Joseph L. Wyatt collection of California Democratic Council records, 1953-1967

Processed by Saundra Taylor; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé and edited by Josh Fiala.
UCLA Library Special Collections
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1575
(310) 825-4988
spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
©2005 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.


Title: Joseph L. Wyatt collection of California Democratic Council records
Collection number: 1082
Contributing Institution: UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material: English
Physical Description: 7.0 linear ft. (14 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1953-1967
Abstract: The California Democratic Council (CDC), a federation of local volunteer clubs, was established in 1953. CDC endorsements and campaign support led to the first full statewide slate of Democrats in 40 years (1954) and also figured prominently in the election of Edmund G. “Pat” Brown as California governor in 1958. Joseph Lucian Wyatt, Jr. (b.1924) was the secretary of the California Democratic Council (1953-57), and president (1957-61). He was also the California delegate at the Democratic National Conventions in 1956, 1960, 1964, and 1968. The collection consists of correspondence, clippings, and printed material related to the formation, development, and activities of the California Democratic Council (CDC) between 1953 and 1967, and materials related to another organization, the Dime-A-Day Democracy Group.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Creator: Wyatt, Joseph L., 1924-

Restrictions on Access

Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections for paging information.

Restrictions on Use and Reproduction

Property rights to the physical object belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Provenance/Source of Acquisition

Gift of Joseph L. Wyatt, Jr., 1969.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Joseph L. Wyatt Collection of California Democratic Council Records (Collection 1082). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

Biography

Joseph Lucian Wyatt, Jr. was born in Chicago, Illinois, February 21, 1924; attended Northwestern University (AB, 1947) and Harvard Law School (LL.B., 1949); became a lawyer and sole practitioner, Los Angeles, California, in 1949; member California State Personnel Board, 1961-71; Director, Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce, 1956-59; secretary, California Democratic Council (CDC), 1953-57; president, CDC, 1957-61; California delegate, Democratic National Convention, 1956, 1960, 1964, and 1968.
The California Democratic Council (CDC), a federation of local volunteer clubs, was established in 1953; under the direction of founding president Alan Cranston, the CDC was able to balance its electoral and legislative goals; CDC endorsements and campaign support led to the first full statewide slate of Democrats in 40 years (1954) and also figured prominently in the election of Edmund G. “Pat” Brown as California governor in 1958; as the CDC's focus became increasingly ideological, tensions led to a steady decline in its membership and presence in California politics; membership peaked at 75,000 in 1964.

Scope and Content

Collection consists of correspondence, clippings, and printed material related to the formation, development, and activities of the California Democratic Council (CDC) between 1953 and 1967. Materials relate to Wyatt's involvement in the CDC as its secretary and president. Also contains materials related to another organization, the Dime-A-Day Democracy Group.

Partial List of Correspondents in Collection

Anderson, Glenn M. lieutenant-governor of California
Bowlest Chester
Brown, Edmund G. (Pat) governor of California
Burns, Hugh California State Senate
Cranston Alan
Doyle, Clyde California congressman
Eagle, Clair California senator
Galbraith, John Kenneth
Gore Albert Tennessee senator
Hanna, Richard T. California state legislator
Johnson, Lyndon Baines Senate majority leader
Kefauver, Estes Senator
Miller, George California congressman
Mosk, Stanley judge and California state attorney-general
Pitchess, Peter J. Los Angeles County sherrif
Rees, Thomas California state legislator
Richards, Richard California state legislator
Roosevelt, James California congressman
Schleisenger, Arthur M. Jr.
Unruh, Jesse California state legislator
Wagner, Robert F. Jr. New York City mayor
Wyman, Rosalind Los Angeles City councilwoman
Yarborough, Ralph Texas senator
Yorty, Samuel Los Angeles Mayor
Ziffren, Paul Democratic national committeeman

Related Material

California Democratic Council Records (Collection 1389).  Available at UCLA Library Special Collections.

UCLA Catalog Record ID

UCLA Catalog Record ID: 3649313 

Subjects and Indexing Terms

California Democratic Council--Archives.
Democratic Party (Calif.).
Wyatt, Joseph L., 1924- --Archives.
California--Politics and government, 1951- .

 

1952-1955

Box 1, Folder 1

Campaign literature, 1952 election. 1952

Scope and Content Note

Includes material on R. Nixon, John J. Sparkman, Adlai Stevenson, Dean E. McHenry, et al.
Box 1, Folder 2

CDC - Convention notes, Fresno. November 1953.

