Summary Information
Frederick N. MacMillin Papers
1923-1988
- MacMillin, Frederick N. (Frederick Nelson), 1899-1988
Mss 1040; PH 6538
2.9 cubic feet (7 archives boxes and 1 oversize folder) and 13 photographs (1 folder)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers of Frederick N. MacMillin, the first executive secretary of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities (LWM), who lobbied and advocated for the rights of municipal governments. MacMillin administered the Wisconsin Retirement Fund, from 1943 to 1966, which provided retirement and insurance benefits for Wisconsin's public employees. MacMillin also served on the Wisconsin Investment Board, the Governor's Retirement Study Commission, and several professional organizations related to municipal government and retirement. In addition, MacMillin taught political science courses at the University of Wisconsin. The papers touch on most aspects of his career and include speeches, correspondence, articles, clippings, reports, lectures, and notes. The photographic portion of the collection includes images of Frederick MacMillin in various professional settings throughout his career.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss01040 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Frederick Nelson MacMillin was born in Dayton, Ohio on August 21, 1899. After volunteering in the Navy during World War I and graduating from Columbia University, he came to Wisconsin and received a Master's in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
After brief employment in the research bureau of the Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company (1922-1924), and then as the municipal reference librarian for the city of Milwaukee (1924-1929), MacMillin became executive secretary for the League of Wisconsin Municipalities (LWM). When MacMillin first took on the job in 1929, the LWM was a small organization.
Under the leadership of MacMillin, the LWM became an effective voice of Wisconsin cities and villages with a membership that included most incorporated municipalities. He expanded its activities to include training courses for municipal officials, model ordinances, a monthly magazine, special studies on current municipal problems, an advisory legal service, and a central operating bureau providing assistance to municipal jurisdictions in making choices as to courses of action. MacMillin served as editor of the league's magazine, The Municipality, from 1927-1955 and also represented the LWM as a lobbyist before the state legislature helping to modernize and streamline Wisconsin's municipal law.
MacMillin served as president of the American Municipal Association, since renamed the National League of Cities, from 1934-1935. He also contributed many articles to publications in the field of municipal government and public management, and addressed various organizations in these fields. During World War II (1943-1945), MacMillin was a lecturer in the political science department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
When, in 1943, the federal Social Security system provided for retirement benefits for personnel in the private sector but excluded public employees, MacMillin formulated and was responsible for the enactment of the Wisconsin Retirement Fund (WRF), the basic retirement plan for public personnel in Wisconsin. Originally, MacMillin organized the fund only for city and village employees, but two years later, he expanded the system to include county employees. Later a legislative interim committee found the WRF to be the best retirement system operating in Wisconsin. As a result, the state government abolished the state employees system and merged it with WRF. Eventually the teachers retirement system merged with WRF creating one statewide system for public employees, outside the City of Milwaukee.
As the WRF grew MacMillin found his responsibilities growing. In 1955, MacMillin stepped down as executive secretary of the LWM and devoted his full attention to the WRF. During this period, MacMillin also took on responsibility for the administration of the group health and life insurance for public employees.
In 1951, the Governor appointed MacMillin to the first Wisconsin Investment Board, which he served on until after his retirement in 1965. There he played an important role in solving budgetary and administrative problems for the state. From 1947 to 1955, MacMillin was also a member of the Joint Survey Committee on Retirement Systems and in 1955, the governor appointed him a member of the Retirement Research Council. For both of these organizations MacMillin played an important part in formulating reports to the legislature on pending retirement legislation.
MacMillin wrote the original constitutions both of the National Association of State Retirement Administrators and of the National Conference of State Social Security Administrators (1961-1962), and served in many offices of these organizations. As chair of the committee on retirement of the American Municipal Association, MacMillin was influential in extending social security coverage to public personnel nationwide.
In his retirement (1966-1988), MacMillin remained active. He read and wrote a great deal on current events and maintained an active and lively correspondence with many politically minded people. MacMillin was also able to travel extensively and pursue his favorite hobbies of bird watching and gardening. Frederick MacMillin died on December 8, 1988, in his home in Madison, Wisconsin.
