COLLECTION FINDING AID



ROBERT HARTMANN FILES, 1974-77

Counsellor to the President



CONTENTS

Summary Description | Biographical Information | Introduction | Series Descriptions | Container List

View digital copies of documents in the General Subject File and Political Subject File Series


SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Hartmann, a senior adviser to the President, oversaw the work of the White House Editorial Staff and White House liaison with Republican Party organizations. His files concern the drafting of presidential speeches, statements, messages, and correspondence; political affairs, especially Republican Party liaison and the 1976 presidential election; presidential appointments to federal government positions; the appointment of a new Vice President in 1974; and a wide variety of issues.

QUANTITY
38.4 linear feet (ca. 76,800 pages)

DONOR
Gerald R. Ford (accession numbers 77-63, 77-107)

ACCESS
Open. Some items are temporarily restricted under terms of the donor's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request, or under National Archives and Records Administration general restrictions (36 CFR 1256).

COPYRIGHT
Gerald R. Ford donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.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 William McNitt, February 1984
[s:\bin\findaid\hartmann, robert - files.doc]


BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION


Robert Trowbridge Hartmann


1917 - Born, Rapid City, South Dakota

1938 - B.A., Stanford University

1939-41 - Reporter, Los Angeles Times

1941-45 - Ensign, U.S. Naval Reserve; served in Pacific operations in public relations and press censor posts; ordered to inactive duty as Lt. Commander

1945-54 - Reporter, editorial and special feature writer, Los Angeles Times

1954-63 - Washington bureau chief, Los Angeles Times

1963-64 - Middle East and Mediterranean bureau chief, Los Angeles Times

1964-65 - Information adviser, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

1966-69 - Editor, Republican Conference, U.S. House of Representatives

1968 and 1972 - Assistant to permanent chairman Gerald R. Ford, Republican National Convention

1969-73 - Minority Sergeant-at-Arms and Legislative Assistant to the Minority Leader (Gerald R. Ford), U.S. House of Representatives

1973-74 - Chief of Staff to Vice President Gerald R. Ford

1974-77 - Counsellor to the President, The White House

1980 - Author, Palace Politics: An Inside Account of the Ford Years

2008 - Died, Washington, D.C.


INTRODUCTION

Discussed below under separate headings are: Robert Hartmann's role in the Ford White House, the scope and content of the Hartmann files, and related collections at the Ford Library.

Hartmann's Role in the Ford White House
Gerald R. Ford appointed his long-time aide Robert Hartmann as Counsellor to the President (with Cabinet status) as one of the first official acts of his Presidency. In this position Hartmann's main responsibility was to supervise the White House Office of Editorial Staff in the preparation of presidential speeches, statements, messages, and correspondence. He was also responsible for White House liaison with Republican Party organizations and advised President Ford on a wide variety of matters that went beyond his formal duties.

In the early months of the Ford administration Hartmann continued to draft a number of President Ford's speeches, as he had done for several years, but as time passed he did less speechwriting (except for a few major addresses) and concentrated on his other duties. Although Paul Theis and then Robert Orben headed the day-to-day work of the Office of Editorial Staff, Hartmann supervised the work and often edited material prepared by that office.

After Dean Burch left the White House in 1974, Hartmann became responsible for White House liaison with the Republican Party and various Republican organizations. Burch's aide Gwen Anderson joined Hartmann's staff to assist with these duties. During 1975 John Calkins also assisted Hartmann with political matters. While Hartmann and Anderson continued to handle liaison with the Republican Party in 1976, they did not play a key role in the campaign. Richard Cheney and his staff in the White House Operations Office handled most of the campaign work, including liaison with the President Ford Committee. With the exception of the President's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, Hartmann did not write any campaign speeches. The Office of Editorial Staff and David Gergen of the Press Secretary's Office were responsible for most campaign speeches.

In his role as an adviser to the President, Hartmann spent a considerable amount of time in the Oval Office assisting the President and attending meetings with various groups and individuals, regularly attended Cabinet meetings, and received copies of White House staff and federal agency memoranda to the President for his input or editing before they were submitted to the President.

Scope and Content of the Hartmann Files
The Hartmann collection is strongest on speechwriting, the administration of the Office of Editorial Staff, political affairs, the selection of a new Vice President in 1974, personnel matters, and his editing or input on documents submitted to the President.