Box 1, Folder 3

Dime-A-Day for Democracy. 1953.

Box 1, Folder 4

CDC - Convention notes, Fresno. February 1954.

Box 1, Folder 5

Dime-A-Day for Democracy. 1954.

Box 1, Folder 6

Miscellaneous conventions & constitutions. 1954-1958.

Scope and Content Note

Includes CDC, Congressional, and assembly districts.
Box 1, Folder 7

Pre-primary campaign literature. 1954.

Scope and Content Note

Includes material on Goodwin Knight, Pat Brown, Stevenson, Steve Zetterberg, Edward R. Roybal, Richard Graves, Jesse Unruh, Samuel Yorty, Laurance Cross, et al.
Box 1, Folder 8

Campaigns. “George L. Thomas for Council.” 1955.

 

1955-1956.

Box 2, Folder 1

CDC Convention. March 19-20, 1955.

Box 2, Folder 2

CDC Convention, continued. Correspondence.

Box 2, Folder 3

CDC Convention - Minutes. 1955.

Box 2, Folder 4

Dime-A-Day for Democracy. 1955.

Box 2, Folder 5

CDC Correspondence - Complaint letters. 1956.

Box 2, Folder 6

CDC Minutes. 1956.

Box 2, Folder 7

Primary campaign literature. 1956.

Box 2, Folder 8

Democratic National Convention. 1956.

Box 2, Folder 9

General campaign. 1956.

Scope and Content Note

Includes literature on Yorty, Nixon, Stevenson, Thomas Kuchel, Richard Richards, et al. (clippings, campaign literature, some correspondence).
Box 3

1957-1958.

Box 3, Folder 1

CDC Convention. 1957.

Box 3, Folder 3

CDC Legislative letter. 1957.

Box 3, Folder 4

CDC Lists. 1957-58.

Box 3, Folder 5

CDC Minutes. 1957.

Box 3, Folders 2, 6-9

CDC Correspondence. 1957-1958.

Box 3, Folder 2

1957..

Box 3, Folder 6

1958 July-September..

Box 3, Folder 7

1958 October-November..

Box 3, Folder 8

1958 December..

Box 3, Folder 9

Congratulatory. 1958.

Box 3, Folder 10

CDR, Minutes. 1958.

 

1958-1959.

Box 4, Folder 1

CDC - Mosk for Attorney-General. 1958.

Box 4, Folder 2

CDC - Right-to-work legislation. 1958.

Box 4, Folder 3

CDC - Pre-primary registration data. 1958.

Box 4, Folder 4

CDC Committees. 1959.

Box 4, Folder 5

CDC Convention. 1959.

Box 4-5

CDC Correspondence. 1959.

Box 4, Folder 6

1959 January..

Box 4, Folder 7

1959 February..

Box 4, Folder 8

1959 March..

Box 4, Folder 9

1959 April..

Box 4, Folder 10

1959 May..

Box 5, Folder 1

1959 June..

Box 5, Folder 2

1959 July..

Box 5, Folder 3

1959 August..

Box 5, Folder 4

1959 September..

Box 5, Folder 5

1959 October..

Box 5, Folder 6

1959 November-December..

Box 5, Folder 7

CDC - Eagle (Clair). 1959.

Box 5, Folder 8

CDC - Engle for Senate. 1959.

Box 5, Folders 9-10

CDC Issues conference. 1959.

 

1959-1960.

Box 6, Folder 1

CDC Legislative. 1959.

Box 6, Folder 2

CDC Legislative letter. 1959.

Box 6, Folder 3

CDC Legislative letter. 1959.

Scope and Content Note

Correspondence.
Box 6, Folder 4

CDC Lists. 1959.

Box 6, Folder 5

CDC Minutes. 1959.

Box 6, Folder 6

CDC Newsletter. 1959.

Box 6, Folder 7

CDC - Out-of-state correspondence. 1959-61.

Box 6, Folder 8

CDC Research re Nixon. 1959.

Box 6, Folders 9-10

CDC Convention. 1960.

Box 7, Folders 1-12

CDC correspondence. 1960.

Box 7, Folder 1

1960 January..

Box 7, Folder 2

1960 February..

Box 7, Folder 3

1960 March..

Box 7, Folder 4

1960 April..

Box 7, Folder 5

1960 May..

Box 7, Folder 6

1960 June..

Box 7, Folder 7

1960 July..

Box 7, Folder 8

1960 August..

Box 7, Folder 9

1960 September..

Box 7, Folder 10

1960 October..

Box 7, Folder 11

1960 November..

Box 7, Folder 12

1960 December..

Box 8, Folder 1

CDC Issues conference. 1960.

