Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm89077641
Collection material in English
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The papers of William A. Rusher, lawyer, publisher, and author, were given to the Library of Congress by Rusher in 1989. Two additions were sent to the Library by Rusher between 1997 and 2004. Another addition was given by the estate of William A. Rusher in 2015.
The papers of William A. Rusher were arranged and described in 1993 by Kathleen M. Dondanville with the assistance of Melissa Little, Scott McLemee, and Richard Urban. Additional material received between 1997 and 2015 was processed in 2016 by Connie L. Cartledge with the assistance of Chad Conrady, Sherralyn McCoy, and Tammi Taylor. The finding aid was updated in 2024 by Maria Farmer as part of a division-wide remediation project by the Inclusive Description Working Group.
A description of the Rusher Papers can be found in
Sound recordings have been transferred to the Library's Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division where they are identified as part of the William A. Rusher Papers.
Copyright in the unpublished writings of William A. Rusher in these papers and in other collections in the custody of the Library of Congress is reserved. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division for further information.
Restrictions apply governing the use, photoduplication, or publication of items in this collection. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division for information concerning these restrictions.
A microfilm edition of part of these papers is available on thirty-four reels. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan. The microfilm in these papers was produced by the office of the
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or reel number, William A. Rusher Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of William Allen Rusher (1923-2011) span the years 1940-2010, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1968-2009. The collection documents the instrumental role Rusher played in the development of the conservative movement from its origins in the 1950s. Nearly four decades of service to the conservative cause are highlighted by the papers, including Rusher's participation in key organizations and political campaigns, his writings and lectures, and his work as publisher of the first significant national journal of modern conservatism, the
The greatest concentration of material in the collection is found in the General Correspondence series (1957-1989). Comprising the bulk of the file are letters between Rusher and the general public, subscribers to the
Of special interest is correspondence between Rusher and his associates, including government officials, members of various conservative groups and organizations, political activists, Hollywood actors, and journalists and writers. Correspondents include Spiro T. Agnew, John M. Ashbrook, Robert E. Bauman, Morton C. Blackwell, Patrick J. Buchanan, James L. Buckley, James Burnham, Roy Cohn, M. Stanton Evans, Barry M. Goldwater, Charlton Heston, Donald Hodel, Lewis Kirby, Jr., Marvin Liebman, Roger Moore, Ronald W. Reagan, William Rickenbacker, Richard Viguerie, and John Wayne.
The
Letters and memoranda from Rusher to Buckley in this file are of special interest. Not only do these writings contain detailed discussions pertaining to the business aspect of the magazine, they also contain candid social and political comments. Included are Rusher's observations about the internal operations of the American Conservative Union, Young Americans for Freedom, and other conservative organizations, his opposition to Richard M. Nixon and desire to break away from the Republican Party to create a national conservative party, and his concerns over what he perceived as the liberal bias of the national media.
The remainder of the material in the
The Subject File (1960-1988) is comprised of correspondence, memoranda, reports, research notes, printed material, and other items primarily pertaining to Rusher's involvement in various conservative organizations. The series contains considerable documentation of these groups' efforts to incorporate conservative principles into the political and social arena. Significant records include the files of the American Conservative Union. Created in response to the defeat of Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election, this organization was founded to influence American public opinion to accept conservative principles. Rusher's records pertaining to his position as chairman of the group's Political Action Committee are of special interest. Mailings, district action handbooks, and other material document the committee's grass-roots efforts to gather and organize public support for conservative candidates and principles. Also in the file are records pertaining to the Young Americans for Freedom, a political action group organized with the assistance of William F. Buckley. Of note is correspondence between Rusher, Buckley, and others relating to the group's early administrative problems and internal power struggles.
The Subject File also contains material pertaining to Rusher's involvement in political campaigns. Of particular interest are the memoranda, handbooks, and press releases of the National Draft Goldwater Committee. These records document the successful drive to nominate a conservative as the Republican party's 1964 presidential candidate. Although Goldwater was soundly defeated by Lyndon B. Johnson in the election, the campaign was pivotal in that it provided Rusher and other conservatives with their first serious political encounter and created a generation of activists that later clinched the 1980 presidential election for Ronald Reagan. Also in this file are records pertaining to the Committee for the New Majority Party, the short-lived attempt led by Rusher and other activists during the 1970s to abandon the Republican party and found a new national Conservative party.
