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The Presidential historical materials of Charles L. Clapp are in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration under the provisions of Title I of the Presidential Recordings and Materials Act of 1974 (44 U.S.C. 2111 note) and implementing regulations. In accordance with the act and regulations, archivists reviewed this file group to identify personal and private materials (including materials outside the date span covered by the act) as well as nonhistorical items. Such items have been returned to the individual who has primary proprietary or commemorative interest in them.
Materials covered by the act have been archivally processed and are described in this register. Items that are security classified or otherwise restricted under the act and regulations have been removed and placed in a closed file. A Document Withdrawal Record (NA Form 14021) marks the original position of the withdrawn items. Employees of the National Archives will review periodically the unclassified portions of closed materials for the purpose of opening those which no longer require restriction. Certain classified documents may be reviewed for declassification under authority of Executive Order 13526 in response to a Mandatory Review Request (NA Form 14020) submitted by the researcher.
- Linear feet of materials: 44.166
- Approximate number of pages: 77,600
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Biographical Note
November 1, 1922 Born, Wakefield, Massachusetts
1946 A.B., Tufts University, magna cum laude
1947 M.A., Harvard University
1947-1952 Instructor in Political Science, Florida State University
1949-1955 Assistant, Teaching Fellow and Lecturer, University of California, Berkeley
1955-1956 Congressional Fellowship Award, American Political Science Association; worked in offices of Rep. Peter Frelinghuysen and Sen. John F. Kennedy, Jr.
1956-1957 Staff Assistant, Special Committee to Select the Five Outstanding Senators of History; Staff Member, Special Committee to Investigate Political Activities, Lobbying and Campaign Contributions, U.S. Senate
1958 Administrative Assistant to Representative Charles E. Chamberlain
1959-1962 Governmental Studies Staff, the Brookings Institution
1962-1967 Legislative Assistant to Senator Leverett Saltonstall
1963 Published The Congressman, His Work as He Sees It
1967-1969 Assistant to the Secretary, Smithsonian Institution
August 1969-June 1970 Special Assistant to the President, staff of Arthur Burns, Counsellor to the President
July 1970-March 1974 Special Assistant to the President, Domestic Council Staff
March 1974-1981 Commissioner, Interstate Commerce Commission
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Scope and Content Note
The materials of Charles L. Clapp, Special Assistant to the President, reflect his responsibilities in domestic programs. On September 3, 1969, Charles Clapp joined the White House Staff to work with Counsellor to the President Arthur Burns in organizing the seventeen Presidential Task Forces of citizen participants who studied and provided recommendations about domestic concerns. Following a reorganization of the White House Staff responsibilities for domestic issues, Clapp joined the Domestic Council Staff on July 1, 1970, where he continued his Task Force work while acquiring responsibilities for issues related to transportation, corrections and prisoner rehabilitation. In November 1973, Charles Clapp was nominated as a Commissioner of the Interstate Commerce Commission. In March 1974, Clapp joined the Commission for a seven year term.
The Clapp materials consist of four series: Administrative File, Task Force File, Domestic Council File and Highway Safety Task Force File. The materials in the Administrative File provide an overview of Charles Clapp's duties and correspondence. The Task Force, Domestic Council and Highway Safety Task Force Files concern specific subjects and programs of interest to the Nixon Administration.
The Administrative File series, 1969-1973, contains two sub-series, a Correspondence File and a Subject File. The Correspondence File, 1969-1973, provides a chronological record of Charles Clapp's activities with the task forces and his Domestic Council responsibilities relating to transportation, model cities, corrections and prisoner rehabilitation. Much of this material is filed by subject within the Domestic Council File series. Included are materials concerning Charles Clapp's meetings, speaking engagements, visits to schools and prisons, invitations, and evaluations of job candidates. Correspondents include: Arthur Burns, Thomas Cole, Egil "Bud" Krogh, Kenneth Cole, John Ehrlichman, Peter Michel, Clapp's former colleagues in Congressional staff offices, the Smithsonian Institution and the American Political Association, college presidents and local, state and Federal government officials.
The Subject File, 1969-1973, contains Charles Clapp's telephone logs and appointment books for 1971-1973. The other materials in the sub-series concern his task force responsibilities. These include: the selection of the 225 task force members, coordination of task force members' political and security clearances prior to appointment the coordination of task force requests for information from the White House and government agencies and the White House and government agency responses to task force recommendations, travel expense payments and the release, publication and distribution of the reports. A few documents concern proposed task forces on Indians, Elementary and Secondary Education, Arts and Humanities, and the establishment of a Labor Court. Among the files of requests for reports are comments from the general public, Federal, state and local officials concerning controversial task force recommendations, including those of the Women's Rights and Responsibilities Task Force, and the statements of the Mentally Handicapped Task Force relating to abortion. Frequent correspondents include: Arthur Burns, Harry Flemming, Egil Krogh, Gertrude Brown and the Task Force chairmen and members.
