Title: Robert Warren Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1965-1969

Creator:

• Warren, Robert W., 1925-

Call Number: Green Bay Mss 112

Quantity: 6.2 c.f. (6 record center cartons and 1 archives box)

Repository:

Housed at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Archives and Area Research Center; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

UW-Green Bay Cofrin Library / Green Bay Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

Papers of a Republican Party leader who served as state senator (1965-1968), attorney general (1969-1974) and U.S. district court judge (1974-), consisting entirely of files pertaining to his legislative career. Included are correspondence from constituents, legislators, lobbyists, and advocacy groups; minutes; notes; position papers and informational material; biographical material; clippings; press releases; and registers of constituent opinion. Most extensive are files pertaining to committee assignments such as service on the Joint Committee on Finance, the Governor's Committee on Water Resources, the Temporary Committee on Governmental Reorganization (Kellett Committee), the Governor's Committee on Eminent Domain, the Joint Committee on Legislative Reorganization, and the Legislative Council's Judiciary and Mental Health Advisory committees.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-gb0112

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

U.S. district court judge and former state attorney general and senator Warren Warren was born in Raton, New Mexico in 1925 but raised in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin after his father, a Methodist minister, accepted a call from Wisconsin. Warren graduated from Sturgeon Bay High School in 1943 and enlisted in the Army. He returned after the war (decorated with a Purple Heart for a wound received in France) and enrolled at Macalester College in St. Paul. After graduating magna cum laude in 1950, he enrolled in the public administration program at the University of Minnesota. For two years after his graduation Warren worked for the U.S. State Department but found that he did not like life in the capital, and he returned to Wisconsin to pursue a law degree at the University. He graduated from law school in 1956 and practiced first in Elkhorn and then in Green Bay. In 1959 Warren was elected Brown County district attorney, after working for a year as assistant district attorney. In 1964 he was elected to the state senate from the 2nd District.

Warren quickly rose to a position of leadership, and he was elected assistant Republican floor leader in 1966 and was selected for a number of important committee assignments including Joint Finance, the Temporary Committee on Governmental Reorganization, and the Governor's Committee on War Resources. A complete listing of Warren's legislative committee work is contained in the Blue Book.

In 1968 Warren was elected state attorney general. During his six year tenure in this position he earned a reputation for being a conservative, law-and-order official. However, he was equally tough in his enforcement of environmental legislation which won him support from Wisconsin liberals. In 1974 Warren was appointed U.S. district court judge by President Richard Nixon.

Warren's papers deal entirely with his one term in the Wisconsin Senate. Even for this period there are gaps in the collection. Like most legislative collections of the period, there are few personal insights in the papers. More disappointing here is the absence of documentation on his election campaigns or his meteoric rise within the Republican Party. On the other hand Warren kept files on his committee assignments which are very important. In several cases the files are more complete than the official files turned over to the State Archives.

Additional information about Warren's career as attorney general is contained in several series of records turned over to the State Archives by that department. In addition, the records of the McDonald-Davis advertising firm contain examples of some radio and television spots which they prepared in his behalf.

Warren's papers are organized as they were in his senate office: primarily general correspondence, legislative correspondence, and subject files. In some cases the distinction between the legislative correspondence, in which letters are filed by bill number, and the subject files, in which correspondence is arranged alphabetically by subject, is not readily apparent. The files have been rigorously weeded in the Archives to remove publications and routine and duplicate documentation. In addition to the three kinds of correspondence files, the papers include a small file of BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL which contains a few campaign brochures (added from the Archives' Political Vertical File) and biographical clippings removed from other portions of the papers.

The GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE, which is primarily non-legislative in content, is arranged by session and then alphabetically by correspondent. LEGISLATIVE CORRESPONDENCE consists of correspondence received and sent during the 1967-1968 session only; these letters are filed by bill number. Also here is Warren's “Opinion Book” in which he recorded by bill number the names of all constituents who wrote to him with regard to legislation. These files cover both sessions in which he served.

The SUBJECT FILES comprise the largest and probably most valuable section of the collection. These files are arranged alphabetically by key word and most contain a variety of documentation dating from both sessions. Files pertaining to committee assignments are extensive. As well as correspondence, Warren's files on the Joint Finance Committee include material submitted by agencies to defend their budget requests. For both sessions in which Warren served such material is absent from the official records (Series 169) transferred to the Archives. The files on the Temporary Committee on Governmental Reorganization, also known as the Kellett Committee, are particularly valuable as no official records were handed over to the Archives. Warren's files, although probably not complete, include minutes, charts, distributions to committee members, and legislative information, as well as his own notes and correspondence with constituents. Files on the Joint Committee on Legislative Organization, the Governor's committees on Water Resources and Eminent Domain, and the Legislative Council's Judiciary and Mental Health Advisory committees are also important, although less substantial.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Robert Warren, Madison, Wisconsin, December 27, 1968. Accession Number: M69-1

Processing Information

Processed by C. Cruikshank (FGH intern), 1972; and Carolyn J. Mattern,1987.