Scope and Content Note

i.e. correspondence, etc. re conference.
Box 8, Folder 2

CDC Issues conference. 1960.

Box 8, Folder 3

CDC - Kennedy for President. 1960.

Box 8, Folder 4

CDC Legislative letter. 1960.

Box 8, Folder 5

CDC Lists. 1960.

Box 8, Folder 6

CDC Minutes. 1960.

Box 8, Folder 7

CDC Presidential delegation (prior to 1960 convention). 1960.

Box 8, Folder 8

CDC Primary campaign. 1960.

Box 9, Folder 1

CDC Publicity. 1960.

Box 9, Folder 2

CDC Publicity, clippings. 1960.

Box 9, Folder 3

Democratic National Convention, General. 1960.

Box 9, Folders 4-6

Democratic National Convention, California Democratic delegation. 1960.

 

1961-1963.

Box 10, Folder 1

CDC Board of Directors. April 1961.

Box 10, Folder 2

CDC Convention. 1961.

Box 10, Folder 3

CDC Correspondence. 1961 January-March.

Box 10, Folder 4

CDC Issues conference.

Box 10, Folder 5

CDC Legislative letter (Los Angeles). 1961.

Box 10, Folder 6

CDC Legislative letter (San Francisco). 1961.

Box 10, Folder 7

CDC Publicity. 1961.

Scope and Content Note

Mostly clippings, many re Wyatt's retirement as president of CDC.
Box 10, Folder 8

CDC Convention, Fresno. January 26-28, 1962.

Box 10, Folder 9

Elections. 1962.

Box 10, Folder 9a

CDC Convention. 1963.

Box 10, Folder 10

Kennedy assassination, clippings. 1963.

Box 11, Folder 1

CDC Convention, Rules committee. 1964.

Box 11, Folder 2

CDC - Cranston for U.S. Senate. 1964.

Box 11, Folder 3

CDC Legislative newsletter. 1964.

Box 11, Folder 4

CDC Lists.

Box 11, Folder 5

CDC Primary. 1964.

Scope and Content Note

Mostly “Cranston for Senate.”
Box 11, Folder 6

CDC Publicity 1964.

Scope and Content Note

Includes Governor Brown press releases.
Box 11, Folder 7

Democratic National Convention, California delegation. 1964.

 

1965-1966.

Box 12, Folder 1

CDC Convention. 1965.

Box 12, Folder 2

CDC Convention, photographs. 1965.

Box 12, Folder 3

Johnson Inauguration, memorabilia. 1965.

Box 12, Folder 4

Miscellaneous. 1965.

Box 12, Folder 5

Brown campaign. 1966.

Scope and Content Note

Includes other campaign literature - e.g. Lloyd Hand for lieutenant governor & Cranston.
Box 12, Folder 6

CDC Convention. 1966.

Box 12, Folder 7

Campaign Literature. 1966.

Box 12, Folder 8

Politics 1966.

Scope and Content Note

Mostly re Brown campaign.
 

1966-1967.

Box 13, Folder 1

Election - Proposition #1, ( re public retirement funds). 1966.

Box 13, Folder 2

CDC Convention. 1967.

 

CDC Miscellaneous Files 1966-1967.

Box 13, Folder 3

Brown, Edmund G. (Pat). 1958-1965.

Box 13, Folder 4

CDC - Descriptive literature for distribution.

Box 13, Folder 5

CDC - Clyde Doyle.

Box 13, Folder 6

CDC - Election reform & reapportionment.

Box 13, Folder 7

CDC - Pre-primary endorsements.

Scope and Content Note

Including draft (carbon) of “Preprimary Endorsement” by Leonard Rowe, September 1960.
Box 13, Folder 8

CDC Publicity. 1958-59.

Box 14, Folders 1-2

CDC Publicity - Retraction statements. 1960.

Scope and Content Note

Includes “anti” campaign material put out in 1960 election campaign.
Box 14, Folder 3

CDC - Report of President Joseph L. Wyatt. 1958.

Scope and Content Note

Includes a carbon typescript of Cranston's speech at founding of CDC, 1953.
Box 14, Folder 4

CDC Resolutions. 1958-1962.

Scope and Content Note

Includes material on Nixon's governor's race.
Box 14, Folder 5

Diogenes club.

Box 14, Folder 6

Miscellaneous pamphlets. v.d..

Scope and Content Note

Mostly re California Democratic politics, 1952-66.