Hartmann's materials on speechwriting include case files on most, but not all, of the speeches and statements that he drafted for the President. Memoranda and multiple drafts appear for the Bicentennial speeches, the Republican Convention acceptance speech, and the 1977 State of the Union address. Smaller, but often significant, amounts of material appear for other speeches. Some major speeches, such as the 1975 and 1976 State of the Union addresses, are not represented.

The collection also documents the administration of the Office of Editorial Staff, including reports on speechwriting, message, and correspondence activity; schedules; and memoranda exchanged between Hartmann and Theis, Orben, or their staff. There are but few speech drafts by Hartmann's staff, the exceptions occurring when Hartmann took over the drafting of a speech and used another speechwriter's draft as a basis for his own work.

Hartmann's political files concern both his own work and the work of his assistants Gwen Anderson and John Calkins. Included is material on President Ford's activities in the 1974 congressional and gubernatorial campaigns, ongoing liaison with the Republican National Committee and other Republican organizations, and the 1976 presidential campaign. Although Hartmann handled some aspects of political affairs for most of the administration, White House Chief of Staff Richard Cheney had primary responsibility for White House liaison with the President Ford Committee. Hartmann's materials on the campaign relate to the drafting or editing of speeches and statements (especially the Republican Convention acceptance speech), his contacts (mostly routine) with the President Ford Committee, and documents received from Republican officials with whom he had long-time working relationships.

One special assignment which generated a significant file was to compile and report to the President on all suggestions from members of Congress, governors, the Cabinet, and others concerning the nomination of a new Vice President in August 1974. Hartmann's files contain the original incoming letters from these officials, along with tabulations and related documents.

Included in the collection are large files of documents submitted to Hartmann for his clearance and/or editing by the Domestic Council, National Security Council, White House Staff Secretary, and Presidential Personnel Office. While many of these bear only routine comments by Hartmann or his staff, some contain extensive editing or comments.

Since Hartmann was a long-time aide to Gerald Ford and had frequent access to the President, much of his advice on specific actions and issues may have been submitted orally rather than in writing. Much of the material on specific issues is routine in nature and duplicates materials found in other collections.

Related Materials (May 1987)
Other available collections on speechwriting include White House Central Files category SP (Speeches), the files of Paul Theis and Robert Orben of the Editorial Staff and David Gergen of the Press Secretary's Office, and the Reading Copies of Presidential Speeches.

The files of Hartmann's aides Gwen Anderson and John Calkins, the Dean Burch files, and White House Central Files category PL concern White House liaison with Republican Party organizations. Collections concerning the 1976 presidential campaign are listed on the Ford Library handout "The 1976 Presidential Campaign: A Guide to Manuscript Collections Available for Research."

Other material on the nomination of a new Vice President in 1974 appears in White House Central Files categories FG 38 and FG 38/A.

Hartmann's files from his work as an aide to Gerald Ford prior to August 1974 appear in the Ford congressional and vice presidential papers. Hartmann has donated some additional materials concerning his career to the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Hartmann's association with Gerald Ford is recounted in his 1980 memoir Palace Politics: An Inside Account of the Ford Years.


SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Presidential Speeches and Statements, 1974-77.  (Boxes 1-8, 3.2 linear feet)
Case files on presidential speeches containing drafts by Hartmann and other speechwriters; memoranda from the White House staff and others including suggestions on theme and contents or comments on drafts; and briefing papers and background information. Included are files on several speeches per month for the first seven months of the administration, but only scattered ones thereafter. Occasional changes in President Ford's handwriting appear on the drafts of some of the important speeches. Scattered speech drafts and other materials on the speechwriting process also appear in the General Subject File.

Arranged chronologically by the date of the speech.

View container list for this series

General Subject File, 1974-77.  (Boxes 9-23, 6.0 linear feet)
Memoranda exchanged between Hartmann and the President, White House staff, or departmental and agency officials; reports; briefing materials; speeches and speech drafts; messages; schedules; press releases; and occasional correspondence and clippings. One major focus of this series is the speechwriting process and the Hartmann's oversight of the White House Editorial Staff. Another important focus is the selection of an new Vice President in August 1974. Materials on economic and energy matters are abundant, but documents tend to be few and/or routine on other topics such as the Bicentennial, federal budget, appointments to government positions, and presidential trips.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

