Finding Aid for the Townsend National Recovery Plan Records, 1931-1961
Processed by James V. Mink; machine-readable finding aid created by Alight Tsai
UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
Manuscripts Division
Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
© 2003
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Finding Aid for the Townsend National Recovery Plan Records, 1931-1961
Collection number: 219
UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
Manuscripts Division
Los Angeles, CA
Contact Information
- Manuscripts Division
- UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
- Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
- Box 951575
- Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
- Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific
Time)
- Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
- URL: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb/
- Processed by:
- James V. Mink, 18 September 1953
- Encoded by:
- Alight Tsai
- Encoding supervision by:
- Caroline Cubé
- Text converted and initial container list EAD tagging by:
- Apex Data Services
- Online finding aid edited by:
- Josh Fiala, May 2003
© 2003 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Townsend National Recovery Plan Records,
Date (inclusive): 1931-1961
Collection number: 219
Creator:
Townsend National Recovery Plan, Inc.
Extent: 230 boxes (115.0 linear ft.)
2 cartons (2.0 linear ft.)
1 oversize box
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
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).
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Language:
English.
Administrative Information
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary 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.
Restrictions on Access
PARTIALLY PROCESSED COLLECTION UNAVAILABLE FOR USE: except for boxes 1-145. Inquiries regarding these materials should be
directed in writing to the Manuscripts Librarian, UCLA Department of Special Collections.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.
Additional Physical Form Available
A copy of the original version of this online finding aid is available at the UCLA Department of Special Collections for in-house
consultation and may be obtained for a fee. Please contact:
- Public Services Division
- UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections
- Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library
- Box 951575
- Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
- Telephone: 310/825-4988 (10:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Pacific
Time)
- Email: spec-coll@library.ucla.edu
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Townsend National Recovery Plan Records (Collection 219). Department of Special Collections, Charles
E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
UCLA Catalog Record ID
Biography
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.
Biographical Narrative
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.
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.
Expanded Scope and Content
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.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Townsend National Recovery Plan, Inc.--Archives.
Old age pensions--United States--Archival resources.
Business records.
Related Material
The Townsend Plan in retrospect [oral history transcript] / John C. Cuneo, interviewee. UCLA Oral History Department interview, 1970. Available at Department
of Special Collections, UCLA.
General File, September 1, 1939-August 21, 1952
Physical Description: 40 ft.
Scope and Content Note
Copies of letters sent and letters received by the Regional Headquarters of the 12th District from varioius officials and
members of the organization, pertaining to business and policy and including questions from individuals concerning the Townsend
Plan; copies of receipts for contributions, minutes and bulletins of local clubs, reports and correspondence relating to the
Ham and Eggs Plan arranged chronologically and alphabetically as received thereunder as follows:
Boxes 1-5
September 1, 1939-February 12, 1940.
Boxes 6-9
June 1, 1941-January 1, 1942.
Boxes 17-19
July 10, 1942-March 1943.
Boxes 24-27
April 1943-December 1944.
Boxes 58-59
August 1945-February 1946.
Boxes 63-66
February 1946-March 1947.
Boxes 77-79
September 1947-July 26, 1948.
Boxes 80-82
July 1948-September 8, 1949.
Boxes 83-86
September 7, 1949-December 1950.
Boxes 89-91
January 1951-November 20, 1951.
Boxes 93-95
November 20, 1951-August 21, 1952.
Boxes 20-23
July 10, 1942-March 1943.
Boxes 28-32
April 1943-December 1944.
Boxes 60-62
August 1945-February 1946.
Boxes 67-70
February 1946-March 1947.
Boxes 75-76
September 1947-July 26, 1948.
Box 83
July 1948-September 8, 1949.
Boxes 87-88
September 7, 1949-December 1950.
Box 92
January 1951-November 20, 1951.
Boxes 96-97
November 20, 1951-August 21, 1952.
Boxes 98-102
1952-1959.
Note
Files for the dates not covered in the above list have been destroyed.
Boxes 103-109
Townsend Party File, February 10, 1940-September 27, 1944.
Physical Description: 3 ft.
Scope and Content Note
Copies of letters sent and letters received by John C. Cuneo, Secretary of the Townsend Party of California, during most of
the period when the Party was officially on the ballot of the State of California pertaining to the formulation of party policy,
support and business; arranged alphabetically as received in two alphabetical files as follows: Individual members file, box
1-3 and Club file.
Boxes 110
Minutes of the State Advisory Council of California, 1938-1946.
Physical Description: 1 ft.
Scope and Content Note
Handwritten, typewritten and mimeographed minutes arranged chronologically.
Boxes 111-120
Townsend Club Officers' Directories, 1939-1950 and 1951-1961.
Physical Description: 3 ft.
Scope and Content Note
Original typewritten copies of reports received from officers of the Townsend Clubs in the 12th Regional District listing
personnel elected to the club and district councils, meeting place and number of paid up members; arranged chronologically
and numerically by congressional district thereunder; district council directories are filed at the beginning of each district
but are occasionally missing because district council members are chosen from club council members within each district and
distict elections are not always held before yearly reports are submitted.
Note
Directories for 1944-1947 are missing.
Boxes 121-127
Townsend State Advisory Committee File, December 8, 1939-November 2, 1940.
Physical Description: 3 ft.
Scope and Content Note
Copies of letters sent and letters received by John C. Cuneo from various persons and from members of the Townsend State Legislative
Advisory Committee pertaining to the efforts of the Committee to advance social welfare legislation in California; includes
receipts for contributions and invoices for expenses of the Committee; arranged alphabetically as received; receipts and invoices
filed in envelopes at the end of the file.
Box 128
Speakers' Permit File, 1938-1948.
Physical Description: 5 in.
Scope and Content Note
Applications received from various members of the Townsend Plan movement to speak at rallys and meetings in behalf of the
movement; including copies of letters received and letters sent by John C. Cuneo pertaining to speakers' permits; arranged
chronologically in folders, but filed in reverse chronological order within individual folders.
Boxes 129-131
Bulletins, 1938-1952 and 1952-1961.
Physical Description: 1 ft.
Scope and Content Note
Mimeographed notices and bulletins issued to clubs and council members of the 12th Regional District by John C. Cuneo; arranged
chronologically in folders, but filed in reverse chronological order within individual folders.
Boxes 132-137
Accounts, 1938-1951.
Physical Description: 2 ft.
Scope and Content Note
Receipts, disbursements, general ledgers and financial records of contributions received by the 12th Regional District Headquarters
from members and clubs within the District; arranged as follows:
Boxes 132-137
Townsend Plan Incorporated, 12th Regional District (Modesto Office).
Box 132
Disbursements and general ledger, November 1, 1940-January 7, 1948.
Box 133
Accounts payable, November 1, 1940-January 7, 1948.
Boxes 134
Townsend Party of California.
Boxes 135
Townsend State Advisory Committee.
Boxes 135
Receipts and disbursements and general ledger, December 8, 1939-November 2, 1940.
Boxes 136
Townsend State Legislative Committee.
Boxes 136
Receipts, disbursements and general ledger, November 7, 1947-December 3, 1951.
Boxes 137
Townsend state office accounts, 1946-1956.
Townsend Club no.2, Modesto
Box 138
Minutes, Financial Records, 1945-1956.
Boxes 139
Membership Rosters, Financial Records, 1945-1956.
Townsend Plan, Los Angeles Office
Boxes 140-143
Miscellaneous Records Correspondence.
Box 145
National convention 1945; Field employees manual; speakers manual.
Box 233
Townsend National Weekly Photographs, Banner, Miscellaneous.
