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University of Chicago Library

Guide to the William A. F. Stephenson Papers circa 1905-1986

© 2016 University of Chicago Library

Descriptive Summary

Title:

Stephenson, William A. F., Papers

Dates:

circa 1905-1986

Size:

9.5 linear feet (16 boxes)

Repository:

Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center
University of Chicago Library
1100 East 57th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.

Abstract:

William A. F. Stephenson (1904-1985) University of Chicago graduate who had a long and prominent career in the military, public service, education, politics, and business. The collection documents Stephenson’s work in FDR’s New Deal, in the Army during WWII where he served under Patton and Bradley, and in Florida’s Democratic Party.

Information on Use

Access

The collection is open for research.

Citation

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Stephenson, William A. F., Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Biographical Note

William Alexander Forsyth Stephenson was born in Chicago on September 3, 1904. He graduated from the University of Chicago in June, 1927. During his college years, he was a police reporter for the City Press, covering organized crime. After college, Stephenson worked as Assistant Chief to the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair director, Faye Cooper Cole. Once the Fair was underway Stephenson returned to the graduate program in Public Administration at the University of Chicago.

The university was heavily involved in the development of New Deal programs, and in 1933 Stephenson was employed as the first Chief of Operations of the newly formed Soil Erosion Service. In 1935 he transferred to the Dept. of the Interior as first Executive Officer of the Housing Division of PWA (Public Works Administration). After holding several positions in the Department of the Interior, Stephenson was sent to Florida to organize and supervise the Florida Power Corporation. While in Florida, he invented a valve that allowed refrigerating systems to function as heating systems.

In 1942, Stephenson enlisted in the US Army. He was commissioned as a Major and assigned to the School of Military Government. Shortly after graduating he was sent to Europe. He worked in the secret Nehou headquarters in Normandy, site of invasion planning, and participated actively during D-Day with the Army's engineering division. Working on the reconstruction of France, he participated in the transfer of the French government from Algiers to Europe as well as in the Liberation of Paris.

In 1945, Stephenson returned to the U.S. and retired from the Army. He continued developing the valve he had invented, and founded the Broquinda Corporation, which focused in building cooling systems for industrial transportation machines. During the 1950s, he was active in the Democratic Party in Florida. He directed Adlai’s Stevenson presidential campaign in the state, was elected Chairman of the Democratic Party in Pinellas County, and helped to design state primary legislation.

In 1956, Stephenson ran unsuccessfully for Congress. Later that year, Stephenson designed a plan to address a shortage of male teachers in the public schools by funding graduate programs in education for qualified retired military personnel. He lobbied and gained support from both universities and the military. With the help of Senator Kennedy the program was approved and implemented with outstanding success. In 1963, Stephenson became an Assistant Dean of the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, a position that he held until 1964.

In retirement, Stephenson moved to Bat Cave, North Carolina, where he lived the rest of his life. Stephenson died in a car accident in 1985. He was the father of three daughters.

Scope Note

The Stephenson Papers are divided into seven series.

Series I contains paperwork, notes, correspondence, statistical charts, reviews, and drafts related the military education program designed by Stephenson. The goal of the program was to solve the deficit of qualified high school level teachers by training retired military. The law authorizing the program was presented by John F. Kennedy and approved by Congress in 1956.

Series II documents Stephenson’s work on various governmental organizations during FDR’s New Deal, including the Soil Erosion Service and the Department of Labor. The series includes correspondence between Stephenson and important New Deal figures, including Claude Pepper and Benjamin Cohen. It also contains all correspondence pertaining different New Deal celebratory reunions.

Series III contains materials related to Stephenson’s work with the Democratic Party, including his support for Adlai Stevenson's presidential campaigns, his chairmanship of the Pinellas County Democratic Committee, and his 1956 campaign for Congress. The series also documents his work advocacy of Florida state primary legislation.

Series IV documents Stephenson’s Army service and his life and work as a military veteran The series contains WWII military records, maps, photographs, and correspondence, including several accounts of D-Day invasion and the liberation of Paris, in which Stephenson participated. (A map of D-Day invasion strategy may be found in Series VII, Oversize.)

