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/mm81075883
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.
Part I of the papers of Caspar W. Weinberger, United States secretary of defense, United States secretary of health, education, and welfare, California state legislator, lawyer, journalist, and business executive, was deposited by Weinberger in the Library of Congress from 1981 to 1988. Papers received in 1990 and 1993 are described separately as Part II. In 1998 and 2005, additional material was deposited by Weinberger. In 2006 all deposits were converted to a gift by his wife, Jane D. Weinberger. The 1998 and 2005 additions as well as a small gift from 2008 are described as Part III.
Part I of the Papers of Caspar W. Weinberger was arranged and described in 1988 by Allan J. Teichroew and Connie L. Cartledge. Part II was organized in 1993 by Bradley E. Gernand and Audrey L. Walker. The finding aid was revised in 2002 by Bradley E. Gernand and Audrey L. Walker with the assistance of Patrick Kerwin and again in 2009, when Part III was processed by Karen Linn Femia with the assistance of Jeffery Bryson.
Videotapes and audio recordings have been transferred to the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division where they are identified as part of these papers.
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Caspar W. Weinberger in these papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to the public.
The papers of Caspar W. Weinberger are open to research. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting.
Government regulations control the use of security classified items in this collection. Manuscript Division staff can furnish information concerning access to and use of classified material.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Roman numeral designating the Part followed by a colon and container number, Caspar W. Weinberger Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Caspar Willard Weinberger (1917-2006) span the years 1910-2005, with the bulk of the material dating from 1951 to 2005. The papers are divided into three parts. A description of each part follows.
Part I of the Weinberger Papers span the years 1910 to 1991, with the bulk of the items concentrated in the period 1951 to 1991. The collection focuses on Weinberger's career in California state politics and the federal government, but also includes family papers , files from a private legal practice , and considerable material relating to his work in public television, as a San Francisco Bay Area newspaper columnist, and with the Bechtel Group of Companies as the international construction firm's vice president and general counsel. Featured are lengthy records of his cabinet positions under Presidents Nixon and Ford between 1970 and 1975 and from 1981 to 1987 when he was President Reagan's secretary of defense during a period of rapid increase in military expenditures. His earlier Washington posts involved stints as deputy director and director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and two years as secretary of health, education, and welfare before and after the resignation of Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. Prior to holding these positions, Weinberger had served briefly as head of the Federal Trade Commission in 1970.
Included in the papers are appointment books, diary notes, and other jottings; personal, general, and business correspondence; legislative and political matter; and subject files, financial data, television scripts, newspaper columns, book reviews, texts of speeches, and assorted printed matter. Files related to Weinberger's service as secretary of defense consist mainly of photocopies of original items that are classified government documents and cannot be served to the general public.
Weinberger's early interest in politics is demonstrated by scrapbooks and other items he kept about national affairs while a student at San Francisco Polytechnic High School in the 1930s. He was a star pupil whose commencement oration on the nobility of politics (texts of which survive among his childhood materials) anticipated his first run for public office as a Republican candidate for the California State Assembly in 1952. He was elected to represent the San Francisco Bay area, and his three consecutive terms in Sacramento are meticulously recorded in legislative files for the period. Noted statewide for his efforts to reorganize California's Alcoholic Control Board, Weinberger competed for a spot on the 1958 GOP ticket as state attorney general but lost in the primary. His files trace some of the ideological and organizational issues involved, shifting subsequently to the crucial years between 1960 and 1964, when as vice chairman and later chairman of the State Republican Central Committee he shepherded the state party through various factional struggles culminating in the ascendance nationally of the Goldwater wing of the GOP. Correspondence from the period foreshadows the Washington administrations of Nixon and Ronald Reagan with letters and related material that concern the pre-presidential careers of both future chief executives and their various California and Sunbelt supporters. Among the more frequent or prominent letter writers are George Christopher, William Patrick Clark, Robert H. Finch, Barry M. Goldwater, Goodwyn Knight, William F. Knowland, George Murphy, Nelson A. Rockefeller, and John G. Tower.
