Inventory of the Thomas A. Lane papers
Finding aid prepared by Kendra Tsai, revised by Hoover Institution Library and Archives Staff
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2008, 2014
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu
Title: Thomas A. Lane papers
Date (inclusive): 1942, 1947-1976
Collection Number: 90030
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
12 manuscript boxes
(4.6 Linear Feet)
Abstract: A major general in the United States Army and conservative columnist, lecturer, and author, the bulk of the collection reflects
Lane's interests in American foreign and military policy, the Vietnam War, religious political issues, communism, and activities
of Americans for Constitutional Action (ACA) and other conservative and anti-communist organizations from 1947 to 1976. The
collection is primarily Composed of speeches, writings, notebooks/notes, correspondence, conference folders full of event
items, press releases, and news clippings, with some handwritten documents.
Creator:
Lane, Thomas A., 1906-
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Access
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
Use
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1990.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Thomas A. Lane papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Biographical Note
| 1906 |
Born in Revere, Massachusetts |
| 1928 |
Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army |
| |
Graduated with honors from the United States Military Academy |
| 1935-1939 |
Served as instructor in the United States Military Academy, teaching military history |
| 1939-1943 |
Served as Executive Officer to the Air Engineer, Headquarters, Army Air Force, Washington, D.C. |
| 1943 |
Awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for serving as Executive Officer and Operations Officer to the Chief Engineer, GHQ,
participating in plans and operations of the campaigns from New Guinea to Japan
|
| |
Joined the Engineer Staff of General Douglas MacArthur at General Headquarters, Southwest Pacific Area |
| 1945 |
Served as a member of the Joint Operations Review Board preparing Joint Doctrine for the Army, Navy and Air Force in Washington,
D.C.
|
| 1946-1948 |
Served as Engineer Instructor at the Air Command and Staff School, Air University, Maxwell Field, Alabama |
| 1947-1948 |
Served as District Engineer at Little Rock, Arkansas |
| |
Served as Chief of the Logistics Division at the Air Command and Staff School, Air University, Maxwell Field, Alabama |
| 1950-1952 |
Served as District Engineer on Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands |
| 1952 |
Served one year as a student at the National War College |
| 1953 |
Served one year as Assistant to the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army for Policy Planning |
| 1954 |
Served as Engineer Commissioner of the District of Columbia |
| 1955 |
Promoted to Brigadier General |
| 1957 |
Promoted to Major General |
| 1957-1960 |
Served as Commanding General of Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri |
| 1960-1962 |
Served as President of the Mississippi River Commission and Division Engineer of the Lower Mississippi Valley Division of
the Corps of Engineers at Vicksburg, Mississippi
|
| 1962 |
Upon retirement, he was awarded an Oak Leaf Cluster for his Distinguished Service Medal |
| |
Retired as a U.S. Army Major General |
| 1962 - |
Served as President of Americans for Constitutional Action and served as Military Analyst of the St. Louis Globe Democrat,
writing about U.S. military and foreign policy
|
| 1962-1964 |
Served as Executive Director of the Institute for Human Progress, Inc. |
| 1975 |
Died |
Sources: Biographical Sketch of Thomas A. Lane (Box-Folder 11 : 3) "Essential Elements of a Conservative Program" by Thomas
A. Lane (Box-Folder 4 : 2-4) Thomas A. Lane, Military Times Hall of Valor website, http://projects.militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=100249,
Accessed December 12, 2014
Scope and Content of Collection
The bulk of the collection spans from 1947 to 1976, reflecting Lane's interests in American foreign and military policy, the
Vietnam War, religious political issues, communism, and activities of Americans for Constitutional Action (ACA) and other
conservative and anti-communist organizations. The collection is primarily Composed of speeches, writings, notebooks, correspondence,
conference folders full of event items, press releases, and news clippings, with some documents handwritten.
Lane's collection has letters, manuscripts, and other writings. Specifically, it has letters related to his career as a news
columnist after his retirement as a U.S. Army Major General, to books he has written, and documents related to speaking engagements,
which include his own and others speeches. The collection contains manuscripts for speaking engagements, news articles, and
books, as well as collected writings from others to use as reference materials. In addition, Lane wrote about his trips, including
conferences and conventions that he attended, and kept documents about his travels.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Anti-communist movements -- United States
Conservatism
Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Officers
United States -- Foreign relations -- 1945-1989
United States -- Politics and government -- 1945-1989
United States -- Military policy
United States. Army
Americans for Constitutional Action (Organization)
Correspondence
1953-1975
Scope and Contents note
Contains letters pertaining to Lane's contributions as a columnist about public policy issues, as an author, and as a speaker.