Series V contains materials related to Stephenson's studies at the University of Chicago, including alumni correspondence and files related to his employment as a journalist while enrolled at the University.

Series VI contains Stephenson's personal and business correspondence. It includes postcards, invoices, newspaper clippings and many personal records, as well as files related to the Broquinda Corporation and the Florida Power Corporation.

Related Resources

Browse finding aids by topic.

Subject Headings

INVENTORY

Series I: Military Teaching Program

Box 1   Folder 1

Education Bill I, House Bill 1204, 1955

Box 1   Folder 2

Notes and military education manuals, 1955 – 1956

Box 1   Folder 3-5

Reports, brochures and correspondence with Pentagon, 1951-1957

Box 1   Folder 6-7

Lobbying, correspondence, 1956-1958

Box 1   Folder 8

Education Bill II, correspondence, preliminary studies of Education Bill, 1957-1959

Box 2   Folder 1

Teaching veterans, correspondence, 1960

Box 2   Folder 2

Retired Military Teaching, correspondence with universities that implemented the program, 1963

Box 2   Folder 3

Teaching Officers, correspondence with U.S. Air Force, brochures, invoices, 1963-1964

Box 2   Folder 4-6

Retired Military, advertisements, correspondence, 1969-1974

Series II: New Deal

Box 2   Folder 7

Soil Erosion Service, correspondence, news clippings, bulletins, farmer’s pond plan, 1935-1984

Box 2   Folder 8

U.S. Department of Labor: Wage and Hour Department, correspondence, 1939-1940

Box 2   Folder 9-10

Helms, Douglas (historian of the Soil Conservation Service), correspondence, manuscripts, 1951-1983

Box 2   Folder 11

U.S. Department of Agriculture, correspondence, 1971-1973

Box 2   Folder 12

Kudzu Growing, correspondence, newspaper clippings, circa 1977

Box 2   Folder 13

Cohen Benjamin Honorary Degree, correspondence, 1977-1983

Box 3   Folder 1-2

50th Anniversary New Deal Dinner Party, correspondence, programs, invitations, guest lists, handbook “The Faces of the New Deal”, invoices, 1983

Box 3   Folder 3

50th Anniversary Soil and Water Movement, correspondence, 1985

Box 3   Folder 4

Allen, Robert, McCamy, James, Frank Jerome N., Merriam, Charles E., correspondence, 1935-1941

Box 3   Folder 5

Collier Charles W., correspondence, 1982-1984

Box 3   Folder 6

Corcoran, Thomas, correspondence, 1978-1982

Box 3   Folder 7

Crawford, Kenneth, Miller Lee G., correspondence, photograph, 1949-1979

Box 3   Folder 8

Foley, Edward, correspondence, 1948-1949

Box 3   Folder 9

Foley, Edward H., correspondence, 1955

Box 3   Folder 10

Gulick, Luther, correspondence, 1954-1985

Box 3   Folder 11

Gulick, Luther, correspondence, 1957-1975

Box 3   Folder 12

Gulick, Luther, Dimock Carol, correspondence, 1977-1984

Box 3   Folder 13

Gulick, Luther, correspondence, 1977-1984

Box 3   Folder 14-16

Pepper, Claude, correspondence, 1954-1982

Box 3   Folder 17

Pepper, Claude, correspondence, 1981-1984

Series III: Democratic Party

Subseries 1: Campaigns

Box 4   Folder 1-2

Radio Programs Local, radio programs and advertisement scripts supporting Adlai Stevenson’s campaign, 1952

Box 4   Folder 3-4

Volunteers for Stevenson, correspondence concerning volunteers for Adlai Stevenson’s presidential campaign, 1952-1953

