McCloskey (Paul N.) papers, 1967-1986

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Summary

Title:
Paul N. McCloskey papers
Dates:
1967-1986
Creators:
McCloskey, Paul N., 1927-
Abstract:
Consists of the congressional papers maintained by Paul (Pete) McCloskey's staff at his Washington, D.C., office and California district office while McCloskey was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1967 to 1983. The papers relate to many aspects of American foreign relations and domestic politics, the 1972 Presidential election, and the Vietnam War, and consist of correspondence, memoranda, reports, and printed matter. Digital copies of select records also available at https://digitalcollections.hoover.org.
Extent:
618 cubic foot boxes, 96 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize box, 4 oversize folders, 3 sound cassettes (659.0 Linear Feet)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Paul N. McCloskey Papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of the congressional papers maintained by Paul (Pete) McCloskey's staff at his Washington, D.C., office and California district office while McCloskey was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1967 to 1983. The papers relate to many aspects of American foreign relations and domestic politics, the 1972 Presidential election, and the Vietnam War, and consist of correspondence, memoranda, reports, and printed matter.

McCloskey was a member of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, the Government Operations Committee, and the Select Committee on Missing Persons in Southeast Asia.

One major series, the Subject File, contains most of the constituent correspondence on legislative issues, with related materials. McCloskey's staff used several different filing systems for the Subject File. Initially the files were arranged alphabetically by subject term. This was replaced by a file system that used letters of the alphabet to indicate general subjects, which were then followed by a more specific subject term. For example, "J" represented the environment, and specific subjects like "air pollution" and "national parks" were filed under file code "J." This system of alpha file codes was in use from about 1971 to 1976. Some file codes remained the same each year, while other file codes changed. "J" always represented "environment," whereas "A" represented "grants and contracts" in 1972 and "17th district" in 1973.

In 1977 the alpha file code system was replaced by a numeric file code system in which numbers represented subjects. For example, "21000" represented "environment" and "22000" represented "federal government." Specific subjects within the general subject "environment" received numbers from 21000 to 21999, such as "21107--Environment--Lake Tahoe." Numeric file codes were used through 1983. Unlike the previous alpha file codes, the bulk of the numeric file codes represented the same subject through their years of use.

In the container list, most of the Subject File listings provide only the first and last folder in the box. In most cases, file codes that occur within the sequence of first and last file codes will also be found in that box. For example, the listing of 1971 alpha file codes, "K--San Mateo County" to "M--Transportation--Trucking" also includes all of the "L--Law enforcement" files because "L" is between "K" and "M." As another example, with the numeric files, the sequence of folders from "16070--Congress--Pensions" to "21040--Environment--Clean Air Act--General statement" includes file codes between 16070 and 21040, including "17000--Crime and justice" and "20000--Energy," among others.

General file codes for the Subject File are provided below. More detailed file plans are available at the Hoover Institution. The more detailed file plans help locate some files that may not have been filed in the most intuitive manner. For example, "abortion" was assigned to alpha file code "J--Environment" from at least 1971 to 1973; by 1975 it had moved to "H--HEW (Department of Health, Education and Welfare)."

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
1927 September 29
Born, Loma Linda, California
1945-1947
Served in U.S. Navy
1950
B.A., Stanford University
1950-1952
Served in U.S. Marine Corps
1953
Stanford University Law School
1953-1954
Deputy district attorney, Alameda County, California
1955-1967
Attorney, private practice, Palo Alto, California
1964
Author, The United States Constitution
1964-1967
Lecturer on legal ethics, Santa Clara University and Stanford University Law Schools
1967-1983
Member, U.S. House of Representatives (90th - 97th Congresses)
1972
Republican candidate for president (primary election)
Author, Truth and Untruth; Political Deceit in America
1982
Republican candidate for U.S. Senate (primary election)
1988-1994
Lecturer on legal ethics, Santa Clara University and Stanford University Law Schools
2006
Republican candidate, primary election, California 11th Congressional District
Acquisition information:
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 1982
Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
File plan:

Classification schemes used for arranging, storing, and retrieving materials created by McCloskey's staff at his Washington, D.C. office and California district office.

A--Appropriations

B--Business

C--California

D--Defense

E--Economy

F--Foreign affairs

H--HEW (Department of Health, Education and Welfare)

I--Congress

J--Environment

K--San Mateo County

L--Law enforcement

M--Transportation

N--Activities

0--Publications

P--DURAs (refers to the computerized form letter response system)

Q--Academies

R--Office

S--Invitations

T--PNM (P. N. McCloskey) personal

W--Names

X--Casework

Y--Grants

Z--Political

A--Grants and contracts

B--San Mateo County

C--California

D--Defense

E--Economy

F--Foreign affairs

G--Government

H--HEW (Department of Health, Education and Welfare)

I--Transportation

J--Environment

K--Sea war

L--Law enforcement

M--DURAs (refers to the computerized form letter response system)

N--Names

0--Activities

P--Publications

Q--Academies

R--Office

S--Invitations

T--PNM (P. N. McCloskey) personal

U--Political

V--Press

X--Casework

A--17th District

C--California

D--Defense

E--Economy

F--Foreign affairs

G--Government

H--HEW (Department of Health, Education and Welfare)

I--Transportation

J--Environment

L--Law enforcement

M--DURAs (refers to the computerized form letter response system)

N--Names

0--Activities

P--Requests

Q--Academies

R--Office

S--Invitations

T--PNM (P. N. McCloskey) personal

U--Political

V--Press

X--Casework

A--District

B--Energy

C--California

D--Defense

E--Economy

F--Foreign affairs

G--Government

H--HEW (Department of Health, Education and Welfare)

I--Transportation

J--Environment

L--Law enforcement

M--DURAs (refers to the computerized form letter response system)

N--Names

0--Office

P--Political

Q--Academies

R--Requests

S--Invitations

T--PNM (P. N. McCloskey) personal

V--Press

X--Casework

07010--General correspondence

07050--Condolence letter

07100--Congratulations

07145--District office correspondence

07150--Employment inquiry

07200--Intern inquiry

07250--Invitations/Scheduling

07300--Equipment/Orders

07350--Recommendation

07400--Referral letter (out of district)

07450--Requests

07500--Thank you

08500--Washington visitor

08600--Department files/Casework--Academies

08785--Department files/Casework--Federal/State agencies and private organizations

10000--Aging

10500--Agriculture

11000--Animal welfare

11500--Arts

11510--Copyright general

12000--Banking and currency

13000--Business

14000--Civil rights

15000--Communications

16000--Congress

16500--Consumers

17000--Crime and justice

17500--Defense

18500--Economy and budget

19500--Education

20000--Energy

21000--Environment

22000--Federal government

22500--Health

23500--Housing

23550--Immigration

24000--Indians

24500--International relations

25500--Labor

26500--Merchant Marine and Fisheries

27000--Missing in Action Select Committee

27210--Population information

27500--Postal Service

28000--Religion

28500--Social Security

29000--Space exploration

29500--Taxes

30500--Trade

31000--Transportation

31500--Veterans

31600--Welfare (see also 32000)

32000--Inactive files/Welfare

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Lisa Miller
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-03-31 15:10:38.795535

Access and use

Restrictions:

Boxes 611-651 closed. The remainder of the collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Paul N. McCloskey Papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
Website