box 1, folder 1
Letters and writings to editors
1953-1972
box 1, folder 2
Admiral Ben Moreell
1966-1967
Scope and Contents note
Composed of letters and related documents between Lane and Moreell and regards Lane and Moreell.
box 1, folder 3
General correspondence: mainly unanswered
undated
Scope and Contents note
Composed of letters and related documents to Lane regarding issues in Vietnam, his writings, other people's writings, conferences,
the communist revolution, and Nationalist China, among other issues.
box 1, folder 4-8
Speaking engagements
1969-1973
Scope and Contents note
Composed of letters to and from Lane regarding talks, addresses, lectures, and speeches he gives. File also has handwritten
notes.
box 1, folder 9-11
Editors: to and from
1970-1972
Scope and Contents note
Composed of letters to and from editors regarding Lane's contributions to news columns.
box 1, folder 12-13
Fan mail: no answer required
1971-1972
Scope and Contents note
Composed of letters to Lane regarding his news articles and books.
box 2, folder 1
Fan mail: answered by Thomas A. Lane
1971-1973
Scope and Contents note
Composed of letters to and from Lane regarding his news articles and books that touch on political issues.
box 2, folder 2-4
General correspondence: no answer required
1972
Scope and Contents note
Composed of letters and post cards and related documents to Lane that touch upon Lane's articles and books, Vietnam War, the
Armed Forces, pacifism, Patriotic Education, Inc., the Panama Canal, and Equal Rights Amendment, among other issues.
box 2, folder 5-7
General correspondence: answered by Thomas A. Lane
1972-1973, 1975
Scope and Contents note
Composed of letters from Lane regarding the Manion Forum, Socialism, Republic of Vietnam, the Defense Department, and Lane's
articles and books, among other issues.
Speeches and Writings
1947-1976
Scope and Contents note
Contains articles Lane wrote for newspapers; handwritten notes and drafts; drafts and proofs of his books; and speeches, addresses,
and talks he gave; along with documents pertaining to speaking engagements by others.
box 2, folder 8
Handwritten writings
1947-1953
Scope and Contents note
Composed of an unbound notebook including a soliloquy on war, and notes on foreign policy, democracy, Latin America, European
Federation, British Policy on European Federation, a handwritten chronology, and
The War for the World draft.
box 2, folder 9
Policy
1951, and undated
Scope and Contents note
Composed of handwritten notes and manuscripts ("War and Peace" and "On War") related to policy.
box 3, folder 1
"Working Materials,"
1951-1956, and undated
Scope and Contents note
Composed of handwritten and manuscript drafts and edits for his articles or books. File also has extra copies of talks.
box 3, folder 2-3
General talks, addresses, statements, and lectures made by Lane and others
1952, 1956-1972, and undated
box 3, folder 4
An Address by Dr. Charles Malik to the John Carroll Society
1961-1962
Scope and Contents note
Composed of Malik's talk along with a letter to Lane that enclosed the talk.
box 3, folder 6-8
"Talks Addresses and Speeches by Major General Thomas A Lane 1960-1972"
box 3, folder 9-11
The Leadership of President Kennedy proofs and manuscript
1964
box 4, folder 1
The Leadership of President Kennedy proofs and manuscript
1964
box 4, folder 2-4
General articles and manuscripts
1964-1975, and undated
Language of Material: English.
Scope and Contents note
Composed of manuscripts; handwritten notes; edits; photocopies of articles and actual articles for "Public Affairs" column
(newspaper partially in German),
Human Events, manuscript editorials for
The Cincinnati Enquirer; article for the
Manion Forum, correspondence, "Essential Elements of a Conservative Program" analysis, and news clippings written by Lane or about Lane
from various newspapers (many from his "Public Affairs" column) about Electoral College, war in Vietnam, Ronald Reagan, GOP,
Secretary McNamara, Hungarian revolution, military affairs, among other issues.
box 4, folder 5
Speaking engagement identification cards
1968
Scope and Contents note
Composed of cards identifying potential speakers (many are professors) for television, radio, congressional hearings, position
papers, and debates.
box 4, folder 6-7
The War for the World book final proof
1968
box 4, folder 8-9
Notebooks and notes
1969-1973, and undated
Scope and Contents note
Composed of handwritten notes about speaking engagements and potential drafts for his articles or books.
box 5, folder 1-2
Notebooks and notes
1969-1973, and undated
Scope and Contents note
Composed of handwritten notes about speaking engagements and potential drafts for his articles or books.
