Herbert R. O'Conor and Herbert R. O'Conor, Jr. correspondence collection

The Herbert R. O'Conor and Herbert R. O'Conor, Jr. collection consists of letters written by prominent public officials to Herbert R. O’Conor and his son, Herbert R. O'Conor, Jr., from 1940 to 1970. The collection also includes a series of documents written by notable political, literary, and religious figures from 1781-1924.

Herbert O’Conor, Sr. served as Governor of Maryland (1939-1947) and as U.S. Senator from Maryland for one term (1947-1953). There are a few letters from Presidents Roosevelt and Truman while he was governor, but the majority of the letters are from Senate colleagues and federal officials he worked with while in the Senate. The material dating O'Conor's Senate term is the most detailed, including more than incoming letters, and gives some insight into O’Conor’s Senate activities, especially his committee work. As a member of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, O’Conor was involved in investigating shipments of goods to Communist China that might be used to support North Korea (1950-1952). O’Conor was also involved in the release of American journalist William N. Oatis imprisoned in Czechoslovakia (1951) and the collection includes letters and statements issued by O’Conor. There is a lengthy letter (1952) from the Secretary of Defense office rebutting claims by columnist Drew Pearson about the department’s budget.

O’Conor served on the Judiciary Committee’s Internal Security Subcommittee, and in 1952 was involved in investigating U.S. citizens employed by the U.N. who might have had sympathies with the Communist Party. There are statements by O’Conor as well as letters from the U.N. Secretary General Trygve Lie and Secretary of State Dean Acheson. There are follow up letters in 1954 from Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge.

After he left the Senate, in 1953, O’Conor took a position as Washington counsel to the American Maritime Institute, and many of the letters after 1953 are addressed to him at that office. These are letters from elected officials (most from the Senate) thanking him for letters of congratulation on elections, condolences for a loss, or for sending reading material. Frequent correspondents include J. Edgar Hoover, Lyndon B. Johnson and John F. Kennedy with some from Richard Nixon, Joseph McCarthy, Sam Rayburn, and John Marshall Butler. During this period, O’Conor was chair of the American Bar Association’s Special Committee on Communist Tactics, Strategy and Objectives and while there are letters referring to the completion of the report, the letters do not give details of the work. In 1955 O’Conor submitted a brief on behalf of the American Bar Association’s case, Communist Party of the United States v. Subversive Activities Control Board. Letters congratulating him on this are in the 1956 file.

Herbert O’Conor, Jr. held several offices in which he received letters from public officials. He was the Maryland state Democratic Party chair during the elections of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Some of the letters are thanks for election assistance, others relate to subsequent encounters. He served as the Maryland state banking commissioner from 1963-1967 and received letters from congressmen and several Presidents. Many date from 1967 when O’Conor sent senators a statement on the Truth in Lending bill. O’Conor was part of the U.S. delegation to the 22nd United Nations General Assembly, developing a friendship with Arthur Goldberg. In 1969, Goldberg sent his draft of a speech on International Education Year. There are also letters from Secretary General U Thant and Secretary of State Dean Rusk. In 1969, his term on the Commission on Consumer Finance ended and President Nixon sent a letter concerning his replacement. In 1963, O’Conor asked Harry Truman to autograph a ticket for the Democrats for “VICTORY” Dinner, 1958, at which Truman was the guest speaker. Truman’s reply and the autographed ticket are included.