George H. W. Bush Papers

This series consists of correspondence and speech materials documenting George H. W. Bush's tenure as director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Several files in the Subject Files date to 1978 when Bush was commenting on Congressional action relevant to the CIA after he had stepped down from his post to return to private life. The series is divided into three subseries: Correspondence Files, Events and Appearances Files, and Subject Files.

The Correspondence Files subseries contains letters sent and received by George Bush from 1975 to 1977. The series also contains notes, cards, and telegrams from the same period. The correspondence includes congratulatory letters upon Bush's appointment as director of the Central Intelligence Agency by President Gerald R. Ford, as well as letters of support after Bush announced his plans to resign from the agency following President Ford's defeat in the 1976 presidential elections by James Earl Carter. The files also include personal correspondence files maintained by Bush during his tenure as CIA director. This personal correspondence is mostly routine in nature. It includes many letters from Bush's friends and acquaintances across the nation, especially Texas. Several letters address Bush's intelligence briefings for Carter during the 1976 presidential campaign. Other outgoing letters from Bush inform friends, acquaintances, and the general public about his general attitudes regarding the CIA, his pledge to forego politics during his CIA tenure, and his plans for returning to private life at the end of the Ford administration. Invitations accepted and regretted are also included in the correspondence files.

The Events and Appearances subseries consists of files documenting George Bush's appearances and speaking engagements during his tenure as director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The files date from 1975 to 1977. The papers document Bush's appearances of popular news programs of the period including "60 Minutes" and "Meet the Press," as well as speaking engagements at clubs and groups across the nation. Materials in the files include speech drafts, notes on speeches, speech outlines, and correspondence. The speech materials evidence Bush's active role in shaping his speeches, whether adding humor at the beginning of remarks or substantively altering drafts to reflect current events regarding the CIA. Generally, files include letters of invitation to Bush to speak, notes regarding travel arrangements, and reaction by friends and the public to his remarks.

The Subject Files subseries include files maintained by Bush when he was director of the CIA. The files contain cables, letters, memoranda, news clippings, printed material, schedules, testimony, and transcripts. The materials document Bush's appointment as director of Central Intelligence, confirmation battle, and press interactions. Cables provide detailed information about his confirmation, but most of these items are closed due to classification restrictions. Notes and letters document Bush's confirmation, including strategy items and general information regarding Bush's philosophy regarding the CIA and the post of director. Additional materials of interest include Bush's comments on legislation proposed by Congress in 1978 regarding the CIA. Also included are numerous news clippings documenting poor or inaccurate reporting about the intelligence agency.

This series contains correspondence and administrative files created during George H. W. Bush's service as U.S. Liaison to the People's Republic of China from October 21, 1974 to December 7, 1975. The series contains three subseries: a Correspondence File, the Peking Diary, and a Subject File.

The Correspondence subseries contains correspondence George H. W. Bush received while head of the U.S. Liaison Office. This correspondence partially consists of letters from organizations and individuals requesting information on how to visit China. The remainder of the correspondence is comprised of letters from friends and acquaintances of George H. W. Bush. These friends wrote to provide updates on personal and political matters, and in some cases to request information on visiting China. In many cases a carbon copy of Bush's typed response has been attached to the incoming correspondence.

The Peking Diary subseries consists of a diary of George H. W. Bush's personal thoughts during his tenure as head of the U.S. Liaison Office in Peking. This diary covers George H. W. Bush's reactions to all aspects of life in Peking, including his opinions of public officials and diplomats, politics, family matters, international affairs, and life in China.

The Subject File subseries consists of files maintained by George H. W. Bush and his immediate office staff from 1974 to 1976. This material includes administrative files, personal files, correspondence files, and press clipping files. A portion of these files deal with the daily operation of the Peking Liaison Office, including the purchase of provisions. The subseries also contains personal files of George and Barbara Bush, including banking files, files on their Chinese language lessons, personal correspondence, and files related to personal effects. There are also files in this subseries related to Bush's official duties as head of the Liaison Office, including files dealing with Bush's official travels and correspondence dealing with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's visit in November 1974 as well as the visit of President Gerald Ford and Kissinger in December 1975. Other files deal with social aspects of the Liaison Office, including correspondence related to friends who visited the Bushes, information on visiting Congressional delegations, material related to diplomatic receptions both hosted and attended by Bush, and the Fourth of July cookout hosted by George H. W. Bush in 1975. There is also a file containing press clippings primarily from Chinese news sources.

