William H. Meyer Papers

Collection Summary

Repository:: University of Vermont Libraries. Special Collections Burlington, Vermont 05405-3596
Creator: Meyer, William Henry, 1914-
Title: William H. Meyer Papers
ID: mss.054
Date [inclusive]: 1958-1965
Extent: 34.0 Linear feet 34 cartons
Location: Library Research Annex.
Language
Abstract: Meyer served as U.S. Representative from Vermont, [1958-1965]. Collection includes correspondence, notes, reports, statements. printed matter, newspaper clippings, and other material, on such topics as agriculture, conservation, civil liberties ,and nuclear disarmament. Bulk of the collection is made up of congressional papers with materials on legislation, committee work, public opinion polls conducted by Meyer in Vermont, and the plan for peace which Meyer worked in as a member of Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Preffered Citation

[Identification of item] William H. Meyer Papers, Special Collections, University of Vermont Library.

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

University of Vermont, Bailey/Howe Library, Special Collections 1972 April

Publication Rights

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Curator of Manuscripts.

Acquistion Note

The William H. Meyer Papers were received from Mr. Meyer on September 4, 1971. The 1972 addition was a gift of Mr. Meyer, July 1972.

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William Henry Meyer was born in Philadelphia, Pa., on December 29, 1914, and attended the public schools of the city, and graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 1936. He worked as a timber cruiser, State and Federal forester, Civilian Conservation Corns technician and supervisor in West Virginia, Maryland, Wisconsin, and New Jersey from 1936 to 1940. He moved to a farm in Bennington County, Vt. in 1945, and was with the Soil Conservation Service in Vermont from 1940 to 1950. In 1951 he entered private practice as a consulting forester and became executive director of the Vermont Forest and Farmland Foundation and chairman of Vermont Forest Festival Committee and Vermont Land Use Conference. Meyer was a delegate to the State Democratic Convention in 1956, 1960, 1964 and 1968 and was elected U. S. Congressman to the Eighty-sixth Congress on Nov. 4, 1958. While in Congress, Meyer served on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and participated in Democratic Study Groups, the Liberal Project, the Foreign Policy Discussion Group, and others. After his unsuccessful campaign for re-election in 1960, he was appointed as consultant to the Technical Review Staff of the Department of Interior (1961-1963). Meyer was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for U. S. Senator in 1962, 1964, and 1970. He was president and chairman of the New England United World Federalists, 1962-1964; finance secretary to Farmers and World Affairs, 1966, and founder of Liberty Union in 1970. He is presently engaged as natural resources consultant. William Meyer is a resident of West Rupert, Vt.

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Scope and Content Note

The William H. Meyer Papers contain correspondence, notes, reports, statements, printed matter, newspaper clippings, and published material for the period 1958-1965. Strict provenance has been followed in the arrangement. The papers are arranged alphabetically by subject within the following five categories: Legislative (6 cartons), Foreign Affairs (6 cartons), Government Departments (2 cartons), Technical (8 cartons), and Research and Clippings (4 cartons). There is also a carton containing an opinion poll, prepared by Meyer, which samples the feelings of Vermonters on legislation before the second session of the Eighty-Sixth Congress. One of the largest and most important sections in the Collection, "The Plan for Peace," reflects the Congressman's major concern as a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

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Related Materials

Separated Materials

Tuvin, Carl R., The Democratic Breakthrough in Vermont. Unpublished thesis for B.A. at Goddard College, 1959. Removed and cataloged for Wilbur Collection.

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Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

United States. Congress. House. Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Genre(s)

Congressional committee reports
Correspondence
Clippings

Subject(s)

Conservation of natural resources
Civil rights
Nuclear disarmament
Vietnamese conflict, 1961-1975
Agriculture

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