David Bicknell Truman Papers, 1921,1935-1999, 2004
General International Standard for Archival Description
Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections South Hadley, MA
Finding aid encoded in NoteTab Pro. Encoded by Charlene van Dijk. 2007-03-28
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
David Bicknell Truman Papers
Truman, David Bicknell, 1913-2003
Biographical History for: David Bicknell Truman Papers
Biographical Note David Bicknell Truman, a political scientist and college and university administrator, was born on June 1, 1913, in Evanston, Illinois to Malcolm George Truman and Jane Mackintosh Truman. He graduated from Evanston High School in 1931 and attended Amherst College, graduating with a B.A. degree in 1935. He received his M.A. (1936) and Ph.D. (1939) in political science from the University of Chicago. On February 4, 1939 he married Elinor Jane Griffenhagen. They had a son, Edwin Malcolm Truman. After serving in the United States Navy during World War II and participating in the United States Strategic Bombing Survey of the Pacific Theater in 1945-1946, Truman taught political science at Bennington College (1939-1941), Cornell University (1941-1944), Harvard University (1946-1947) and Williams College (1947-1951). He began teaching at Columbia University in 1951, where he also served as the Dean from 1963-1967 and Vice President and Provost from 1967-1969 (a position he held during the student-led takeover of that institution). In 1969, he resigned from Columbia to become president of Mount Holyoke College. Achievements and events during his administration included Mount Holyoke's recommitment to remaining a college for women; revisions to the curriculum that included the formation of the Black Studies Department and numerous interdepartmental and interdisciplinary programs; changes in regulations concerning male guests in dormitories and alcohol use by students; the strengthening of cooperative relationships among the Five Colleges (Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, Smith, and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst); the creation of a Black Cultural Center; and the construction of the Art Building and Willits-Hallowell Center. Truman retired from Mount Holyoke in 1978 and served as president of the Russell Sage Foundation, from 1978-1979. During his career, Truman wrote and published extensively and was an active member of several educational organizations and societies, including the American Political Science Association, the American Philosophical Society, and the Council on Foreign Relations. He died on August 28, 2003 in Sarasota, Florida at the age of ninety.
Scope and Contents of the Collection The David Bicknell Truman Papers date from 1921, 1935-1999, 2004 and contain correspondence, organizations materials, lectures, books and published materials, an unpublished manuscript, speeches, and memorabilia and clippings. Most materials document his work as an educator and political scientist. Correspondence chiefly concerns his experiences as an administrator at Columbia University (1963-1969) and Mount Holyoke College (1969-1978) and his contacts with colleagues and former students. There are also personal letters from friends describing post-World War II conditions in Japan and Germany, letters by his wife, Elinor Truman, describing the Trumans' travels in Europe in 1962-1963, and letters to Truman from his son, Edwin M. Truman, including one dated March 28, 1965 concerning his father's views of the Vietnam War. Organizations materials consist of minutes, reports, correspondence, publications and invitations reflecting Truman's active membership in numerous professional organizations, including the American Political Science Association of which he served as President in December of 1965-1966. There are also copies of interrogations of Japanese officials and other documents relating to his work for the United States Strategic Bombing Survey (Pacific Theater) in 1945-1946. Lectures (1954-1994) and Speeches (1939-1992) chiefly consist of copies of Truman's presentations at professional meetings, Mount Holyoke College convocation and commencement ceremonies, and meetings of Columbia University and Mount Holyoke alumni and alumnae. Books and Published Materials (1950-1965) include correspondence, research materials, and critiques relating to Truman's books and other writings. The Unpublished Manuscripts (1992-1995, 2004) consists of two copies of Reflections on the Columbia Disorders of 1968, Truman's memoir of the events at Columbia prior to, during and after the student-led uprising at the university. There is a note from 2004 by Edwin M. Truman in the second concerning the use of this work. Memorabilia and clippings (1945-1976) consist of certificates reflecting his membership in various organization and newspaper articles about his career; particularly his years at Columbia University and Mount Holyoke College.
United States Strategic Bombing Survey.
lcsh
Student-administrator relationships--New York (State)--New York
College students--New York (State)--New York--Political activity.
Women college students--Massachusetts--South Hadley.
Political scientists--United States.
Germany--History--1945-
Cold War.
Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Protest movements--New York (State)--New York.
Autobiographies.
Lectures.
Letters.
Speeches.