Box 4   Folder 5

Democratic Executive Committee, Pinellas County, election of chair, files, 1954

Box 4   Folder 6

Non Partisan Filing of Candidates, legal paperwork, manuscripts, circa 1955

Box 4   Folder 7

Convention of Delegates 1956, correspondence, invoices, lists, 1955-1956

Box 4   Folder 8

Volunteers for Stevenson, correspondence, invoices, name tag, 1956

Box 4   Folder 9

Stevenson Adlai, Florida Campaign, correspondence, 1956-1960

Box 4   Folder 10-11

Speeches, manuscripts, correspondence, newspaper clippings, circa 1956

Box 4   Folder 12

Volunteers for Stevenson-Kefauver, correspondence concerning 1956 campaign, 1956

Box 4   Folder 13

Stephenson for Congress, correspondence concerning Stephenson’s campaign for congress, 1956

Box 5   Folder 1-2

Stevenson for President, Adlai Stevenson’s campaign for the Presidency material, including the organization of Stevenson’s campaign in Florida, correspondence, speeches, telegrams, 1956.

Box 5   Folder 3

Know Your Candidates, newspaper clippings from the Petersburg Times column of the same name, 1956

Box 5   Folder 4

Pinellas Executive Committee, manuscripts, circa 1957

Box 5   Folder 5

Democratic Executive committee, correspondence, 1958

Box 5   Folder 6

1968 Campaign, correspondence, 1968-1969

Box 5   Folder 7

Butler, Paul M, correspondence with Paul Butler chairman of the National Democratic Committee, 1955-1957

Box 5   Folder 8

Kefauver, Estes, correspondence with the office, 1954-1956

Box 5   Folder 9

Raskin, H.B., correspondence with Hy Raskin chairman of the National Democratic Committee, 1952-1955

Box 5   Folder 10

Tubby, Roger, Press Director Adlai Stevenson’s Campaign, correspondence, 1955 -1956

Box 5   Folder 11

National Democratic Party, loose correspondence, 1939-1977

Subseries 2: Florida State Election Laws

Box 5   Folder 12

Platform, manuscript of Stephenson’s on 1st district matters, undated

Box 5   Folder 13

The Brookings Institution includes a copy of the book Specifications for a Model State Presidential Primary Law by David T. Paul, correspondence, 1955

Box 6   Folder 1-4

Florida Primary Act 1955, correspondence, news clippings, includes a copy of Florida State Election Law, includes a brief Biography of Stephenson, manuscripts, 1955-1978

Box 6   Folder 5

Primary Returns, newspaper clippings concerning Florida State Primary, 1956

Box 6   Folder 6

Florida State Election Laws, correspondence, 1956

Series IV: World War II

Subseries 1: War Files

Box 6   Folder 7

Biographical Material related to Stephenson and Lewis H. Weinstein, 1940-1983

Box 6   Folder 8 - 12

World War II Files, correspondence, military records, maps, photographs, brochures, 1942-1977

Box 7   Folder 1-2

World War II files, military records, military health records, immunization records, correspondence, 1942-1952

Box 7   Folder 3

World War II files, military records, military health records, immunization records, correspondence, includes two letter of presentation, includes an invitation from the Dutch Ministry of War, 1942-1952

Box 7   Folder 4

Occupation Zones WWII, COSSAC Military records, 1944

Box 7   Folder 5

3rd Army, map, correspondence, 1944

Box 7   Folder 6-7

"Battle Experiences," periodic bulletin prepared by the Combat Lessons Branch of the G-3 U.S. Army Headquarters, 1944-1945

Box 7   Folder 8

Liberation of Paris, military records, correspondence, brief account of the liberation by Weinstein Lewis, includes a WWII map of Paris, brief account of the liberation by Stephenson, 1944-1984

Subseries 2: Post-War Files

Box 7   Folder 9

Photographs, correspondence, 1921-1984

  • Includes photograph of Wm. A. F. Stephenson with Lewis Weinstein and Jacques Chirac (Mayor of Paris), 1984, photograph of Stephenson’s Hyde Park High School class, 19211921, Polaroid photograph of an unknown man, 1981
Box 7   Folder 10

