Nelson A. Rockefeller personal papers, Activities, Series A, 1930-1979, bulk 1946-1971
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Collection context
Summary
- Creator:
- Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich) (1908-1979) and Rockefeller, Margaretta Fitler
- Extent:
- 68.41 Cubic Feet
- Language:
- English .
Background
- Scope and content:
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The Activities Series provides a partial view of Nelson A. Rockefeller's business, civic, governmental, philanthropic, cultural, and social activities from 1930 to 1979. The records in this series were assembled by the Rockefeller family archivist during the early 1970s following the 1971 transfer of Nelson A. Rockefeller's files to the Rockefeller family archive. The bulk of material dates from between 1946 and 1971, a period when Rockefeller maintained his files separately from the General Files of the Office of the Messrs. Rockefeller, which contained the files of his father and brothers. Records predating 1946 were removed from the General Files in that year to form the core of Nelson A. Rockefeller's files. Most of Nelson A. Rockefeller's personal files created after 1971 are in Record Group 3 and 33 of the Rockefeller family archives. However, for reasons which are not now known, some records created after 1971 were filed at the end of this series. They are designated "Post-1971 Material." The title of the series reflects the broad scope of the documentation.
Significant subjects include Latin America, post-war New York City economic development, the [New York] Temporary State Commission on the Constitutional Convention from 1957, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. The series includes a collection of Rockefeller's speeches given between 1932 and 1958, and 64 volumes of appointment books recording his daily professional activities between 1932 and 1968. Also included in this series are itineraries of Rockefeller's domestic and foreign travels from 1930 to 1971 and preparations for social events he hosted from 1935 to 1971. The series also includes Rockefeller's Christmas card mailing lists from 1936 to 1971.
Portions of this series document aspects of Rockefeller's life-long interest in Latin America. Of particular interest are the following files: American-Colombian Corporation; Books and Lectures by NAR, particularly files relating to "The U.S. and the World;" Compania Anonima Hotelera Venezolana; Compania de Fomento Venezolana; Creole Petroleum; Hemisphere Films; Soper, Frank (malaria research in South America); South America, Interests in; Speeches (especially for the period 1940 to 1945); Statements by NAR; and Trips. The trip files are arranged chronologically and are title by country or region visited, filling boxes 142 through 155. They contain correspondence, telegrams, itineraries, and expense records created prior to, during, and after the numerous trips made by Rockefeller through 1971. Of special interest are those files documenting Rockefeller's first visit to Latin America in the spring of 1937. On this trip, Rockefeller made the acquaintance of Peruvian archaeologist Dr. Julio Cesar Tello, who fueled Rockefeller's enthusiasm for collecting Colombian and Peruvian art, especially recently excavated mummy bundles. Folders 935 and 936, "South America, Interests in," (1939-1940, 1947) contain material relating to this and later trips, including correspondence from Tello. There is also a small amount of correspondence from 1940 with John Hay Whitney, head of the motion picture division of the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, and with President George J. Schaefer of RKO Radio Pictures, relating to Rockefeller's interest in establishing theaters in South America.
Rockefeller's business interests in Latin America are also included here. American-Colombian Corporation files document Rockefeller's exploration during the 1940s and early 1950s of investment possibilities in cattle, oil, minerals, and timber in the Venezuelan Lands of Loba. There are also files on Creole Petroleum, in which Standard Oil of New Jersey held an 80% interest. For further information regarding Standard Oil and its subsidiaries in Venezuela, consult folders titled "Standard Oil of New Jersey." Four folders of material (1942-1946, 1948-1951) relate to the Compania Anonima Hotelera Venezolana and the Hotel Avila, which opened in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1942. In addition to routine correspondence concerning stock holdings, there is correspondence from William F. Coles, President of Compania de Fomento Venezolana, informing Rockefeller of management difficulties at the hotel. Cables report on a June 1946 strike of Hotel Avila employees.
