Collection Summary
Administrative Information
Biographical/Historical Note
Scope and Content of Collection
Arrangement
Indexing Terms
Collection Summary
Title: Richard V. Allen papers
Dates: 1948-1999
Collection Number: 2007C17
Creator: Allen, Richard V.
Collection Size:
122 manuscript boxes, 10 oversize boxes
(60 linear feet)
Repository:
Hoover Institution Archives
Stanford, California 94305-6010
Abstract: Contains correspondence, speeches, interviews, legal files, subject files, photographs, audio and video recordings, clippings,
and notes relating to Allen's work in American politics and government. As a specialist in security and foreign policy, Allen
worked on the Nixon and Reagan campaigns and held posts on the National Security Council under each of them. Topics of note
include: Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Richard Nixon, foreign policy, national security, political campaigns, Iran hostage
crisis, Republican National Committee, libel and media abuses, Korea, and Taiwan.
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Archives
Languages:
The collection is primarily in English, but small portions of the collection are in Japanese, German, Italian
Administrative Information
Access
The collection is open for research, though the following boxes are closed: boxes 3, 13-18 from the Correspondence series,
boxes 36-42 from the Campaign and transition files, boxes 51-53 from the White House files, boxes 60-61 from the Committee
files, box 77 from the Legal files, and boxes 85-88 from the Publicity series. The audiocassette of the Albosta/Debategate
interview of Richard Allen in box 105 is also closed.
The Hoover Institution Archives only allows access to
copies of audiovisual items. To listen to sound recordings or to view videos or films during your visit, please contact the Archives
at least two working days before your arrival. We will then advise you of the accessibility of the material you wish to see
or hear. Please note that not all audiovisual material is immediately accessible.
Publication Rights
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Archives.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Richard V. Allen papers, 1961-1999., [Box number], Hoover Institution Archives.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Archives.
Accruals
Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. To determine if this has occurred, find
the collection in Stanford University's online catalog Socrates at
http://library.stanford.edu/webcat . Materials have been added to the collection if the number of boxes listed in Socrates is larger than the number of boxes
listed in this finding aid.
Related Materials
Ronald Reagan subject collection, Hoover Institution Archives
Robert E. McCarthy papers, Hoover Institution Archives
1981 Presidential Inaugural Committee records, Hoover Institution Archives
Joseph Shattan papers, Hoover Institution Archives
Fred Charles Iklé papers, Hoover Institution Archives
Annelise Graebner Anderson papers, Hoover Institution Archives
Deaver and Hannaford records, Hoover Institution Archives
Biographical/Historical Note
| 1 January 1936 |
Born, Collingswood, New Jersey |
| 1957 |
B.A. from University of Notre Dame |
| 28 December 1957 |
Marries Patricia Ann Mason |
| 1958 |
M.A. in Political Science from University of Notre Dame |
| 1958-1961 |
Lecturer, University of Maryland, Overseas Division |
| 1961-1962 |
Assistant professor of social sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology |
| 1962-1966 |
Research principal and chairman of study program on communism, Georgetown University Center for Strategic Studies |
| 1963 |
(Editor with David M. Abshire)
National Security: Political, Military, and Economic Strategies in the Decade Ahead,Praeger
|
| 1964 |
Publication of
Peaceful Coexistence: A Communist Blueprint for Victory, American Bar Association
|
| |
(Co-author)
East-West Trade: Its Strategic Implications, Center for Strategic Studies, Georgetown University
|
| 1966 |
Publication of
Peace or Peaceful Coexistence?American Bar Association
|
| 1966-1968 |
Senior staff member, Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace |
| 1967-1968 |
Senior foreign policy advisor, Nixon-Agnew campaign committee |
| 1967 |
Author (with Hal Bartlett and Kenneth Colegrove) of
Democracy and Communism: Theory and Action, Van Nostrand
|
| 1969 |
Senior staff member, National Security Council |
| |
(Editor)
Yearbook on International Communist Affairs, Hoover Institute Press
|
| 1969-1971 |
Vice president of International Resources Ltd. |
| 1970-1972 |
Member, Presidential Commission on International Trade and Economic Policy |
| 1971-1972 |
Deputy executive director, Council on International Economic Policy, and deputy assistant to the President on International
Economic Affairs
|
| 1972-1981 |
President of Potomac International Corp. |
| 1978-1980 |
Senior foreign policy advisor to Ronald Reagan |
| 1981-1982 |
Assistant for national security affairs (National Security Advisor) to President Reagan |
| 1982- |
President, Richard V. Allen Co. |
| |
Distinguished fellow and chairman, Asian Studies Center, Heritage Foundation |
| 1983- |
Senior fellow, Hoover Institution |
Scope and Content of Collection
The Richard V. Allen papers contain correspondence, speeches, interviews, legal files, subject files, photographs, audio and
video recordings, clippings, and notes relating to Allen's work in United States politics and government. As a specialist
in security and foreign policy, Allen worked on the Nixon and Reagan campaigns and held posts in the National Security Council
under each of them. Topics of note include: Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Richard Nixon, trade policy, foreign policy,
national security, political campaigns, Iran hostage crisis, Republican National Committee, libel and media abuses, Korea,
and Taiwan.
The Allen papers provide evidence of Richard V. Allen's longstanding relationship with the Republican Party, his working relationship
with two presidents, and his subsequent role in the public sphere as a consultant and commentator. Allen began his career
in academia and spent the bulk of the 1960s writing about communism. This period is not well documented in the collection.
This background aided Allen as he left academia for the chance to shape public policy; Allen worked on the presidential campaigns
of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan as an expert in foreign policy and national security, then assumed responsibilities at
the National Security Council under each of the two presidents. The
Correspondenceand
Campaign and transition filesdocument Allen's work for both President Nixon and President Reagan, and the
White House filesprovide further details of Allen's tenure as National Security Advisor under President Reagan.
Allen's continuous interest in political life and public policy is reflected in the
Committee files, which document his relationships in the 1970s with the Council on International Economic Policy and Republican National
Committee, and in the
Subject files, which encompass a variety of topics of interest to Allen including the Iran hostage crisis and Presidents Nixon, Reagan,
and G.H.W. Bush. The
Speeches and writings, Publicity, and
Audiovisual materialseries all document Allen's role in the public sphere as analyst and commentator, especially after he left his position as
National Security Advisor in 1981. The
Legal filesrecord Allen's testimony before various congressional committees, and also cover his struggles with the press in the wake
of his resignation from public office. Together, the
Calendarsseries and the
Invitationsseries illustrate both Allen's work and social life.
The
Photographsseries provides an excellent cross-section of Allen's entire career. It includes materials depicting Allen's work at the White
House, his appearances on the television show Inside Washington, his travels to Asia, speaking engagements, social events,
and visits with leaders of other countries, especially Taiwan and South Korea.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into 13 series: Correspondence, 1962-1987; Campaign and transition files, 1967-1984; White House
files, 1979-1989; Subject files, 1968-1999; Committee files, 1969-1984; Speeches and writings, 1961-1999; Legal files, 1971-1999;
Publicity Materials, 1945-1999; Calendars, 1971-1998; Invitations, 1981, 1986; Declassified U.S. government records, 1975-1980;
Photographs, 1968-1999; Audiovisual material, 1948-1999.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
United States--Politics and government.
United States--Foreign relations--1945-1989.
United States--Foreign relations--1981-1989.
United States--Defenses.
Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994.
Reagan, Ronald.
Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- )
National Security Council (U.S.)
Presidents--United States--Election--1968.
Presidents--United States--Election--1980.
Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981.
Phonotapes.
Videotapes.
Photographs.