Bibliography: Note on Primary Sources
First Term - Volumes XIV - XVII

Scholars working on the First Eisenhower Administration have an abundance of source materials on which to base their studies. Many large collections housed in the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas, and elsewhere contain a wealth of information on both the man and the government he presided over. The difficulty for researchers lies in the bewildering number of collections, series, subseries, and files that must be examined. This brief essay is intended as a guide to the most useful sources; it also seeks to explain the many file citations that we have used in the source headings and in the annotations to the selected Eisenhower documents.

Most of the documents that appear in these volumes come from the Eisenhower Manuscripts (cited as EM in these volumes), now located in the Eisenhower Library at Abilene. Included in EM are Eisenhower's prepresidential and postpresidential papers, as well as a separate file of financial records and a set of bound volumes containing the President's Daily Appointments. Also included is a group of miscellaneous memorandums and intermittent journal entries known as the Eisenhower Diaries. This collection, which we cite as EM, Diaries, has only a few items from the first half of 1953. It should not be confused with the DDE Diaries series of the Ann Whitman File, described below.

Eisenhower's presidential manuscripts are divided into two parts. The smaller, and richer, of the two EM collections is the Ann Whitman File (Eisenhower's Papers as President), which we abbreviate as AWF. Ann Cook Whitman, Eisenhower's personal secretary, compiled and maintained these files in the President's office in order to have readily available and close at hand the important and personal documents that he might need. She kept her records with an eye toward present and future requirements for a relatively concise body of materials from which histories might be written. Archivists have divided the 270,000 pages (122 linear feet) of records in the Whitman File into eighteen separate series.

The largest and one of the most important collections in AWF is the DDE Diaries Series (AWF/D). This series is something of a distillation of the other series in AWF, and here may be found many duplicates of items located elsewhere. AWF/D is, however, the best source for a few types of records that are difficult to find in other parts of AWF. Foremost among these are the many revealing diary entries and memorandums that Eisenhower dictated in order to clarify issues in his mind and to record his own version of meetings and events. There is also a substantial file of papers relating to the Bricker Amendment controversy that bedeviled Eisenhower for most of his first term. Most of the DDE Diaries Series, however, is arranged chronologically by type of record. Among these records are Eisenhower's personal and official letters, Ann Whitman's memorandums recording the President's telephone calls, memorandums of conversation written by General Andrew J. Goodpaster (Eisenhower's White House Staff Secretary), records of cabinet meetings and conferences with legislative leaders, memorandums of briefings held before presidential press conferences, summaries of Congressional mail and executive office activities ("Toner Notes"), lists of items that Eisenhower signed, appointment calendars, and summaries of intelligence briefings. For the most part there are few incoming letters in the DDE Diaries Series; such letters to Eisenhower will normally be found elsewhere in AWF or in other collections.

The Ann Whitman File contains several series relating to national security matters and the conduct of foreign relations. The most valuable of these, although relatively small, is the Dulles-Herter Series (AWF/D-H). This series, which is arranged chronologically, contains Eisenhower's correspondence with his two secretaries of state (John Foster Dulles and Christian A. Herter) and with their principal deputies. AWF/D-H also contains State Department cables and memorandums of conversation. The International Series (AWF/I), arranged alphabetically by country, region, or U.S. territory, has the President's correspondence with foreign leaders. This series also contains correspondence, briefing papers, drafts of messages, memorandums of conversation, biographical sketches of foreign dignitaries, and a few files containing records of international conferences. More information on such gatherings may be gleaned from files in the small International Meetings Series (AWF/IM); separate subject files relating to conferences held at Bermuda and Geneva (1953, 1955) include cables, position papers, memorandums of conversation, and communiqués. The NSC Series (AWF/NSC) contains detailed records of the discussions in National Security Council meetings. While these records are not, strictly speaking, verbatim transcripts, we have quoted freely from these "NSC meeting minutes" and believe that they provide an accurate account of Eisenhower's words and thoughts. The date given in each citation is the date on which the record was generated, rather than the date of the meeting itself.