The Task Force File series, 1969-1973, contains materials relating to the seventeen task forces which were established by the President in 1969, and completed reports in 1970. The files for each task force duplicate some of the information found in the Administrative File series, including correspondence of the President and Charles Clapp with task force members, White House Press releases and draft and published copies of the reports. Among the files is correspondence from advocacy groups and private industry representatives, meetings minutes, articles, reports, and publications. Some task forces, such as those for Highway Safety and Business Taxation, published consultants' reports and minority opinions. Others contain background materials, such as the history of women in the Republican Party and materials from the Citizen's Advisory Council on the Status of Women, 1965-1969, in the files of the Task Force on Women's Rights and Responsibilities. Also found in the series are materials concerning the proposed Task Force on Elementary and Secondary Education.
The Domestic Council File series, 1969-1973, consists of three sub-series: Corrections, Model Cities and Transportation. The Corrections File, 1969-1973, includes Clapp's correspondence with Federal, state and local law enforcement officials, prisoners, and rehabilitation program personnel concerning the reform of the Federal corrections system, voting and employment of ex-offenders, establishment of a National Institute of Corrections, and education program for juvenile offenders, prisoners, ex-convicts, prison guards and other law enforcement personnel. Among the files are materials relating to Lorton Prison and the District of Columbia corrections system, Clapp's prison visits, and the National Conference on Corrections held in December 1971. Frequent correspondents include: Egil Krogh; Norman Carlson, Bureau of Prisons; Richard Velde, Law Enforcement Assistance Administration; Jerome Roscow, Department of Labor; Donald Santarelli, Department of Justice and Blair Ewing, District of Columbia government.
The Model Cities File sub-series, 1969-1972, concerns the Nixon Administration's Planned Variations revenue sharing program for urban rehabilitation. Included in the files are correspondence, applications and reports from city officials and evaluations of the Model Cities programs in selected cities by Floyd Hyde of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Interagency Selection Committee.
The Transportation File, 1969-1973, the last sub-series of the Domestic Council File series, concerns transportation policies and legislation. Included in the files are materials on government agency budgets, airport construction, airline regulatory policies, and hijacking. Other materials in the files concern the development of a National Transportation Policy, the use of Highway Trust Fund monies for mass transit projects, subway and highway construction in the District of Columbia, the National Railway Transportation Corporation (also known as Amtrak or Railpax), and the bankruptcy of Penn Central Railroad and subsequent trustees' negotiations with the United Transportation Union concerning crew requirements on trains. Frequent correspondents include: Egil Krogh, Ken Cole, Office of Management and Budget staff members Jack Carlson, Roger Adkins and Caspar Weinberger; Bill Usery, Department of Labor; John Volpe, Jim Beggs and Charles Baker of the Department of Transportation; John Ingram, Federal Railroad Administration; and John Shaefer, Federal Aviation Administration.
The Highway Safety Task Force File series, 1969-1971, which contains the working papers of one of the seventeen Presidential Task Forces, supplements materials found in the Administrative and Task Force File series. The first of two sub-series, the Subject File, 1969-1971, contains the materials of Task Force Secretary William Harris, Jr., his colleagues at the Batelle Memorial Institute and other consultants who assisted the task force in preparing the report. Included in the files are annotated task force report drafts and recommendations from task force members and Harris' correspondence with over 100 representatives of governors, state institutions and universities who were invited to comment on the task force mission. Frequent correspondents include: Harris, Task Force Chairman Franklin Kreml, members Howard Pyle and George Barton, and Batelle Memorial Institute staff members Margaret Windus, Mary Shoene and Lenard Lederman.
The second subseries of the Highway Safety Task Force File, the Publications File, 19[60]-1969-1970, contains numerical and alphabetical files of annotated printed materials, books, bibliographies, speeches, periodical articles, correspondence and memoranda created between 1960-1969 and collected by the Batelle Memorial Institute staff from 1969-1970. Much of the numbered correspondence and memoranda is also found in the Subject File sub-series described above. Among the materials are Congressional documents relating to highway legislation, a ten volume study of National Highway Safety Bureau priorities and reports from the Department of Transportation, National Academy of Sciences and National Safety Council.
Some of the folder titles in the Clapp papers include alphabetical or numerical symbols. The annotation "(WF)" found in the Corrections and Transportation Files may refer to "Working File." The numerical annotations found in the folder titles and publications of the Highway Safety Task Force Files were apparently assigned by the Batelle Memorial Institute Staff Members. The "OA" and "CFOA" folder title designations refer to materials in the White House Central Files, Oversize Attachment and Confidential Oversize Attachment categories which were added to the collection.
Documents throughout the Clapp papers have been withdrawn for reasons of personal privacy, Federal statute or national security. .0001 cubic feet of materials determined to concern political or personal associations has been returned to Charles Clapp. .33 cubic feet of photos, a set of slides and two tapes were transferred to the Audiovisual Collection.
