Martin Anderson papers, 1888-2015, bulk 1960-2010

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Summary

Creators:
Anderson, Martin, 1936-2015
Abstract:
Correspondence, speeches and writings, reports, printed matter, photographs, and audiovisual material relating to U.S. domestic policy, especially during the administrations of Richard M. Nixon and Ronald Reagan, adoption of all-volunteer military services, U.S. foreign policy, and Republican Party politics.
Extent:
869 manuscript boxes, 1 VHS card file box, 22 oversize boxes, 2 audio cassette boxes, 2 phonograph boxes, 3 video cassette boxes, 3 oversize folders, 19 sound cassettes, 31 videocassettes, 8 sound tape reels, 2 lacquer sound discs, and digital media (401.46 Linear Feet)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Martin Anderson papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of the papers of Martin Anderson, created and accumulated over the course of his career as a policy advisor to United States presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon, influential conservative intellectual, and author of 13 books. The collection contains many forms of material, including briefing books, charts, correspondence (memorandums, letters, printouts of emails, telegrams, telephone messages, telex transcripts), course outlines and syllabi, directories and membership lists, ephemera (brochures, flyers, pamphlets, etc.), fact sheets, interview transcripts, lecture notes, lists and inventories, manuscript drafts, notes (to do lists, missed call messages, etc.), office files (meeting minutes, etc.), presidential statement drafts, press releases and press release drafts, printed matter (press clippings, magazines, newsletters, etc.), proposal drafts, reports and report drafts, Republican party platform drafts, schedules and itineraries, and speech scripts, transcripts and drafts.

Of note:

Approximately half of the files in the collection include writing by Martin Anderson (identified in the container list as "writing by Martin Anderson"), including meeting notes (taken during meetings and summarizing meetings), annotated documents, documents with corrections, thought summaries, and to-do lists.

Much of the Advisory to Reagan and Advisory to Nixon series consist of internal staff communication (identified in the container list as "internal correspondence").

Martin Anderson dated almost every document in the collection.

Martin Anderson used small, red, cardboard squares to flag important documents. We have retained these flags and identify their location in the container list.

News clippings found throughout the collection offer abundant historical context.

The collection includes little information about Martin Anderson's youth or personal life.

Annelise Graebner Anderson contributed description to the Advisory to Ronald Reagan series.

Biographical / historical:

Martin Anderson (August 5, 1936–January 3, 2015) was an American academic, economist, author, policy analyst, and adviser to U.S. politicians and presidents, including Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon. Under the Nixon administration, Anderson was credited with helping to end the military draft and bringing into existence the all-volunteer armed forces. Under Reagan, Anderson helped draft the administration's original economic program that became known as "Reaganomics." A political conservative and a strong proponent of free-market capitalism, he was influenced by libertarianism and opposed government regulations that limited individual freedom.

Anderson wrote and edited numerous books on topics concerning urban renewal, military manpower, welfare reform, higher education, and his experiences advising Reagan and Nixon. Later he coedited four books on Reagan's writings and coauthored two books on Reagan's efforts to negotiate nuclear disarmament with the Soviet Union.

For more information, please see the Martin Anderson Wikipedia article, written by Hoover archivists in 2022. For a detailed biographical timeline, please see the chronology.

