The records of the Republican Party of Wisconsin held by the State Historical Society chiefly document party history during the 1950's and 1960's. Although the records are disappointing and incomplete even for the limited period which they document, they do provide coverage of a significant period in the party's history. Approximately half of the collection consists of documentation on the annual party conventions, 1938-1963; the other half consists of the correspondence of George Greeley, the party's executive director, 1960-1970. The remainder of the collection consists of a small file of printed copies of the party constitutions and minutes of the executive committee. Because of his function as executive director, Greeley's papers tend to deal primarily with administrative matters rather than policy issues or statewide political campaigns. With the exception of Ody Fish, there is little documentation from any of the state chairmen who held office during the era covered by the collection.
The CONSTITUTIONS section consists of printed copies of the constitution and revisions issued from 1940 through 1970. In the executive directors' files there is one folder on the 1967 Constitutional Revision Committee.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MINUTES include mimeographed and draft records of the body which made policy for the party between its annual conventions. Because the minutes were removed from George Greeley's papers they document only that era in party history, and even for that period there are breaks in the coverage. They do include, however, drafts of the minutes, comments by committee members, and some material distributed to the committee for review. The minutes are supplemented by the executive committee correspondence filed in the executive directors' section and by the numerous memoranda distributed to the committee by Ody Fish.
STATE CONVENTION FILES, mainly 1946-1963, include correspondence, platforms and resolutions, local arrangements material, lists of delegates, and transcripts. The transcriptions, which make up one of the most valuable portions of the collection, include full coverage of speeches and floor remarks as well as the general proceedings. Among the prominent state and national political figures who addressed the convention are John Byrnes, Thomas Coleman, Glenn Davis, Everett Dirksen, Gerald Ford, Barry Goldwater, Charles Halleck, Warren Knowles, Melvin Laird, Joseph McCarthy, William Miller, Thruston Morton, Richard Nixon, Donald Nutter, Oscar Rennebohm, and Alexander Wiley. (See also the Miscellaneous Items described below.)
The EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS' FILES consist primarily of records maintained by George Greeley who held that post from 1960 through 1970, although there are a few scattered items from other individuals who held that post such as Stanley York. These files include correspondence, clippings, memoranda, financial reports, and press releases and primarily concern administrative matters such as convention and inaugural planning, fund raising events, and party finances. Several special organizing efforts such as projects for returning Wisconsin veterans, naturalized citizens, senior citizens, and youth are also represented. There are small files for most of the party leaders of the era such as Mary Ising, Claude Jasper, Warren Knowles, and Wilbur Renk, as well as some files on their Democratic opposition. Notable among these are the files on Robert Kastenmeier and the Liberal Papers controversy.
There is very little information on statewide or national electoral campaigns or public relations in the file; miscellaneous printed materials pertaining to individual candidates found here have been transferred to the Wisconsin Political Vertical File. This series also contains reminiscences of delegates to the 1960 and 1964 national conventions which were solicited by the State Historical Society.
The final segment of the collection are MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS consisting primarily of platforms and convention minutes. All were received and cataloged individually prior to presentation of the files described above.