View digital copies of the documents in this series

Political Subject File, 1974-77.  (Boxes 24-29, 2.4 linear feet)
Memoranda and correspondence between Hartmann and the President, White House staff, Republican Party officials, or President Ford Committee officials; reports; schedules; speeches; briefing papers; and publications. This series concerns White House liaison with Republican organizations, the 1976 presidential campaign, President Ford's activities in the 1974 congressional and gubernatorial campaigns, campaign trips, fundraising, and other political matters.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

View digital copies of the documents in this series

Survey Research Program File, Oct. 1974-Apr. 1975.  (Boxes 30-35, 2.4 linear feet)
Polling data and correspondence relating to a January 1975 proposal for a White House contract with Decision Making Information, Inc. (headed by Richard B. Wirthlin) to establish an ongoing White House program to survey changes in public opinion. The series includes results from two national surveys and five local surveys, the latter concerning changes in perceptions of President Ford and his programs after presidential visits to those locales. The major focus of these surveys was on issues, especially economic and energy questions, rather than on politics. After a brief test of the program it was apparently discontinued as no materials from a later period have been discovered.

Arranged alphabetically by survey title.

View container list for this series

White House Memoranda, 1974-77. (Boxes 36-42, 2.8 linear feet)
Memoranda exchanged between Hartmann and the President, Vice President, or White House staff on a wide variety of matters. Topics frequently discussed include: presidential speeches and messages, scheduling and trips, political affairs (including the 1976 campaign), and appointments to government positions. Large files of memoranda exchanged by Hartmann with his own staff are included.

Arranged alphabetically by name. Memoranda exchanged with junior members of the White House staff are often filed under the name of the head of their office.

View container list for this series

General Correspondence, 1974-77.  (Boxes 43-54, 4.8 linear feet)
Correspondence exchanged between Hartmann and government officials, Republican leaders, businessmen, friends, and the general public on a variety of matters. While small amounts of material on a variety of issues appear scattered throughout the series, one of the most common topics is political affairs, especially the 1976 presidential campaign.

Arranged alphabetically, with correspondents who wrote frequently having their own separate case files.

View container list for this series

Domestic Council Memoranda, Nov. 1974-Jan. 1977.  (Boxes 55-72, 7.2 linear feet)
Copies of Domestic Council memoranda circulated to senior White House staff members for comment and editing before being submitted to the President. Included are enrolled bill and resolution reports; proposed budget and appropriations requests and budget rescissions; and drafts of decision memoranda, signing and veto statements, proclamations, proposed legislation, executive orders, messages to Congress, policy statements, and occasional letters and memoranda. Many documents contain evidence of editing by Hartmann or his staff or reflect the work of the Editorial Staff's research office in checking for factual accuracy.

Arranged chronologically.

View container list for this series

National Security Council Memoranda, Feb. 1976-Jan. 1977.  (Boxes 73-75, 1.0 linear feet)
Drafts of outgoing head of state and head of government correspondence along with scattered drafts of messages to Congress concerning international agreements and drafts of letters to American citizens concerning foreign policy and defense matters. The NSC submitted these drafts to Hartmann for his editing. While some of the head of state correspondence is substantive, the bulk consists of routine messages concerning birthdays, national day celebrations, or the American Bicentennial celebration.

Arranged chronologically.

View container list for this series

Staff Secretary Memoranda, 1974-77.  (Boxes 75-77, 1.0 linear feet)
Copies of draft memoranda circulated to senior White House staff members for comment and editing prior to being submitted to the President. They relate in part to issues and legislation, but more frequently concern presidential decisions on administrative matters, issuance of Executive orders, proposed studies, approval of staff projects, decisions on presentation of medals and awards, and proposed letters. Nearly half of the documents in this sequence were drafted by the Office of Management and Budget.

Arranged chronologically.

View container list for this series

Personnel Decision Memoranda, 1974-76.  (Boxes 78-89, 4.8 linear feet)
Hartmann's copies of decision memoranda drafted by the Presidential Personnel Office and circulated to the White House senior staff for comments. Most of these documents bear annotations by Hartmann or one of his assistants, but such notes are usually brief (often "No comment" or "OK"). The memoranda concern the appointment of department and agency officials, federal judges, U.S. attorneys and marshals, and appointments to advisory councils, delegations, boards, and commissions.

Arranged chronologically.

View container list for this series

Personnel Correspondence, 1968-1976.  (Boxes 90-93, 1.6 linear feet)
Correspondence between Hartmann and persons seeking positions in the White House or the federal departments, agencies, boards, and commissions. Much of the material in this series actually dates from Gerald Ford's congressional and vice presidential service, but Hartmann's staff continued to add some material throughout the Ford presidency.

