Politics and Government Resources in Special Collections & Archives

George Evans (1797-1867; Bowdoin 1815) was a lawyer, politician and member of the Whig Party, serving in the Maine House of Representatives, the US House of Representatives, the US Senate (until his defeat in the election of 1846 at the hands of James W. Bradbury, Bowdoin 1825, and as Maine's Attorney General. The collection contains approximately 100 letters written by George Evans, chiefly to his wife Anna, from 1829 to 1840 while Evans was serving in the US House of Representatives for Maine's 4th District. The letters describe political activities in Washington and his meetings including several with Indigenous Americans and events at the White House. He talks about the debates and gives descriptions of the various players. Several letters deal with Mrs. Eaton and the Petticoat Affair. There are references to home life and politics in Maine.

Bradbury (1802-1901, Bowdoin 1825) practiced law in Augusta, Maine (1830-1876), edited the Maine Patriot (1830-1831) and was Kennebec county's prosecuting attorney (1834-1838). He served in the U.S. Senate from 1847 to 1853, was a member of the judiciary committee throughout his tenure, and was chair of a select committee on French spoliations (1852).

Correspondence (1836-1890) makes up the bulk of the collection, which also contains accounts and other financial records (1854-1891); documents, drafts and other material relating to his law firm's business (1831-1885); documents, broadsides, notes and other personal records (1817-1890); and newsclippings.

The collection focuses on the family and professional life of William Pitt Fessenden (1806-1869), senator from Maine and Lincoln's secretary of the Treasury from July 1864 to March 1865. Fessenden (Bowdoin 1823) was a lawyer in Bridgton, Bangor and Portland, Maine; a Maine legislator (1832, 1840, 1845-1846, 1853-1854), a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1841-1843); and a senator from Maine (1854-1864, 1865-1869). As an early member of the Republican Party, he opposed slavery. In the Senate he served as chair of the Finance Committee and, as a member of the Reconstruction Committee, voted against the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. Several other family members are also represented in the collection.

The papers contain correspondence, professional and personal records, publications, articles, addresses, reports, lectures, memoirs, a diary, documents, receipts, accounts, clippings, photographs, genealogies, and biographical material related to the Fessenden family.

Pierce (1804-1869, Bowdoin 1824), a New Hampshire lawyer, entered politics in 1829 as a member of the New Hampshire state legislature and served as its Speaker (1831-1832). He was elected to Congress as a Jacksonian Democrat, serving in the House (1833-1837) and the Senate (1837-1842). Pierce returned to private practice in his home state (1842-1852), but continued to be active in politics by managing state democratic campaigns (1842-1847) and supporting the Compromise of 1850. In 1852 Pierce was selected by an otherwise deadlocked convention as the Democratic candidate for president, and won all but four states in the election. During his presidency (1853-1857) Pierce worked to acquire new territories, including the successful Gadsden Purchase and the unsuccessful attempt to annex Cuba; and to calm rising tempers in Kansas. He retired from public life in 1857.

The small collection of 31 letters (1837-1869 and undated), documents (1854-1857), and essays (1823-1824), include many letters from Pierce to his friend Horatio Bridge, or from his wife, Jane A. Pierce, to her sister, Frances A. Packard. More than one-third of the collection is from his presidential term.

Scrapbooks compiled by the college or by individual college alumni. Scrapbooks may contain photographs, memorabilia, and news clippings. Scrapbooks span primarily the late 1800s and early 1900s. Most scrapbooks cover undergraduate years; some include post-Bowdoin activities.

Included are individual scrapbooks on Speaker of the House Thomas Brackett Reed (Bowdoin 1860), Maine Governor Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (Bowdoin 1852), Congressman Jonathan Cilley of Maine (Bowdoin 1825), and Senator William Pierce Frye of Maine (Bowdoin 1850).

