The George Meader papers primarily document his Congressional service from 1951 to 1964. There are some materials documenting his personal and professional life aside from his work in Congress. The papers relating to Congressional service include correspondence, speeches, campaign literature, texts of radio broadcasts, press releases and newsletters, photographs, and sound recordings. The other materials include memoirs, diaries, correspondence and memoranda, case files, photographs and film, scrapbooks, and correspondence regarding organizations to which Meader belonged and relating to the opening of his Ann Arbor law practice in 1939. Also included in the Meader papers are the diaries, notebooks, and student papers of his daughter, Barbara.
The collection has been divided into five series: the National Defense Investigating Committee, Congressional Files, Personal, Professional, and Visual Materials. The first two series cover Meader's professional activities in Washington, D. C., including what he saw as crucial work on the Truman committee. The original order of material in these series has been pretty much maintained. The next two series, Personal and Professional, reflect the artifice of the archivist as the original order of materials in the groups was significantly altered in the course of processing.
George Meader served as United States Congressman, 1951-1964, for the second congressional district of southeastern Michigan. In the 1950s, this district encompassed parts of Jackson, Lenawee, Monroe, and Washtenaw counties. After the 1962 redistricting, Meader represented the citizens of parts of Jackson, Lenawee, Livington, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties. In 1950, the Republican Meader easily won the seat that had long been held by Earl Michener, another Republican. Meader handily won the next six Congressional elections, his narrowest margin of victory being 23,000 votes. In 1964, he narrowly lost his seat to the liberal Democrat, Weston Vivian, who rode the coattails of Johnson's landslide. Meader attempted to regain the office in 1966, but his bid for reelection failed when he lost the Republican primary to Marvin Esch.
Meader was born in Benton Harbor, Michigan on September 13, 1907, and was educated in Michigan schools. He worked his way through the University of Michigan, graduating with honors from the Literary College in 1927, and receiving his Juris Doctor degree from the Law School in 1931. Meader's affiliation with the university continued as he served as president of the University of Michigan Club of Ann Arbor and as vice-president of the Alumni Association. Upon graduation from law school, he set up shop as a practicing attorney in Ann Arbor in 1932. In 1939 he served as counsel for the Michigan Merit System Association where he directed the campaign that replaced the spoils systems for state employees with a civil service system. In 1940, Meader was elected prosecuting attorney for Washtenaw County, a post he capably filled until 1943.
During World War II Meader served for four years as the counsel for the Senate's National Defense Investigating Committee (the Truman Committee). This committee looked into military supply and defense industries to assure that full energies were given to the war effort and that no corruption existed. Meader's enthusiastic work as counsel on this committee set the tone for his ensuing work in Washington, D. C. In 1948 he was appointed counsel for the Senate Banking and Currency Subcommittee Investigating Reconstruction Finance Corporation loans. Meader's commitment to battling corruption and to clean government continued to be evident during his Congressional service.
In 1950 Meader won the Republican primary contest of six candidates, and defeated the Democratic candidate J. P. Dawson by over 20,000 votes. Due to his experience on the Truman and RFC committees, Meader was named to the Committee on Government Operations and its subcommittees on Government Information and Foreign Operations. In fulfilling these committee obligations, Meader aimed at economy and intelligence in government activities. He sought to increase efficiency in executive bureaus and agencies, to improve the investigative functions of Congressional committees, and to make public hearings accessible to radio and television reporting. Meader also encouraged reduction of federal foreign aid by promoting self-help and the overseas investment of private capital. In his fifth term in Congress, Meader was named to the Committee on the Judiciary and its Anti-Trust subcommittee. In this work, Meader tapped his legal experience and became deeply involved in the struggle over the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
After losing his Congressional seat in 1964, Meader returned to the practice of law in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Washington, D.C. He also served as counsel to the Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress. Upon retiring from legal practice, Meader turned to the writing of his memoirs.
George Meader married Elizabeth Faeth in 1928. They had three children: Robert Eugene, Barbara Ellen (who died in 1960), and Catherine Elizabeth.