A number of Ann Whitman File series contain material relating to domestic and national security affairs. The Administration Series (AWF/A) contains correspondence--both incoming and outgoing letters and memorandums--with political figures, Cabinet members, government officials, and a few Congressional leaders. Arranged alphabetically by name and subject, AWF/A is also a rich source for reports and other background materials. Researchers should note that correspondence with some individuals may be filed under the name of the organization with which he or she was affiliated. The Cabinet Series (AWF/Cabinet) comprises minutes, agendas, records of action, and other Cabinet papers. The Legislative Meetings Series (AWF/LM) contains records of Eisenhower's frequent consultations with members of Congress. Some of these meetings were with Republican leaders; others included Democrats as well. All papers in both AWF/Cabinet and AWF/LM are arranged chronologically by date of the particular meeting to which the documents pertain. The Ann Whitman Diary Series (AWF/AWD), which should not be confused with the larger DDE Diaries Series, contains a variety of materials, arranged chronologically by month. The most important of these are diary entries dictated by the President (often duplicates of those found in AWF/D), together with the daily observations written by his personal secretary. Whitman's AWF/AWD memorandums contain descriptions of the flow of Eisenhower's Oval Office business, as well as the President's candid observations on the issues and personalities of the day. This series also contains memorandums of conversation, appointment lists, Congressional mail summaries, and other records resembling those found in the DDE Diaries Series.

Two other Whitman File series reveal Eisenhower's private life and correspondence. Most of the files in the Name Series (AWF/N) are composed of Eisenhower's letters to and from friends and family members. (This series does, however, include many files of correspondence with members of Eisenhower's White House staff, prominent Democrats, and public figures who did not hold any official position in the Eisenhower Administration.) AWF/N is arranged alphabetically by name or subject. The Gettysburg Series (AWF/Gettysburg) contains documents relating to the President's Pennsylvania farm. It is arranged alphabetically by subject or, in the case of pedigreed Angus cattle, by name. Separate file folders hold letters to and from General Arthur S. Nevins, Eisenhower's farm manager; these letters deal with a variety of farm subjects.

A few other AWF collections have also yielded items published or summarized in these volumes. The Drafts Series (AWF/Drafts) contains early versions of letters Eisenhower dictated or altered between 1953 and 1956; often these drafts bear the President's extensive handwritten emendations. The Miscellaneous Series (AWF/Misc.), true to its name, constitutes an odd assortment of subject files gathered together after the other AWF series had been formed. Among the subjects covered in this series are government reorganization, the 1956 Panama meeting of American presidents, and the Palm Springs Golf Classic. The Microfilm Series (AWF/M), which is not yet open to researchers, comprises copies of Ann Whitman's files as they were microfilmed in the White House periodically between 1955 and 1960. For the 1953-57 period covered in these volumes the relevant subsections of AWF/M were the Official Files (AWF/M: OF); the Personal Files (AWF/M: Pers); the Geographic Files (AWF/M: G); and the Administrative and Personal Files (AWF/M: AP). Nearly all of the Microfilm Series files are reproductions of original papers located in other portions of the Ann Whitman File.

Most of the documents generated or retained in the Eisenhower White House eventually made their way into the White House Central Files (WHCF). The permanent staff organized and maintained this vast collection of Eisenhower's presidential records, which, at 3,241 linear feet, is over twenty-five times as large as the Ann Whitman File. It is, in fact, the largest collection in the Eisenhower Library. Except for a small segment of records generated before January 20, 1953--the Pre-Inaugural File--the White House Central Files cover the period of the Eisenhower presidency.

While most important security-classified documents in EM are to be found in the Ann Whitman File, the White House Central Files also contain a significant number of sensitive materials. Most of these are in the Confidential File (WHCF/CF), which is divided into two sections. The first, the Name Series, is a small file arranged alphabetically by name. It contains documents relating to individuals--correspondence and reports deemed too sensitive to be placed in the open White House files. The much larger Subject Series, also arranged alphabetically, is a good place to find both classified and unclassified materials relating to international trade, import tariffs, civil aviation, diplomatic relations, psychological warfare, and foreign aid. Few documents in the Confidential File bear evidence of Eisenhower's direct, personal involvement. As of this writing, large portions of WHCF/CF remain closed to researchers.

