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University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library

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Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2113, USA
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Clare E. Hoffman papers, 1934-1962 (majority within 1954-1962)

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The collection is open for research. The collection contains audio tapes from which digital copies have been made. Source tapes are for staff use only. Audio files are only available in the...

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Summary

Creator:
Hoffman, Clare Eugene, 1875-1967
Abstract:
Republican congressman from Michigan's 4th Congressional District, 1934-1962, served on the Education and Labor Committee and the Government Operations Committee, known for his fiscal conservatism and opposition to much of the New Deal legislation, he was particularly concerned with the growing power of labor unions and worked to amend the Wagner Act, eventually becoming a key player in passage of the Taft-Hartley Act. As chair of special subcommittees, Hoffman conducted several investigations into labor racketeering, particularly by the Teamsters Union. Collection includes committee files, some constituent correspondence, topical files, investigation files, press releases, scrapbooks and a limited number of sound recordings and photographs.
Extent:
93 linear feet
5 phonograph records
10.1 GB (online)
Language:
English.
Call Number:
87140 Aa 2
Authors:
Finding aid prepared by: Thomas E. Powers and Gregory Kinney, 1986

Background

Scope and Content:

The Clare E. Hoffman Papers consist of Congressional files detailing his work on the House Committee on Education and Labor, the House Committee on Government Operations, and various subcommittees, including investigating labor racketeering; files concern in part his sponsorship of labor-related legislation, bills unifying the armed services, and bills authorizing reorganization of the executive branch; and photographs.

The Hoffman collection of congressional papers covers the years 1934-1962. Unfortunately the first few terms of his service are not as adequately documented as might be hoped, as in 1942 Hoffman directed his staff to discard retired files. As a result, except for a few political files and subject files, the Hoffman collection bulks largest for the years 1943-1962.

Despite the fragmentary character of the documentation on Hoffman's early years in Congress, the collection provides a detailed view of the activities of a conservative congressman from western Michigan for a twenty-year period. In recent American history, the years 1943-1962 were important both for wartime politics and for the myriad problems that came after victory: the cooling of relations with the Soviet Union, the integration of returning veterans into the economy, shortages in housing and consumer goods, a renewed militancy among the nation's labor unions, the continuation of the struggle for civil rights for blacks, the fear of internal subversive activities; in short, problems of great importance and complexity, issues for which there were no easy answers.

Hoffman was eyewitness and participant to the politics of these issues. As a representative of increasing seniority, he was a powerful conservative voice within the Congress. Because of his position on the Education and Labor committee, he helped shape the bulk of legislation passed in the postwar period, notably the Taft-Hartley Act. And because of his position on the Expenditures Committee, Hoffman was instrumental in passage of the National Security Act of 1947 that unified the administration of the armed services and enlarge their responsibilities.

Apart from these major pieces of legislation, the Hoffman collection documents the service of a congressman who was attuned to the concerns and politics of his largely rural and small-town district, with constituents economically conservative and ever distrustful of federal encroachments upon their lives. Of special interest are various files of correspondence with the businessmen and small manufacturers of his district. As a good politician, Hoffman was especially mindful of maintaining good relations with these people, and helping them when he could with their labor-related problems.

Like many congressional collections, the Hoffman papers consist in large part of communications with constituents and out-of-district citizens. But because of his power within the Congress, Hoffman's files (letters received and sent) are often substantive in content and a valuable complement to the work of the House, as published in the Congressional Record and other printed sources.

Biographical / Historical:

Clare E. Hoffman was born at Vicksburg, Pennsylvania, on September 10, 1875. He was educated in Constantine, Michigan, where his parents had moved when he was one year old. He graduated from Northwestern University Law School in 1895, and then attended Valparaiso University. He was admitted to the Michigan bar in 1896 and immediately took up the practice of law in Allegan, Michigan.

After thirty years of local legal practice, punctuated by two terms as prosecuting attorney for Allegan County, Hoffman decided to run for Congress as a Republican from the Fourth Congressional District (the six-county western Michigan district). He was elected in 1934 (defeating the Democratic incumbent), and reelected for the next thirteen terms, serving through 1962 (from the 74th to the 87th Congresses).

Elected during Franklin Roosevelt's first term, Hoffman developed a reputation as an outspoken, even caustic, critic of the New Deal, and of those programs which appeared to Hoffman to represent an encroachment on the prerogatives of the states and the rights of the individual. Hoffman was especially concerned about the growing power of trade unions resulting from the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (often called the Wagner Act). He worked tirelessly to amend this legislation and to incorporated his views into all subsequent labor-related legislation. With his growing seniority, and his membership on the House Committee on Education and Labor, Hoffman's became a potent voice in the debate over the passage of the Taft-Hartley Law after the war.

Hoffman also served for a time on the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries and the House Committee on Agriculture, but it was primarily because of his position on the Education and Labor Committee and the Government Operations Committee that he wielded his greatest influence.

The House Committee on Government Operations was formerly the Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Department. As ranking Republican member, Hoffman for two terms was committee chairman, and became noted for his fiscal conservatism and his efforts to bring efficiency and order to the bureaucracy of the federal executive. He perhaps made his greatest contributions in the passage into law of the Reorganization Plan that authorized the creation and activities of the so-called Hoover Commission. He also played an important part in the passage of the Armed Forces Unification Act.

Hoffman retired from Congress in 1963. He died November 3, 1967.

Acquisition Information:
The collection was the gift of Leo W. Hoffman (Donor No. 7332 ) and came to the library in several installments in 1986.
Arrangement:

The collection has been divided into 10 series, which maintain Hoffman's office filing system. The so-called "Combined Files" are the remnants of Hoffman's papers prior to 1943.

  1. Combined Files, 1934-1943 (boxes 1-4)
  2. General Files, 1944-1962 (boxes 4-25)
  3. Legislative Files, 1943-1962 (boxes 26-50)
  4. Bills File, 1935-1962 (boxes 50-54)
  5. Political Files, 1934-1962 (boxes 55-69)
  6. Press Releases, Other Mailings, etc. (boxes 69-71)
    • Press Releases, 1947-1962 (boxes 69-70)
    • News letters, 1939-1961 (box 70)
    • Form letters, 1951-1962 (box 71)
    • Radio releases, 1950-1961 (box 71)
  7. Phono-records (in basement storage)
  8. Audio-tapes (box 71)
  9. Card indices (boxes 72-73)
  10. Post Office Files (boxes 74-75)
  11. Reference Files (boxes 76-80)
  12. Committee's Files, 1947-1962 (boxes 81-88)
  13. Scrapbooks, 1935-1962 (boxes 89-93)

Contents

Using These Materials

Info for Visitors

How to Request

Ordering Reproductions

Download PDF Finding Aid
RESTRICTIONS:

The collection is open for research.

The collection contains audio tapes from which digital copies have been made. Source tapes are for staff use only. Audio files are only available in the Bentley Historical Library reading room on designated Bentley Library computers.

USE & PERMISSIONS:

Donor(s) have transferred any applicable copyright to the Regents of the University of Michigan but the collection may contain third-party materials for which copyright was not transferred. Patrons are responsible for determining the appropriate use or reuse of materials.

PREFERRED CITATION:

item, folder title, box no., Clare E. Hoffman Papers, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan

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Collection

Clare E. Hoffman papers, 1934-1962 (majority within 1954-1962)
Call Number 87140 Aa 2
Total components 2,790
Items available online Online 16
Last indexed 2023-12-08