Early Reserve, correspondence, military records, 1951-1956

Box 7   Folder 11

Late Reserve, military records, invoices, correspondence, 1959-1962

Box 8   Folder 1-3

Final Official Records, U.S. Army Reserve military records, correspondence, newspaper clippings, 1949-1964

Box 8   Folder 4

Is Paris Burning? Correspondence, newspaper clippings, manuscripts, 1958-1977

Box 8   Folder 5-6

12th Army Group, Eagles, correspondence, brochures, invoices, forms, 1954 -1972

Box 8   Folder 7

U.S. Army School, Europe, Department of Intelligence, Symposium on Collateral Activities, conferences schedules, brochures, school maps, correspondence, 1961- 1962

Box 8   Folder 8

Patton‘s Hunt, correspondence inquiring for any concerning media material on General Patton’s speeches, 1977-1984

Box 8   Folder 9

Barnett, Lloyd, Fitzmaurice, James, Hinton, Coleman, biographical data and military records, 1981

Box 8   Folder 10

Bradley, Omar N. General, correspondence, 1967-170

Box 8   Folder 11

Bradley, Omar N. General, correspondence, military records, 1945-1980

Box 9   Folder 1

McCormack, James, Major General correspondence, 1949-1956

Box 9   Folder 2-3

Trippett, Frank, correspondence, 1968-1982

Box 9   Folder 4

Weinstein, Lewis H., correspondence, 1955-1984

Box 9   Folder 5

Weinstein, Lewis H., Memoirs, correspondence, manuscripts, 1984

Box 9   Folder 6-7

Weinstein Lewis H, correspondence, 1970-1984

Series V: University of Chicago

Box 9   Folder 8

The University of Chicago Alumni Foundation, correspondence, 1927-1979

Box 9   Folder 9

First Annual Publications Reunion, correspondence concerning University of Chicago former Editors and Top Staff members of Student Publications reunion, 1955

Box 9   Folder 10

Beta Theta Pi, personal files, 1956-1984

Box 9   Folder 11 - 12

Hyde Park High School, correspondence, includes correspondence with Mulroy, Thomas, Mayer, Howard, Anderson, Charles, and Osgood Cornelius (among others), 1957-1984

Box 9   Folder 13

University of Chicago Class of 1927 Alumni, correspondence, 1967-1984

Box 10   Folder 1 - 2

Chicago Alumni Reunion Class of 1927, correspondence, brochures, hand programs, invitations, 1976 - 1983

Box 10   Folder 3

University of Chicago Class of 1927, photograph, correspondence, 1977

Box 10   Folder 4

Chicago Press Veterans Association, correspondence, 1977-1982

Series VI: Personal Files

Box 10   Folder 5

Babcock, Richard F., correspondence, 1952 -1953

Box 10   Folder 6

Baker, Robert, correspondence, 1954-1955

Box 10   Folder 7

Barnard, Harry, correspondence, includes correspondence with Barnard, Ruth, 1980-1984

Box 10   Folder 8

BE CENTER, correspondence, 1980-1985

Box 10   Folder 9

BE CENTER, correspondence, 1980-1981

Box 10   Folder 10

Bendetsen, Karl E., correspondence, 1950-1976

Box 10   Folder 11

Blair, William, correspondence, 1952-1957

Box 10   Folder 12-13

Correspondence, regarding military education legislation and Kennedy assassination, 1960-1964

  • Correspondents include John F. Kennedy, Claude Pepper, Adlai Stevenson
Box 10   Folder 14