The Official File (WHCF/OF) is a prime source for materials relating to politics, domestic policy formulation, and the operations of the federal government. It contains 766,000 pages of records (approximately 380 linear feet). Although there are a number of letters and memos to and from Eisenhower here, the core of this collection seems to consist of papers that passed through the office of Sherman Adams, The Assistant to the President. The Official File is a likely place to locate incoming letters to Eisenhower missing from the DDE Diaries Series. WHCF/OF is arranged by organization and subject, according to an alpha-numeric filing system in which each topic and subtopic bears its own numeric designation. Researchers interested in the Tennessee Valley Authority, for example, would examine the OF 51 file; those looking for material on the Taft-Hartley Act would request folders bearing the label OF 124-G.

The three remaining portions of the White House Central Files proved to be less valuable for our purposes. Although the Name Series of the Ann Whitman File is the best source for Eisenhower's purely personal correspondence, the President's Personal File (WHCF/PPF) contains many items written by or to the President and not located elsewhere. Here one may find letters from Eisenhower's less frequent correspondents, as well as birthday and anniversary greetings not filed in AWF/N. The most useful section of this large file (approximately 790,000 pages) is arranged by name; each individual correspondent has been given a code number. The remainder of WHCF/PPF is arranged by the subject matter of the materials (invitations, gifts, congratulatory letters, etc.). The General File (WHCF/GF) contains a large body of material relating to recommendations for would-be federal office holders and expressions of opinion on public issues. The Alphabetical File, abbreviated as WHCF/Alpha, is the largest segment of WHCF (approximately 3,000,000 pages). It is for the most part limited to routine letters, cross reference sheets, and forms indicating that correspondence has been referred to other government agencies for disposition and reply.

While the Eisenhower manuscripts are the best sources for the documents and background information contained in these volumes, a number of collateral collections in Abilene also help to fill out the historical record. Foremost among these are the papers of John Foster Dulles, Eisenhower's Secretary of State. The portion of the Dulles Papers most useful to us was the White House Memoranda Series, which includes general correspondence files and records of Dulles's meetings with Eisenhower. Other valuable sections contain memorandums of Dulles's telephone conversations as well as separate chronological and subject series. Also important to our efforts were the Edward J. Bermingham Papers, the John Stewart Bragdon Records, the Alfred M. Gruenther Papers, the James C. Hagerty Papers, the C. D. Jackson Papers, the William E. Robinson Papers, the Bernard Shanley Diaries, and the Walter Bedell Smith Papers.

The records of the White House Office, also in the Eisenhower Presidential Library, were maintained by some of Eisenhower's closest assistants: Paul T. Carroll, Andrew J. Goodpaster, L. Arthur Minnich, Robert Cutler, and Dillon Anderson. These files, which are valuable for foreign, domestic, and national security matters, include the records of the Office of the Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (WHO/OSANSA) and those of the Office of the Staff Secretary (WHO/OSS). We have cited a few items from the White House Social Office (WHO/SO).

A few collections not in Abilene also yielded items useful to us. At the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., we were able to gather material from the papers of Robert A. Taft and Earl Warren. In the National Archives the most useful documents came from the files of the Joint Chiefs of Staff--the "CCS" file--in Record Group 218. The records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, housed in the J. Edgar Hoover Building, contained some items that shed light on Eisenhower's involvement with the controversy over J. Robert Oppenheimer. Finally, the Massachusetts Historical Society generously provided us with microfilm copies of the Henry Cabot Lodge Papers.

There are extensive finding aids available to most of the collections listed in this essay. Interested researchers should contact the custodians of the manuscripts for information on security classification, donor-imposed restrictions, and copyright regulations.

Daun van Ee