Box   1 Folder   1	Series: Biographical Material
	Series: General Correspondence	⇧
Box   1 Folder   2-19	1965-1966
Box   1 Folder   20-32	1967-1968
	Series: Legislative Correspondence	⇧
	Opinion register books
Box   1 Folder   33	1965
Box   1 Folder   34-35	1967
Box   2 Folder   1-13	Bill correspondence, 1967-1968
	Series: Subject Files, 1965-1968	⇧
Box   2 Folder   14	Aeronautic Commission
Box   2 Folder   15	Agency shop bill
Box   2 Folder   16	Aging, Commission on
Box   2 Folder   17	Alcohol and beer
Box   2 Folder   18	Alice in Dairyland
Box   2 Folder   19	Allouez
Box   2 Folder   20	Anti-secrecy law
Box   2 Folder   21	Appleton diversion of water from Lake Winnebago
Box   2 Folder   22	Architects and Engineers, Board of Registration
Box   2 Folder   23	Automobiles
Box   2 Folder   24	Banking Review Board
Box   2 Folder   25	Bequests to fraternal organizations
Box   2 Folder   26	Birth control
Box   2 Folder   27	Blind bill
Box   2 Folder   28	Branch banking
Box   2 Folder   29	Bridges
Box   2 Folder   30	Brinsmade, Mrs. R. B., and Col. Bollenbeck
Box   2 Folder   31	Brown County Circuit Court
Box   2 Folder   32	Brown County Harbor Commission
Box   2 Folder   33	Brown County Safety Commission
Box   2 Folder   34	Calumet County Court-Bill 85A
Box   2 Folder   35	Central licensing
Box   2 Folder   36	Certification (teachers and librarians)
Box   2 Folder   37	Children's Code, Legislative Council Committee on
Box   2 Folder   38	Chilton city council
Box   2 Folder   39	Christian Social Concerns, Board of
Box   2 Folder   40	Circuit Court reporters
Box   2 Folder   41	Civil defense
Box   2 Folder   42	Civil service
Box   2 Folder   43	Concurrent sentencing, Federal and state
Box   3 Folder   1	Conflict of interest
Box   3 Folder   2	Conservation Department
Box   3 Folder   3	Constitutional amendments and revision
Box   3 Folder   4	Consumer fraud
Box   3 Folder   5	Cosmetologists
Box   3 Folder   6	County executives
Box   3 Folder   7	County home rule
Box   3 Folder   8	Court reporters
Box   3 Folder   9	Credit cards
Box   3 Folder   10	Dairy plant security
Box   3 Folder   11	Deer hunting
Box   3 Folder   12	District attorneys
Box   3 Folder   13	District offices
Box   3 Folder   14	Education
Box   3 Folder   15	Education, Private
Box   3 Folder   16	Educational television
Box   3 Folder   17	Edward, John, Nursing certificate
Box   3 Folder   18	Eminent Domain, Committee on
Box   3 Folder   19	Faculty salaries
Box   3 Folder   20	Farah, Carl
Box   3 Folder   21	Federal-state relations, Conference on
Box   3 Folder   22	Ferris, James A.
	Finance, Joint Committee on
	1965-1966
Box   3 Folder   23-24	General material
Box   3 Folder   25-31	Agency material
	1967-1968
Box   3 Folder   32	General material
	Agency material
Box   3 Folder   33-49	A-R
Box   4 Folder   1-4	S-U
Box   4 Folder   5	Forest Crop Law
Box   4 Folder   6	Form letters
Box   4 Folder   7	Full Crew Law
Box   4 Folder   8	Garnishments
Box   4 Folder   9	Goldman vs. Olson
Box   4 Folder   10	Governmental and Veterans Affairs, Committee on
Box   4 Folder   11	Governor's office
Box   4 Folder   12	Grants-in-Aid, Federal
Box   4 Folder   13	Green Bay bridge
Box   4 Folder   14	Green Bay Chamber of Commerce
Box   4 Folder   15	Green Bay water standards
Box   4 Folder   16	Gubernatorial appointments
Box   4 Folder   17	Haese property
Box   4 Folder   18	Historical parks
Box   4 Folder   19	Home and Family, Council for
Box   4 Folder   20	High Cliff shelter
Box   4 Folder   21	Highways
Box   4 Folder   22-23	Housing, Open
Box   4 Folder   24	I.D. cards
Box   4 Folder   25	Ihnet, J. G.
Box   4 Folder   26	Implied consent
Box   4 Folder   27	Incentives and aids
Box   4 Folder   28	Industrial development
Box   4 Folder   29	Industrial Commission
Box   4 Folder   30	Inner core/Ghetto problems
Box   4 Folder   31	Insurance cancellations
Box   4 Folder   32	John Doe statute
Box   4 Folder   33	Judges
Box   4 Folder   34-35	Judiciary Committee (Legislative Council)
Box   4 Folder   36	Judicial procedure
Box   4 Folder   37	Juvenile delinquency
Box   4 Folder   38	Kenosha Chamber of Commerce
Box   4 Folder   39	King Veterans Home
