The Coleman papers mainly consist of correspondence, reports, and subject files. They are arranged in four major series, as established by Coleman himself: 1) Personal Correspondence and Reports, 2) Political Correspondence and Reports, 3) Senator Robert A. Taft Campaign of 1952, and 4) Robert A. Taft Memorial Foundation. In each of these series, correspondence is arranged first, followed by reports, financial records, and subject files (which may also include correspondence). An appendix to this finding aid contains a list of prominent correspondents to be found in each of these series. A fifth series consists of unsorted clippings.
Series 1: Personal Correspondence and Papers
This series includes family and general correspondence. The latter concerns a wide variety of topics: the construction of and necessary repairs to the Coleman home and vacation cabins; vacation arrangements; Christmas cards from such notables as Senator Joe McCarthy and Melvin Laird; letters and cards of condolence received by the family after Coleman's death in 1964 (letters came from New York's Governor Nelson Rockefeller, from General A.C. Wedemeyer, and from television personality John Charles Daly, among other family friends and political acquaintances); Coleman's articles and speeches; and personal estate provisions.
Series 2: Political Correspondence and Papers
The Political series reflects Coleman's prominence in state and national Republican politics. The series contains four sub-divisions; correspondence, material concerning the national Republican Party, and the Republican Party of Wisconsin, and a subject file. The correspondence deals with matters such as Coleman's involvement in party committee work on such committees as Finance, Convention Endorsement (1948), and Strategy (1949); with misrepresentations of Coleman's position in the Madison Capital Times in 1950 and in Joseph and Stewart Alsop's syndicated column in 1954; and with the 1956 movement to give the state party's senatorial endorsement to Glenn Davis, not to the incumbent, Senator Alexander Wiley. Many state and national party notables, elected officers, and voluntary workers are represented. Regarding the National Republican Party there are only committee reports and statistical tables compiled mainly for the Finance and Strategy Committees in the period from 1944 to 1951.
The major portion of the Political series consists of papers dealing with the Republican Party of Wisconsin and its organization and strategy. Most of the papers relate to the state party's finances -- illustrated through correspondence and minutes of the state Finance Committee from 1946 to 1949; finance records from 1943 to 1961; and correspondence and reports filed alphabetically by Wisconsin counties from two fund raising drives Coleman conducted from 1950 to 1954.
The series concludes with a subject file maintained by Coleman himself. These files deal with some important aspects of state and national Republican politics. For example, three folders contain correspondence and financial records from Senator Joe McCarthy's investigations of alleged Communist infiltration into the U.S. government. Another file contains frank correspondence between Coleman and Senator Alexander Wiley in 1956, when Coleman was leading the drive to give the party's senatorial endorsement to Glenn Davis. The last of these subject files consists of correspondence between Coleman and Senator Barry Goldwater concerning the latter's campaign for the Republican Presidential nomination; one confidential memo dated September 10, 1963 contains Coleman's outline of his management of Senator Taft's campaign in 1952 and offers some parallels for Senator Goldwater to draw.
Series 3: Senator Robert A. Taft Campaign of 1952
The third series concerns Senator Robert A. Taft's campaign for the Republican Presidential nomination in 1952. Following the papers concerning the announcement of Taft's candidacy is correspondence from the Taft forces in Wisconsin and throughout the nation. The letters discuss the strategy and tactics of the campaign as well as more mundane affairs such as requests for tickets to the convention and other minor political favors. As usual, Coleman was deeply involved in the financial aspects of the campaign, which the letters reflect. The series also includes a few news releases; a folder of material gathered for use against Taft's rival, Dwight D. Eisenhower; official statements made by Taft and his staff; and annotated copies of the official delegate books of the convention. The delegate books cover the states from Illinois to Wyoming and the territories, but the book covering the states from Arizona to Idaho did not arrive with the collection. It was loaned to Senator Barry Goldwater in 1963. Coleman kept mimeographed copies of the lists of delegates and alternates in a black ringbinder; these Black Book records are inclusive. Also included are the official mailing lists and a sampling of newspaper clippings relating to the campaign.
Series 4: Robert A. Taft Memorial Foundation
The fourth series relates to the Robert A. Taft Memorial Foundation, which was organized after Taft's death in 1953 to erect a physical memorial to the Senator and to fund an educational program for the study of the Senator's political conservatism. Correspondence, mainly from 1953 to 1959, forms the mass of this series. It falls into three general categories: 1) letters from individual donors, 2) letters from members of the Executive and Fund Finance Committees of the Foundation, and 3) business letters concerning the operations of the Foundation staff. Also in this series are minutes and reports of committee meetings (1954-1960), lists of solicitees and large contributors, material concerning the 1959 dedication ceremony, business records, and some clippings.
Series 5: Unsorted Clippings
There are two boxes of unsorted, undated clippings.
Series 6: Photographs
Approximately 50 photographs and occasional negatives, circa 1935-1960, including Taft Memorial grounds, monument and dedication, 1959, Robert Taft campaign, 1952; portraits and personal snapshots.