Truman, David Bicknell, 1913-.
lcnaf
Truman, Elinor Griffenhagen, 1915-2005.
Truman, Edwin M.
American Political Science Association.
Columbia University--Administration.
Columbia University--Strike, 1968.
Columbia University--Students.
Mount Holyoke College--Administration.
series
Correspondence
Creation of Correspondence
Time of Creation of Correspondence
Correspondence primarily concerns Truman's work as a college and university professor and administrator and a political scientist. Most letters date from Truman's years at Columbia University (1950-1969) and concern administrative appointments and the 1968 student-led takeover of the school. There are letters relating to a potential employment opportunity at Stanford University (1966) and to his selection at president of Mount Holyoke in College in 1969. Other Mount Holyoke correspondence (1969-1978) includes letters from alumnae describing their activities and requesting letters of recommendation and describing their activities. For example, Jody Krisiloff '(Class of 1976) wrote to Truman about her port graduate internship at the White House and her law school years at Columbia. Correspondence also includes letters relating to his appointments at Bennington College (1939), Williams College (1947), and Harvard University (1946) and letters concerning his writings as well as those other political scientists and politicians. These documents include letters by V. O. Key, Pendleton Herring Theodore Newcomb, Hubert Humphrey, Herbert Zelenko, Richard Hofstadter, Elmo Roper, Robert Dahl, Robert Kennedy, Arthur O. Sulzberger, and Victoria Shuck. Personal correspondence primarily consists of letters by Truman's wife, Elinor, describing the Truman's experiences while traveling in Austria, England, France, Belgium, Western Germany, Switzerland and Italy in 1962-1963. There are also several letters (1963-1967) to Truman from his son Edwin, including one concerning Truman's position on the Vietnam War. Other personal letters (1946-1947) are from friends who discuss post World War II conditions in Japan and Germany and mention the beginning of Cold War tensions.
Unrestricted
Organizations
Creation of Organizations
Time of Creation of Organizations
Organizations material consists of correspondence, reports, publications, and invitations. These documents reflect his active membership in the American Political Science Association (of which he served as president, 1965-1966), the Carnegie Corporation, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Philosophical Society, the Consortium on Financing Higher Education, and other organizations. This material also includes correspondence from friends and colleagues congratulating Truman on his appointment as Vice President and Provost at Columbia, as well as letters and telegrams that Truman received during and after the Columbia student uprising. A collection of documents within the series relates to his work for the United States Strategic Bombing Survey (Pacific Theater) in 1945-1946 and includes transcripts of interrogations of Japanese military personnel.
Lectures
Creation of Lectures
Time of Creation of Lectures
Lectures material consists of correspondence, invitations, notes, and copies of presentations by Truman. Most materials reflect his participation in professional meetings. Topics of his lectures include "women in politics," "the dilemmas of a bureaucratic society," "current trends in political science" and "presidency and congressional leadership."
Books and Published Materials
Creation of Books and Published Materials
Time of Creation of Books and Published Materials
This material primarily consists of correspondence concerning Truman's published writings. These works include his report on "Congress and America's Future" (1965) his books The Governmental Process (1951) and The Congressional Party (1959) and his contribution to the V.O. Key Memorial Volume (1966).
Manuscripts, Unpublished
Unpublished Manuscripts consist of two copies of an autobiographical account entitled Reflections on the Colombia Disorders of 1968. The work details the 1968 student led-uprising at Columbia University including the events that preceded the initial uprising, the way in which the university administration handled the situation and how the media portrayed these events. The second copy contains a note by Truman's son, Edwin M. Truman, concerning this account.
Speeches
Creation of Speeches
Time of Creation of Speeches
Speech materials chiefly consist of Truman's personal outlines, notes and talking guides to speeches he delivered. The materials mostly concern addresses Truman gave to Mount Holyoke College alumna groups around the country as well as commencement and convocation speeches he delivered at Mount Holyoke. Topics Truman covered range from the discussion about the transition to co-education at women's colleges to importance of alumnae relations with the school. There are also addresses Truman delivered at political science committees, speeches he gave at Columbia University alumni and alumnae group events, and speeches given to clubs and organizations such as the Association for Higher Learning, the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.