Scope and Content Note
The MacMillin papers document MacMillin's professional career as the executive secretary of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, the Director of the Wisconsin Retirement Fund and as a member of the Wisconsin Investment Board. The papers date from approximately 1924 to 1988, with the bulk of the documents created in the mid-1950s through the 1970s. The collection has been divided into three series, PROFESSIONAL PAPERS, PERSONAL/GENERAL FILES, and VISUAL MATERIALS.
The PROFESSIONAL PAPERS includes five sub-series: Milwaukee Municipal Reference Librarian, University of Wisconsin-Madison Political Science Department, League of Wisconsin Municipalities, Wisconsin Retirement Fund, and Wisconsin Investment Board. These sub-series have been created to reflect significant shifts within MacMillin's career. This material demonstrates how and why MacMillin advocated for municipal governments and their employees. This series documents the period from 1924 to the early 1970s, and includes correspondence, notes, speeches, and documentation of MacMillin's interaction with the state legislature and congress.
The Milwaukee Municipal Reference Librarian (1924-1929) sub-series contains a very small amount of material related to MacMillin's brief career with the City of Milwaukee. This sub-series demonstrates MacMillin's early interest in municipal government. The sub-series is made up of correspondence, clippings and documents related to speeches on taxation and the importance of municipal government.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Political Science Department (1943-1945) sub-series contains syllabi, outlines, lecture notes, and exams from the political science classes taught by MacMillin in the early 1940s. The classes were concerned with local and state government and relied heavily on his experience with the League of Wisconsin Municipalities. This sub-series is also very brief but it does contain a near complete set of lecture notes and copies of many of the materials referenced by MacMillin during his lectures.
The League of Wisconsin Municipalities (1929-1955) material documents MacMillin's twenty-five year career as executive secretary of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, 1929-1954. The sub-series is made up of speeches, articles/writings, correspondence files and legislative bulletins. The speech outlines not only present MacMillin's opinions on municipal government, but they also document some of the important issues in municipal governments in the twentieth century, including taxation, home rule, municipal jurisdiction and highway funding. The legislative bulletins (although only covering the period 1931-1941) are also incredibly useful at presenting the different lobby interests of the League of Municipalities. The series also contains information on the American Municipal Association and MacMillin's relationship to that group.
The Wisconsin Retirement Fund (1943-1965) sub-series is made up of a chronological compilation of correspondence, speeches, articles, writings, and subject files. The subject files provide an interesting view of the expanded responsibilities of the Retirement Fund as MacMillin's career progressed. There is also a file on MacMillin's argument for including State and Local Government within the Federal Social Security system. The strength of this sub-series is in its documentation of the expansion of the social security system.
The Wisconsin Investment Board (1951-1970s) sub-series deviates somewhat from the general chronological organization of this collection, due to the fact that the governor appointed MacMillin in 1951 and he served on the board after his retirement until the early 1970s. Much of this material dates from the 1960s with very little from MacMillin's early appointment. Correspondence is particularly prevalent. MacMillin was very opinionated on the issues of the investment board, and had very heated correspondence with other members of this appointed board. The materials reflect the creator's organizational style and are very spotty in their completeness. Because many of the issues discussed by the investment board are related to MacMillin's work with the Wisconsin Retirement Fund there is a considerable amount of overlap between the two series.
The PERSONAL/GENERAL PAPERS series is made up of a biographical sketch, college papers and notes, financial records, general correspondence, and a general clippings file. The Biographical Sketch written by MacMillin in 1957 outlines many of the various committees and organizations to which MacMillin belonged. The College Papers and Notes is made up of class notes taken by MacMillin in 1929, and a few of his college term papers. The term papers are undated and are primarily concerned with economics and government. The Financial Records folders are made up of two ledgers that document MacMillin's personal finances between 1940 and 1946. MacMillin kept the ledgers with some detail, recording the funds spent on food, clothing, household needs, his car and many others. The ledgers lend a rare glimpse into MacMillin's personal life.
