C Symington, Stuart (1901-1988), Scrapbooks, 1945-1976 3637 1 folder, 37 volumes on 6 rolls of microfilm

MICROFILM

This collection is available at The State Historical Society of . If you would like more information, please contact us at [email protected].

INTRODUCTION Primarily newspaper clippings documenting Symington’s years as a Democratic senator from Missouri, 1953-1976. Early volumes cover his activities while heading the Surplus Property Board, the Air Force, the National Security Resources Board, and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.

DONOR INFORMATION The scrapbooks were donated to the University of Missouri by on May 25, 1973 (Accession No. 3916). Additions to the collection were made from October 1976 to January 1977 (Accession No. 4017).

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH William Stuart Symington was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, on June 26, 1901, to William Stuart Symington, a Baltimore, Maryland lawyer and former professor of Romance Languages at Amherst College, and his wife, Emily Haxall Harrison Symington also of Baltimore. Professor Symington originally obtained his Ph.D. in French folklore from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore before studying law. He began practicing law at the age of 35. Emily Haxall Harrison descended from a wealthy family. Soon after his birth, the Symington family moved to Baltimore where Stuart Symington attended public schools, graduating from Baltimore City College in 1917. He enlisted as a private in the Army at age 17, entered officer training school, and was discharged with the rank of second lieutenant in 1919. He enrolled at but left in 1923, short of mathematics credits. Yale did award him his degree retroactively in 1945, however. Symington worked summers as a reporter for a Baltimore newspaper. He moved to Rochester, where he worked as an iron molder and lathe operator from 1923 to 1926, studying mechanical and electrical engineering at night and by correspondence. He served as an executive with several radio and steel companies from 1926 to 1937 before moving to St. Louis, Missouri to become president of Emerson Electric Manufacturing Company, a post he held until 1945. Symington married Evelyn Wadsworth on March 1, 1924. Wadsworth was the daughter of New York Republican Senator James Wolcott Wadsworth, Jr., and granddaughter of . The couple had two sons, William Stuart Symington, Jr., a lawyer in St. Louis, and James Wadsworth Symington, former Congressman from Missouri and a lawyer in Washington, D.C. Symington entered public service with an appointment as chairman of the Surplus Property Board in Washington, D.C. and was Surplus Property Administrator from 1945 to 1946. Other federal appointments quickly followed: Assistant Secretary of War for Air C3637 Symington, Stuart (1901-1988), Scrapbooks, 1945-1976 Page 2

(1946-1947), first Secretary of the Air Force (1947-1950), Chairman of the National Security Resources Board (1950-1951), and Reconstruction Finance Corporation Administrator (1951-1952). He resigned from the latter position to run as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate in 1952. After an unsuccessful run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1960, he was reelected to the U.S. Senate in 1958, 1964, and 1970 where he served until his retirement on December 27, 1976. The death of Evelyn Wadsworth Symington on December 24, 1972 and his own health caused the Senator to decide not to run for reelection in 1976. Symington married Ann Hemingway Watson on June 16, 1978 and lived in New Canaan, Connecticut until his death of heart disease on December 14, 1988. He is interred in a crypt in Washington National Cathedral, Washington, D.C. Related Symington collections include C3874 – Symington’s personal papers which largely consist of senatorial material; C3562 – carbon copies of his outgoing senatorial correspondence; and C3882 – the papers of Stanley Fike, Symington’s administrative assistant.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE Arranged chronologically, the Stuart Symington Scrapbooks have been divided into pre-senatorial and senatorial years. The original scrapbooks were microfilmed and discarded. A few items have been retained and they are located at the beginning of the collection.

FOLDER LIST f. 1 Items retained from scrapbooks, including photographs, two notes addressed to Mrs. Symington from Bess Truman, and TWA material. v. 1-6 Pre-senatorial v. 1 Appointment as chairman of the Surplus Property Board. 1945. v. 2 First day covers; Harry S Truman inauguration; first non-stop around the world flight; Stuart Symington, Jr. and Janey Studt wedding; activities as secretary of the Air Force. 1947-1949. v. 3 Activities as secretary of the Air Force; honorary degree from Baylor University; appointment as chairman of the National Security Resources Board; retirement of James W. Wadsworth; attempted assassination of Truman. 1950. v. 4 Appointment, activities, and resignation as director of Reconstruction Finance Corporation; activities as head of National Security Resources Board. 1946-1952. Bulk of volume is 1951; material from earlier years is at end. v. 5 W. Stuart Symington Testimonial Dinner, St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, 17 January 1951. Program, congratulatory letters, and clippings. v. 6 Decision to run for Senate and primary election campaign. 1952. v. 7-37 Senatorial. The bulk of the clippings pertains to Symington’s activities as senator--speeches, votes, and committee work. Special topics are listed below. C3637 Symington, Stuart (1901-1988), Scrapbooks, 1945-1976 Page 3

v. 7 1952 campaign and election; Army-McCarthy hearings. 1950- December 1954. v. 8 Drought. 1953 v. 9 Air Force investigation; 1956 presidential election; defense policies. October 1954-January 1958. v. 10 Senate Agriculture Committee investigation of the agricultural stabilization and conservation program in Missouri. September 1955-September 1956. v. 11 Symington as “dark horse” for 1956 Democratic presidential nomination. October 1955-May 1958. v. 12 Democratic national convention. August 1956. v. 13-14 1958 reelection campaign. June 1955-December 1958. v. 15-21 1960 presidential campaign. January 1959-June 1960. v. 22 1960 presidential campaign; Democratic national convention; proposed Defense Department reorganization. July 1960-July 1961. v. 23 Stockpile hearings. August 1961-October 1962. v. 24-25 1964 reelection campaign. November 1962-November 1964. v. 26-27 Vietnam War. September 1964-May 1968. v. 28 Vietnam War; James Symington campaign for House of Representatives. December 1964-March 1969. Bulk of volume dates from April 1968. v. 29-30 Anti-ballistic missile system controversy; Vietnam War. January 1969-February 1970. v. 31-36 1970 reelection campaign. June 1969-February 1971. v. 37 Vietnam War; Watergate scandal. February 1970-December 1976. Bulk of volume dates from February 1971.

