Chester Earl Holifield papers, 1943 - 1974

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Summary

Creators:
Holifield, Chet
Abstract:
Chester "Chet" Holifield (1903-1995) served as the United States Representative for California's 19th District from 1943 through 1974. Congressman Holifield's work in Congress includes the myriad uses of atomic energy, nuclear weapons testing, disarmament, environmental policy at the state and national level, civil rights, the war in Vietnam, and the terms of six presidents.
Extent:
81.23 Linear Feet 135 boxes
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Chester Earl Holifield papers, Collection no. 0220, Regional History Collection, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists of correspondence, notes, speeches, press releases, and research materials documenting United States Congressman Chet (Chester) Holifield's work representing California's 19th District from 1943 to 1975. The collections include documentation of his work as part of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy and nuclear testing as well as his activities engaging and representing his constituency through the Vietnam War and the impeachment of President Richard Nixon.

Biographical / historical:

Chester Earl Holifield was born in Mayfield, Graves County, Kentucky, on December 3, 1903. He moved with his family to Springdale, Arkansas in 1912 before moving to Montebello, California in 1920 where he engaged in the manufacture and selling of men's apparel from 1920-1943. Holifield was chairman of the Los Angeles County Democratic Central committee of the Fifty-first District 1934-1938; chairman of the California State Central committee of the Twelfth Congressional District 1938-1940; delegate to each Democratic National Convention from 1940 to 1964; elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-eighth and to the fifteen succeeding Congresses and served from January 3, 1943, until his resignation December 31, 1974. His congressional term included work as: chairman, Committee on Government Operations (Ninety-first through Ninety-third Congresses), Joint Committee on Atomic Energy (Eighty-seventh, Eighty-ninth, and Ninety-first Congresses); member, President's Special Evaluation Commission on Atomic Bomb Tests at Bikini Atoll, 1946; congressional adviser to international conferences on uses of atomic energy, nuclear weapons testing, water desalinization, and disarmament. After retiring from Congress, Holifield resumed the manufacture and selling of men's apparel. He died February 6, 1995

Processing information:

April 2025: Collection arrangement updated. Collection fully reboxed into document boxes and folders were replaced as needed with folder titles copied exactly from the original folders to maintain continuity. Acid-free interleaving paper was used to separate acidic papers as needed.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Chester Earl Holifield papers, Collection no. 0220, Regional History Collection, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California.

Location of this collection:
Special Collections
Doheny Memorial Library, Room 209
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0182, US
Contact:
(213) 740-5900
specol@usc.edu
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