http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt4x0nd9xg No online items INVENTORY OF THE GLENN M. ANDERSON PAPERS, 1870-2000, bulk 1940-1994 Finding aid prepared by Tom Philo California State University, Dominguez Hills Archives & Special Collections University Library, Room G-145 1000 E. Victoria Street Carson, California 90747 Phone: (310) 243-3895 URL: http://www.csudh.edu/archives/csudh/index.html ©2008 INVENTORY OF THE GLENN M. ["Consult repository."] 1 ANDERSON PAPERS, 1870-2000, bulk 1940-1994 Descriptive Summary Title: Glenn M. Anderson Papers, Dates: 1870s-2000, Bulk: 1940-1994, Collection Number: ["Consult repository."] Creator: Anderson, Glenn M. Extent: 649 boxes, [430 linear ft] Repository: California State University, Dominguez Hills Archives and Special Collections Archives & Special Collection University Library, Room G-145 1000 E. Victoria Street Carson, California 90747 Phone: (310) 243-3013 URL: http://www.csudh.edu/archives/csudh/index.html Abstract: This collection comprises papers related to the long political career of Glenn M. Anderson, who served in California as mayor of the city of Hawthorne, as State Assemblyman, and as Lieutenant Governor, then represented the state in the House of Representatives. The wide-ranging collection contains legislation, reports, correspondence, scrapbooks, newsletters, audio-visual material, and other items recording Anderson’s deep involvement in the political issues facing California and the United States, and his work with many of the major political figures of the twentieth century, including Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Adlai Stevens, Edmund G. “Pat” Brown, and others. Language: Collection material is in English Access There are no access restrictions on this collection. Publication Rights All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical materials and not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained. Preferred Citation [Title of item], Glenn M. Anderson Papers, Courtesy of the Department of Archives and Special Collections. University Library. California State University, Dominguez Hills Acquisition Information Following his decision to retire in 1992, Glenn M. Anderson donated papers covering his long career to California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), which is located in the South Bay area Anderson had served for many years. CSUDH acquired the materials in December, 1992 and January, 1993. Processing Information Following donation of the materials, CSUDH formed the Glenn M. Anderson Collection Committee in June, 1993 to oversee both the processing of the collection and activities related to preserving and promoting the collection. Archivist Dan Lewis was hired on a part-time basis, and he oversaw processing of the collection through 1996, save for a period in 1994 when Tim Gregory served as Acting Coordinator of Archives & Special Collections at CSUDH. Rebecca Mead was hired as Project Archivist in 1997 and continued to early 1999. Further processing was done under the supervision of University Archivist Karen Jean Hunt. Final processing was completed by Tom Philo in 2008. Wherever possible the files retain the name and order that Anderson and his staff gave them. A finding aid draft was completed during earlier processing, but authorship was not attributed. This earlier draft was vital to completion of processing and particularly this finding aid. History/Biography Glenn M. Anderson was born on February 21, 1913 in Hawthorne, California, a city that Anderson would serve as mayor, Assemblyman, and Congressman. His parents had moved to California from Chicago in 1906, and were the first settlers in newly-established town of Hawthorne, located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County. Except for a brief period when the family lived in the San Bernardino County town of Cima, Anderson would maintain a home in the South Bay area for the rest of his life. INVENTORY OF THE GLENN M. ["Consult repository."] 2 ANDERSON PAPERS, 1870-2000, bulk 1940-1994 Following the death of Anderson’s father in 1925 and his brother’s disappearance in 1928, Anderson began his working life at age 18. While still attending high school, he began work as Postal Telegram Messenger, delivering telegrams first by bicycle, then later by motorcycle. Even while attending college at UCLA, Anderson’s enjoyment of motorcycle riding led to a brief career in the emerging sport of short track racing and occasional stunt work in Hollywood films. With the money he earned from races and motion pictures, Anderson opened a small garage in Hawthorne, one which soon grew to be one of the few thriving businesses in the Depression-hit town. As a successful local businessman, Anderson was urged to run for City Council. Upon winning a seat, his fellow Councilmen elected him to the mayor’s position. In 1940, Anderson at age 27 was the youngest mayor in the United States. At the same time he was beginning his career in municipal politics, Anderson was also working in the California Democratic Party, then eager to make gains in traditionally-Republican California. In 1936 he had helped organize a local Young Democrats chapter, soon became treasurer and then president, and in 1938 was elected a member of the Los Angeles County Central Committee (LACCC). In 1942, Anderson became a member of the Democratic State Central Committee of California (DSCCC), serving on the executive board, and was eventually elected Chairman of the DSCCC in 1950, by unanimous vote. As mayor, Anderson bypassed parochial business-as-usual corruption and graft that defined local politics, and began to place Hawthorne on a larger stage, convincing the Roosevelt Administration to build a long-delayed water filtration plant in the city as part of the Works Progress Administration. He was also instrumental in helping build the Hawthorne Municipal Airport as a draw to emerging aircraft companies, including future aviation giant Northrop. With the outbreak of World War II, Hawthorne and its surrounding area become vital in constructing airplanes for the war effort, with the air industry employing thousands. In 1943, Anderson left the Hawthorne mayor’s office after winning election to the State Legislature, representing the 46th District. After occupying the office briefly, Anderson waived the deferment granted to legislators, and enlisted in the Army, serving for the duration of the war. Upon discharge, Anderson returned to the State Legislature, winning re-election in 1945, 1947, and 1949. During his years in the California State Legislature, Anderson focused on education, aid to veterans, and improving California’s infrastructure. He authored the bill establishing El Camino College in his district, and pushed for the construction of bridges and highways that would link the South bay harbors in San Pedro and Long Beach to the rest of the state, and help make the harbors among the busiest in the world. Anderson also authored a bill outlawing segregation in California schools; it was signed into law in 1947, years before Brown vs. Board of Education outlawed segregation nationally. Following an unsuccessful run for the California State Senate in 1950, Anderson left elected office for eight years. While focusing on his successful property investment and development business, Anderson continued with efforts to build up the state’s Democratic Party. In 1952, Anderson, along with other Democratic leaders, including future-Senator Alan Cranston, formed the California Democratic Council (CDC), with Cranston chairman in north California, and Anderson Chairman in Southern California. The CDC spearheaded the movement to establish hundreds of Democratic Clubs around the state, bringing thousands of people into the party on a local level, allowing them to discuss issues important to them and helping determine common goals. This grass-roots movement helped fuel the explosive growth of the Democratic Party in the state in the 1950s, helping it become competitive with the then-dominant Republican Party. Anderson believed the time was right to re-enter elective politics, and in 1957 he began to campaign for the Lieutenant Governor’s position. In 1958, he won his party’s nomination, then was elected to the office in the general election, serving with his fellow Democrat Edmund G. “Pat” Brown, who had been elected Governor. They were both re-elected in 1962. Anderson was Lieutenant Governor during some of California’s most momentous years. As ex-officio Regent and Trustee, he helped preside over the 1960 creation of the California Master Plan for Higher Education, which made the University of California, the California State Colleges (later becoming the California State University system), and Community Colleges partners in an initiative that made higher education available to virtually any California resident. Anderson also chaired the Interstate Cooperation Commission, which helped California and Nevada control development in the Lake Tahoe area. Anderson worked on the California presidential campaigns of both Adlai Stevenson and John F. Kennedy. In August, 1965, while Governor Brown was out of the country, Anderson was Acting Governor when the Watts Riots broke out in Los Angeles. Anderson received some public criticism for his handling of the crisis, and it became an issue in the 1966 gubernatorial race, in