Date Event
1936 August 9
Born in Lowell, Massachusetts to Ralph and Evelyn Anderson
1953
Awarded scholarship for Dartmouth College
1957
B.A. from Dartmouth College, A.B. summa cum laude
1958
Master of Engineering and Business Administration at Dartmouth College, Thayer School of Engineering and Tuck School of Business Administration; received a prize for the highest all-round record in graduate school
1958-1959
Second Lieutenant, Army Security Agency; ranked first in his class at the Army Security Agency School in both leadership and academics
1959
Assistant to the Dean, Dartmouth College, Thayer School of Engineering
1959 Summer
Acting Dean, Dartmouth College, Thayer School of Engineering
1959 Fall
Awarded Ford Foundation Fellowship; studying economics and finance at the Joint Center for Urban Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University
1961
Financial Analyst, Ford Motor Company
1962
Ph.D. in Industrial Management, Joint Center for Urban Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University
1962-1965
Assistant Professor of Finance, Columbia University Graduate School of Business
1964 September
Publication of The Federal Bulldozer: A Critical Analysis of Urban Renewal, 1949-1962, M.I.T. Press
1965 September 25
Married to Annelise Graebner
1965-1968
Associate Professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Business
1967
Publication of The Federal Bulldozer, McGraw-Hill
1967
Policy advisor, Richard Nixon presidential campaign
1968
Director of research, Richard Nixon presidential campaign
1968 November 3 - 1969 January 19
Assistant to President-elect, Nixon transition team
1969-1970
Special Assistant to the President of the United States, Nixon cabinet (functioned as Arthur Burns's deputy for domestic policy)
1970-1971
Consultant to the President of the United States for Systems Analysis; involved in the formulation of military manpower policy
1971
Chairman, President's Commission on an All-Volunteer Armed Force; developed the legislation that abolished the draft
1971-1975
Senior fellow, Hoover Institution
1972-1975
Public interest director, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco
1972 August
Head writer for the Republican party platform, Republican National Committee
1973-1976
Member, Rockefeller Commission on Critical Choices for Americans
1974
Chairman, White House task force on welfare reform; reviewed the HEW's Income Supplementation Plan for President-elect Gerald Ford
1974-1976
Member, Council on Trends and Perspectives of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
1975-1976
Member, Defense Manpower Commission
1975
Adjunct scholar, American Enterprise Institute (AEI)
1975-1976
Issues adviser/Senior policy adviser, Ronald Reagan presidential campaign
1976 August 16-19
Reagan campaign liaison to the Republican Platform Committee, Republican National Committee
1976
Publication of Conscription: A Select and Annotated Bibliography, Hoover Institution Press
1976-1978
Senior fellow, Hoover Institution
1977-1991
Member, Committee on the Present Danger
1978
Publication of Welfare: The Political Economy of Welfare Reform in the United States, Hoover Institution Press
1979 Spring-Fall
Deputy Chair for Policy Development, Reagan For President
1979 Fall - 1980
Senior fellow, Hoover Institution
1980 Spring
Senior adviser, Ronald Reagan presidential campaign
1980 July 14-17
Reagan campaign liaison to the Republican Platform Committee, Republican National Committee
1980-1981
Senior adviser, Office of the President-elect
1981-1982
Member, Military Manpower Task Force
1981-1982 February
Assistant to the President for Policy Development, Reagan cabinet
1982-1998
Senior fellow, Hoover Institution
1982
Publication of Registration and the Draft, Hoover Institution Press
1982
Publication of The Military Draft, Hoover Institution Press
1982-1985
Member, President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board
1982-1989
Member, President's Economic Policy Advisory Board
1984
Publication of An Economic Bill of Rights, Hoover Institution Press
1984 August 20-23
Consultant, Republican Platform Committee
1985
Publication of Stanford and Hoover and Academic Freedom: A Collection of Published Reports on the Relationship Between Stanford University and the Hoover Institution, Hoover Institution Press
1985-1992
Trustee, Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation
1986
Publication of An Insurance Missile Defense, Hoover Institution Press
1987-1993
Member, President's General Advisory Committee on Arms Control and Disarmament
1988
Publication of Revolution, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
1988 August 15-18
Consultant, Republican Platform Committee
1990
Publication of Revolution: The Reagan Legacy, Hoover Institution Press
1992 August 17-29
Delegate from California, Republican National Convention
1992
Publication of Impostors in the Temple, Simon & Schuster
1993-1994
National columnist, Scripps Howard News Service
1993-1998
Member, California Governor Pete Wilson's Council of Economic Advisers
1995
Senior policy adviser, Pete Wilson presidential campaign
1996
Economic policy adviser/Senior adviser, Bob Dole presidential campaign
1996 August 12-15
Delegate from California, Republican National Convention
1996-1998
Television commentator, PBS Nightly Business Report
1997
Publication of The Ten Causes of the Reagan Boom, 1982-1997, Hoover Institution Press
1997-1998
Member, National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education; established under the Department of Education as a public advisory commission
1998-2000
Policy adviser, George W. Bush presidential campaign
1998-2001
Chairman, Congressional Policy Advisory Board; advised the House of Representatives Republican leadership
1998-2015
Keith and Jan Hurlbut Fellow, Hoover Institution
2000 July 31 - August 3
Delegate from California, Republican National Convention
2001-2002
Policy advisor, Bill Simon gubernatorial campaign (California)
2001 February
Publication of Reagan, In His Own Hand: The Writings of Ronald Reagan That Reveal His Revolutionary Vision for America, Free Press; co-editor; wrote introduction and commentary
2001 August 16 - 2005 July 19
Member, Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee
2001 November
Publication of Reagan, In His Own Voice: Ronald Reagan's Radio Addresses, Simon & Schuster Audio
2003
Publication of Reagan: A Life in Letters, Simon & Schuster
2004 December
Publication of Reagan's Path to Victory: The Shaping of Ronald Reagan's Vision: Selected Writings, Simon & Schuster
2005-2006
Member, Defense Advisory Committee on Military Compensation
2007 October
Publication of Stories In His Own Hand: The Everyday Wisdom of Ronald Reagan, Simon & Schuster
2009 June
Publication of Reagan's Secret War: The Untold Story of His Fight to Save the World from Nuclear Disaster, Random House, Inc.
2015
Publication of Ronald Reagan: Decisions of Greatness, Hoover Institution Press
2015 January 3
Death, Portola Valley, California
Processing information:

