David Price papers, 1960-2006 and undated

Using These Materials Teaser

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:
Access note. Accessions 2022-0183 and 2023-0027 are restricted. These materials require additional arrangement, description, and/or screening. Contact Research Services for more information....
More about accessing and using these materials...

Summary

Creator:
Price, David Eugene
Abstract:
David Price is a political science professor at Duke University, and Democratic congressman from North Carolina's Fourth District since 1987 (re-elected in 2006). The David Price Papers (1960-2006) document the scholarly and political career of David Eugene Price, including his days as a graduate student in the 1960s, his tenure as a political science professor and Democratic Party staff member, and, finally, his years as a Democratic congressman from North Carolina's Fourth District. Records from Price's political headquarters contain thousands of original documents, handwritten and computer-generated; printed materials such as legislative bills and campaign publicity; and a variety of audiovisual materials, including photographs, some slides, many videos, and audio recordings. The collection is especially rich for researchers interested in the American political party system, the work and life of legislators, North Carolina history and government, the North Carolina Democratic and Republican parties, the U.S. Congress, its committee structure, the Hunt Commission, and the broader legislative process. Other materials document political campaigns, notably David Price's own congressional campaigns and Albert Gore's senatorial campaign of 1970-1971.
Extent:
172.5 Linear Feet
Language:
Material in English
Collection ID:
RL.01048

Background

Scope and content:

The David Price Papers document the scholarly and political career of David Eugene Price, including his days as a graduate student in the 1960s, his tenure as a political science professor and Democratic Party staff member, and, finally, his years as a Democratic congressman from North Carolina's Fourth District from 1987 through 1998. Records from Price's political headquarters record the routine activities of Price and his office staff, and the larger system of government in which he participated. The files contain documents, handwritten and computer-generated; printed materials such as legislative bills and campaign publicity; and a variety of audiovisual materials, including photographs, some slides, many videos, and audio recordings. The collection is especially rich for researchers interested in the American political party system, the work and life of legislators, North Carolina history and government, the North Carolina Democratic and Republican Parties, the U.S. Congress, its committee structure, the Hunt Commission, and especially the larger legislative process. Other topics include political campaigns, notably Price's own campaigns and Albert Gore's senatorial campaign of 1970-1971.

Three primary groups comprise the collection. Full descriptions of series and subseries within these groups are found below in the detailed collection description. The Pre-Congressional Papers primarily document Price's years as a student, then as a professor at Yale and Duke Universities; they also trace Price's early involvement with the Democratic Party. These papers are a foundation and prelude to Price's later work as a member of Congress. The Congressional Papers were compiled during his years in public office, and reveal Price's activities as a member of Congress, and his relationships with colleagues, constituents, and other political stakeholders. Finally, the Campaign Office Files were created from the activity of his campaign office in Raleigh, North Carolina, largely separate - as required by law - from the work of his congressional office.

Most original folders and folder titles have been retained. Labels included many abbreviations, acronyms, and initials; the full versions were added in brackets whenever possible. "DP" in folder titles and elsewhere usually refers to "David Price" but can also mean "Democratic Party." Keyword searching is possible within the container list, with some important limitations. First, the expanded forms of acronyms and abbreviations were not added in every instance but rather at the first occurrence with a new series or subseries. Second, labels are not standardized. For example, the search "breast cancer" might retrieve some folders, but not the one labeled "Cancer--breast." A search for the EPA's "Southern Appalachian Mountains Air Quality Initiative" within this collection may not retrieve folders labeled only as "Southern Appalachian Air Quality." To be comprehensive, therefore, searches need to be formulated in several ways. Please consult with a Research Services staff when using this collection.

Dates were obtained by sampling within folders and so may not be strictly accurate. Sampling was also used to identify the content of audiovisual materials, therefore descriptions for recordings may not be complete.