This series consists of materials primarily documenting George H. W. Bush's tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives. Only a few files contain items that predate 1967 including a 1963-1964 personal correspondence file. The series is divided into four subseries: 1) General, 2) Senate, 3) Personal, and 4) Vietnam Trip.

The General subseries contains notes, letters, and memorandums concerning the Congressional career of George H. W. Bush. The bulk of the material spans the years 1968-1970 when George H. W. Bush served in Congress and sat on the Ways and Means Committee. These materials include constituent correspondence, information on financial matters, and newspaper clippings. There are also a few policy files relating to Vietnam, the Middle East, and civil disobedience.

The Senate subseries contains material concerning Bush's 1970 Senate campaign. Of particular interest is Bush's Texas campaign diary in which he discusses fund raising, meeting with constituents, and the political climate of Texas during the early part of 1970.

The Personal subseries contains routine personal information on George H. W. Bush from 1963-1970 including gun ownership, financial disclosures, and housing information. The subseries also contains correspondence between George H. W. Bush and Richard Nixon about political matters and between Bush and his personal assistant Don Rhodes.

The Vietnam Trip subseries contains information on Congressman Bush's trip to Vietnam from December 26, 1967 to January 11, 1968. It includes constituent correspondence, invitations, schedules, contact lists, and general background materials on Vietnam.

This series contains newspaper clippings and columns related to George H. W. Bush's mother, Dorothy Walker Bush. One clipping documents Dorothy Walker Bush's participation in the Girls National Championship for tennis in 1918. Copies of the newspaper column "Washington Life," written by Dorothy Walker Bush during her husband Prescott Sheldon Bush's term in the U.S. Senate, cover 1959 to 1962, but are not a complete set of the column. The columns detail events in Washington, DC such as the opening of Congress, the State of the Union, entertainment at the White House, and comments on the political leaders of the time. Her January 17, 1962 column mentions her recent visit to George and Barbara Bush in Houston, Texas.

This series contains materials related to George H. W. Bush's father, Prescott Sheldon Bush. It includes a history of the Yale College (the undergraduate college of Yale University) class of 1917, of which Prescott Bush was a member. An oral history transcript documents an interview with Prescott Bush conducted by the Columbia University Oral History Program in 1966. In the interview, Bush discusses his family background, business career, and experience in the Senate.

This series contains personal notes, administrative files and public correspondence generated while George H. W. Bush was Chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) from January 1973 until September 1974. The administrative files consist of memos between Chairman Bush, President Richard Nixon, White House officials, and RNC members. Some of the materials relate to the Watergate Crisis that resulted in President Richard Nixon's resignation in August 1974. The files named "Personal Notes" are transcripts of George H. W. Bush's diary in which he comments on Watergate developments and his position as RNC Chairman. The files named "RNC Members - VP Selection" contain materials related to the RNC survey of its members in October 1973 to determine whom they preferred as Vice President upon the resignation of Spiro T. Agnew. The RNC received public mail both positive and negative towards President Nixon and the RNC. The "Alpha Files" are representative of public mail sent in 1973 and 1974. The public mail from 1974 consists of letters supporting George H. W. Bush for Vice President after Gerald Ford assumed the Presidency.

This series consists of materials related to George H. W. Bush's tenure as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (UN). Included are correspondence, cables (telegrams), memoranda, transcripts, handwritten notes, and news clippings. A significant portion of the files concerns the admission of the People's Republic of China to the UN General Assembly and Security Council. The files also contain personal diary entries transcribed from tapes recorded between December 1970 and September 1972.

This series contains letters George H. W. Bush wrote to his mother Dorothy Walker Bush at the time of his service in the United States Navy during World War II. Scattered throughout the series are a few letters to his sister Nancy Bush, his father Prescott Bush, Sr., and his older brother Prescott Bush, Jr. During the period of his training, Bush described his instruction, daily activities, unusual occurrences while flying, relationship with Barbara Pierce, and visits with family friends while on leave. During his service in the Pacific aboard the San Jacinto, Bush described life aboard ship, his marriage plans, and his shore leave. Of particular interest are letters he wrote during September and October 1944 while aboard the submarine USS Finback which rescued him after being shot down. The letters conclude with George Bush writing his mother during his first few months of marriage while he was based at Detroit, Michigan. In these letters he discussed his life with Barbara and outlined plans for the future. Military censors edited portions of the letters mailed while aboard the San Jacinto.

