Title:  JAMES H. QUILLEN PAPERS
Collection Number:  Accession No. 498
Physical Description:    566 linear feet (999 boxes)
                                      18 oversized folders
                                      18,465 photographs
                                      228 audio recordings
                                      377 film and video recordings
Creator:  Quillen, James H
Repository:  Archives of Appalachia, East Tennessee State University

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Provenance: The papers of James H. Quillen were donated to the Archives of Appalachia by Mr. Quillen on September 4, 1996, with additional materials being transferred in 1997, 1998, and 1999. 

Access: The collection is open for research.

Processing Information: Processing of the papers was begun in 1998 and completed in 2002.  The collection was processed by Ned Irwin, Libby Post, Vinita Whitaker, Becky Adkins, April Wood, Stephene Speer, Jamee Roberts, Heidi Andrade, Jessica Lott, Alex LaPella, Anna Kennedy, and Glen Yelton.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE 

James Henry Quillen was born in the Wayland community of Scott County, Virginia, on January 11, 1916. One of ten children in the farming family of John Alley and Hannah Chapman Quillen, he attended public schools in Scott County until the family moved to Kingsport, Tenn., in the late 1920s. There he attended city schools and, as he grew up, he held numerous part-time jobs to supplement the family's income. He graduated in 1934 from Dobyns-Bennett High School. The need to help support his family led him to decline an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He began work instead at the Kingsport Times-News and the Kingsport Press.

Developing an interest in journalism, Quillen in 1936 launched his own weekly newspaper, the Kingsport Mirror, becoming in the process the youngest newspaper publisher in the country. In 1939, he sold this newspaper and used the proceeds to establish another weekly paper in Johnson City, Tenn. The Johnson City Times became a daily newspaper the following year. In 1942, following his entry into military service, he sold the newspaper. Quillen began service in the United States Navy shortly after the attack at Pearl Harbor. Beginning as an ensign, he eventually rose to the rank of lieutenant and saw action aboard the aircraft carrier USS Antietam in both theaters of the war.

Upon his discharge from the navy in 1946, Quillen became involved in the construction business. Building new houses in the Kingsport area soon led to involvement in the real estate, banking, and insurance businesses. This was the beginning of what became an extensive and highly successful business career, one largely overshadowed by the political career he began to carve out for himself in 1954. He was elected as a state representative from Sullivan County that year in his first political race. He never lost any election for which he was a candidate.

Quillen served from 1955-1963 in the Tennessee General Assembly. There he became an influential Republican representative and served on the Legislative Council, as Minority Leader, and was nominated as Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives. In 1962, Quillen won the toughest campaign of his career in winning the primary and then the general election as congressman from the First Congressional District of Tennessee. On election night, celebrating supporters took the door off the hinges at his campaign headquarters in Kingsport to signify Quillen's promise to always be accessible to the people. The annual "Open Door" meetings he subsequently held in every county of the district became a tradition during his tenure in Congress. With his entire staff in tow, he met one-on-one with any constituent needing his help. His efforts to assist the residents of his district on matters large and small was the hallmark of his congressional service and helped insure that he was reelected by increasingly wide margins, often facing token or no opposition. He would serve from the 88^th through the 104th Congress.

In 1965, he was named a member of the all-important House Rules Committee, a rare honor for so junior a member of Congress. He would serve as a leading member of this committee until retirement, being for many years the ranking minority member and later designated Chairman Emeritus. During his congressional tenure, Quillen also served as chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority Caucus, vice chairman of the Legislative and Budget Process Subcommittee of the Rules Committee, and a member of the Republican Policy Committee. Beginning in 1956, he also was a delegate and/or parliamentarian to every Republican Party national convention.