Bledsoe, Jerry, correspondence, 1979-1982

Box 10   Folder 15

The Broquinda Polarcar, brief history, correspondence, 1952-1958

Box 10   Folder 16

The Broquinda Polarmobile, pictures of Polarmobile Models, brochures, 1947

Box 10   Folder 17

Bryant, Farris, correspondence 1953-1955

Box 11   Folder 1

Burnett, Carol, correspondence, 1980

Box 11   Folder 2

Campus Unrest, manuscripts, correspondence, 1969

Box 11   Folder 3

Charles E. Kettering Foundation, correspondence, 1960-1961

Box 11   Folder 4

Chicago Tribune, correspondence, 1977

Box 11   Folder 5

Cisler, Walker, correspondence, 1950-1953

Box 11   Folder 6

Cochran, Alexander, correspondence, 1984

Box 11   Folder 7

Collins, Frank, correspondence, 1978

Box 11   Folder 8

Collins, Le Roy, correspondence, 1954-1956

Box 11   Folder 9

Curriculum Vitae, correspondence, 1960

Box 11   Folder 10-11

Diaries, circa 1940-1945

Box 11   Folder 12

David, Thomas E., correspondence, 1954-1956

Box 11   Folder 13

David, Paul T., correspondence, 1955

Box 11   Folder 14

Davis, Elmer, correspondence, newsclippings, 1953

Box 11   Folder 15-16

Dauer, Manning, correspondence, 1955-1957

Box 12   Folder 1

Dauer, Manning, University of Florida Political Science Program Chairman, correspondence, 1955-1957

Box 12   Folder 2

De Roos, Peter, correspondence, 1968-1974

Box 12   Folder 3

Dimock, Marshall, correspondence, 1984

Box 12   Folder 4

Dinsdale, David A., correspondence, manuscripts, 1982 - 1984

Box 12   Folder 5

Douglas, Paul H., correspondence, 1955

Box 12   Folder 6

Dungan, Ralph, correspondence, 1959 -1961

Box 12   Folder 7

Eisenhower, Milt, correspondence, 1951-1952

Box 12   Folder 8

Farrell, Jim, correspondence, photocopies, newspaper clippings, 1975-1982

Box 12   Folder 9-10

Federal Communications Commission, correspondence, 1953

Box 12   Folder 11-12

Finnegan James A., correspondence, 1956.

Box 12   Folder 13

Florida Power, correspondence and manuscripts, 1940-1952

Box 12   Folder 14

Fuller, Warren, correspondence, 1956

Box 12   Folder 15

Glenn, John, correspondence, 1983

Box 12   Folder 16

Goodwin, George, correspondence, manuscripts, 1948-1982

Box 12   Folder 17

Graduate School Application, statement of purpose, writing sample, 1964

Box 12   Folder 18

Hancock Theodore includes correspondence with the painter Theodore Hancock, hand program for art exhibition, brochures, 1968

Box 12   Folder 19

Harris, Joan Coker, correspondence, 1966-1967

Box 12   Folder 20-22

Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard University interdepartmental correspondence, different projects drafts, general correspondence, 1963 - 1964

Box 12   Folder 23

Harvard Graduate School of Education, Office of the Dean, correspondence, 1963-1965.

Box 13   Folder 1

Hebb, Maurice E., correspondence, 1983

Box 13   Folder 2

Holmes, Robert A., correspondence, 1979-1981

Box 13   Folder 3

Joslyn, John M., Beerheide Arthur J., correspondence, 1946-1947

Box 13   Folder 4-5

Job Hunt, curriculum vitae, correspondence, 1961-1964

Box 13   Folder 6

Keppel, Francis, correspondence, 1980-1982

Box 13   Folder 7

Kountz, Peter, correspondence, 1977 - 1985

Box 13   Folder 8

Lash, Joseph, correspondence, 1983

Box 13   Folder 9

L.L.D. Awards, correspondence, 1977-1980

Box 13   Folder 10-11

Manson Bruce D., correspondence, 1955

Box 13   Folder 12

Marshall, George C., correspondence, 1979

Box 13   Folder 13

Meyer, John Jr., correspondence, 1981-1984

Box 13   Folder 14

Mitchell, Stephen A., correspondence, 1954

Box 13   Folder 15

Morrison, Karl, correspondence, 1975-1982

Box 13   Folder 16

Neuberger, Richard L., correspondence, 1955

Box 13   Folder 17

Odell Joe, correspondence, 1971 -1984

Box 13   Folder 18

Parce Mead, correspondence, 1977

Box 13   Folder 19

Parkinsonism Harvard, correspondence, 1980-1984

Box 13   Folder 20

Perry John, correspondence, 1959-1983

Box 13   Folder 21

Perry John, correspondence, newspaper clippings, 1983-1984.

