Africana Studies Resources in Special Collections & Archives

The collection contains correspondence, much of it within the family; biographical records on family members; the literary manuscripts of Jacob, Lyman, and Edward Abbott; diaries, journals and scrapbooks kept by or concerning family members; photographs; documents; and other records.

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 Other categories of material include published and unpublished reports and records of legislative initiatives; nomination papers and campaign files from numerous primary and election campaigns; newspaper clippings from all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.

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).

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.

Professional papers of history Professor Daniel Levine including research files and oral history interviews conducted about Bayard Rustin.