This collection was processed over the course of 4 years, between 2018 and 2021, by Emily Gibson and project assistants Chris Bruce, Kathryn Carlson, LeeAnn Hagopian, Jennifer Pickens, Mark Prindiville, Victor Rodriguez II, and Jessica Yu. Originally stored in standard storage boxes and filing cabinets, original titles from box and folder labels have been retained. Titles were created by the archivist when an original title did not exist; square brackets have been used to identify these titles. Nested titles (i.e., a titled folder within a titled box, or a titled folder within another titled folder) have been identified with double-dashes. Files containing only one or two documents have been identified in file-level scope and content notes, using the language "This file contains only…"

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into the following 67 series, which are ordered chronologically by employment date:

Advisory to Richard Nixon, 1958-1985, 676 files (processed by Emily Gibson, Jennifer Pickens, and Chris Bruce); Campaign subseries, 1958-1985, 277 files; Transition subseries, 1967-1980, 87 files; Administration subseries, 1960-1979, 294 files; Mixed Year subseries, 1960-1981, 18 files

Advisory to Reagan, 1943-2010, 1,252 files (processed by Emily Gibson, Jennifer Pickens, and Chris Bruce); 1976 Campaign subseries, 1970-1987, 108 files; Campaign Interim subseries, 1968-1980, 192 files; 1980 Campaign subseries, 1972-2010, 464 files; Transition subseries, 1976-1981, 88 files; Administration subseries, 1943-2000, 333 files; Mixed Year subseries, 1962-1996, 67 files

Columbia Graduate School of Business, 1953-1980, 194 files (processed by Victor Rodriguez II, Chris Bruce, and Mark Prindiville)

Republican National Convention, 1962-2004, 198 files (processed by Mark Prindiville, Kathryn Carlson, and Chris Bruce)

Commission on Critical Choices for America, 1973-1974, 19 files (processed by Chris Bruce)

American Council of Young Political Leaders, 1970-1979, 23 files (processed by Emily Gibson and Jennifer Pickens)

Defense Manpower Commission, 1974-1977, 152 files (processed by Victor Rodriguez II and Chris Bruce)

President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board Files, 1976-2001, 61 files (processed by Chris Bruce)

Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library, 1959-1999, 259 files (processed by Chris Bruce and Mark Prindiville)

General Advisory Committee on Arms Control and Disarmament, 1982-1993, 23 files (processed by Chris Bruce)

Advisory to Pete Wilson, 1968-1998, 197 files (processed by LeeAnn Hagopian and Chris Bruce)

Advisory to Bob Dole, 1974-1998, 190 files (processed by LeeAnn Hagopian, Mark Prindiville, and Chris Bruce)

National Committee on the Cost of Higher Education, 1976-1999, 91 files (processed by Kathryn Carlson and Mark Prindiville)

Advisory to George W. Bush, 1989-2009, 404 files (processed by Kathryn Carlson and Chris Bruce)

Congressional Policy Advisory Board, 1996-2005, 13 files (processed by Chris Bruce)

General Campaign Advisory, 1961-2009, 37 files (processed by Mark Prindiville, Chris Bruce, and Victor Rodriguez II)

