Finding Aid for the Joseph L. Wyatt Collection of California Democratic Council Records, 1953-1967
Processed by Saundra Taylor; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé and edited by Josh Fiala.
UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
Manuscripts Division
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
© 2005
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Joseph L. Wyatt Collection of California Democratic Council Records,
Date (inclusive): 1953-1967
Collection number: 1082
Creator: Wyatt, Joseph L., 1924-
Extent: 14 boxes (7 linear ft.)
Abstract: The California Democratic Council (CDC), a federation of local volunteer clubs, was established in 1953. CDC endorsements
and campaign support led to the first full statewide slate of Democrats in 40 years (1954) and also figured prominently in
the election of Edmund G. “Pat” Brown as California governor in 1958. Joseph Lucian Wyatt, Jr. (b.1924) was the secretary
of the California Democratic Council (1953-57), and president (1957-61). He was also the California delegate at the Democratic
National Conventions in 1956, 1960, 1964, and 1968. The collection consists of correspondence, clippings, and printed material
related to the formation, development, and activities of the California Democratic Council (CDC) between 1953 and 1967, and
materials related to another organization, the Dime-A-Day Democracy Group.
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library.
Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Administrative Information
Restrictions on Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library,
Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of
the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the
copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC
Regents do not hold the copyright.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Joseph L. Wyatt, Jr., 1969.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Joseph L. Wyatt Collection of California Democratic Council Records (Collection 1082). Department
of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.
Biography
Joseph Lucian Wyatt, Jr. was born in Chicago, Illinois, February 21, 1924; attended Northwestern University (AB, 1947) and
Harvard Law School (LL.B., 1949); became a lawyer and sole practitioner, Los Angeles, California, in 1949; member California
State Personnel Board, 1961-71; Director, Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce, 1956-59; secretary, California Democratic
Council (CDC), 1953-57; president, CDC, 1957-61; California delegate, Democratic National Convention, 1956, 1960, 1964, and
1968.
The California Democratic Council (CDC), a federation of local volunteer clubs, was established in 1953; under the direction
of founding president Alan Cranston, the CDC was able to balance its electoral and legislative goals; CDC endorsements and
campaign support led to the first full statewide slate of Democrats in 40 years (1954) and also figured prominently in the
election of Edmund G. “Pat” Brown as California governor in 1958; as the CDC's focus became increasingly ideological, tensions
led to a steady decline in its membership and presence in California politics; membership peaked at 75,000 in 1964.
Scope and Content
Collection consists of correspondence, clippings, and printed material related to the formation, development, and activities
of the California Democratic Council (CDC) between 1953 and 1967. Materials relate to Wyatt's involvement in the CDC as its
secretary and president. Also contains materials related to another organization, the Dime-A-Day Democracy Group.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Subjects
Wyatt, Joseph L., 1924- --Archives.
California Democratic Council--Archives.
Democratic Party (Calif.).
California--Politics and government, 1951- .
Partial List of Correspondents in Collection
Anderson, Glenn M. lieutenant-governor of California
Bowlest Chester
Brown, Edmund G. (Pat) governor of California
Burns, Hugh California State Senate
Cranston Alan
Doyle, Clyde California congressman
Eagle, Clair California senator
Galbraith, John Kenneth
Gore Albert Tennessee senator
Hanna, Richard T. California state legislator
Johnson, Lyndon Baines Senate majority leader
Kefauver, Estes Senator
Miller, George California congressman
Mosk, Stanley judge and California state attorney-general
Pitchess, Peter J. Los Angeles County sherrif
Rees, Thomas California state legislator
Richards, Richard California state legislator
Roosevelt, James California congressman
Schleisenger, Arthur M. Jr.
Unruh, Jesse California state legislator
Wagner, Robert F. Jr. New York City mayor
Wyman, Rosalind Los Angeles City councilwoman
Yarborough, Ralph Texas senator
Yorty, Samuel Los Angeles Mayor
Ziffren, Paul Democratic national committeeman
-
CDC Officer: 1953-1965 [oral history transcript] / Wyatt, Joseph L., interviewee. UCLA Oral History Department interview, 1971. Available at Department
of Special Collections, UCLA.
- California Democratic Council Records (Collection 1389). Available at Department of Special Collections, UCLA.
Container List
Box 1, Folder 1
Campaign literature, 1952 election.
1952
Scope and Content Note
Includes material on R. Nixon, John J. Sparkman, Adlai Stevenson, Dean E. McHenry, et al.
Box 1, Folder 2
CDC - Convention notes, Fresno.
November 1953
Box 1, Folder 3
Dime-A-Day for Democracy.
1953
Box 1, Folder 4
CDC - Convention notes, Fresno.
February 1954
Box 1, Folder 5
Dime-A-Day for Democracy.
1954
Box 1, Folder 6
Miscellaneous conventions & constitutions.
1954-1958
Scope and Content Note
Includes CDC, Congressional, and assembly districts.
Box 1, Folder 7
Pre-primary campaign literature.
1954
Scope and Content Note
Includes material on Goodwin Knight, Pat Brown, Stevenson, Steve Zetterberg, Edward R. Roybal, Richard Graves, Jesse Unruh,
Samuel Yorty, Laurance Cross, et al.