Box 14   Folder 1-3

Perry John, correspondence, 1952 - 1957

Box 14   Folder 4-5

Public Letters, correspondence, newspaper clippings, 1971-1984

Box 14   Folder 6

Pussey, Nathan M., President of Harvard University, correspondence, 1963

Box 14   Folder 7

Redman, Mac, correspondence, 1949-1954

Box 14   Folder 8

Admiral Rickover Hyman, correspondence, news clippings, 1953-1982

Box 14   Folder 9

Recommendations, correspondence, 1939-1976

Box 14   Folder 10

Rocky Broad River Pollution, correspondence with the Department of Water Resources, 1966

Box 14   Folder 11

Rosenthal, Robert, correspondence, 1975-1983

Box 14   Folder 12

Sikes Robert, correspondence with the congressman Robert Skies, 1955 - 1956

Box 14   Folder 13

Southern Electrical Exchange, personal files, 1964

Box 14   Folder 14

Stevers, Martin D., Meekins, Roger P., Laughlin, Larry F., correspondence, 1967-1975

Box 14   Folder 15

Strauss, Michael W., Thompson, Wolfsohn, Joel D., correspondence, 1950-1954

Box 15   Folder 1

Switzerland and the Cold War, criticism by Stephenson of C.I.A. secret plan, 1962

Box 15   Folder 2

Vanderbilt University, correspondence, 1980-1982

Box 15   Folder 3

1977 Vanderbilt University Class of 1927 Reunion, correspondence, hand programs, name tag, manuscripts, 1977-1983

Box 15   Folder 4

The Maria Vegh Wyatt Trust, correspondence, map, 1980.

Box 15   Folder 5

Water Bond Bids, newspaper clippings, 1955

Box 15   Folder 6

Personal Files, photocopies, correspondence, 1942-1965

Box 15   Folder 7

Personal Files, correspondence, 1944-1970.

Box 15   Folder 8

Personal Files, correspondence, newspaper clippings, circa 1945-1983

Box 15   Folder 9

Personal Files, correspondence, invoices, manuscripts, 1952-1984

Box 15   Folder 10

PhD. Application Inquiries, correspondence, 1956

Box 15   Folder 11

Miscellaneous and Copies, correspondence, manuscripts, TV speeches, news clippings, circa 1956

Box 15   Folder 12

Personal Files, correspondence, news clippings, 1956

Box 15   Folder 13

Personal Files, correspondence, news clippings, 1956-1960

Box 15   Folder 14

Personal Files, correspondence, manuscript, 1957 - 1983

Box 15   Folder 15 - 17

Miscellaneous, correspondence, brochures, invoices, news clippings, mainly concerning Kudzu, 1960-1984

Box 15   Folder 18

Ideas for Money, manuscripts, 1963

Box 16   Folder 1

Personal Files, correspondence, 1960

Box 16   Folder 2

Personal Files, includes correspondence concerning retired Captain Scott Severance, invoices, 1964 -1969

Box 16   Folder 3

Personal Files, correspondence, 1968- 1979

Box 16   Folder 4

Personal Files, correspondence 1972-1983

Box 16   Folder 5

Personal Files, correspondence, 1977

Box 16   Folder 6

Ike, correspondence, 1979

Box 16   Folder 7

Personal Files, correspondence, 1979-1984

Box 16   Folder 8

Personal Files, correspondence, 1983-1985

Box 16   Folder 9

Personal Files, correspondence, 1984

Box 16   Folder 10

Personal Files, correspondence, news clippings, 1984

Box 16   Folder 11

Stephenson, obituaries, newspaper clippings, 1985

Box 16   Folder 12

Manuscript, undated

Series VII: Oversize Files

Box 17   Folder 1

D-Day map, 1943