Rusher's concern with what he regarded as the liberal bias of the national media is featured in files relating to the National News Council. Correspondence, reports, minutes of meetings, and other material document the bipartisan council's work in monitoring the press and arbitrating disputes over the fairness of news stories. Also in the file are Rusher's records pertaining to the organization Concerned Alumni of Princeton documenting his objections to the intolerance by liberals of conservative views and traditional values at Princeton University and other colleges. The Subject File also focuses on conservative opinion regarding the government of South Africa and other African countries. Included are extensive files related to the American-African Affairs Association launched by conservative thinkers to counter the opposite views of the African-American Institute.
The Speeches and Writings series (1958-1989) includes correspondence, transcripts and programs pertaining to Rusher's numerous speaking engagements. Of particular interest are files covering his participation in debates with well-known figures such as Ralph Nader, William B. Shockley, and Ramsey Clark. Also in the series are extensive files covering his syndicated newspaper column "The Conservative Advocate." The file documents Rusher's views on such topics as the Vietnam War, the ideological biases of the national media, student protesters, and foreign affairs, and other political and social issues.
Also found in the file are research notes, press releases, transcripts and related material concerning Rusher's regular appearances on television and radio programs. Various folders document his work on the television program "The Advocates." This weekly program examined contemporary issues from both the liberal and conservative side, featuring Rusher as the advocate for the conservative point of view. Also present are transcripts of the political and social commentaries he wrote and read on the air for the Associated Press radio network, and items portraying his part in the making of "The Conservatives," a television documentary on the history of the modern conservative movement.
Within the writings file are drafts, research notes and publishing material relating to Rusher's articles and books. Correspondence and research material regarding
The Microfilm File (1957-1969) consists of thirty-four reels containing microfilm of material from a period when the
The collection also contains a Diaries series (1940-1988) comprised of daily annotated journals documenting Rusher's personal and professional life. The series will not be available for research until fifty years after Rusher's death.
The 2016 Addition spans the years 1955-2010, with the bulk of the material dating from 1989 to 2009. Papers in the addition complement the initial portion of the collection and relate to Rusher's endeavors as a distinguished fellow of the Claremont Institute, a conservative research organization, and his affiliation with other organizations and foundations such as the Claude and Anne Nelson Harrison Charitable Trust Foundation, the John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs, the Media Research Center, and the Wilbur Foundation. The addition is arranged into four groups: diaries, general correspondence, subject file, and speeches and writings.
The general correspondence, including incoming and outgoing letters dating primarily from 1989 to 2009, documents Rusher's activities in furthering the conservative movement. Much of the general correspondence is of a routine nature relating to political and social issues. It includes letters from family, friends, government officials, journalists, and readers of Rusher's columns. Also represented in the 2016 Addition are articles by Rusher, typescripts and printed copies of his syndicated newspaper column, "The Conservative Advocate," and transcripts for his radio program, and notes for speeches given by Rusher. Featured in the subject files is material documenting Rusher's continued association with the
The collection is arranged in seven series:
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm89077641
Daily annotated journals.
Arrangement is chronological by year.
Access to the diaries is restricted.
Incoming and outgoing correspondence, including attachments, exchanged between Rusher and the general public, subscribers to the
Arrangement is alphabetical by name and chronological therein.
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes of meetings, financial and legal records, lists, drafts of newsletters, reference material, newspaper clippings, and printed matter pertaining to Rusher's work as publisher of the
Arrangement is alphabetical by topic or type of material and chronological therein.
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes of meetings, newspaper clippings, lists, financial and legal records, research notes and material, printed matter, and miscellaneous material relating to Rusher's work with conservative organizations and groups and his other interests.
Arrangement is alphabetical by topic or type of material and chronological therein.
Manuscripts of articles, books, book reviews, columns, interviews, memorial tributes, speaking engagements, and television and radio appearances by Rusher, including drafts, transcripts, printed versions, research material, notes, photographs, related correspondence, and publication material.
Arrangement is alphabetical by type of material and chronological therein.
Microfilm of office files reproduced by the
The material was filmed in two segments, an alphabetical file and a chronological
file, both of which contain a variety of items, including correspondence,
memoranda, reports, minutes of meetings, financial and legal records, speeches,
and writings. The alphabetical file is arranged by name of person, organization,
topic or type of material. The chronological file was created by Rusher as a daily
reading file of incoming and outgoing material which duplicates in part items
located in the alphabetical file.
Diaries, correspondence, memoranda, reports, financial papers, interviews, notes, speeches, articles, columns, book reviews, book files, radio transcripts, newspaper clippings, printed matter, and other material.
Arranged according to the arrangement of the main portion of the papers and therein either alphabetically or chronologically.
Access to the diaries is restricted.