Guide to the Leroy Collins Papers, 1945-1993
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Guide to the Leroy Collins papers, 1945-1993 Descriptive Summary Title : Leroy Collins papers Creator: Collins, LeRoy (1909-1991) Dates : 1945-1993 ID Number : C31 Size: 471 boxes Language(s): English Repository: Special Collections University of South Florida Libraries 4202 East Fowler Ave., LIB122 Tampa, Florida 33620 Phone: 813-974-2731 - Fax: 813-396-9006 Contact Special Collections Administrative Summary Provenance: Collins, LeRoy, 1909-1991 Acquisition Information: Donation Accruals: Additional correspondence (1961-1968), film strips, tapes, and campaign materials for Collins' senatorial campaign in 1969 donated by Leroy Collins in December 1969. Access Conditions: None. The contents of this collection may be subject to copyright. Visit the United States Copyright Office's website at http://www.copyright.gov/ for more information. Processing History: Ready Preferred Citation: LeRoy Collins papers, Special Collections Department, Tampa Library, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida Related Material: Thomas LeRoy Collins Papers, Special Collections, Robert Manning Strozier Library, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida. Biographical Note LeRoy Collins was born in Tallahassee on March 10, 1909. He graduated from Leon High School in Tallahassee and received a degree in law from Cumberland University in Birmingham, Alabama. He returned to Tallahassee and married Mary Call Darby, the great-granddaughter of Richard Call who had twice served as Territorial Governor of Florida. Soon after his marriage to Mary Call, Collins was elected as the representative of Leon County to the Florida House of Representatives in 1934. He served in this position until 1940 when he filled the term of the late William Hodges in the Florida Senate. Collins purchased the Call family home "The Grove" in 1941 and shortly thereafter resigned his position from the Florida Senate to join the Navy in 1942. He was reelected to the Florida Senate upon his return from World War II in 1946. He was reelected in 1950, serving until 1954 when a special election was held to fill the remaining two years in the term of the late Governor Daniel T. McCarty, who had died in office in 1953. Collins Served as Florida's thirty-third Governor from 1955 to 1961 where he dealt with the complicated social and political issues of the time. His two greatest issues were the dismantling of segregation and the process of political patronage, both of which he employed a liberal diplomacy. Collins was also integral in the development of the Florida University system, including the University of South Florida in Tampa. He is considered by many historians to be one of the first liberal Southern Democrats to transform the political agenda of the South and is thought to be one of the best governors in Florida's History. Collins served as the Chairman of the Democratic National Convention in 1960, where he was a possible candidate for the presidential nomination due to his leadership position amongst Southern Governors and his strong stance on Civil Rights which would attract Northern liberals, however he did not seek the nomination. Upon leaving the governor's office, he became President of the National Association of Broadcasters, where he served until 1964. President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Collins to be the first Director of Community Relations, a government office created out of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This was followed by an appointment to the Undersecretary of Commerce in 1965 by President Johnson. Following his service in the federal government, Collins sought reelection to the Florida Senate in 1968. He won the primary but lost in the general election. His progressive stand for Civil Rights and his highly publicized role in the Selma, Alabama march while Director of Community Relations is credited with having cost him the 1968 Senate election. Upon his retirement from public service, Collins retired from his law firm in Tampa in which he had been a partner. He then returned to "The Grove" in Tallahassee where he remained active in the community and was also a guest contributor on politics to the St. Petersburg Times until his death from cancer in 1991 Scope Note The materials comprising the Collins papers range in date from the 1940s to the 1980s, with concentrations in Collins' terms as Governor and materials related to his 1968 unsuccessful Senatorial campaign. The collection consists of 344 manuscript boxes, approximately 200 linear feet of papers which include and are not limited to correspondence files, working papers, reports, campaign research, memoranda and speeches. The collection also includes approximately 45 linear feet of films, recordings and videotapes. 