Hoover Institution, 1927-2005, 110 files (processed by Chris Bruce); 1980s Project subseries, 1976-1988, 21 files; Other subseries, 1927-2005, 89 files

Daily Appointments, 1960-2008, 79 files (processed by Mark Prindiville)

Biographical Files, 1917-2010, 113 files (processed by Mark Prindiville and Chris Bruce)

Correspondence, 1958-2014, 937 files (processed by Mark Prindiville and Chris Bruce)

Writings, 1920-2015, 3,007 files

Unpublished Writings subseries, 1920-2010, 158 files (processed by LeeAnn Hagopian, Chris Bruce, and Mark Prindiville)

Speeches and Engagements subseries, 1961-2006, 251 files (processed by Mark Prindiville, Chris Bruce, and LeeAnn Hagopian)

Published Writings subseries, 1935-2015, 2,598 files; The Federal Bulldozer sub-subseris, 1956-2010, 165 files (processed by Chris Bruce, Victor Rodriguez II, and Mark Prindiville); Conscription sub-subseries, 1940s-1980, 90 files (processed by Mark Prindiville and Chris Bruce); Welfare sub-subseries, 1963-1982, 138 files (processed by Mark Prindiville and Chris Bruce); Economic Bill of Rights sub-subseries, 1975-1989, 38 files (processed by Mark Prindiville and Chris Bruce); Revolution sub-subseries, 1935-2000, 996 files (processed by Kathryn Carlson, Mark Prindiville, and Chris Bruce); Imposters in the Temple sub-subseries, 1956-2001, 644 files (processed by LeeAnn Hagopian, Chris Bruce, and Mark Prindiville); Reagan, In His Own Hand sub-subseries, 1960-2009, 51 files (processed by Victor Rodriguez II, Mark Prindiville, and Chris Bruce); Reagan, A Life in Letters sub-subseries, 1969-2015, 65 files (processed by Victor Rodriguez II, Mark Prindiville, and Chris Bruce); Reagan's Path to Victory sub-subseries, 1960-2009, 75 files (processed by Mark Prindiville); Stories in His Own Hand: The Everyday Wisdom of Ronald Reagan sub-subseries, 2001-2009, 12 files (processed by Mark Prindiville); Reagan's Secret War sub-subseries, 1967-2010, 146 files (processed by LeeAnn Hagopian, Mark Prindiville, and Chris Bruce); News Articles sub-subseries, 1960-2009, 164 files (processed by Victor Rodriguez II, Mark Prindiville, and Chris Bruce); Other sub-subseries, 1970-2015, 19 files (processed by Chris Bruce)

Subject Files, 647 files, 1888-2015 (processed by Chris Bruce); All Volunteer Armed Force subseries, 1888-2010, 68 files; Balanced Budget Amendment subseries, 1971-1997, 30 files; Clinton Administration subseries, 1991-2000, 39 files; Constitutional Convention subseries, 1927-1989, 49 files; Economics subseries, 1942-1999, 36 files; Elections subseries, 1952-1997, 16 files; Foreign Intelligence subseries, 1964-2005, 11 files; George H. W. Bush subseries, 1979-1992, 41 files; Libertarianism subseries, 1969-1990, 10 files; Line-Item Veto subseries, 1891-1998, 18 files; Missile Defense subseries, 1966-2011, 64 files; National Service subseries, 1968-1995, 17 files; Policy Issues subseries, 1964-2000, 80 files; Ronald Reagan subseries, 1947-2015, 97 files; Welfare subseries, 1963-1997, 84 files

Miscellany, 1916-2009, 121 files (processed by Chris Bruce and Jennifer Pickens)

Audiovisual Recordings, 152 files (processed by Jennifer Pickens)

Sound Recordings, 1919-2002, 90 files

Video Recordings, 1960s-2000s, 62 files

Digital Material, 1940-2009, 66 files

Memorabilia, 1950 to 2009, 115 files (processed by Jennifer Pickens)

Printed Matter, 1930s-2009, 61 files (processed by Emily Gibson)

Photographs, 1970-1989, 5 files (processed by Emily Gibson)

Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Boxes 66, 71, 124, 380, 381, 577-580, 628-632, and 849-850 may not be used without permission of the Archivist. The remainder of 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.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Martin Anderson papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
Website