Records on Rockefeller's tenure as Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs under President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1940-1944) are scattered throughout the series. "Statements by NAR" includes drafts of public statement made while he was Coordinator. By far the most informative group of papers relating to Rockefeller's role in Latin America is the reference files Rockefeller assembled in 1949 and 1950 while drafting the manuscript, "The U.S. and the World." Never published, the manuscript represents Rockefeller's summation of his role in Latin America, as well as his attempt to formulate American foreign and economic policy in light of his experience as Coordinator. Rockefeller stopped working on this book when President Harry S. Truman appointed him chairm of the International Development Advisory Board in November 1950. The Board was charged with developing policies for a broad program of U.S. foreign aid. Rockefeller was able to incorporate many of the ideas developed in his proposed book into "Partners in Progress," the Board's published report to the President. Files include numerous typescript drafts and corrected copies of versions edited by Adolf Berle and James Monahan. Reference files, which are accompanied by a subject index in card format, include clippings, articles, notes, memoranda and a file of Rockefeller's correspondence dating from the period 1940-1946. Related files include Donald Rowland's "History of the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs" from 1947.
In 1944, when Nelson Rockefeller was still Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, he developed the idea of integrating the educational film programs of the Coordinator's Office with the film program at the Museum of Modern Art. Records in the Activities Series document the origins of the museum's film program and the 1944 incorporation of Hemisphere Films, its operations, and the dissolution of its assets in 1964. Included are minutes and agendas from Board of Trustees meetings (1944, 1946, 1950); correspondence (1943-1955, 1960-1965) primarily relating to legal issues; legal documents (1940, 1943-1944, 1963-1965); financial records (1944-1949, 1952, 1962-1965); ledgers (1943-1965); and miscellaneous papers. The heading "MOMA Material" identifies those files that were maintained separately from those of Nelson Rockefeller. They are retained here as a distinct group and are placed at the end of the Hemisphere Films section.
Rockefeller's efforts to formulate fiscal and public policy for the city of New York are documented in part by files from 1940 to 1947 relating to the Mayor's Business Advisory Committee. The committee, which received financial support from Rockefeller, was established in 1940 by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia to assist Commissioner of Commerce George A. Sloan in bringing business and industry to New York City. Rockefeller served as a member of the committee, although for most of his tenure he resided in Washington, DC. The bulk of the files reflect Rockefeller's service (1946-1947) under Mayor William O'Dwyer as Provisional Chairman of the Advisory Committee's Executive Committee. Files include routine correspondence and memoranda from 1940 to 1946 informing Rockefeller of upcoming meetings; minutes from 1946 Executive Committee meetings; general correspondence from 1945 to 1947, which includes a 1946 report by City Construction Coordinator Robert Moses; and reports and proposals from 1946 to 1947.
Files on the Government Affairs Foundation (1953-1969) and the Temporary State Commission on the Constitutional Convention (1956-1968) highlight Rockefeller's efforts to promote the efficient operation of government. Rockefeller founded the Government Affairs Foundation in 1953 "to advance and improve the science of Government and the administration of public affairs." The Foundation grew out of his work as Chairman (1952-1958) of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Advisory Committee on Government Organization. Lieutenant Governor Frank C. Moore served as the Foundation's president. Files on the foundation include annual reports (1953-1957), minutes and agendas of Board of Directors meetings (1953-1968), general correspondence (1953-1969), memoranda (1953-1968) regarding Rockefeller's financial support of the Foundation, financial reports (1954-1958, 1961-1968), publications (1965, 1968), and material (1953-1959) relating to the Conference on Metropolitan Area Problems.