Journalism and the news media were Weinberger's second interests, and after leaving the state assembly he began ten years as moderator of "Profile: Bay Area," a public affairs program on San Francisco public television station KQED. The production is fully documented with scripts, correspondence, and related matter. Also well covered is a syndicated newspaper column he wrote from 1958 to 1966 titled "California Commentary."
In 1966, then Governor Reagan appointed Weinberger to be California state finance director. Weinberger's papers are thereafter arranged by career episode, with general and personal correspondence for a given period organized under position title. The Federal Trade Commission segment traces Weinberger's initial Washington service. Considerable information is available in Office of Management and Budget files on critical budgetary and fiscal matters for the 1971 to 1973 period. As secretary of the Health, Education, and Welfare Department (HEW), Weinberger grappled with welfare reform, abortion, and affirmative action in education, issues extensively treated along with other topical and policy questions under the HEW heading. During these appointments, Weinberger began keeping journal notations or diary notes of important events and meetings. These notes can be used with various White House, cabinet, and other subject files to glean highlights of his contribution to the Nixon and Ford presidencies. Themes of significance in addition to topics already mentioned range from Nixon's 1973 attempt to reorganize the Executive Branch, which is documented in a file on Weinberger's position as counselor of human resources , to such ongoing issues as the federal budget deficit, social security funding, and increased health care costs.
At Bechtel from 1975 to 1980, Weinberger focused once again on California and private business interests. He was still oriented towards national politics, however, with the goal after the election of Jimmy Carter being the return to the White House of a Republican administration. To this end, Weinberger joined the Reagan team well in advance of the former governor's 1980 presidential campaign, and the Bechtel files include correspondence and commentary important to the election that took both Reagan and Weinberger to Washington. Subjects of interest tend towards diplomatic and military topics rather than the previous concentration on domestic affairs, with U.S.-Soviet arms negotiations and the 1979-1981 Iranian hostage crisis among the principal topics considered.
Department of Defense files begin with transition material documenting the Reagan Administration's first steps in military leadership. Other material from this period includes appointment records and diary notes , a private file of miscellaneous correspondence, and a large group of subject files. Notable among the appointment data is a special category of White House, cabinet, and other important meeting notes containing Weinberger's handwritten jottings and sometimes those of Reagan and Vice President George Bush. Writings by his superiors are brief and infrequent but include choice comments as well as amusing sketches.
The most substantive of the Department of Defense material is an extensive subject file which Weinberger's staff copied from originals at the Pentagon and later organized and indexed. Treated within yearly alphabetical groupings are the great and small events of world affairs during the 1980s, including information on the character and opinions of the major individual participants. Among the score or more incidents and developments covered are U.S.-Soviet nuclear weapons discussions, the invasion of Grenada, the Falklands War, various crises in Lebanon, American policy towards Nicaragua, relations with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), U.S. attacks on Libya, terrorism, and the Iran-Contra affair. Budgetary and management issues are recurring topics as well, especially in relation to OMB Director David Alan Stockman and leading policy shapers in Congress. Another episode covered is the aftermath of the March 1981 attempt to assassinate President Reagan. The file as a whole is characterized by documentation of every sort, much of which is classified, including correspondence with world leaders, memoranda of conversations, memoranda between cabinet and other executive-level officials, diplomatic and military cables, briefing data, minutes or synopses of White House and National Security Council meetings, and reports, political as well as military, regarding U.S. international interests.
Prominent correspondents whose names have not been cited above include Muḥammad ʻAbd al-Ḥalīm Abū Ghazālah, Spiro T. Agnew, Richard Lee Armitage, Menacham Begin, Frank Charles Carlucci, Peter Alexander, Rupert Carington (Baron Carrington), William J. Casey, William J. Crowe, Fahd ibn ʻAbd al-ʻAzīz, King of Saudi Arabia, Indira Gandhi, Alexander Meigs Haig, Charles Hernu, Michael Heseltine, Hussein, King of Jordan, Fred Charles Iklé, Helmut Kohl, Yūkō Kurihara, Robert C. McFarlane, Muḥammad Ḥusnī Mubārak, Richard Norman Perle, John M. Poindexter, Colin L. Powell, Elliot L. Richardson, Bernard William Rogers, Itzhak Shamir, Ariel Sharon, George Pratt Shultz, Giovanni Spadolini, Margaret Thatcher, John William Vessey, and Manfred Wörner.
