Calvin Bryce Hoover papers, 1922-1970 41.5 Linear Feet — 40,000 Items
The Calvin Bryce Hoover papers span the years 1922-1970, with the bulk falling between 1929 and 1968. The collection is arranged into nine series: Correspondence; Writings; Academic Materials; Professional Associations; Government Service; Subject Files; Audio-Visual Material; Personal; and Printed Material. The collection includes correspondence, departmental files, reports, photographs, sound recordings, books, articles, clippings, scrapbooks, date books, and other printed materials.
The first series, Correspondence, contains mostly academic or professional correspondence. The correspondence is arranged alphabetically, except for Box 27 which contains correspondence from or about the National Planning Association. It is important to note that Hoover tended to file his correspondence by subject, rather than by correspondent. As such, a file labeled "John Doe" may not necessarily contain correspondence written by "John Doe," but may include correspondence about "John Doe."
The second series, Writings, includes copies of Hoover's publications, unpublished material, addresses, drafts, notes, publication agreements, and correspondence. The third series, Academic Material, includes departmental files, course files, and other materials associated largely with Hoover's work at Duke University. The series includes material about the Economics Dept., professors, courses taught by Hoover, correspondence, theses, and other files. The fourth series, Professional Associations, includes files on the American Economic Association, the Southern Economic Association, and the Ford Foundation.
The fifth series, Government Service, includes general subject files, files on war agencies, the Committee for Economic Development, and the Council on Foreign Relations, the Economic Cooperation Administration, and correspondence. The sixth series, Subject Files, includes general topical files. The seventh series, Audio-Visual Material, includes photographs and audio reels. The eighth series, Personal, includes Hoover's personal school papers, souvenirs, and personal papers belonging to Hoover's wife, Faith.
The ninth series, Printed Material, includes publications not authored by Hoover. There are a fair number of these in German and Russian.
This collection contains materials that would lend itself to many areas of research interests. Of note is the material pertaining to the Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.) which offers a unique picture of the work of the O.S.S. in Scandinavia, the Chief of Mission in Stockholm, Hoover's administrative style and means of controlling this operation, his philosophy of intelligence, and many day to day details of the profession of espionage.
Other topics of interest include the administration of an academic department during wartime, Soviet economic data and collection techniques of the 1930s, the formation of New Deal agricultural policies, and the development of the American foreign aid program.