Arranged alphabetically.

View container list for this series

Speechwriter Job Applications, 1974-76. (Boxes 94-96, 1.2 linear feet)
Case files containing correspondence, resumes, and writing samples from persons interested in joining the speechwriting staff. While material from throughout the administration is included, many of the applications date from the early months of 1976 when several new speechwriters were sought and hired.

Arranged alphabetically by name of the applicant.

View container list for this series


CONTAINER LIST

Box 1 - Presidential Speeches and Statements

Box 2 - Presidential Speeches and Statements

Box 3 - Presidential Speeches and Statements

Box 4 - Presidential Speeches and Statements

Box 5 - Presidential Speeches and Statements

Box 6 - Presidential Speeches and Statements

Box 7 - Presidential Speeches and Statements

Box 8 - Presidential Speeches and Statements

Box 9 - General Subject File

Box 10 - General Subject File

Box 11 - General Subject File

Box 12 - General Subject File

Box 13 - General Subject File

Box 14 - General Subject File

Box 15 - General Subject File

Box 16 - General Subject File

Box 17 - General Subject File

Box 18 - General Subject File

Box 19 - General Subject File

Box 20 - General Subject File

Box 21 - General Subject File

Box 22 - General Subject File

Box 23 - General Subject File

Box 24 - Political Subject File

Box 25 - Political Subject File

Box 26 - Political Subject File

Box 27 - Political Subject File

Box 28 - Political Subject File

Box 29 - Political Subject File

Box 30 - Survey Research Program File

Box 31 - Survey Research Program File

Box 32 - Survey Research Program File

Box 33 - Survey Research Program File

Box 34 - Survey Research Program File

Box 35 - Survey Research Program File

Box 36 - White House Memoranda

Box 37 - White House Memoranda

Box 38 - White House Memoranda

Box 39 - White House Memoranda

Box 40 - White House Memoranda

Box 41 - White House Memoranda

Box 42 - White House Memoranda

Box 43 - General Correspondence

Box 44 - General Correspondence

Box 45 - General Correspondence

Box 46 - General Correspondence

Box 47 - General Correspondence

Box 48 - General Correspondence

Box 49 - General Correspondence

Box 50 - General Correspondence

Box 51 - General Correspondence

Box 52 - General Correspondence

Box 53 - General Correspondence

Box 54 - General Correspondence

Box 55 - Domestic Council Memoranda

Box 56 - Domestic Council Memoranda

Box 57 - Domestic Council Memoranda

Box 58 - Domestic Council Memoranda

Box 59 - Domestic Council Memoranda

Box 60 - Domestic Council Memoranda

Box 61 - Domestic Council Memoranda

Box 62 - Domestic Council Memoranda

Box 63 - Domestic Council Memoranda

Box 64 - Domestic Council Memoranda

Box 65 - Domestic Council Memoranda

Box 66 - Domestic Council Memoranda

Box 67 - Domestic Council Memoranda

Box 68 - Domestic Council Memoranda

Box 69 - Domestic Council Memoranda

Box 70 - Domestic Council Memoranda

Box 71 - Domestic Council Memoranda

Box 72 - Domestic Council Memoranda

Box 73 - National Security Council Memoranda

Box 74 - National Security Council Memoranda

Box 75 - National Security Council Memoranda

Box 75 (Continued) - Staff Secretary Memoranda

Box 76 - Staff Secretary Memoranda

Box 77 - Staff Secretary Memoranda

Box 78 - Personnel Decision Memoranda

Box 79 - Personnel Decision Memoranda

Box 80 - Personnel Decision Memoranda

Box 81 - Personnel Decision Memoranda

Box 82 - Personnel Decision Memoranda

Box 83 - Personnel Decision Memoranda

Box 84 - Personnel Decision Memoranda

Box 85 - Personnel Decision Memoranda

Box 86 - Personnel Decision Memoranda

Box 87 - Personnel Decision Memoranda

Box 88 - Personnel Decision Memoranda

Box 89 - Personnel Decision Memoranda

Box 90 - Personnel Correspondence

Box 91 - Personnel Correspondence

Box 92 - Personnel Correspondence

Box 93 - Personnel Correspondence

Box 94 - Speechwriter Job Applications

Box 95 - Speechwriter Job Applications

Box 96 - Speechwriter Job Applications