Part II of the Weinberger Papers spans the years 1978-1991 and consists of three series of papers from the office of the secretary of defense, a Chronological File , a Subject File, and a Protocol File , as well as security classified series. The Chronological and Subject files chronicle Weinberger's activities in 1987, his final year as secretary of defense. The Protocol File spans Weinberger's tenure in the Department of Defense and includes files of his immediate predecessor, Harold Brown, and successors, Frank Charles Carlucci and Richard B. Cheney. Indexes are located at the beginning of each month in the Chronological File and at the beginning of each subject file. Of particular note are files relating to the Persian Gulf crisis, Afghanistan, Central America, NATO, the development of the Strategic Defense Initiative, and various arms control agreements. The Protocol File details the logistical arrangements of each ceremony and event in which the secretaries of defense and their staffs participated.
Part III of the Weinberger Papers spans the years 1969-2005, however the bulk of the
material dates from after Weinberger's resignation from the Defense Department in 1987.
Part III consists of ten series: Department of Defense , Personal File , Correspondence , Speeches and Writing ,
The Department of Defense series primarily contains items from Weinberger's tenure as secretary of defense. Of special interest are daily work sheets giving a detailed accounting of each day's activities and “Special 'eyes only'” folders, a file of selected documents created by Weinberger or his staff. Material dating after 1987 consists exclusively of items from 2001-2002 and relates to Weinberger's service as an unpaid consultant to the Department of Defense and Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
The Personal File contains items related to Weinberger's home in Maine, financial records, and items from his wife, Jane D. Weinberger.
The Correspondence series is organized into files established by Weinberger, such as “Congressional Correspondence,” “CWW Correspondence” (his initials), “Friends and VIPs” and “Personal Thank-you Letters,” that retain their original identity.
The Speeches and Writings series includes material relating to three of his books,
The
The Travel File consists of material from Weinberger's extensive travels. The Organizations File focuses on his involvement with charitable, social, educational, political, and governmental organizations and commissions, including the National Economic Commission.
Topics of importance in the Subject File include the Iran-Contra Investigation, the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, and various defense, intelligence, and weapons issues. Transcripts of interviews given by Weinberger are also in the Subject File .
The collection is arranged in three parts with thirty-six series combined:
Part I:
Part II:
Part III:
Correspondence, legal papers, school materials, photographs, early business items, scrapbooks, printed matter, and miscellany.
Organized alphabetically by type or topic of material.
Correspondence, memoranda, briefs, writs, notes, and other material concerning Weinberger's law practice, mostly from the period 1948-1952.
Organized alphabetically by case or subject.
Correspondence, memoranda, bills, notes, charts, lists, legal data, and various printed material pertaining to Weinberger's duties in the California legislative assembly from 1952 to 1958.
Organized according to session and then by topic, type of material, or name of correspondent.
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, bulletins, minutes of meetings, press material, and related matter concerning Weinberger's chairmanship of the Commission on California State Government Organization and Economics ("Little Hoover Commission") and membership on the State of California Commission on Government Reform.
Organized by name of commission and alphabetically therein by type or topic of material.
Correspondence, reports, appointment files, diary notes, invitations, speech material, and other files concerning Weinberger's tenure as director of California state finance.
Organized alphabetically by type or topic of material.
Correspondence, memoranda, calendars, photographs, financial items, press material, lists, notes, campaign advertisements, speech material, printed matter, and other material relating to various state and national political campaigns in which Weinberger was involved as a candidate or Republican party official between 1952 and 1966.
Organized alphabetically by office sought and chronologically by election therein.
Correspondence and scripts from a daily radio program Weinberger chaired to explain and promote Republican views on state and national political affairs.
Organized according to type of material and chronologically therein.
Correspondence, memoranda, subject files, speech material, minutes of meetings, and other material documenting Weinberger's tenure as vice chairman and chairman of the Republican State Central Committee.
Organized chronologically and then alphabetically by type or topic of material.
Correspondence and related matter pertaining to Weinberger's activities on behalf of various religious, philanthropic, educational, and other private and public institutions in San Francisco and elsewhere during the period between his duties as state assemblyman and subsequent state and national office.