Memorabilia and Clippings
Creation of Memorabilia and Clippings
Time of Creation of Memorabilia and Clippings
Memorabilia consists of certificates reflecting his membership in various organizations. The newspaper clippings document Truman's professional life at Columbia and Mount Holyoke and include articles relating to his positions as Dean, Vice-President and Provost of Columbia, as well as his presidency of Mount Holyoke College
Correspondence 1935-1996
Miscellaneous Correspondence 1935-1945
Job Correspondence 1945-1946
Miscellaneous Correspondence 1945-1946
Miscellaneous Correspondence 1946-1947
Job Correspondence 1946-1947
Miscellaneous Correspondence 1947-1948
Miscellaneous Correspondence 1948-1949
Miscellaneous Correspondence 1950
Correspondence 1951
Correspondence 1952
Correspondence 1953
Correspondence 1954
Correspondence January-July 1955
Correspondence August-December 1955
Correspondence 1956
Correspondence 1957
Correspondence July 1957-July 1958
Correspondence August-December 1958
Correspondence October 1958-July 1959
Correspondence August -December 1959
Correspondence 1960
Correspondence January-May 1961
Correspondence June-August 1961
Correspondence September-December 1961
Correspondence December 1961-January 1962
Correspondence February-March 1962
Correspondence April-June 1962
Correspondence June 1962-January 1963
Correspondence January-June 1963
Correspondence July-December 1963
Correspondence January-June 1964
Correspondence July-December 1964
Correspondence January-June 1965
Correspondence July-December 1965
Correspondence January-June 1966
Correspondence July-December 1966
Correspondence: Stanford University 1966
Correspondence January-December 1967
Correspondence: Letters Concerning The Strawberry Statement and other items re. The Cox Commission, Columbia 1968
Correspondence: Letters re. Jobs After the 1968 Columbia Uprising 1968
Correspondence A May 1967-June 1968
Correspondence B May 1966-January 1969
Correspondence C June 1965-February 1969
Correspondence D February 1966-February 1969
Correspondence E February-December 1968
Correspondence F October 1965-June 1968
Correspondence G February 1964-January 1969
Correspondence H July 1965-June 1969
Correspondence J October 1965-January 1969
Correspondence K November 1966-January 1969
Correspondence L January 1966-September 1968
Correspondence M August 1965-January 1969
Correspondence N 1964-1968
Correspondence P 1965-1968
Correspondence R 1965-1968
Correspondence S 1968
Correspondence S 1966-1967
Correspondence S 1964-1968
Correspondence T 1966-1968
Correspondence U 1968
Correspondence V 1967-1968
Correspondence W 1964-1969
Correspondence X-Y-Z 1966-1968
Personal Correspondence 1968-1969
Personal Correspondence 1970
Personal Correspondence 1971
Personal Correspondence 1972
Correspondence: Letters re. Nomination of Fritz Stern for Century Club 1969-1970
Correspondence A 1969-1977
Correspondence B 1969-1977
Correspondence C 1969-1976
Correspondence D 1969-1976
Correspondence E 1973
Correspondence F 1976
Correspondence G 1970-1977
Correspondence H 1969-1978
Correspondence I 1971-1977
Correspondence J 1969-1977
Correspondence K 1969-1977
Correspondence L 1969-1975
Correspondence M 1969-1977
Correspondence N 1969-1977
Correspondence O 1974-1977
Correspondence P 1970-1977
Correspondence R 1969-1977
Correspondence S 1974-1978
Correspondence S 1969-1974
Correspondence T 1970-1977
Correspondence U 1969
Correspondence V 1970-1971
Correspondence W 1971-1976
Correspondence W 1969-1973
Correspondence Y 1977
Correspondence Z 1970
Personal Correspondence 1972-1973
Correspondence January 1972-May 1976
Correspondence April 1976-July 1978
Correspondence April-September 1978
Correspondence September-December 1978
Correspondence January-March 1979
Correspondence April-August 1979
Correspondence 1979
Correspondence 1980
Correspondence January-May 1981
Correspondence June 1981
Correspondence July-December 1981
Correspondence January-June 1982
Correspondence July-December 1982
Correspondence 1983
Correspondence 1984
Correspondence 1985
Correspondence 1986
Correspondence 1987
Correspondence 1988
Correspondence 1989
Correspondence 1990
Correspondence 1991
Correspondence 1992
Correspondence 1993
Correspondence 1994
Correspondence 1995