The Activities Series also contains records relating to the (New York) Temporary State Commission on the Constitutional Convention. These records consist of speeches (with notes) given by Rockefeller in 1957 to promote the Commission's work; minutes (1956-1957) of Commission meetings; biographical information on candidates for commission director, members, and consultants; Rockefeller's correspondence (1956-1958) with associates and political supporters; memoranda (1956-1958) from Vera Goeller, Rockefeller's secretary, and Frank C. Moore, President of the Government Affairs Foundation; clippings and press releases (1956-1957); and three folders of publicity files (1956-1957) kept by Francis A. Jamieson, journalist and public relations advisor to Rockefeller. Half of the records gathered here consist of reference files (1956-1957) compiled by Rockefeller's staff; transcripts (1957) of the public hearings held in Albany, Buffalo, and New York; and printed versions of the First and Second Interim reports (1957) issued by the Commission. There is also a draft of the final 1958 report entitled "Staff Report on the Problem of the Simplification of the Constitution." Finally, the file includes an 1821 pamphlet, "Journal of the Convention of the State of New York," printed in Albany and inscribed by James Stevenson, Albany's thirty-sixth mayor.
The Activities Series includes files from 1941 to 1971 documenting Nelson Rockefeller's involvement in the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF). (See the Rockefeller Brothers Fund collection at the Rockefeller Archive Center for a comprehensive account of the Fund's activities.) The files consist largely of records (1956-1967) pertaining to the Special Studies Project. The Special Studies Project, directed by Henry Kissinger, was initiated by the RBF in 1956 to define the challenges facing America over the ensuing 15 years and to develop principles on which to base national policy. Files include draft and final copies of the subpanel reports I-VI, which were published in 1967 as "Prospect for America." For each report, there are clippings and radio reports, evidence of the exceptional dedication of Rockefeller's large staff. In addition, there are minutes and agenda from 1956 to 1960 meetings of the Special Studies Planning Committee, which oversaw the project and guided the publication of the "Rockefeller Reports" after 1958.
The "Post-1971 Material," found at the end of the Activities Series, includes three files of significance. The first is correspondence between Nelson and his older brother, John D. Rockefeller 3rd from 1976 to 1978. This was a period of transition for Nelson, who had returned to private life after nearly twenty years of public service, and for the Rockefeller family as a whole with the transfer of power and responsibility from the older "Brothers" generation to their children, the "Cousins." The three Rockefeller institutions that figured prominently in this transformation, and in this correspondence, are the Rockefeller Family Office, the Rockefeller family estate at Pocantico Hills, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Nelson and John were frequently at odds over the manner and speed with which this transfer should take place, with Nelson wanting to retain control of the family institutions and John wanting to give the younger generation more responsibility and influence.
The second item of significance is Nelson Rockefeller's files on the formation of the Saudi Arabian-American Corporation, or Sarabam. Established jointly by the Rockefeller and Saudi families in 1977, the purpose of Sarabam was to use Saudi oil revenues and American managerial expertise to carry out social and economic development projects in the Middle East. After the corporation was formally established, the Saudis decided not to invest. As a result, Sarabam was never active. As of 1995, it still existed as a corporate shell. Included here are Rockefeller's files on his tour of the Middle East in the spring of 1977 to discuss the Sarabam proposal with the region's leaders.
The third item of significance in this section is Rockefeller's letter of January 18, 1979, to Richard Rosenbaum. In this concise, frankly worded, three page essay Rockefeller presents his thoughts on the Office of the Vice President and why, in spite of its frustrations, the job should not be changed. Dated just eight days before his death, the letter represents Rockefeller's last written thoughts on public service.
- Arrangement:
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This series is arranged into two subseries. The first is alphabetical by broad subject categories, while the second begins with an alphabetical run followed by correspondence from after Nelson Rockefeller's tenure as U.S. Vice President.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
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Open for research with select materials restricted as noted. Brittle or damaged items are available at the discretion of RAC. Material in the Rockefeller family collections that provides the names, correspondence, or activities of living members of the Rockefeller family, and/or documents the net wealth of any Rockefeller family members, is restricted. Researchers interested in accessing digital media (floppy disks, CDs, DVDs, etc.) or audiovisual material (audio cassettes, VHS, etc.) in this collection must use an access surrogate. The original items may not be accessed because of preservation concerns. To request an access surrogate be made, or if you are unsure if there is an access surrogate, please contact an archivist.
- Terms of access:
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The Rockefeller Archive Center has title, copyright, and literary rights in the collection, in so far as it holds them, and has authority to grant permission to cite and publish archival material from the collection.
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