Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Townsend National Recovery Plan records
- Dates:
- 1931-1961
- Creators:
- Townsend National Recovery Plan, Inc.
- Abstract:
- The Townsend Plan was proposed in 1933 by Francis Townsend. The plan called for a $200-a-month pension to any retired person over sixty. Bills to establish the Plan were brought up and defeated in Congress many times and the movement lost headway after passage of the Social Security Act in 1935. Boxes 1-145 include correspondence, minutes, bulletins, accounts, reports, directories, permit files, and miscellaneous records related to the Plan in the 12th Regional District (comprising the states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and California).
- Extent:
- 118.0 linear feet (230 boxes, 2 cartons, 1 oversize box, 1 map folder)
- Language:
- Materials are in English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Townsend National Recovery Plan Records (Collection 219). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Boxes 1-145 include records related to the Townsend National Recovery Plan, Incorporated. 12th Regional District, comprising the states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and California. Also includes correspondence, minutes, bulletins, accounts, reports, directories, and permit files.
The Townsend Plan Incorporated was established in 1934 and incorporated under the laws of the State of California by Dr. Francis E. Townsend and Robert E. Clements. The Organization, with National Headquarters at Cleveland, Ohio, is divided into twelve regional districts corresponding to the Federal Reserve Districts of the United States Government.
The records described in this inventory are those of the 12th Regional District, comprising the states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and California, with Regional Headquarters located at Modesto, California, under the direction of John C. Cuneo, National Representative and Secretary-Treasurer of the Townsend Plan Incorporated of California. The Regional District Headquarters supervises the activities of the local organization within the regional district. Local organizations consist of a district council for each Congressional District within the region, composed of representatives elected by officers of the local clubs. The local club, composed of members of the movement in good standing, is the smallest unit.
The records created by the 12th Regional District Headquarters contain two general files and five more or less specialized files, including financial records, and cover the period 1938 to 1952. The records of the Regional Headquarters prior to 1938 have been destroyed. The first general file contains correspondence, copies of minutes of local club meetings, bulletins of local clubs, reports, and copies of receipts for contributions received by the Regional Headquarters. The file is arranged chronologically and alphabetically thereunder in two separate catagories: (1) Individuals file (2) Clubs file. The second file contains the same type of material as the first, but relates only to the business of the Townsend Party in California from 1940 to 1944, and is arranged in the same manner as the first file. The specialized files consist of the minutes and correspondence of the California State Advisory Committee and Council, organizations created within the Regional District to promote social welfare legislation; a Speakers' Permit file containing applications for speakers' permits from members of the movement in the 12th Regional District; a file of Townsend Club Officers in the Regional District; bulletins issued by the Regional Headquarters, and financial records.
The records described in this inventory constitute all the extant records of the Townsend Plan Incorporated, 12th Regional District Headquarters, except for the current files which are located at the Headquarters Office in Modesto, California. They amount to 54 linear feet. Records pertaining to other aspects of the Townsend Plan Incorporated in the 12th Regional District are in the possession of the local clubs, the National Headquarters at Cleveland, Ohio, and in the Personal File of John C. Cuneo located in the Department of Special Collections at the Library of the University of California, Los Angeles.
- Biographical / historical:
-
The Townsend Plan was proposed in 1933 by Francis Townsend; it called for a $200-a-month pension to any retired person over sixty; it was to be paid in scrip and spent within a month; funds were to be raised by sales tax; bills to establish the Plan were brought up and defeated in Congress many times; the movement lost headway after passage of the Social Security Act, 1935.
The Townsend Plan Incorporated was established in 1934 and incorported under the laws of the state of California by Dr. Francis Townsend and Robert E. Clements; the organization, with National Headquarters at Cleveland, Ohio, was divided into 12 regional districts; local organizations consisted of a district council for each Congressional District within the region.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by James V. Mink, September 1953.
Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.
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- Physical location:
- Portions of the collection stored off-site. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-04-02 14:25:06 -0700 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Portions of collection unprocessed. Materials in the collection are unavailable for access except for boxes 1-145. Please contact Special Collections reference (spec-coll@library.ucla.edu) for more information.
- Terms of access:
-
Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other 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.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Townsend National Recovery Plan Records (Collection 219). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
- Location of this collection:
-
A1713 Charles E. Young Research LibraryBox 951575Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
- Contact:
- (310) 825-4988