Correspondence 1996
Organizations 1941-1989
American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1959-1960
American Political Science Association 1996-1999
Twentieth Century Fund 1990-1999
Twentieth Century Fund 1983-1990
Notes of Progressives and Disintegration 1921, 1994
American Association for the Advancement of Science 1967-1968
American Philosophical Society 1957-1993
American Political Science Association 1951-1974
Carnegie Corporation: Study of Common Council for American Unity 1946
Carnegie Corporation: Report on Hoover Institute Studies 1951-1953
Carnegie Corporation: Study of American Studies in U.K. and Europe 1954
Chatham College 1980-1986
Citizens' Research Foundation 1963-1968
Columbia University: Misc. 1950-1965
Presidential Election, Columbia Volunteers for Stevenson 1952
Letters on Appointment as Dean of Columbia College, Answered from Europe 1962
Congratulatory Letters: Appointment to Vice President and Provost of Columbia 1967
President Johnson's Reply to Letter to Him from Columbia Faculty 1966
Miscellaneous Letters and Telegrams, Columbia Before and after April 30, 1968
Channel 13 Transcript of Interview May 3, 1968
WNBC Searchlight Transcript May 19,1968
Comments on Message to the Columbia Faculties from DBT, re. Changes in University Organization June 4, 1968
EOG file on Truman at Columbia 1968
Dilemmas of an Unavoidable Confrontation, Council of Graduate Schools December 5, 1968
Columbia 1968
Mary Ann Mears Embry, Columbia 1968
Columbia Oral History Interview 1968
Marvin Harris Letters, Columbia February 1969
Confidential Memo to the Columbia Trustees February 10, 1969
Talk to Amherst Faculty Club about Columbia 1968, Alumni News 1970
Columbia University 1969
Personal, Columbia 1969-1973
Letters, etc. from Columbia and from Mount Holyoke on appointment 1969
Letters on Mount Holyoke Appointment, A 1969
Letters on Mount Holyoke Appointment, B 1969
Letters on Mount Holyoke Appointment, C 1969
Letters on Mount Holyoke Appointment, D 1969
Letters on Mount Holyoke Appointment, E 1969
Letters on Mount Holyoke Appointment, F 1969
Letters on Mount Holyoke Appointment, G 1969
Letters on Mount Holyoke Appointment, H 1969
Letters on Mount Holyoke Appointment, I 1969
Letters on Mount Holyoke Appointment, J 1969
Letters on Mount Holyoke Appointment, K 1969
Letters on Mount Holyoke Appointment, L 1969
Letters on Mount Holyoke Appointment, M 1969
Letters on Mount Holyoke Appointment, N 1969
Letters on Mount Holyoke Appointment, O 1969
Letters on Mount Holyoke Appointment, P 1969
Letters on Mount Holyoke Appointment, R 1969
Letters on Mount Holyoke Appointment, S 1969
Letters on Mount Holyoke Appointment, T 1969
Letters on Mount Holyoke Appointment, U 1969
Letters on Mount Holyoke Appointment, W 1969
Letters on Mount Holyoke Appointment, X, Y, Z 1969
Columbia Manuscript 1980-1993
Commission on Private Philanthropy and Public Needs September 24, 1975
Commission on White House Fellows, New York Regional Panel 1965-1967
Committee on the Constitutional System 1982
Consortium on Financing Higher Education 1977-1987
New England Committee on Research in Political Behavior 1940-1950
Dreyfus Corporation 1965-1995
Ford Foundation, Public Affairs Program Spring 1954
Ford Foundations, Report and Letters, Inquiry in Western Europe 1962
Ford Foundation Gift Account 1958-1963
Guggenheim Fellowship Application 1954
Harvard University 1946-1947
Harvard University, Government Department Visiting Committee 1969
Harvard University, Advisory Committee of Kennedy Institute of Politics 1966-1972
Mellon-Hewlett Advisory Committee 1979-1985
International Political Science Association Congress, Rome, September 1958
Mount Holyoke, Mostly re. Appointment 1968
Mount Holyoke, Personal Including Letters on Retirement 1978
National Committee for an Effective Congress 1969-1984
Operations Research Office, Johns Hopkins University, Human Behavior in the Military 1951
Rockefeller Foundation Conference on Student Unrest 1968
Roper Public Opinion Poll, Roper Center Williams College 1965
Russell Sage Foundation, Trustees 1962-1992
Jeremiah Stamler Case vs HUAC 1966
Student Loan Marketing Association, Sallie Mae 1977-1988
SSRC Committee on Political Behavior 1949-1974
SUNY Albany Report on Public Affairs Archive May 1989