In addition to George H. W. Bush's correspondence with his family, there is correspondence between Prescott Bush Sr. and the family of Ted White, a crewmember with George H. W. Bush who perished when their plane was shot down on September 2, 1944. There are also a few letters between other Bush family members, principally Prescott Bush Jr. and Dorothy Walker Bush.

Finally, there is a short story written by Lou Grab, a friend of George H. W. Bush on the San Jacinto and a fellow torpedo plane pilot. In his account, Grab details the activities of torpedo squadron VT-51 of which both he and George H. W. Bush were members. The account provides an overview of the activities of VT-51 and context to Bush's letters, especially those written while Bush served aboard the San Jacinto between January and September 1944.

This series consists of personal, business, and political files primarily documenting George H. W. Bush's life in Texas from 1948 to 1966. The series is divided into five subseries: Personal Alphabetical Files, Business Alphabetical Files, Business Correspondence Files, Political Alphabetical Files, and Political Correspondence Files.

The subseries Personal Alphabetical Files contains records of a personal nature kept by George H. W. Bush during the years 1946, when he was a student at Yale University, to 1966, when he was first elected to the United States Congress. The bulk of these files are from 1952 to 1964. While these are personal records, most appear to have been maintained in Bush's business offices and coincide with his tenure with the Bush-Overbey Oil Development Company, Zapata Petroleum Company, and Zapata Off-Shore Company. A significant number of these files contain material related to Bush's numerous civic and charitable activities while living in Midland and Houston, Texas. Other files cover Bush's work for Republican campaigns, his personal correspondence, material related to the oil industry, Bush's work as an employee of Dresser Industries and its subsidiaries, and his work as a member of the board of directors for several organizations. Also included is a significant amount of financial material, including bank statements, cancelled checks, insurance policies, and investment information. Finally, while these records have been designated as personal in nature, interfiled with this material is information related to Bush's business ventures. It should be noted that this subseries contains one file, Orders/Navy, which relates to Bush's service in the United States Navy during World War II.

The subseries Business Alphabetical Files contains records related to the operations of Zapata Off-Shore Company. These materials were maintained in a subject-based filing system and for the most part were generated after 1959, the year Bush moved Zapata Off-Shore's headquarters to Houston. Records of note in this subseries include material pertaining to Bush's efforts to merge his business with other companies and the endeavor to sell his interest in the company so he could concentrate on his campaign for the United States Congress. It is apparent that these are only a portion of the files kept by Zapata Off-Shore Company during these years. Employees of Zapata Off-Shore generated numerous files after Bush had given up any managerial functions within the company or on its board of directors.

The subseries Business Correspondence Files contains correspondence related to the business ventures of George H. W. Bush while working in Midland and Houston, Texas. While some of this correspondence dates from the early 1950s when Bush was associated with the Bush-Overbey Oil Development Company, the bulk was generated during Bush's tenure as president of Zapata Off-Shore Company. Of this material, most records consist of copies of Bush's out-going correspondence for the 1959 and 1960 calendar years. In addition, there are also copies of inter-office memoranda sent and received by management-level employees of Zapata Off-Shore Company. The correspondence files do not seem to be complete; only certain years of materials are present.

The subseries Political Alphabetical Files contains material related to George H. W. Bush's political activities in Texas prior to 1964. The majority of these documents were created or accumulated during Bush's tenure as Chairman of the Harris County Republican Party in 1963. This includes campaign literature, texts of Republican platforms, news clippings, and press releases. Correspondence in this material includes routine letters as well as correspondence with Republican leaders, such as Senator John Tower. Records related to efforts by George H. W. Bush to raise funds for other political candidates and campaigns can be found in these files. More substantial documents concerning his political activities while in Midland can be located in the subseries Personal Alphabetical Files.

The subseries Political Correspondence Files contains correspondence and related documents pertaining to George H. W. Bush's political activities during his years in Midland and Houston. Most files focus on Bush's role as chair of the Harris County Republican Party and compliment and overlap records found in his political alphabetical files. This includes letters concerning routine party business, such as appointment of precinct chairs and other leadership positions, fundraising efforts undertaken in the county, plans for the 1964 primary season, and correspondence with state Republican headquarters. Also prominent in the files is material related to efforts by Bush and other Harris County Republicans to broaden the party's appeal, especially among African-American and Hispanic voters. Correspondence announcing Bush's planned run for the U.S. Senate in 1964 is also located in these files, but there are no substantive records related to the campaign. In addition to correspondence related to his work as Harris County chairman, there are a few records that relate to his political involvement in Republican politics prior to 1963, including his tenure as Republican Finance Chair for District 29.