35 scrapbooks, memorabilia, and an extensive amount of pictures are also included as part of the collection. Arrangement Note: The collection is arranged chronologically by Collins' career. Individual series are devoted to Collins' years in the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Governorship, the Chairmanship of the Democratic National Convention, his tenure as president of the National Association of Broadcasters, appointments as both Director of Community Relations and Undersecretary of Commerce, an unsuccessful bid for the Senate in 1968, and his years in retirement. Within each series, the papers are arranged categorically by box. Pictures, films, and memorabilia are arranged in separate series as well. Arrangement The collection is arranged chronologically by Collins' career. Individual series are devoted to Collins' years in the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Governorship, the Chairmanship of the Democratic National Convention, his tenure as president of the National Association of Broadcasters, appointments as both Director of Community Relations and Undersecretary of Commerce, an unsuccessful bid for the Senate in 1968, and his years in retirement. Within each series, the papers are arranged categorically by box. Pictures, films, and memorabilia are arranged in separate series as well. Subject Headings Corporate Names: Florida. Governor (1955-1961 : Collins) Florida. Legislature. Senate National Association of Broadcasters United States -- Navy Personal Names: Collins, LeRoy Collins, Mary Call Subject Terms: Civil Rights -- Florida -- History Florida -- History Florida -- Legislature -- House of Representatives Florida -- Politics and government -- 20th Century. Governors--Florida--Biography. COLLECTION CONTENTS Series 1 : Governor, January 4, 1955 - January 3, 1961 Scope/Content : Although Collins was a Senator in 1953 and 1954, these years are included in the Governor's Papers because they lead up to his successful campaign for the Governorship and are therefore integral to his administration's platform BOX 1 FOLDER 1 : Guest Books, Jan 1955 - April 25, 1957 BOX 2 FOLDER 1 : Guest Books, April 26, 1957 - July 31, 1958 BOX 3 FOLDER 1 : Guest Book, August 26, 1958 - August 25, 1959 BOX 4 FOLDER 1 : Guest Books, August 27, 1959 - December 1960 BOX 5 : Memberships, 1955-1958 FOLDER 1 : Memberships, Jan-Aug 1955 FOLDER 2 : Memberships, Aug-Dec 1955 FOLDER 3 : Memberships, Jan-July 1956 FOLDER 4 : Memberships, July-Dec 1956 FOLDER 5 : Memberships, Jan-April 1957 FOLDER 6 : Memberships, May-June 1957 FOLDER 7 : Memberships, June-Dec 1957 BOX 6 : Memberships, 1958-1961 FOLDER 1 : March 31 - June 6, 1958 FOLDER 2 : June-Nov 1958 FOLDER 3 : Jan-May 1959 FOLDER 4 : July-Dec 1959 FOLDER 5 : Jan-Feb 1960 FOLDER 6 : Feb-Jan 1960 FOLDER 7 : August 1960 - Jan 1961 FOLDER 8 : Hall of Fame, 1959-1960 BOX 7 : Diplomatic Trip to Russia, 1958-1959 FOLDER 1 : Clippings - Governor Conference - Executive Committee, 1958-1959 FOLDER 2 : Newspaper Clippings, 1959 FOLDER 3 : Foreign Policy - Khrushchev and Mikoyan Visits, Jan 12 - Sept 16, 1959 FOLDER 4 : Foreign Policy, Mar-Oct 1959 FOLDER 5 : Foreign Policy, Nov-Dec 1959 FOLDER 6 : Foreign Policy, Oct 19, 1959 FOLDER 7 : Governors Conference - Executive Committee, Jan-June 1959 FOLDER 8 : Governors Conference - Executive Committee, June 16-26, 1959 FOLDER 9 : Governors Conference - Executive Committee, July-Aug 1959 FOLDER 10 : Governors Conference - Executive Committee, May 1959 BOX 8 : Diplomatic Trip to Russia, 1959 FOLDER 1 : Governors Conference - Executive Committee - Background, June 1959 FOLDER 2 : Governors Conference - Executive Committee - Traveling Party, Jan-May 1959 FOLDER 3 : Notes on Russian Trip - Dictaphone format FOLDER 4 : Governors Conference - Executive Committee - Traveling Party, May-June 1959 FOLDER 5 : Governors Conference - Executive Committee - Traveling Party, June-Oct 1959 BOX 9 : Radio and Television - Newspaper Articles, 1955-1959 FOLDER 1 : Jan-Aug 1955 FOLDER 2 , Aug-Dec 1955 FOLDER 3 : 1956 FOLDER 4 : Jan-May 1957 FOLDER 5 : May-Dec 1957 FOLDER 6 : Jan-April 1958 FOLDER 7 : April-Nov 1958 FOLDER 8 : Nov-Dec 1958 FOLDER 9 : Jan-Feb 1959 FOLDER 10 : Feb-April 1959 FOLDER 11 : April-July 1959 BOX 10 : Radio and Television Newspaper Articles, Aug 1959 - Dec 1961 FOLDER 1 : Newspaper Articles, Aug-Dec 1959 FOLDER 2 : Newspaper Articles, Jan-Aug 1960 FOLDER 3 : Newspaper Articles, Sept 1960 - Jan 1961 FOLDER 4 : Newspaper Articles - "Collins Plan", March 1960 FOLDER 5 : Letters of Appreciation - Democratic National Convention, 1960 FOLDER 6 : Weekly Campaign Speeches, Jan-March 1956 FOLDER 7 : Weekly Campaign Speeches, April-May 1956 FOLDER 8 : Radio and Television, Feb 1955 - Dec 1958 FOLDER 9 : Radio and Television, Jan-May 1960 FOLDER 10 : Radio and Television, May-Dec 1960 BOX 11 : Speeches,