The material now in the related manuscript collection, the “Paul A. Raushenbush and Elizabeth Brandeis Raushenbush papers, 1918-1980,” at one time were integrated with portions of these records received from the Unemployment Compensation Division. After his retirement Paul Raushenbush attempted to arrange his papers; at the time of their receipt by the Historical Society, their arrangement was inconsistent and the original order indiscernible. As a result, the records were rearranged, more or less chronologically, into six groups; Elizabeth Raushenbush's papers were removed; and the call number Series 2145 was assigned.
In 1991, the papers were reviewed and because of the degree to which Paul and Elizabeth worked as a team, those papers that dated from before Paul's appointment as head of Unemployment Compensation in 1934 or after his retirement in 1967 which did not apply to the administration of the division with re-united with Elizabeth's papers in the manuscripts collection. However Series 2145 was not refoldered at that time and so this series now begins with Box 17.
The remaining five groups into which the records in Series 2145 are organized are: Correspondence and Subject Files, Advisory Committee, Legislative, Administrative, and Interstate Conference of Employment Security Agencies.
Correspondence and Subject Files, 1934-1977 (Boxes 17-84)
These are the basic correspondence and subject files of Raushenbush as Director of the Unemployment Compensation Division. They are arranged generally by year and by subject therein. Boxes 19-21 diverge from this pattern by consolidating all the materials dealing with the drafting of the federal Social Security Act, the materials dealing with the constitutionality challenge to Wisconsin's unemployment compensation law, and files for each state for the first decade of the Social Security Act.
Usually, each year begins with general and individual correspondence files, which are followed by various subject files and concluded with a file on statistics. The subject files vary from year to year depending upon what issues were current in a given year. Often an issue will first appear in the general correspondence of one year and by the following year will become topical enough to warrant a file of its own.
Advisory Committee, 1932-1975 (Boxes 85-101)
From its inception Wisconsin's Unemployment Compensation law provided for an Advisory Committee, made up of an equal number of employer and employee representatives and chaired by the Director who did not have a vote. The main business of this committee was to arrive at agreed-upon changes in the law and to draft rules for its administration. The materials in these files consist of agendas, materials for meetings, summaries of meeting decisions, correspondence, and copies of proposed legislation. These files are arranged chronologically by Advisory Committee meeting.
Legislative, 1931-1967 (Boxes 102-113)
This subseries consists of correspondence, testimony, and copies of proposed legislation which would have affected unemployment compensation. Materials are filed by legislative session and therein by Assembly bill number and Senate bill number, with most sessions also containing a “general” category as well.
Administrative, 1933-1974 (Boxes 114-132)
These files contain materials which deal with the day to day running of a large division of state government. They are arranged by major category and therein chronologically. Major categories are: memoranda, letters, and manuals for field examiners; personnel, including materials on salary adjustments, civil service reclassifications, staffing levels, and the Wisconsin State Employees Association; data processing, particularly the conversion to an automated system in the mid-1960s; budget materials; statistics; buildings and space; and press clippings and news releases.
Interstate Conference of Employment Security Agencies' 1931-1976) (Boxes 133-175)
This association was formed to provide a coordinating body for the states in their dealings with the Social Security Board and with the administration of unemployment compensation. Raushenbush was an early and longtime activist in this organization, chairing many committees and serving as president in 1942-1943. Because of Raushenbush's prominent role and because of his propensity to save things, this subseries is probably the single most complete collection of records for this organization currently held by a public respository. The materials are arranged by category and chronologically therein. The categories are: executive committee meetings; regional conferences; committee materials (mainly reports); miscellaneous reports; annual meeting materials; and correspondence and subject files, mostly for the term of Raushenbush's presidency.