Box   4 Folder   40	Labor, Taxation, Insurance, and Banking, Committee on
Box   4 Folder   41	Legislative accomplishments
	Legislative Organization, Joint Committee on
Box   4 Folder   42	Correspondence
Box   4 Folder   43	Automation
Box   4 Folder   44	LRB bill drafts, 1969
Box   5 Folder   1	Legislative organization and procedure
Box   5 Folder   2	Legislative parking
Box   5 Folder   3	Legislative salaries
Box   5 Folder   4	Legislative seminar
Box   5 Folder   5	Libraries
Box   5 Folder   6	Lie detectors
Box   5 Folder   7	Medicare
Box   5 Folder   8-9	Mental Health Advisory Committee
Box   5 Folder   10	Metropolitan sewerage districts
Box   5 Folder   11	Minimum wage
Box   5 Folder   12	Miscellaneous correspondence
Box   5 Folder   13	Motor Vehicles Department
Box   5 Folder   14	Municipal debt limit
Box   5 Folder   15	National Conference of State Legislatures
Box   5 Folder   16	National Federation of Independent Businesses
Box   5 Folder   17	National Indian Museum
Box   5 Folder   18	News releases and Reports from Madison
Box   5 Folder   19	ORAP
Box   5 Folder   20	Obscene literature
Box   5 Folder   21	Oleomargarine
Box   5 Folder   22	Optometrists
Box   5 Folder   23	Ornithology, Wisconsin Society for
Box   5 Folder   24	Photographers
Box   5 Folder   25	Plumbers
Box   5 Folder   26	Police bills
Box   5 Folder   27	Proposed legislation
Box   5 Folder   28	Public employee strikes
Box   5 Folder   29	Rail mergers
Box   5 Folder   30	Real estate bills
Box   5 Folder   31	Rendering plants
	Reorganization, Temporary Commission on
Box   5 Folder   32	Background material
Box   5 Folder   33	Charts
	Correspondence
Box   5 Folder   34-36	1965-1967
Box   5 Folder   37	Barbers
Box   5 Folder   38	Veterans
Box   5 Folder   39-41	Minutes, 1965-1967, n.d.
Box   5 Folder   42	Notes and speech material
Box   5 Folder   43	Senate Bill 55
Box   5 Folder   44	State agency reactions
Box   5 Folder   45	Republican Caucus
Box   5 Folder   46	Republican Party
Box   5 Folder   47	Republican State Convention, 1967 - Resolutions Committee
Box   6 Folder   1	Resource Development, Department of
Box   6 Folder   2	Retarded Children, Brown County Association for
Box   6 Folder   3	Retirement systems
Box   6 Folder   4	Roeder vs. Chilton claim
Box   6 Folder   5	Rules, Joint Committee on
Box   6 Folder   6	Schneider, Frank
Box   6 Folder   7	School aids
Box   6 Folder   8	School bus referendum
Box   6 Folder   9	School reorganization
Box   6 Folder   10	Securities, Department of
Box   6 Folder   11	Shoplifting
Box   6 Folder   12	Split session
Box   6 Folder   13	State bonding
Box   6 Folder   14	State life fund
Box   6 Folder   15	State office building
Box   6 Folder   16	Student loans
Box   6 Folder   17	Streu, Richard E.
Box   6 Folder   18	Support payments
Box   6 Folder   19	Tax exemptions
Box   6 Folder   20	Taxation, Department of
Box   6 Folder   21	Taxes-Miscellaneous
Box   6 Folder   22	Teachers bills
Box   6 Folder   23	Television repairmen's licenses
Box   6 Folder   24	Thank you letters
Box   6 Folder   25	Town mutual insurance
Box   6 Folder   26	Trading stamps
Box   6 Folder   27	Traffic safety
Box   6 Folder   28	Tri-county bill
Box   6 Folder   29	Trucks-Double bottoms
Box   6 Folder   30	Tuition grants
Box   6 Folder   31	Uniform court costs
Box   6 Folder   32	University of Wisconsin
Box   6 Folder   33	Unemployment compensation
Box   6 Folder   34	Upper Mississippi Compact
Box   6 Folder   35	Veterans
Box   6 Folder   36	Vocational districts
Box   6 Folder   37	Voting age
Box   6 Folder   38	Waltonian
	Water pollution
Box   6 Folder   39	Correspondence
Box   6 Folder   40-41	Background material
Box   6 Folder   42	Governor's conference mailings
Box   6 Folder   43	Water Resources, Governor's Committee on
Box   7 Folder   1	Water Resources, Governor's Committee on, continued
Box   7 Folder   2	Wastewater Engineering
Box   7 Folder   3	Wesley Foundation
Box   7 Folder   4	Wickes Lumber Company
Box   7 Folder   5	Wildlife refuges
Box   7 Folder   6	Wisconsin Conservation Resource Council
Box   7 Folder   7	Wisconsin Retirement Fund
Box   7 Folder   8	Wrongful death
Box   7 Folder   9	Youth