Organized alphabetically by type or topic of material.
Correspondence, drafts and printed copies of columns, and financial and other material documenting Weinberger's semiweekly newspaper articles about California state government.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material and chronologically therein.
Correspondence, scripts, lists, and printed matter relating to public television programs hosted by Weinberger on station KQED in San Francisco. Topics were political and social issues affecting California and the nation.
Organized alphabetically by type of material.
Correspondence, memoranda, appointment files, lists, articles, congressional testimony, diary notes, subject files, invitations, press material, speeches, printed matter, and miscellaneous items regarding Weinberger's duties as chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. Correspondence includes letters with legislators, government officials, and the general public.
Arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material.
Appointment books and diary notes recording Weinberger's personal and public activities while deputy director and director of OMB.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material and chronologically therein.
Correspondence with legislators, government officials, politicians, friends, acquaintances, and the general public.
Organized into general and personal files and alphabetically therein.
Correspondence, memoranda , charts, lists, minutes of meetings, bulletins, briefing data, bills, press material, reports, interviews, invitations, printed matter, and miscellaneous material.
Arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material.
Texts of speeches and related matter regarding their presentation, including notes, correspondence, invitations, and programs.
Organized chronologically by date of speech. Miscellaneous background material located at the end of the file is arranged alphabetically by subject.
Appointment books, schedules, and diary notes recording Weinberger's personal and public activities while secretary of HEW.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material and chronologically within.
Congratulatory, congressional, general, and personal correspondence, including attached and appended material.
Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent.
Reading file of letters sent. Organized into departmental and personal segments, each arranged chronologically, and a secretariat file consisting of alphabetical and chronological subgroups.
The alphabetical subgroup contains both topical and personal name files.
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, briefing material, minutes of meetings, charts, lists, bills, invitations, and printed matter concerning the programs, staff, and operation of HEW.
Arranged alphabetically by type or topic of material.
Correspondence, memoranda, bills, congressional testimony, reports, briefing material, press data, grant files, contracts, charts, lists, printed matter, and miscellaneous files pertaining to substantive functions of HEW.
Organized alphabetically into primary issue categories and arranged alphabetically by subtopic within. Among the principal categories are budget issues, civil rights, education, and national health care.
Correspondence, texts of speeches and talks, travel itineraries, programs, printed matter, and other material relating to Weinberger's visits with public groups on behalf of HEW.
Organized chronologically within speech, trip, and meeting categories.
Correspondence, reports, speeches, meeting material, printed matter, and miscellaneous items relating to Weinberger's tenure as head of a new and short-lived executive office.
Arranged alphabetically by subject or type of material.
Appointment books, daily schedules, diary notes, and telephone log books recording Weinberger's business, political, and personal activities while general counsel and vice president of the Bechtel Group of Companies.
Organized alphabetically according to type of files and chronologically therein.
Correspondence and memoranda with attached and related matter.
Arranged chronologically by year and alphabetically by topic or name of person therein.
Correspondence sent and received.
Arranged chronologically.
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, articles, interviews, invitations, itineraries, minutes of meetings, lists, charts, press material, printed matter, and miscellaneous files concerning Weinberger's personal, business, and political activities. Includes related files from his appointments in Washington, D.C., after 1968.
Arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material.
Texts of speeches and related matter including notes, correspondence, invitations, and programs. Background and press material precedes texts.
Arranged chronologically.
Correspondence, schedules, briefing material and notes, invitations, reports, topical files, printed matter, and miscellaneous items concerning the transition from the Carter to the Reagan administration.
Organized alphabetically by topic or type of material.
Appointment books, diary notes, activity logs, social calendars, telephone call sheets, and handwritten notes by Weinberger related to White House, cabinet, and other meetings he attended while secretary of defense.
Organized alphabetically by type of file and chronologically within. Notes of White House and other meetings are arranged in two sets, the second of which consists of photocopies of originals not in the papers. Included in the latter is an index of the notes compiled and photocopied by Weinberger's staff.
Correspondence, memoranda, minutes of meetings, invitations, press items, reports, printed matter, and miscellaneous material.