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
1940 Aug. 17
Born in Johnson City, Tenn. to a high school principal and a teacher.
1957-1959
Studied at Mars Hill College
1959
Morehead Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
1961
Earned B.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill
1963
Hired as summer intern for Senator Bartlett (D.-Alaska); subsequently worked for several summers as a legislative aide
1964
Received Bachelor of Divinity degree from Yale University.
Canvassed for Johnson-Humphrey presidential ticket
1967-1969
Instructor at Yale University
1968
Married Lisa Kanwit
1969
Received Ph.D. in political science from Yale University and obtained faculty appointment there
1970
Organized campus groups and Get-Out-The-Vote operations in Senator Albert Gore's (Sr.) (D.-Tenn.) last reelection campaign
1970-1973
Resident Fellow, Trumbull College at Yale University
1972
Served as a field organizer in Muskie's presidential campaign
Dissertation published as Who Makes the Laws? (Schenkman, 1972).
1973-
Joined political science faculty at Duke University. Helped launch what later became the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy
1975
Published The Commerce Committees: A Study of the House and Senate Commerce Committees
1976
Served as Deputy Campaign Manager for North Carolina, managing two congressional districts in Jimmy Carter's presidential campaign
1978-1979
Served as a Field Associate in the Community Development Block Grant monitoring project, The Brookings Institution
1979-1980
Executive Director of the North Carolina Democratic Party
1981-1982
Staff Director, Democratic Party Commission on Presidential Nomination
1981-1983
Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Political Science, Duke University
1983-1984
Served as Chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party
1984
Published Bringing Back the Parties (Congressional Quarterly Press, 1984)
1985 Apr. 13
Announced candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's Fourth Congressional District
1986 Nov. 4
Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (100th Congress)
1987
Sponsored the Home Equity Loan Consumer Protection Act
Joined the Democratic Budget Group.
Appointed to two subcommittees of the Science Committee: Science, Research, and Technology; and Investigations and Oversight.
Appointed to three House committees: Banking and Financial Services (formerly Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs); Science (formerly Science, Space, and Technology); and Small Business.
1988
Left the Small Business Committee
Won reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives (101st Congress).
1989
Joined the Democratic Caucus' Committee on Organization, Study, and Review
Became co-chair of the Democratic Budget Group.
Switched from the Investigations Subcommittee to the Natural Resources, Agriculture Research, and Environment Subcommittee.
1990
Won reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives (102nd Congress)
Awarded the American Political Science Association's Hubert H. Humphrey Public Service Award.
1991
Appointed to House Appropriations Committee. Joined Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, and Subcommittee on Agriculture and Rural Development.
Gave up assignments on House Banking, and Science, Space, and Technology Committees.
Appointed At-Large Majority Whip
1992
Passage of a bill first introduced by Price, the Scientific and Advanced-Technology Act of 1992.
Won a reelection bid to the U.S. House of Representatives (103rd Congress)
Published first edition of The Congressional Experience (Westview Press).
1993
Joined the Budget Committee
Left the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture and Rural Development for the Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary Subcommittee.
1994
Lost reelection campaign to the U.S. House of Representatives (104th Congress).
1995
Returned to faculty position at Duke University
1996
Regained seat in U.S. House of Representatives (105th Congress) for the Fourth District
1997
Received appointment to Appropriations subcommittees VA-HUD, and Treasury, Postal, and General Government.
The Price Education Affordability Act was passed
Reappointed to House Appropriations Committee.
1998
Reappointed to House Budget Committee
Won reelection campaign to U.S. House of Representatives (106th Congress).
1999-2000
Served on Budget Committee Task Force on Natural Resources and the Environment
2000
Reelected to U.S. House of Representatives (107th Congress)
Published second edition of The Congressional Experience (Westview Press).
2002
Reelected to U.S. House of Representatives (108th Congress)
2004-2006
Reelected to the U.S. House of Representatives

Price was involved in a number of caucuses, including the Sunbelt Caucus for Members with interests in the southern U.S. For more biographical information, including a list of the many articles Price published, see his curriculum vitae within the collection.

Acquisition information:
The David Price Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a transfer in 1988 and 1997, and a gift in 2010, 2013, and 2016.
Processing information:

Processed by Lisa Chandek-Stark and Michael Shumate, November 2004

Encoded by Lisa Chandek-Stark, Michael Shumate, and Paula Jeannet

Completed November 2006

Accessions 1987-0002, 1987-0005, 1995-0063, and 1998-0516 were merged into one collection, described in this finding aid.

Accessions 2010-0219, 2013-0123, and 2016-0138 added by Rubenstein Technical Services Staff.

Collection level notes, especially Conditions Governing Access and Conditions Governing USe, updated by Tracy M. Jackson, November 2019.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Access note. Accessions 2022-0183 and 2023-0027 are restricted. These materials require additional arrangement, description, and/or screening. Contact Research Services for more information.

Collection contains fragile audiovisual/photographic formats that may need to be reformatted before use. Contact Research Services for access.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Pre-Congressional Papers Record Group includes unpublished interviews in certain folders. Use of unpublished interviews in autobiographical material is restricted. Permission is not granted for publication. The user is responsible for obtaining permission to publish from the interviews.

Before you visit:
Please consult our up-to-date information for visitors page, as our services and guidelines periodically change.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], David Price Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

Permalink:
https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m10657