box 5, folder 3
"The Wanderer," article
1970
box 5, folder 4-7
America on Trial: The War for Vietnam
1970-1971
Scope and Contents note
Composed of notebooks of handwritten manuscript, typed manuscript of book, correspondence with publisher about the book, handwritten
notes, and a forward from A.C. Wedemeyer for the book.
box 5, folder 8-10
"Public Affairs" articles for release
1970-1973
box 6, folder 1
"Talks to be typed,"
1972
Scope and Contents note
Composed of handwritten writings about Palm Beach and Pebble Beach.
box 6, folder 2
Paul Scott: Washington News - Intelligence Syndicate
1972-1976
Scope and Contents note
Composed of correspondence between Paul Scott and Lane about Lane's "Public Affairs" column, correspondence between Lane and
others pertaining to "Public Affairs", and other related materials.
box 6, folder 3
Lists of publishers and bookstores
undated
box 6, folder 4-7
The Failure of the Two Party System, book drafts
undated
Scope and Contents note
Composed of two handwritten drafts (one written in a notebook) and a typed 1st draft.
box 6, folder 8-9
"Public Affairs," articles
1973, and undated
Scope and Contents note
Composed of articles without "for release" explicitly stated.
box 7, folder 1-3
Two Party Failure, book master copy
undated
Scope and Contents note
Manuscript version with edits and inserts.
References File
1954-1974
Scope and Contents note
References File contains writings by others that Lane used as reference materials.
box 7, folder 4
Politics
1954, 1962-1965
Scope and Contents note
Composed of brochures, news clippings, and booklet about Senator Goldwater, GOP, and other issues.
box 7, folder 5
Foundation for Economic Education, Inc. articles and brochure
1958-1959
box 7, folder 6-7
Religion - Prayer, Constitution, Schools, Catholicism
1960-1965
Scope and Contents note
Composed of news articles, paper, talk, and booklet.
box 8, folder 1
Congo
1961-1963
Scope and Contents note
Composed of news clipping, memoranda, and booklets.
box 8, folder 2
Americans for Democratic Action
1961, 1963, 1964, 1969
Scope and Contents note
Composed of a news article, Notes on ADA,
Congressional Record Vol. 3, and a memorandum.
box 8, folder 3-5
Admiral Ben Moreell
1961-1965
Scope and Contents note
Composed of booklets and addresses written by Moreell, an article by Moreell for the
Manion Forum, excerpt from a letter by Moreell, and a book manuscript.
box 8, folder 6-7
Cuba
1961-1966
Scope and Contents note
Composed of an unidentified writing, news clippings, reports, and a speech.
box 8, folder 8-9
Defense Policy
1961-1966
Scope and Contents note
Composed of news clippings, news releases, summary about Cold War, statements, speech, address, newsletter, and correspondence.
box 8, folder 10-11
Southeast Asia
1961-1974
Scope and Contents note
Composed of writings by others, such as newspaper and magazine clippings and issues, press releases, and memoranda.
box 9, folder 1
Southeast Asia
1961-1974
Scope and Contents note
Composed of writings by others, such as newspaper and magazine clippings and issues, press releases, and memoranda.
box 9, folder 2-4
General Policy
1962-1963
Scope and Contents note
Composed of newspaper clippings and news releases, documents from Congressional Record and Fact Sheet from Internal Revenue
Service; documents about Medicare, GOP health plans, Life Line Program, political platforms, Senator Goldwater, address by
Major General Ellsworth I. Davis, American Association of University Professors, among others.
box 9, folder 5-6
Communism
1962-1965
Scope and Contents note
Composed of news clippings, reports, brochures, notices, and booklets, quotation, correspondence, and booklet.
box 9, folder 7
Segregation
1962-1965
Scope and Contents note
Composed of news clippings, booklets, Congress documents, brochures, and
The Catholic Lawyer magazine.
box 10, folder 1
Segregation
1962-1965
Scope and Contents note
Composed of news clippings, booklets, Congress documents, brochures, and
The Catholic Lawyer magazine.
box 10, folder 2
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
1962-1965
Scope and Contents note
Composed of press conference speech, addresses, remarks, and news clippings.
box 10, folder 3-4
General mixed formats
1963-1974
Scope and Contents note
Composed of news articles,
1964 Report to Shareholders, bookmark of handwritten quotes, brochure about social security,
Triumph magazine,
Crusade for a Christian Civilization news, newsletters about security, senate, Commander Alvarez, United Nations Treaty agreement, tax prophecy, statements, American
Indian Religion, Red China, and a few other issues.
