James R. Mann Papers

The James R. Mann Papers consist of 28.75 linear feet of material, 1948 to 2010, arranged in six series: Public Papers, Personal Papers, Audio-Visual Material, Bound Volumes, Clippings, and Vertical File Materials.

Public Papers

Public Papers (19 lf.) is divided into three sub-series: South Carolina House of Representatives, US House of Representatives, and Speeches. The South Carolina House materials, 1949 to 1952, is arranged chronologically and consists chiefly of correspondence from constituents and members of the General Assembly regarding issues such as education, income tax, and highways. The Legislative Appointments file from 1949 contains letters seeking support from candidates for various state positions.

The U.S. House materials, 1969 to 1978, consist of General Papers, Bills, Judiciary Committee Records, and Voting Records. General Papers are arranged chronologically and include correspondence and research materials. Much of the correspondence consists of carbon copies of Mann's replies to constituent letters which are not present. Topics include Labor, Energy, Textiles, and Consumer Protection. The years 1970 to 1972 contain VIP correspondence from congressmen, cabinet members, and the President. Also of general interest are Mann's statements in the Congressional Record and press releases, filed at the end of the General Papers.

Significant topical files include those regarding the Select Committee on Crime, Powers of the Presidency Conference, Democratic Research Organization Committee to Investigate a Balanced Federal Budget, and Informal House Textile Committee. For several years, Mann sponsored an annual trip to Washington for high school seniors from his district. The Select Committee on Crime papers, 1973, chiefly concern gambling on greyhound racing in Arizona and narcotics. Scholarship Trip files contain the names of students selected for the trip and correspondence with schools, parents, and students.

Records for the Informal House Textile Committee and Democratic Research Organization's Committee to Investigate a Balanced Federal Budget span more than one year. Files for both committees are found under 1978, the last year for which records are present. The Informal House Textile Committee file, 1975 to 1978, reflects Mann's activities as chairman of the bipartisan committee of over 100 House members. Included is a copy of H.Res. 856, introduced by Mann, regarding reciprocal foreign trade policies, as well as correspondence with Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and other committee members. Mann joined the Committee to Investigate a Balanced Federal Budget, created by the Democratic Research Organization, in 1976. The committee held hearings in March, April, and May 1976 for the purpose of “formulating and developing the language for a concept that will bring about a balanced federal budget.” Included are statements from those hearings and other memoranda, 1976 and 1978.

Powers of the Presidency Conference files, 1975, contain research material and papers presented at the conference as well as two papers that may have been authored or co-authored by Mann. The research material includes committee prints of the War Powers Resolution, 23 April 1975; “A Brief History of Emergency Powers in the United States” working paper, July 1974; and a House document containing excerpts and a bibliography relating to PL 88-246, a bill on curtailing the powers of the presidency.

Bills primarily consist of bills sponsored or co-sponsored by Mann during the 93rd through 95th Congresses, 1973 to 1978, with accompanying correspondence. Lists of the bills are included for the 92nd through 95th Congresses [1971 to 1978]. A “Legislative Profile” summarizes each of the bills sponsored or co-sponsored by Mann for the 95th Congress [1977 to 1978].

Judiciary Committee files, 1973 to 1978, consist of correspondence, analyses, testimony, and research materials chiefly concerning the Nixon impeachment inquiry, Nixon's pardon, and the nominations of Gerald Ford and Nelson Rockefeller as Vice-President. Files also document Mann's work as a member of the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice on the Speedy Trial Act of 1974 and the Criminal Code Reform Act of 1978. Files pertaining to Ford’s nomination consist chiefly of research materials and excerpts of hearing testimony. General files contain correspondence with the White House, congressional memoranda regarding the proceedings, and statements made on the floor of the House. Research materials describe Ford's background and career, analyze his philosophy, and examine the implications of the twenty-fifth amendment to the Constitution regarding presidential succession. Testimony files include excerpts and lists of possible questions. Transcripts of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration nomination hearings and the unedited stenographic minutes of the House Committee on the Judiciary are also included in this series.

Impeachment Inquiry files from 1973 chiefly consist of hearing testimony, evidence, and correspondence from constituents on whether or not impeachment inquiry sessions should commence. The majority of the letters advocate impeachment inquiry proceedings and reflect a distrust of President Nixon after he fired Watergate special prosecutors Archibald Cox and William Ruckelshaus. 1974 files contain correspondence, extensive hearing testimony and evidence, committee prints, drafts and a copy of the final report, and research materials. The General file contains assessments of the evidence the committee reviewed and a draft of the minority opinion. Constituent correspondence and telephone messages reflect considerable support for impeachment. Many praised Mann's conduct during the proceedings, and some stated that the Judiciary Committee's actions restored their faith in the political process. While many letters refer to strong support for Nixon in the Fourth District, few pro-Nixon letters are found in the collection.

Impeachment Inquiry Hearings files contain testimony and evidence, chiefly in bound volumes. Statements of Information were selected from the Senate Select Committee hearings and printed for the House Judiciary Committee. Inclusive dates for the events described are 2 Dec. 1971 to June 1974. A summary of the contents is printed at the beginning of each volume. House Stenographic Minutes are the unrevised and unedited transcripts of the House Judiciary Committee Hearings, July 1974. Photocopies of evidence submitted during the hearing accompany the relevant testimony. Of particular interest is the Comparisons of White House and Judiciary Committee Transcripts of Eight Recorded Presidential Conversations comparing selections from the transcripts the President submitted to the Committee in April 1974 and the same passages as transcribed by the Impeachment Inquiry staff. Arguments on behalf of the President are found in Statement of Information Submitted on Behalf of President Nixon, Books I-IV and Brief Submitted on Behalf of the President of the United States.