Box 1, Folder 8
Campaigns. “George L. Thomas for Council.”
1955
Box 2, Folder 1
CDC Convention.
March 19-20, 1955
Box 2, Folder 2
CDC Convention, continued. Correspondence.
Box 2, Folder 3
CDC Convention - Minutes.
1955
Box 2, Folder 4
Dime-A-Day for Democracy.
1955
Box 2, Folder 5
CDC Correspondence - Complaint letters.
1956
Box 2, Folder 7
Primary campaign literature.
1956
Box 2, Folder 8
Democratic National Convention.
1956
Box 2, Folder 9
General campaign.
1956
Scope and Content Note
Includes literature on Yorty, Nixon, Stevenson, Thomas Kuchel, Richard Richards, et al. (clippings, campaign literature, some
correspondence).
Box 3, Folder 3
CDC Legislative letter.
1957
Box 3, Folders 2, 6-9
CDC Correspondence.
1957-1958
Box 4, Folder 1
CDC - Mosk for Attorney-General.
1958
Box 4, Folder 2
CDC - Right-to-work legislation.
1958
Box 4, Folder 3
CDC - Pre-primary registration data.
1958
Box 5, Folder 7
CDC - Eagle (Clair).
1959
Box 5, Folder 8
CDC - Engle for Senate.
1959
Box 5, Folders 9-10
CDC Issues conference.
1959
Box 6, Folder 2
CDC Legislative letter.
1959
Box 6, Folder 3
CDC Legislative letter.
1959
Scope and Content Note
Correspondence.
Box 6, Folder 7
CDC - Out-of-state correspondence.
1959-61
Box 6, Folder 8
CDC Research
re Nixon.
1959
Box 8, Folder 1
CDC Issues conference.
1960
Scope and Content Note
i.e. correspondence, etc.
re conference.
Box 8, Folder 2
CDC Issues conference.
1960
Box 8, Folder 3
CDC - Kennedy for President.
1960
Box 8, Folder 4
CDC Legislative letter.
1960
Box 8, Folder 7
CDC Presidential delegation (prior to 1960 convention).
1960
Box 8, Folder 8
CDC Primary campaign.
1960
Box 9, Folder 2
CDC Publicity, clippings.
1960
Box 9, Folder 3
Democratic National Convention, General.
1960
Box 9, Folders 4-6
Democratic National Convention, California Democratic delegation.
1960
Box 10, Folder 1
CDC Board of Directors.
April 1961
Box 10, Folder 3
CDC Correspondence.
1961 January-March
Box 10, Folder 5
CDC Legislative letter (Los Angeles).
1961
Box 10, Folder 6
CDC Legislative letter (San Francisco).
1961
Box 10, Folder 7
CDC Publicity.
1961
Scope and Content Note
Mostly clippings, many
re Wyatt's retirement as president of CDC.
Box 10, Folder 8
CDC Convention, Fresno.
January 26-28, 1962
Box 10, Folder 10
Kennedy assassination, clippings.
1963
Box 11, Folder 1
CDC Convention, Rules committee.
1964
Box 11, Folder 2
CDC - Cranston for U.S. Senate.
1964
Box 11, Folder 3
CDC Legislative newsletter.
1964
Box 11, Folder 5
CDC Primary.
1964
Scope and Content Note
Mostly “Cranston for Senate.”
Box 11, Folder 6
CDC Publicity
1964
Scope and Content Note
Includes Governor Brown press releases.
Box 11, Folder 7
Democratic National Convention, California delegation.
1964
Box 12, Folder 2
CDC Convention, photographs.
1965
Box 12, Folder 3
Johnson Inauguration, memorabilia.
1965
Box 12, Folder 5
Brown campaign.
1966
Scope and Content Note
Includes other campaign literature - e.g. Lloyd Hand for lieutenant governor & Cranston.
Box 12, Folder 7
Campaign Literature.
1966
Box 12, Folder 8
Politics
1966
Scope and Content Note
Mostly
re Brown campaign.
Box 13, Folder 1
Election - Proposition #1, (
re public retirement funds).
1966
CDC Miscellaneous Files
1966-1967
Box 13, Folder 3
Brown, Edmund G. (Pat).
1958-1965
Box 13, Folder 4
CDC - Descriptive literature for distribution.
Box 13, Folder 6
CDC - Election reform & reapportionment.
Box 13, Folder 7
CDC - Pre-primary endorsements.
Scope and Content Note
Including draft (carbon) of “Preprimary Endorsement” by Leonard Rowe, September 1960.
Box 14, Folders 1-2
CDC Publicity - Retraction statements.
1960
Scope and Content Note
Includes “anti” campaign material put out in 1960 election campaign.
Box 14, Folder 3
CDC - Report of President Joseph L. Wyatt.
1958
Scope and Content Note
Includes a carbon typescript of Cranston's speech at founding of CDC, 1953.
Box 14, Folder 4
CDC Resolutions.
1958-1962
Scope and Content Note
Includes material on Nixon's governor's race.
Box 14, Folder 6
Miscellaneous pamphlets.
v.d.
Scope and Content Note
Mostly
re California Democratic politics, 1952-66.
