Politics, in its many forms, provides researchers with a wealth of topics to study at the national, state, and local levels, as well as regionally in Appalachia. The following is a sampling of the resources available in the Archives of Appalachia.

Browse our Suggested Reading List for books of interest.

Manuscripts

John Fain Anderson Papers
This collection of scrapbooks includes material (1861-1925) on East Tennessee politics and government, the Republican Party, and individual politicians such as Andrew Johnson, James K. Polk, the Brownlows, Bob and Alf Taylor, T. A. R. Nelson, and Andrew Jackson.

Barnicle-Cadle Collection
Includes recordings of political ballads, worker's protests, political satire, and other songs of this type.

Broadside Television Collection
Includes videotaped programs on the political aspects of such topics as the Tennessee Valley Authority, strip mining, union organizing, sanitary landfill development, and annexation.

Congress for Appalachian Development Collection
Includes correspondence, transcripts of testimony, clippings, and other materials related to the political aspects of such topics as regional electric power development, the Appalachian Regional Commission, economic development, the coal industry, and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Frederick S. Heiskell Collection
Includes correspondence and scrapbooks connected to Heiskell's (1786-1851) involvement in abolitionism, and early Tennessee and Whig Party politics. Correspondents include John Bell, William G. Brownlow, and James A. Garfield.

City of Johnson City Records
Includes administrative and judicial records of permanent value for the city of Johnson City, Tennessee from c. 1890.

William Henley Nelson Family Papers
Includes correspondence, speeches, appointments, etc. related to Nelson's (1837-1935) political career in East Tennessee. Correspondents include William G. Brownlow and Theodore Roosevelt.

B. Carroll Reece Papers
Long-time Congressman Reece's extensive collection includes correspondence, memoranda, speeches, reports, clippings, etc. covering Reece's career, primarily 1908-1961. Topics include Andrew Johnson, McCarthyism, the Pearl Harbor investigation, and Republican national politics. Correspondents include Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Robert A. Taft, and J. Edgar Hoover, among others.

Benjamin Harrison Taylor Family Papers
Includes biographical and political materials (correspondence, election materials, speeches, clippings, memorabilia, etc.) related to Taylor's life (1888-1930) and that of his father, Alfred Alexander Taylor (1848-1931).

Washington County (Tenn.) Court Records
Includes administrative and judicial records having permanent value for Washington County, Tennessee and spans 1780-1960s.

Appalachian Photographic Archive

The Appalachian Photographic Archive includes photographs on: Local Government; Johnson City, Tenn.--Politics and Government; and the names of individual politicians.

Appalachian Vertical Files

These files contain clippings, pamphlets, copies of articles, etc. See the subheading "Politics and Government" under the names of individual counties, states, cities, as well as checking headings for individuals.

Suggested Reading from Special Collections

The following is a list of selected titles relating to politics, politicians, and political issues. For a complete listing, consult Sherrod Library Online Catalog.

Appalachian Regional Commission. A report to Congress on the continuation of the Appalachia Regional Commission: an overview. 1979.

Chapman, Shirley. Democrats Challenge Traditional Republicans in Upper East Tennessee. c. 1977.

Combs, William H. and William E. Cole. Tennessee: a political study. 1940.

Crews, James M., Jr. J. F. K. and the Mountaineers: John F. Kennedy's Rhetoric in the 1960 West Virginia Presidential Primary. 1980.

Graf, LeRoy P. and Ralph W. Haskins, eds. The Papers of Andrew Johnson. 1967.

Hart, Roger L. Redeiers, Bourbons, and Populists: Tennessee, 1870-1896. 1975.

James, Marquis. The life of Andrew Jackson. (2 parts). 1940.

McClure, Wallace. State Constitution-Making. 1916.

McKinney, Gordon B. Southern Mountain Republicans, 1865- 1900: Politics and the Appalachian Community. 1978.

Reece, Brazilla Carroll. The Courageous Commoner: a biography of Andrew Johnson. 1962.

Rice, De Long. "Old Limber"; or, the tale of the Taylors. 1921.

Selzick, Philip. TVA and the Grassroots: a study of politics and organization. 1980.

Tennessee Blue Book. (various years).

White, Robert H., et. al. Messages of the Governors of Tennessee. 1952-1990.