Other impeachment related topical files include Index to Investigative Files, an “index to the source materials accumulated by the impeachment inquiry staff of the House Committee on the Judiciary.” These materials include testimony transcripts and evidence placed before the Senate Select Committee (SSC) or the House Judiciary Committee. People who testified before the SSC are listed alphabetically in the SSC public testimony section. The Index also lists testimony from other trials and before other committees which are not included in this collection. The Summary of Information file briefly describes the case against the President regarding Watergate, Abuse of Presidential Powers, Refusal of the President to Comply with Subpoenas from the Committee on the Judiciary, and Willful Tax Evasion. The Supplemental Submission Concerning the Bombing of Cambodia consists of maps of Cambodia, a memorandum titled “Statement of Statutory Law Relating to the Bombing of Cambodia,” three court opinions in Holtzman v. Schlesinger, and Cambodian protests filed with the United Nations in the twenty-seven months preceding the 18 March 1970 overthrow of Prince Sihanouk's government.

Rockefeller Confirmation files consist chiefly of hearing transcripts of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and research material used by the Judiciary Committee. The general file contains a statement by committee chairman Peter Rodino, potential questions for Rockefeller, and Mann's notes.

The Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Criminal Code Reform Act of 1978 file chiefly consists of research material on topics such as appellate reform, capital punishment, extortion, firearms, sex offenses, and criminal sentencing. Staff memoranda and correspondence are also present.

Voting Records list Mann's vote on every roll call vote during his terms in office, excluding his last session. A subject guide provides a brief summary of the bills by roll call number and lists sponsors and co-sponsors. Voting Comparisons for the 91st through 93rd Congresses, 1969 to 1974, contrast Mann's record with both the House as a whole and other members of the South Carolina delegation.

Speeches, 1949 to 1952 and 1969 to 1978, consists of drafts and research material for speeches Mann made as a member of the General Assembly and Congress. Campaign speeches are filed with Mann’s Personal Papers.

Personal Papers

The series Personal Papers is divided into General Papers and Campaign Records. General Papers chiefly consist of correspondence and memoranda, 1948 to 1978, concerning political affairs and particularly the Democratic Party. Of particular interest are drafts of Mann's acceptance speech as chairman of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, January 1965, and financial statements for 1978.

Campaign Records document Mann's 1948 campaign for the South Carolina House, his five campaigns for Congress, and his efforts in 1962 and 1966 to help elect Ernest F. Hollings to the U.S. Senate.

Records concerning Mann's congressional campaigns consist of General, Democratic Party, Financial Records, and Media files. General files include correspondence, press releases, and speeches. Financial Records contains receipts for campaign material and advertisements, lists of contributions, and the transaction register for the Mann for Congress Committee. The FEC Reports file consists of summary reports of deposits and expenditures. The 1978 Campaign Financial Records file contains financial information of the Mann for Congress Committee, although he did not seek reelection. Media files include notes on slogans, drafts for radio and television advertisements, campaign pamphlets and bumper stickers. Of particular interest is an “Analysis of the Political Climate in the Fourth Congressional District,” prepared by Oliver Quayle and Co. of New York in March 1968. It examines attitudes towards President Lyndon Johnson and candidates for the Fourth Congressional seat. The Greenville County Democratic Party prepared their own report called “Consent of the Governed,” located in the Democratic Party, State and Local file.

Audio-Visual Material

This series includes approximately forty photographs of Mann from his years in Congress, recordings of his announcement of 2 January 1978 that he will not seek re-election and a discussion of President Ford's statement on crime from June 1975, a videotape of the documentary Summer of Judgment: The Impeachment Hearings made in March 1998.

Bound Volumes

Bound Volumes, 1969 to 1978, consists of committee prints, House Documents, House Reports, and hearings chiefly concerning the proceedings of the Select Committee on Crime, Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control, and the Judiciary Committee. Many of these document areas of Mann's congressional career which are not reflected elsewhere in the collection, such as the Committee on the District of Columbia, Miscellaneous Hearings on Home Rule. Out of the thirty-one bound volumes, eleven have related materials in this collection. These include the 95th Congress Judiciary Committee committee print of Impact of S 1437 upon Present Federal Criminal Legislation, Parts 1-2 and hearings on H.R. 6869, Legislation to Revise and Recodify Federal Criminal Laws, Parts 1-3. Papers concerning S 1437 and HR 6869 are located in the Judiciary Committee series under 1977-1978 Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Criminal Code Reform Act. Materials regarding the 92nd Congress Select Committee on Crime Hearings and Committee Prints, Volume 4, Drugs in Our Schools and the 95th Congress Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control Hearings and Committee Prints in five volumes are found in General Papers, 1972 and 1977-1978 respectively.

Clippings

Clippings, 1948 to 1978, chiefly concerns the Watergate investigation and impeachment hearings. Other topics of note include the inquiry in to Mann's finances and Mann's judgeship nomination to the U.S. Military Court of Appeals in 1975.

Vertical File Materials

Vertical File Materials, 1971-2010 and no date, contain information gathered by SCPC relating to Mann and may duplicate information already present in the collection.