box 10, folder 5
"More Broken Piecrusts"
The Red Line Release
1964
box 10, folder 6
Bulletins
1964-1968
Scope and Contents note
Composed of a bulletin "Marxmanship" and photocopies of other bulletins.
box 10, folder 7
Disarmament
1965, 1973
Scope and Contents note
Composed of booklets, Arms Control and Disarmament Act text, reports, speech, addresses, and news release.
box 10, folder 8
House Subcommittee on Far East
1966
Scope and Contents note
Composed of "The War in Viet Nam and Red China" report,
Harper's Magazine (February 1966), and a press release statement.
box 10, folder 9
The Department of Justice, amicus curiae
1968, and undated
Scope and Contents note
Composed of a memorandum about "The Department of Justice as National Policy Maker" and a "not for direct quotation" about
"The Department of Justice as Amicus Curiae" along with attached documents.
box 10, folder 10
National Federation of Independent Business, Inc.
1969
box 10, folder 11
David Halberstam and Theodore H. White quotes, pink and white copies
1973
box 10, folder 12
Pierre Desounettes
undated
Scope and Contents note
Composed of
The State book manuscript with edits and an envelope that's addressed to Mr. Pierre Desounettes.
Biographical File
1942-1974
Scope and Contents note
Biographical File contains handwritten notes, notes about trips, his organization interests, paraphernalia related to his
work as a newspaper columnist, and a biographical sketch.
box 10, folder 13
American Good Government Society
1942, 1949, 1963-1964
Scope and Contents note
Composed of a reception and dinner invitation, document of Board of Trustees, correspondence, "Political Realignment: A Big
Gain for Republicans" paper, Recorder of Deeds, and notes about presidential voting.
box 10, folder 14
National War College course work
1952-1953
box 10, folder 15
South America Trip notebook
1963
Scope and Contents note
Composed of handwritten notes about Lane's South America trip.
box 10, folder 16
East Asia Trip file
1968, 1970
Scope and Contents note
Composed of memoranda, photographs with captions on their backs, envelope of paid bills, paraphernalia, greeting cards, handwritten
notes, letter about Lane, itinerary, and dinner invitation.
box 11, folder 1
General
1952-1972
Scope and Contents note
Composed of a variety of documents pertaining to societies, clubs, committees, and boards in which Lane had interest. File
also includes a GOP newsletter and information of interest (such as rosters) regarding Department of the Army and the National
War College, places he attended, press releases, and dinner invitations.
box 11, folder 3
Biographical sketch of Thomas A. Lane
1964
box 11, folder 4
American Conservative Union
1964-1965, 1973
Scope and Contents note
Composed of a folder of correspondence, statements, brochures, memoranda, proposed budget, advisory assembly lists, confidential
preliminary report, constitution and bylaws, prospectus, and agenda. File also contains a statement from Lawrence D. Pratt,
Executive Director.
box 11, folder 5-7
Americans for Constitutional Action
1964-1968
Scope and Contents note
Composed of correspondence, brochure, schedule of events, insert, newspaper clippings, meeting minutes, memoranda, news release,
and mid-year report.
box 11, folder 8
National Foreign Policy Conference for Editors and Broadcasters
1966
Scope and Contents note
Composed of a folder of program, conference information, bulletins, facts about the foreign aid program,and booklets.
box 11, folder 9
National Strategy Seminar at US Army War College
1969
Scope and Contents note
Composed of "Biographic Sketches", program, guest list, locator map, position descriptions, proposal, index, memoranda, list
of hospitals, officers roster, reception invitations, weekly schedule, brochures, and lecture program.
box 11, folder 10
American Newspaper Publishers Association Convention
1969
Scope and Contents note
Composed of booklets and bulletins:
ANPA Annual Report 1968 – Trends in the Newspaper Business,
Convention Reports, details of "Count Down for the '70's" discussion sessions program,
1969 Convention Bulletin Annual Report, a floor plan of the Hotel, and
Annual Report 1968.
box 12, folder 1-2
Manuscript newspaper edits
circa 1969
Scope and Contents note
Composed of cuts of manuscripts for newspapers. These pieces of paper were found in opened envelopes that state "Newspaper
Only".
box 12, folder 3
United States Strategic Institute
1972
Scope and Contents note
Composed of an itinerary, correspondence, a message from the directors, and agenda.
box 12, folder 4
The Cardinal Society of Virginia
1973
Scope and Contents note
Composed of documents pertaining to bylaws, a meeting, and a letter.
box 12, folder 5
Seating list for Lafayette Freedom Award dinner
1974
box 12, folder 6
Young Americans for Freedom brochure
undated
