John Allphin Moore Collection on the Douglass Adair Symposia, 1984-2006 (bulk 1984-1987)

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Summary

Creators:
Moore, John Allphin, Jr., 1940-
Abstract:
The collection contains correspondence, news clippings, photographs, flyers, and other material related to the Douglass Adair Symposia, a series of conferences and academic meetings that began in the 1980s and ran until at least 2008 at Cal Poly Pomona. The meetings focused on commemorating historical birthdays. The collection was donated by Dr. John Allphin Moore, the Cal Poly Pomona history professor who organized and served as director of the symposia.
Extent:
2.08 Linear Feet (2 boxes)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Box/folder# or item name], John Allphin Moore Collection on the Douglass Adair Symposia, Collection no. 0044, University Archives, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains correspondence, news clippings, photographs, flyers, and other material related to the Douglass Adair Symposia, a series of gatherings that began in the 1982 at Cal Poly Pomona and focused on commemorating historical anniversaries.

The collection also contains brochures and flyers, notes from statewide teleconferences that were held in 1987, a resolution from Assemblyman Charles Bader, and a proclamation from the city of Pomona. Items include a letter from former President Gerald Ford. There is also correspondence from Virginia Hamilton Adair; Pete Wilson, who was then United States Senator from California; and Congress members George Brown and David Dreier. The collection also contains a program from a conference on the United States Constitution that was held in Paris in 1987.

Biographical / historical:

The Douglass Adair Symposia was a series of gatherings that Cal Poly Pomona history professor Dr. John Moore organized, initially with the idea of commemorating the Bicentennial of the American Constitution in 1987. The symposia was named in honor of Douglass Adair (1912-1968), a professor of history at Claremont Graduate School - now known as Claremont Graduate University - and the author of seminal essays on the late eighteenth century and the founding of America.

Moore began organizing the symposia in 1982 and the Exxon Education Foundation eventually provided $25,000 for the project. Other funding was provided by the California Council for the Humanities and various units at the University.

The initial, and most ambitious, project organized seven major symposia during the winter and spring of 1986. Major historians, political scientists, lawyers, judges, activists, and essayists from across the nation came to Cal Poly Pomona and to the Claremont Colleges for the discussions. Each presenter and commentator spent two days in the Pomona Valley, presenting lectures and commentaries at meetings held on this campus or in Claremont, engaging with interested larger audiences, meeting with civic groups and students, and, finally, participating in interviews that Moore conducted. The interviews were taped and used later for a statewide cable broadcast to teachers across California.

In addition, a course through Cal Poly Pomona's Continuing Education was offered for regional high school teachers, which was keyed to each of the seven symposia. In 1987, Dr. Moore assisted in publishing, on the exact 200th birthday of the Constitution, an anthology with all of the presentations and commentaries (A Grand Experiment: The Constitution at 200).

In 1987, Dr. Moore traveled to Paris to attend an historic conference on the U.S. Constitution, where he reported about the Adair Symposia activities and recruited three speakers for the next Adair Symposium, held in 1989.

Other symposia were held in the following years, including one in December of 1991 to mark the 50th anniversary of America's entry into World War II.

The Symposia's name was later changed to also honor Virginia Hamilton Adair, the widow of Douglass Adair and a longtime professor of English at Cal Poly Pomona. The final event organized under the Symposia name appears to have been at Cal Poly in 2008. It focused on Herbert Croly's book The Promise of American Life.

Acquisition information:
The collection was donated to the University Library by Dr. John Allphin Moore in 2009.
Processing information:

The processing of this collection and the creation of this finding aid was funded by the generous support of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

The collection was initially processed and cataloged by Ernesto Sanchez in 2009. The collection underwent further processing and the finding aid was revised in 2018 by Rob Strauss to enhance findability and access. The collection number was changed from SC2010.04 to 0044 and the collection title changed from Douglass Adair Symposia Collection to John Allphin Moore Collection on the Douglass Adair Symposia.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged alphabetically by folder title.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Advance notice required for access.

Terms of access:

Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Preferred citation:

[Box/folder# or item name], John Allphin Moore Collection on the Douglass Adair Symposia, Collection no. 0044, University Archives, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Location of this collection:
3801 West Temple Ave.
Pomona, CA 91768, US
Contact:
(909) 869-3775
speccollections@cpp.edu
Website