William H. Vanderbilt Gubernatorial Papers

University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections
15 Lippitt Road
Kingston, RI 02881-2011
Tel: 401-874-4632

email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Published in 2010

Collection Overview

Title:	William H. Vanderbilt Gubernatorial Papers
Date range:	1936-1941
Creator:	Vanderbilt, William H.; 1901-1981
Extent:	47 box(es) (17.5 linear feet)
Abstract:	William Henry Vanderbilt served as governor of Rhode Island from 1939 to 1941. These papers consist primarily of correspondence concerning applications for patronage positions and/or charitable donations. Also included are campaign speeches, reports, Vanderbilt's two annual messages to the General Assembly, and materials relating to a controversy over the dismissal of Rhode Island State College President, Raymond G. Bressler.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections
Collection number:	Mss. Gr. 60

Scope & content

The gubernatorial papers described herein presumably represent only a fraction of the records generated by Vanderbilt during his term of office. The papers consist primarily of correspondence concerning applications for patronage positions and/or charitable donations. Also included are campaign speeches, reports, Vanderbilt's two annual messages to the General Assembly, and materials relating to a controversy over the dismissal of Rhode Island State College president, Raymond G. Bressler. Most of the incoming letters and other original materials are in good condition with only slight staining and/or tearing. The copies of Vanderbilt's outgoing letters, however, were made on inexpensive and highly acidic paper and are in generally poor condition. The Vanderbilt Papers have been divided into three series as follows: Series 1, Correspondence; Series 2, Subject File; and Series 3, Newspaper Clippings.

The Correspondence Series consists of correspondence primarily between Vanderbilt and the public concerning job applications. In addition, it includes correspondence between Vanderbilt and other leaders of the Republican Party, the state's congressional delegation, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Series 2, the Subject File, contains correspondence, memos, reports, copies of speeches and a variety materials relating to some of the many issues, events, and organizations with which Vanderbilt had to deal as governor, including civil service reform, election reform, and Rhode Island State College. Material in this series complements and overlaps some of that found in Series 1. Series 3, Newspaper Clippings, contains miscellaneous newspaper clippings relating to the contemporary local and national political scene, Vanderbilt's administration, and his three campaigns for governor.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in three series as follows:

• 1. Correspondence
• 2. Subject File
• 3. Newspaper clippings

Biographical note

William Henry Vanderbilt, descendant of the nineteenth century railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt and governor of Rhode Island from 1939 to 1941, was born in New York City on November 24, 1901 to Albert and Ellen French Vanderbilt. He was educated at St. George's School in Middletown, Rhode Island and the Evans School in Mesa, Arizona and attended Princeton University for less than a year.

Vanderbilt ran as a Republican for the Rhode Island state senate in 1928. During his six years in the State Senate, he became an avid proponent of a statewide civil service system. In 1938 he ran for Governor of Rhode Island and defeated incumbent Governor Robert Quinn by 39,000 votes.

As Governor, Vanderbilt's first priority was to fulfill his campaign pledges. In the first six months of his term, he introduced and the General Assembly enacted laws creating one of the most comprehensive state civil service systems in the nation. His plan provided for government reorganization that eliminated a number of overlapping commissions and agencies. In addition, during his first year in office, he succeeded in reducing the state budget by over a million dollars and eliminated nearly 800 of the state's 4000 jobs. In a speech to the 1939 Governor's Conference, Vanderbilt described Rhode Island as a "little governmental laboratory" in which he was trying to prove that "good government is good politics".

Vanderbilt lost the 1940 Gubernatorial election to J. Howard McGrath after a wiretapping scandal broke out within his administration. After serving in the United States Navy during World War II, Vanderbilt moved to a farm in South Williamstown, Massachusetts which he had purchased as a vacation getaway during his term as governor. He dropped out of politics completely and rarely returned to Rhode Island during the remaining thirty-five years of his life. Vanderbilt died of cancer in South Williamstown on April 14 1981 at the age of 79.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	Any qualified person doing scholarly research is permitted to use material housed in the Special Collections Unit.
Use of the materials:	Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication.
Preferred citation:	William H. Vanderbilt Gubernatorial Papers, Mss. Gr. 60, University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections.
Contact information:	University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections 15 Lippitt Road Kingston, RI 02881-2011 Tel: 401-874-4632 email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	The papers were donated to the University of Rhode Island in 1987 by the Special Collections Department of the Jean and Alexander Heard Library of Vanderbilt University in Tennessee.
Custodial history:	The collection was transferred from the offices of Governor Vanderbilt to Vanderbilt University in 1941 and was transferred to The Special Collections Unit in October 1987.
Processing information:	The collection was processed by Sarah McGinty and Kevin J. Logan in 1998.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Sarah McGinty and Kevin J. Logan.
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Mark J. Dionne, updated by Hailie D. Posey 2010 May 04, updated by Mark Dionne on2020 April 29
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Inventory

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Inventory