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Charles Press papers

 Record Group
Identifier: UA-17.200

Scope and Contents

The question of a general constitutional revision was approved by Michigan voters in April 1961. Delegates were nominated to the 1961 constitutional convention in July and elected in August. Work began in October and finished in August 1962. The revised Michigan constitution was put before the voters on April 1, 1963 and approved.

Charles Press was one of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention (Con-Con). Press was assigned to the Legislative Organization Committee, and later to the committee concerned with the apportionment of both chambers of the legislature.

This collection is concerned almost exclusively with documents generated by these two committees. There are a few documents from other committees as well as general convention materials. There are Action Journals and publications concerned with information about the previous constitution. There are also documents generated by individuals who were upset by the fundamentally conservative tenor of the new constitution. The collection also contains Press' convention notebooks, correspondence, miscellaneous documents, monographs, and pamphlets.

Lastly, there are materials from the Michigan Constitutional Convention reunions, including a 45th anniversary magnet, "Michigan Consitutional Convention of 1961-1962 50th Anniversary Reunion" booklet edited by Eugene Wanger, address lists (restricted), correspondence, photographs, a 40th anniversary poster, and a 2001 Certificate of Special Tribute from Governor John Engler. Also included is a program from "A Toast and Tribute Dynamite Evening with Tom Downs."

Dates

  • Creation: 1961 - 2012

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research. Some materials are restricted.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish material from this collection must be obtained from University Archives & Historical Collections, Michigan State University.

Biographical / Historical

O. Charles Press is a Professor Emeritus at Michigan State University. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he completed his B.J. at the University of Missouri in 1948, earned his M.A. in Political Science at the University of Minnesota in 1951, and his Ph.D. in 1953. Press joined the Michigan State University Department of Political Science as an Assistant Professor in 1954, was promoted to Associate Professor in 1956, and to Professor in 1965. He is author of over thirty books and monographs, as well as numerous journal articles. His coauthored books include Democracy in Urban America (1961), The American Political Process (1965, 1969), Governing Urban America (1968, 1977), American Politics Reappraised: The Enchantment of Camelot Dispelled (1973, 1974), State and Community Governments in the Federal System (1979, 1983), and American Policy Studies (1981). In addition to co-editing Democracy in Urban America: Readings on Government and Politics (1961) and Empathy and Ideology (1966), he is the sole author of American Politics and Journalists (1988), Democracy in the Fifty States (1966), and The Political Cartoon (1981). Press is a past president of the Midwest Political Science Association. In 1961-1962, Press served on the Michigan Constitutional Convention. Press retired from MSU in 1991.

Source: MSU Department of Political Science (http://polisci.msu.edu/people/charles-o-press/)

Extent

2.1 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Legal Status

Donor(s) have transferred any applicable copyright to Michigan State University but the collection may contain third-party materials for which copyright was not transferred. Copyright restrictions may apply. Property Rights: Michigan State University.

Title
Charles Press Papers
Status
4 Published And Cataloged
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the University Archives and Historical Collections Repository

Contact:
Conrad Hall
943 Conrad Road, Room 101
East Lansing MI 48824 US
517-355-2330