Nixon Years: Ford’s Role as Administration Leader in the House of Representatives”
• Chapter VII-“The First Non-elected Vice-President: Watching the Watergate Scandal Unravel”
• Chapter VIII- “The Ford Presidency: Healing the Wounds of the Post-Watergate Period”
• Chapter IX- “The Reagan Challenge: Winning the 1976 GOP Presidential Nomination”
• Chapter X- “The Last Hurrah: The Unsuccessful Presidential Campaign of 1976”
• Chapter XI- “The Post-Presidential Years: Always the Activist”
• Epilogue
• Endnotes, Chapters I-VI
• Endnotes, Chapters VII-Epilogue
• Select Bibliography