TIAA-CREF Trusteeship 1982-1986
Twentieth Century Fund 1968
U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey Pacific Theater Interviews 1945
Williams College 1947-1951
Twentieth Century Fund, Italian Political Behavior with Carlo Cattaneo Society, Bologna 1962-1963
Woodrow Wilson Memorial 1966-1967
Lectures 1954-1994
Cambridge University Fulbright Conference on American Studies 1954
The Strength of Pluralism, Paper For Jewish Theological Seminary of America February 18, 1958
The Presidency and Congressional Leadership, American Philosophical Society November 1958
The Dilemmas of a Bureaucratic Society, Institution of Religion and Social Studies 1959
Lectures of Arden House, Executive Program 1960
General Electric, Advanced Management Courses 1960-1961
Politics of the New Collectivism, Benjamin Franklin Lectures January 1961
Current Trends in Political Science, Association of American Colleges January 1961
Church Peace Union, Seminar on International Affairs 1961-1962
Schnackenberg Memorial Lecture, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington February 20, 1974
Salzburg Seminar, Women in Politics 1980
Campaign Finance Reform, Berkshire Eagle August 27, 1989
Political Science Quarterly, Review of George Will, Restoration 1993
Letters in The New York Times June 16, 1994
Seminar on Corporation Philanthropy October 18, 1956
Books and Published Materials 1952-1969
Letters, etc. re The Congress and America's Future, American Assembly 1964
Letters Concerning Congress Interviews March 1956
The Congressional Party, Notes on Interviews in Washington February-April 1956
The Congressional Party, Miscellaneous Correspondence, Foundation Reports 1952-1959
Letters and Comments by DBT on V.O. Keys Posthumous Book, The Responsible Electorate August 1965
V.O. Key Memorial Volume 1964-1966
Rothman Critique of The Governmental Process, American Political Science Review and DBT Reply 1960
The Governmental Process, Early Comments 1951-1953
The Congressional Party, Early Comments and Reviews 1959-1960
The Congressional Party, Correspondence with Publisher 1958-1969
Manuscript, Unpublished 1992-1995
Reflections on the Columbia Disorders of 1968 1992-1995
Reflections on the Columbia Disorders of 1968. With note by Edwin M. Truman 1992-1995, 2004
Speeches 1939-1992
Columbia College Occasions 1963-1968
Columbia Speeches and Notes 1963-1969
Columbia Alumni Groups and Organizations 1963-1968
Association for Higher Education, National Conference March 14, 1966
Mr. Truman's Speeches 1969-1970
Mr. Truman's Speeches 1970-1971
Mr. Truman's Speeches 1971-1972
Mr. Truman's Speeches 1972-1973
Mr. Truman's Speeches 1973-1974
Mr. Truman's Speeches 1974-1975
Mr. Truman's Speeches 1975-1976
Mr. Truman's Speeches 1976-1977
Mr. Truman's Speeches 1977-1978
Speeches 1983-1984
Mount Holyoke Club of Westchester May 3, 1987
Mount Holyoke College Alumnae Association and Alumnae College May 23 and 29, 1987
Mount Holyoke Club of Southwest Florida November 12, 1988
Mount Holyoke Club of the Greater Palm Beaches November 25, 1989
Mount Holyoke Club of Southwest Florida, Term Limits March 14, 1992
Organization for the Control of Communications in the Dominion of Canada 1939-1941
The Organization of Censorship and Propaganda in France 1939-1940
S.S.R.C. Summer Seminar on Political Behavior, University of Chicago 1951
Miscellaneous Club Lectures 1949-1956
House, 81st Congress, State Delegations Study 1957
American Political Science Association, St. Louis Meeting, Paper A Functional Conception of the Political Party 1958
Legislation, Voting and Leadership 1958
Miscellaneous 1959-1968
Kefaurer Subcommittee on Electoral College Reform 1961
Political Group Analysis 1965
Dedication of the Institute of Social Research 1966
50th Anniversary of the Stanford Department April 18, 1970
American Political Science Association, Panel on Charles Merriam, The Power Process in the Modern Polity August 1974
Miscellaneous Articles and Speeches 1966-1967
Memorabilia and Clippings, 1945-1976
Dean Clippings 1963-1964
Columbia Clippings 1967-1968
Columbia Clippings Aftermath of 1968 1968
Press Clippings 1969-1977
Responses to The New York Times Letter February17, 1976
David Bicknell Truman Certificates 1959-1967