Alphabetically arranged by subject or type of material.
Photocopies and a few originals of outgoing correspondence, memoranda, and related matter. A complete index of the file, compiled by Weinberger's staff at the Department of Defense, precedes the documents.
The index and file are organized chronologically on a monthly basis, and pertinent copies of the index are filed with each monthly segment. Included in the series are numerous classified items now removed from general use. Items withdrawn have been identified by an asterisk next to the document control number on the monthly index sheets.
Photocopies and a few originals of correspondence, memoranda, reports, military orders, budgetary and administrative files, transcripts of high-level conversations, diplomatic exchanges, military cables, technological data, and numerous related files. Most of the items are classified.
Organized chronologically by year and alphabetically by subject therein. This series was organized by Department of Defense staff prior to the transfer of the files to the Library and contains classified documents in addition to those in the Classified Material portion of Part I. The item numbers cited in the container list refer to the arrangement of items within each subject and are listed only when the folders for a subject occupy more than one box. An index compiled by Weinberger's staff precedes the file for each year. Each subject entry is also preceded by an index, with the pertinent sheets appearing at the front of the first folder of the topic covered. The entire subseries has been removed from general use because of its classified contents.
Book reviews, photographs, a teaching file, material relating to the attempt to make Steep Ravine a California state park, printed matter, and other material.
Organized by type of material and chronologically therein.
Oversize material consisting of a scrapbook concerning national politics kept by Weinberger as a child. Removed from the Family and Childhood series.
Classified material organized and described according to the series, folders, and boxes from which the items were removed.
Classified material organized and described according to the series, folders, and boxes from which the items were removed.
Classified material organized and described according to the series, folders, and boxes from which the items were removed.
Top Secret material organized and described according to the series, folders, and boxes from which the items were removed.
Secret Restricted Data material organized and described according to the series, folders, and boxes from which the items were removed.
Top Secret Restricted Data material organized and described according to the series, folders, and boxes from which the items were removed.
Top Secret Sensitive Compartmented Information material organized and described according to the series, folders, and boxes from which the items were removed.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Atomal material organized and described according to the series, folders, and boxes from which the items were removed.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Cosmic Top Secret material organized and described according to the series, folders, and boxes from which the items were removed.
Photocopies of outgoing correspondence, memoranda, and related matter.
Arranged chronologically. Indexes are filed at the beginning of each month.
Photocopies of correspondence, memoranda, reports, cables, and related materials.
Arranged alphabetically by subject. An index is filed in the first folder of each subject entry.
Correspondence, memoranda, and related matter regarding official events and meetings in which the secretary of defense and his major staff participated.
Arranged by type of event and thereunder by date.
Classifed material organized and described according to the series, folders, and boxes from which the items were removed.
Top Secret material organized and described according to the series, folders, and boxes from which the items were removed.
Secret Restricted Data material organized and described according to the series, folders, and boxes from which the items were removed.
Top Secret Sensitive Compartmented Information classified material organized and described according to the series, folders, and boxes from which the items were removed.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) classified material organized and described according to the series, folders, and boxes from which the items were removed.
Correspondence, memoranda, daily work sheets, telephone lists, and reports.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Financial and medical records, correspondence and recipes of Jane D. Weinberger, and items related to “Windswept,” his home in Maine.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Correspondence organized into categories as received, including congressional, friends and VIP, general, invitations, letters of recommendation, and personal thank-you letters.
Arranged alphabetically and within the categories chronologically.
Correspondence, drafts of books and articles, speeches, and related material.
Organized alphabetically by type of material.
Correspondence, internal memoranda, material related to special events, including cruises on the Forbes yacht,
Arranged alphabetically by type of material and therein chronologically.
Correspondence and related travel material.
Arranged chronologically, with destinations given in the container list.
Correspondence, financial material, reports, printed matter, testimony, and miscellany.
Arranged alphabetically by name of organization.
Correspondence, biographical material, interviews, reports, schedules, printed matter, and miscellany.
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Department of Defense and Subject File.
Organized and described according to the series, folders, and boxes from which the items were removed.
Top Secret material organized and described according to the series, folders, and boxes from which the items were removed.