A lawyer and legislator, Frye (1830-1911, Bowdoin 1850) was active and influential in state and national Republican Party politics. Frye served in the Maine House of Representatives (1861-1862 and 1867), as mayor of Lewiston (1866-1867), as Maine attorney general (1867-1869), and in the U.S. Congress, in both the House (1871-1881) and the Senate (1881-1911). He served on the House Ways and Means Committee and, in the Senate, chaired the Committee on Commerce.

Frye's speeches, political and commemorative from 1875 to 1895, make up the bulk of the collection, which also contains some letters, clippings, notes, etc.

Ralph Owen Brewster (1888-1961, Bowdoin 1909) practiced law and then entered politics, serving in the Maine state legislature, winning the governorship, and eventually representing Maine in both houses of the U.S. Congress before losing his senate seat in 1952. In the Senate he sat on the Special Senate Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program (the Truman Committee), and the Joint Committee to Investigate the Pearl Harbor Attack. His views on race, and those of his constituents, informed his political posturing, particularly concerning the “Negro Vote” and Mainers’ affiliations with the Ku Klux Klan, which supported his successful run for Maine governor in 1924.

The records are largely office files concerning contemporary issues, events and local and national political and legislative initiatives; and general office correspondence spanning the years 1923-1961. Other categories of material include published and unpublished reports and records of legislative initiatives; nomination papers and campaign files from numerous primary and election campaigns; newspaper clippings from all phases of his career; and photographs of which most are official and concern his senatorial career.

Harold Hitz Burton (1888-1964, Bowdoin 1909) studied law at Harvard University (1912), working with various firms, then joining a Cleveland law firm in 1925. His political life included serving in the Ohio House of Representatives (1929), three terms as mayor of Cleveland (elected 1934, 1937 and 1939), and the U.S. Senate (elected 1940). In 1945 Truman appointed him to the Supreme Court where he served as associate justice until 1958. He staked out a moderate position but took the lead in favoring the extension of civil rights to for African‐Americans, most notably in the landmark desegregation case of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.

The collection cosists of correspondence (1933-1964, n.d.); documents concerning and annotated drafts of judicial opinions (1945-1960); printed invitations and programs (1943-1963); speeches and notes (1927-1960, n.d.); and a few photographs.

George J. Mitchell (1933- , Bowdoin 1954) was an officer in the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps until 1956. In 1960 he earned a law degree from Georgetown University. He was executive assistant to Senator Edmund Muskie (1962-1965), then returned to private practice, though remaining active in state Democratic politics. While filling a 1977 appointment as U.S. District Court judge, Mitchell took over the remainder of Muskie's Senate term when the latter became Secretary of State under President Carter (1980). His Senate career included membership on the Iran-Contra investigative committee and a term as Senate Majority Leader (1989-1995). He served a pivotal role in the Northern Ireland peace process (1995-1998), and, at the request of President Bill Clinton and Israeli and Palestinian leaders, chaired an international group organized to address the escalating violence in the Middle East (2000-2001).

The collection, the largest in the Library, documents Mitchell's professional and political career, including his 1974 gubernatorial campaign; his career as senator from Maine; his six years of service to the nation as Senate majority leader; and his work in Northern Ireland. His political papers include Judiciary files comprising reports, correspondence, briefs and other materials under consideration in the Senate Judiciary Committee and in Congress, including civil rights (especially PL102-166, which amended Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act), and information on the nominations of cabinet and judicial candidates such as Lani Guinier, Zoe Baird, Janet Reno, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen G. Breyer.

Thomas Brackett Reed (1839-1902, Bowdoin 1860) was elected to the Maine House in 1867 and 1868, the Maine Senate in 1869, and was attorney general from 1870 through 1872. After four years in private practice, Reed entered Congress, serving from 1877 to 1898. He was a member of the Judiciary Committee, the Committee on Rules, the Ways and Means Committee and several special committees. He served as speaker of the house from 1889-1891 and 1895-1899. A presidential candidate in 1896, Reed lost the Republican nomination to William McKinley. He left Congress in 1899 and re-entered private practice in New York City.

The collection consists of correspondence, essays, manuscripts, articles and clippings about Reed and his policies; and microfiche of speeches, diaries, manuscripts and letters from an extensive private collection of Reed material.