Related materials may be found in the White House Special Files, Staff Member and Office Files of John Ehrlichman (22.66 cubic feet) and Egil Krogh (28 cubic feet) and the White House Central Files, Staff Member and Office Files of Arthur Burns (1 cubic foot) and Kenneth Cole (5 cubic feet). The White House Central Files, Subject Files includes materials concerning the Task Forces (FG 221) (3 cubic feet) and the Domestic Council (FG 6-15) (3 cubic feet).
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Series Description
Boxes 1-15: Administrative File, 1969-1973
Boxes: 1-5
Series: Correspondence File, 1969-1973 | Folder Title List
Description: Originals, carbon and electrostatic copies of Charles Clapp's correspondence and memoranda. Topics include the selection of Task Force members, the production, publication and distribution of the Task Force reports, prisoner rehabilitation, corrections, model cities, transportation issues, job appointments, meeting schedules and speaking arrangements. Arranged chronologically by subject.
Boxes: 6-15
Series: Subject File, 1969-1973 | Folder Title List
Description: Originals, carbon and electrostatic copies of correspondence and memoranda, draft and published task force reports, schedules, calendars, telephone records, job appointment forms and White House Press releases. The telephone call logs and appointment calendars provide a general record of CHarles Clapp's duties from 1969-1973. The rest of the materials relate to his task force responsibilities, including the selection and clearance of task force members, the writing and publication of the reports, and the requests for and reactions to the reports. Arranged alphabetically by subject, thereunder chronologically.
Boxes: 16-39
Series: Task Force File, 1969-1973 | Folder Title List
Description: Originals, carbon and electrostatic copies of memoranda, correspondence, draft and published task force reports, resumes, membership lists, meetings transcripts and minutes, newsclippings, financial claim forms and congressional documents. Materials document the life cycle of each task force and include letters from the President and Charles Clapp to each task force member and evaluations of the task force recommendations by the Office of Management and Budget and other government agencies. Arranged alphabetically by name of task force.
Boxes 40-76: Domestic Council File, 1969-1973
Boxes: 40-47
Series: Corrections File, 1969-1973 | Folder Title List
Description: Originals, carbons and electrostatic copies of correspondence and memoranda, resumes, newsletters, newsclippings, congressional bills and legal opinions. Topics include government agency budgets, selections of District of Columbia corrections officials, prison conditions and escapes in Lorton prison and other facilities, prisoners' cases, law enforcement conferences and education programs, and juvenile and adult rehabilitation. Arranged alphabetically by subject.
Boxes: 48-50
Series: Model Cities File, 1969-1972 | Folder Title List
Description: Originals, carbon and electrostatic copies of correspondence, memoranda, reports, printed materials, and White House Press releases concerning the selection of cities for participation in the Administration's planned variations revenue sharing program for urban development. The file includes printed reports and requests from city officials and memoranda from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Arranged alphabetically by subject, thereunder alphabetically by name of city.
Boxes: 51-76
Series: Transportation File, 1970-1973 | Folder Title List
Description: Originals, carbons and electrostatic copies of correspondence, memoranda, studies, reports, newsclippings, press releases, Congressional bills and other printed documents. Among the files are materials relating to the development of a national transportation policy, government agency appropriations, air transportation, automobiles, the Aviation Advisory Commission, Aviation for Nixon, hijacking, the Federal-Aid Highway and Mass Transportation Act of 1972, highway safety, mass transit, Amtrak, Penn Central Railroad, special revenue sharing and waterway user charges. Arranged alphabetically, thereunder chronologically.
Boxes 77-97: Highway Safety Task Force File, 1969-1971
Boxes: 77-83
Series: Subject File, 1969-1971 | Folder Title List
Description: Originals and electrostatic copies of memoranda, correspondence, correspondence record cards, meeting agenda, consultants' reports, task force members' annotated drafts and recommendations and printed materials. Highway and automobile construction, drunken drivers, law enforcement and emergency medical services were among the issues addressed. Arranged alphabetically by subject, thereunder chronologically.
Boxes: 84-97
Series: Publications File, 19[60]-1969-1970 | Folder Title List
Description: Books, pamphlets, bibliographies, speeches, periodical articles, consultants' reports, newslippings, congressional documents, printed material and a few original and electrostatic copies of task force members' correspondence collected by the staff of the Batelle Memorial Institute during 1969-1970 for use as background material by the President's Task Force on Highway Safety. Contains two subseries. The Numerical File, 1960-1970 (Boxes 84-94) is arranged in numerical order by the number assigned to each publication by the Batelle Institute Staff. The Alphabetical File, 1965-1969 (Boxes 95-97) is arranged alphabetically by author.
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Folder Title List
Available as a searchable  pdf file.
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