An active legislative agenda included his sponsorship of the first legislation to establish a federal law preventing the desecration of the American flag, naming John Philip Sousa's "The Stars and Stripes Forever" as America's national march, securing the naming of a nuclear submarine for Greeneville, Tenn., and securing funding and support of numerous projects in the First Congressional District. Quillen's support for his district was revealed in such efforts as acquiring funding for development of Interstate 181 between Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, expansion of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Mountain Home (later named for him), leading the effort to clean up the polluted Pigeon River in Cocke County, and supporting educational, health care, industrial and economic development in the region. His most significant contribution was probably securing, after a lengthy struggle, a medical school at East Tennessee State University in the 1970s. This fight changed the nature of politics in Tennessee and helped pave the way for more equitable treatment for the East Tennessee region with regard to state government support and funds. The school was named in his honor the James H. Quillen College of Medicine in 1989.

When he retired in 1997, Quillen held the record in Tennessee history as the longest continuously serving member of Congress. During his career, Quillen received many honors and awards including honorary degrees from King College, Milligan College, and Tusculum College, the naming of Tennessee's portion of I-181 in his honor, the creation of a James H. Quillen Regional Heart Center at Holston Valley Hospital in Kingsport, the James H. and Cecile C. Quillen Center for Rehabilitative Medicine in Johnson City, the Quillen Chair of Excellence in Education at ETSU, the first honorary member of the ETSU Foundation and the foundation's highest honor, the George L. Carter Award, Outstanding Service Award of the Southeastern Hospital Conference, 29 consecutive Golden Bulldog awards for fiscal integrity, the Golden Plow Award for serving American farmers, numerous veterans' association honors, among much else. In 1986, he was named Tennessee Statesman of the Year, and his 80^th birthday was declared "James H. Quillen Day" throughout the state.

Quillen married Cecile Cox on August 9, 1952. Her encouragement became an important influence in his decision to follow a career in politics. Mrs. Quillen was herself an active political wife and campaigner. Her support of educational and health issues was honored by the establishment of a Chair of Excellence in Geriatrics and Gerontology at ETSU in her name and the naming of a research laboratory at the medical school for her as well. Mrs. Quillen died on January 25, 2002.

Following his retirement, Quillen maintained an active involvement in his business career and in numerous civic events. Quillen died on November 2, 2003.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The James H. Quillen Papers document the public life and political career of Mr. Quillen, covering his years of service in the Tennessee General Assembly (1955-1963) and the United States House of Representatives (1963-1997). A small amount of material documents Mr. Quillen's early life prior to his involvement in politics, including references to his family and childhood, his career as a newspaper publisher and businessman, and his military service with the United States Navy during World War II. The records focus on numerous political, social, and military issues in which he was involved at the local, state, national, and international levels. Documentation is especially strong on such matters as the development of the East Tennessee State University medical school, patriotism and legislation on protection of the American flag, community and economic development in the first congressional district of Tennessee, the Republican Party, and Tennessee and United States politics and political elections.

The collection consists of office files, memoranda, financial records, legislative files, government publications, project files and grant applications, subject files, correspondence, newsclippings, scrapbooks, photographs, recordings, speeches, press releases, maps, and miscellaneous printed ephemera and mementos. The papers are arranged into ten series as follows: Series I, General Office Records, 1945-1997 and undated, Series II, Legislative Files, 1957-1996 and undated, Series III, Project Files, 1958-1996 and undated, Series IV, Public Relations Files, 1956-1997 and undated, Series V, Government Departments and Agencies Files, 1963-1996 and undated, Series VI, Miscellaneous Records, 1928-1996 and undated, Series VII, Memorabilia, 1964-1999 and undated, Series VIII, Scrapbooks, c. 1945-1997, Series IX, Photographs, c. 1918-1997 and undated, and Series X, Recordings, 1937-1998 and undated. The photographs in Series IX are indexed in a name index.

Important subjects covered in the collection include:

Antietam (Aircraft carrier)
Community development—Tennessee
East Tennessee State University. College of Medicine
Legislators—Tennessee
Medical colleges—Tennessee
Quillen, Cecile Cox
Quillen, James H.
Reece, B. Carroll (Brazilla Carroll), 1889-1961
Reece, Louise Goff
Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- )
Tennessee—Economic conditions
Tennessee—Politics and government
United States. Congress
United States—Politics and government
World War, 1939-1945