The General Correspondence contains both personal and professional correspondence. The personal correspondence spans MacMillin's entire life. The professional correspondence consists of correspondence that either has no date or that is difficult to place within MacMillin's career. MacMillin also compiled a few folders of general correspondence which have been left in their original order. This correspondence includes a large number of letters to the editor, letters to congressmen and family correspondence, mainly from the 1970s and 1980s. This sub-series demonstrates that MacMillin remained very active in retirement and was not afraid to express his opinion on issues that he felt passionate about. The correspondence contributes to the overall collection by providing further information on issues related to municipal government even after MacMillin retired.
MacMillin compiled the General Clippings File during his retirement. The clippings are mostly related to his professional life and span from the 1920s to the 1980s. They consist of any clippings in which his name is mentioned or clippings relevant to his career on a wide range of topics. The general clipping file is a great resource for getting a general overview of MacMillin's career and the issues he felt most strongly about.
The VISUAL MATERIALS series contains thirteen photographs. All the photographs are of MacMillin, and most of them taken in a professional capacity. The photographs are housed separately from the collection and have been given a visual materials call number.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Lucy Rabe, Wilmington, Delaware, May 1989. Accession Number: M89-157
Processed by Simone O. Munson (Practicum student), May 2008.
Contents List
|
Mss 1040
|
Series: Professional Papers
|
|
|
Milwaukee Municipal Reference Librarian
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
1
|
City of Milwaukee Reference Librarian, 1924-1929
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
2
|
Annual reports, City of Milwaukee, 1923-1928
|
|
|
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Political Science Department
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
3
|
University of Wisconsin political science 7, lecture outlines, 1940-1941
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
4-5
|
University of Wisconsin political science 13, lecture outlines, 1945
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
6-7
|
University of Wisconsin political science, legislation, 1942-1943
|
|
|
League of Wisconsin Municipalities
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
1-5
|
League of Wisconsin Municipalities, 1929-1954
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
6
|
Book project, undated
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
7
|
Speeches, 1944-1955
|
|
|
Box
2
Folder
8
|
Legislative bulletins, 1931 January-1932 February
|
|
|
Box
3
Folder
1-3
|
Legislative bulletins, 1933, 1935, 1937
|
|
|
Box
4
Folder
1-2
|
Legislative bulletins, 1939, 1941
|
|
|
Wisconsin Retirement Fund
|
|
|
Box
4
Folder
3
|
Correspondence, 1955-1970
|
|
|
Oversize Folder
|
Gubernatorial appointment certificates
|
|
|
Box
4
Folder
4
|
Pensions, 1955, undated
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
1-2
|
Social Security, 1955-1971
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
3
|
Speech outlines and conference material, 1954-1972
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
4-6
|
Writing and research materials, 1947-1969
|
|
|
Wisconsin Investment Board, circa 1951-1972
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
7
|
Clippings, 1972-1974
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
8
|
Correspondence, 1965-1975
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
9
|
Correspondence, 1972
|
|
|
Oversize Folder
|
Gubernatorial appointments certificates
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
10
|
Management audit, 1960
|
|
|
Box
5
Folder
11
|
Writing and miscellaneous, 1966-1975
|
|
|
Box
6
Folder
1
|
Writing and miscellaneous, 1966-1975 (continued)
|
|
|
Series: Personal/General Files
|
|
|
Box
6
Folder
2
|
Biographical sketch, 1957
|
|
|
Box
6
Folder
3
|
College papers and notes, 1929, undated
|
|
|
Financial ledger
|
|
|
Box
6
Folder
4
|
1940 June-1943 December
|
|
|
Box
6
Folder
5
|
1944 January-1946 January
|
|
|
Box
6
Folder
9-10
|
General correspondence, 1924-1988
|
|
|
Box
7
Folder
1-6
|
General correspondence, 1924-1988 (continued)
|
|
|
Box
6
Folder
6-8
|
General clippings, 1924-1988
|
|
|
PH 6538
|
Series: Visual Materials
|
|
|
Folder
1
|
Photographs of MacMillin, undated
|
|
|