A lawyer and legislator, Frye (1830-1911, Bowdoin 1850) was active and influential in state and national Republican Party politics. Frye served in the Maine House of Representatives (1861-1862 and 1867), as mayor of Lewiston (1866-1867), as Maine attorney general (1867-1869), and in the U.S. Congress, in both the House (1871-1881) and the Senate (1881-1911). He served on the House Ways and Means Committee and, in the Senate, chaired the Committee on Commerce.

Frye's speeches, political and commemorative from 1875 to 1895, make up the bulk of the collection, which also contains some letters, clippings, notes, etc.

Ralph Owen Brewster (1888-1961, Bowdoin 1909) practiced law and then entered politics, serving in the Maine state legislature, winning the governorship, and eventually representing Maine in both houses of the U.S. Congress before losing his senate seat in 1952. In the Senate he sat on the Special Senate Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program (the Truman Committee), and the Joint Committee to Investigate the Pearl Harbor Attack. His views on race, and those of his constituents, informed his political posturing, particularly concerning the “Negro Vote” and Mainers’ affiliations with the Ku Klux Klan, which supported his successful run for Maine governor in 1924.

The records are largely office files concerning contemporary issues, events and local and national political and legislative initiatives; and general office correspondence spanning the years 1923-1961. Other categories of material include published and unpublished reports and records of legislative initiatives; nomination papers and campaign files from numerous primary and election campaigns; newspaper clippings from all phases of his career; and photographs of which most are official and concern his senatorial career.

Robert Hale (1889-1976, Bowdoin 1910) was an attorney in Boston (1914-1916), Portland, Maine (1917-1942), and Washington, D.C. (1959-1975). Hale was a member of the Maine Legislature from 1923-1930, serving as speaker in 1929; and was the Maine representative in the U.S. House of Representatives (1943-1959). While in the House, he was a member of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce and the Merchant Marine Committee. He considered himself a reactionary, especially with respect to the New Deal, and was a strong defender of civil rights. Eisenhower appointed Hale to the United States-Switzerland Commission on Conciliation (1959).

The collection contains letters (1938-1969), diaries, speeches, photographs, scrapbooks, clippings, and case records (1922-1960), as well as voting records from the U.S. House of Representatives (1943-1944 to 1957-1958).

Thomas Hodge Allen (Bowdoin 1967) was a Democrat, U.S. House of Representatives (1st Congressional District of Maine) serving in the 105th-110th Congresses (January 3, 1997-January 3, 2009). He graduated Bowdoin magna cum laude, then received a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University where he received a B.Phil. in politics in 1970. In 1970-1971 he worked on the political campaign and senate staff of Senator Edmund S. Muskie before attending Harvard Law School, where he received a J.D. in 1974. Allen ran unsuccessfully against incumbent Senator Susan Collins in the 2008 election. In 2009, Allen became president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers, the principal trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry.

The collection contains chiefly office files created by Allen and his staff in the D.C. and district offices (Portland) concerning legislative matters, constituent work, meeting notes and briefing books, correspondence, remarks and addresses, publicity notices, campaign materials, photographs and audio-visual recordings, and select electronic records (e-mail and campaigning files).

Thomas Brackett Reed (1839-1902, Bowdoin 1860) was elected to the Maine House in 1867 and 1868, the Maine Senate in 1869, and was attorney general from 1870 through 1872. After four years in private practice, Reed entered Congress, serving from 1877 to 1898. He was a member of the Judiciary Committee, the Committee on Rules, the Ways and Means Committee and several special committees. He served as speaker of the house from 1889-1891 and 1895-1899. A presidential candidate in 1896, Reed lost the Republican nomination to William McKinley. He left Congress in 1899 and re-entered private practice in New York City.

The collection consists of correspondence, essays, manuscripts, articles and clippings about Reed and his policies; and microfiche of speeches, diaries, manuscripts and letters from an extensive private collection of Reed material.