INDEX TERMS

Subject Folders Other Image Antimissile missiles v. 29,30 Barkley, Alben William (1877-1956) v. 3 y Bradley, Omar N. (1893-1981) v. 3 y Bradshaw, Jean Paul (1906-1970) v. 25,26 Bridges--Missouri, Jefferson City v. 9 y Clark, Mark Wayne (1896-1984) v. 4 y Clark, Mark Wayne (1896-1984) v. 4 Clark, Thomas Campbell (1899-1977) v. 3 y Clark, Thomas Campbell (1899-1977) v. 3 Colbert, Murray C. v. 10 Collins, Lawton (1896- ) v. 3 y Dalton, John Montgomery (1900-1972) v. 9 y Danforth, John Claggett (1936- ) v. 31-36 C3637 Symington, Stuart (1901-1988), Scrapbooks, 1945-1976 Page 4

Subject Folders Other Image Democratic National Convention, 1956 v. 12 Democratic National Convention, 1960 v. 18,22 Droughts--Missouri, 1953 v. 8 Early, Stephen (1889-1951) v. 3 y Eisenhower, Dwight David (1890-1969) v. 2 y Eisenhower, Mamie Geneva Doud (1896-1979) v. 2 y Election, 1952--Missouri Senatorial v. 4, 6, 7 Election, 1956, Presidential v. 9, 11, 12 Election, 1958--Missouri Senatorial v. 13, 14 Election, 1960, Presidential v. 11, 15-22 Election, 1964, Presidential v. 25 Election, 1964--Missouri Senatorial v. 24-26 Election, 1968--Missouri Congressional v. 28 Election, 1970--Missouri Senatorial v. 30-36 Gavin, James M. (1907- ) v. 11 y Gray, Gordon (1909- ) v. 2 y Harriman, W. Averell (1891-1986) v. 4 y Hennings, Thomas C., Jr. (1903-1960) v. 9 y Hope, Bob (1903- ) v. 2, 4 y Humphrey, Hubert H. (1911-1978) v. 10 Johnson, Louis A. (1891-1966) v. 2, 3 y Johnson, Lyndon Baines (1908-1973) v. 3, 4, 9 y Kem, James Preston (1890-1965) v. 7 Kennedy, Robert F. (1925-1968) v. 7 y Kimball, Dan A. (1896-1970) v. 3 y Korean War, 1950-1953 v. 3 Lovett, Robert A. (1895- ) v. 4 y Marland, William Casey (1918- ) v. 7 y Marshall, George C. (1880-1959) v. 3, 4 y McCarthy, Joseph R. (1908-1957) v. 7 McClellan, John L. (1896-1977) v. 7 y Meigs, Merrill Church (1883-1968) v. 2 y Musial, Stanley Frank (1920- ) v. 9 y Outer space, Exploration, 1950s v. 9 Phillips, John (1887- ) v. 3 Presidents, U.S., Inauguration, 1949 v. 2 Rayburn, Sam (1882-1962) v. 7 y Rosenberg, Anna M. v. 3, 4 y C3637 Symington, Stuart (1901-1988), Scrapbooks, 1945-1976 Page 5

Subject Folders Other Image Scrapbooks v. 1-37 Sherman, Forrest P. (1896-1951) v. 3 y Sullivan, John Lawrence (1899-1982) v. 4 y Symington, Evelyn Wadsworth (1903-1972) v. 2, 3, 6, 7, 11, 14, 17- y 21, 31, 37 Symington, James Wadsworth v. 13, 15, 26-30, 37 Symington, Stuart (1901-1988) v. 1-37 Symington, Stuart (1901-1988) 1 v. 2-4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 18 y Symington, Stuart, Jr. v. 2, v. 3 y Taylor, J. E. "Buck" (1906- ) v. 6, 7 Truman, Bess Wallace (1885-1982) 1 v. 2, 3 Truman, Harry S (1884-1972) v. 1-3, 6, 7 Truman, Harry S (1884-1972) v. 4, 7, 9 y Tydings, Joseph Davies v. 9 y U.S. Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation vol. 10 Committees, Missouri U.S. Air Force vol. 2, 9 U.S. Central Intelligence Agency v. 37 U.S. Congress, 84th, Senate, Agriculture Committee v. 10 U.S. Foreign relations, 1970 v. 31 U.S. National Security Resources Board Vol. 3, 4 U.S. Navy Vol. 2 U.S. Reconstruction Finance Corporation v. 4 U.S. Surplus Property Board v. 1 Vandenberg, Hoyt S. (1899-1954) v. 2, 3 y Vietnam War, 1961-1975 vol. 26-28, 30, 31, 37 Vinson, Carl (1993-1981) vol. 4 y Wadsworth, James W. (1877-1952) vol. 3 Whitney, Cornelius Vanderbilt v. 2 y Wilson's Creek Battlefield National Park, Missouri v. 23 Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, Alumni Day, v. 3 y 1950