The William Steiger Papers consist almost entirely of papers collected or created by his congressional office in Washington, D.C. As with the majority of contemporary political collections, the papers present a detailed picture of day-to-day congressional office activity, but the legislator as an individual and the motivation which led to his support or opposition to various issues can be glimpsed only fleetingly. Thus, although there is good documentation in the collection on many issues with which Steiger was identified, the researcher will seldom find material that is personally revealing. Except for one box, there is nothing on Steiger's career in the Wisconsin Legislature or as a leader in Republican youth politics. Furthermore, there is little on his election campaigns except press releases, literature, and clippings.

Arrangement of the collection is largely as it was in Steiger's office. As one would anticipate given Steiger's reputation as a hardworking legislator, his files are well organized. The researcher will benefit from his “blue files” shelved at the end of the collection which provide a name index to the outgoing correspondence and from the inclusion of subject headings on individual letters which cross reference related files. The overall arrangement is a functional/subject scheme, with subdivisions generally made by congress number. This means that information on a particular topic will be found by subject in the reference files, by relevant committee in the legislative files, by administrative agency in the department and agency files, and by genre in the publicity and information files.

Each of the series is individually described below. The researcher will note in several cases that the holdings appear incomplete. It is not clear if this material never existed, if it was not shipped from Washington, D.C., or if it was lost in transit.

The researcher may also be aided by understanding some of the general principles which guided processing. The original bulk was greatly reduced by sampling of routine correspondence. This was performed either on a random or content basis. Notations in the files indicate which method was used in a particular case. Governmental reports, laws, committee prints, and hearing testimony have all been removed unless they were annotated by the congressman or his staff. Privately issued monographs, articles, clippings and other publications were also weeded if they were only of informational value or if they failed to indicate Steiger's involvement. Files of statements made in the House and legislation introduced or sponsored which are readily accessible utilzing the Congressional Record indexes were also removed. Also discarded were most case files and all job requests, routine requests for information, and service academy files.

Reference Files

In Steiger's office, the reference files consisted of a large quantity of background information on legislation which Steiger introduced or sponsored, together with the working files of staff members assigned to that particular issue. During processing this series was rigorously weeded to remove publications, secondary documentation which did not directly reflect the interest or activity of Steiger or his staff, and material generated by Congress and various executive agencies which is more appropriately saved in libraries or in the archives of the creating agencies. Added to the series were several boxes of working files received from staff members. The net result is a series which might best be titled “working files,” although in some cases the weeded remainder differs little from other series in the Steiger Papers. The file designations used are substantially those employed in the office. Arrangement is alphabetical by subject.

Contents may include constituent correspondence; correspondence from other legislators and their assistants; memoranda written by Steiger staff members; bills and drafts; amendments to legislation; statements, speeches, and press releases issued by Steiger; and secondary material when it is commented upon or annotated by Steiger or his staff.

Topics well documented here include the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Legal Services Corporation, the Manpower Act, Vietnam orphans, Congressional reorganization and reform, the Congressional Record, the all-volunteer army, campus unrest during the Vietnam War era, and the Elementary and Secondary School Act.

Legislative Constituent Correspondence

Legislative constituent correspondence is the largest file in Steiger's papers, although it has been considerably reduced by weeding. In the Washington, D.C., office the files were entitled legislative files. However, because they consist almost entirely of correspondence from constituents, this portion of the archival collection has been renamed.

After Steiger gained a national reputation, his mail began to originate from people outside the district as well as from his own district. Over the years the quantity of mail also became larger. As a result, during processing a variety of procedures were followed to reduce the bulk without altering the informational content of the records. Depending upon the size and precise nature of the incoming letters, files were weeded utilizing a scientific random process or by content, with notations made about the method used. Cards, letters, and forms which were clearly orchestrated expressions of public opinion were counted and discarded. Folders of small size were not weeded.

Despite the size of this series, internal evidence suggests that some portions are missing and may have been lost during shipment to the Historical Society.

Constituent correspondence was received not only for legislation in which Steiger was prominently involved, but also for issues such as abortion, gun control, and labor law reform which aroused strong feelings among the population as a whole. The files contain copies of the form letters and individualized responses with which Steiger answered his correspondents. Slight differences in these letters are useful for discovering changes in his views on particular issues. One may also find filed here a few letters from high level administrators of executive agencies and even from the White House. (Here, as elsewhere in the collection, original presidential signatures have been returned to the donor.) This series must be consulted in any legislative research in the Steiger papers.

The series is filed chronologically by congress and then alphabetically by the name of the committee to which the bill was referred. If the incoming mail was sufficiently extensive, the committee files are subdivided alphabetically by subject. Occasionally correspondence has also been filed directly by subject rather than by committee.

Publicity and Information

The publicity and information series consists of various kinds of materials created by the Steiger office in Washington, D.C., together with a few similar items specifically related to campaigns. Included are press releases, drafts of releases for grants, form letters, statements and speeches reproduced for distribution, questionnaires and analyses of Sixth District voters, and a microfilmed file of Wisconsin and district newspaper clippings about Steiger. Steiger's newsletters, which were issued weekly are extremely useful, as they provide a lengthy discussion of his views on current issues. Complete files of Washington Newsletter and Washington Report are available on microfilm in the Society Library. Also available are runs of several other titles which were of more limited coverage. The press releases are more fragmentary, especially for the later years of his tenure in Congress. Draft press releases chiefly concern announcement of various grant projects to Sixth District recipients. The collection includes a fragmentary file of questionnaries, with the constituent responses scattered throughout the correspondence. There is, however, a detailed analysis of responses to questionnaires in Box 36. On microfilm are six cubic feet of clippings which deal with Steiger and his record in Congress. These are arranged as they were in his office, alphabetically by the location of the newspaper, primarily 1969-1978, together with a subject file primarily for the late 1960's. The clippings come chiefly from Sixth District newspapers. Because the clippings have been filmed without a counter, the researcher is advised to consult the reel list at the beginning of each reel for slight variations from the above stated order.

Grants and Projects

This small series includes correspondence and information on grants from federal agencies applied for by communities, counties, organizations, cities, and schools in Steiger's district. Half of the series consists of files arranged by category or locality, with the majority of the documentation dating from the 1967-1968 congress. Following this is a selection of folders concerning various local issues on which Steiger staff people worked. The majority of these concern environment and transportation.

General Files

The general files appear to have been originally established as internal administrative office files, but only for Steiger's first years in Congress does the file appear to have been utilized with consistency. After extensive weeding to remove routine material, the remainder consists of information on the congressman's schedule, letters of thanks and congratulations to and from Steiger, a chronological file of outgoing letters (1967-1968), and some miscellaneous communications with local political leaders and organizations.

Departments and Agencies

This file consists of exchanges between Steiger's office and various departments and agencies of the federal government. They concern legislation as well as problems and issues raised by constituents regarding the federal government. The files are arranged chronologically by congress and then alphabetically by the name of the agency. Like the Legislative Constituent Correspondence, this group bears internal evidence that some records were not received at the Historical Society.

Personal Papers

This small file consists of one box of early letters received by Steiger which relate to his involvement in Republican student politics and to his career in the Wisconsin Legislature. A second box consists of a file of alphabetical personal correspondence which appears to have been discontinued in 1968. The location of subsequent personal correspondence is unknown.

Case Files

Ten cubic feet of cases files received from Steiger's congressional office were extensively weeded. Only those pertaining to the Selective Service and to the immigration of Vietnamese and other foreign orphans have been retained as these were two issues in which he was vitally concerned.