Charles Ellsworth Goodell (1926-1987), lawyer, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from upstate New York, 1959-1968, and U.S. Senator, 1968-1971. Although at first he was a conservative Republican, he adopted increasingly liberal...
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Charles Ellsworth Goodell (1926-1987), lawyer, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from upstate New York, 1959-1968, and U.S. Senator, 1968-1971. Although at first he was a conservative Republican, he adopted increasingly liberal views on public policy. After being defeated in his bid to return to the Senate because of his opposition to the Vietnam War, he practiced law in Washington, D.C. and served as chairman of the Presidential Clemency Board which reviewed applications for clemency by Vietnam War resisters. Collection consists of papers documenting Goodell's public career as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the 43rd and 38th Congressional Districts in New York State and as U.S. Senator from New York, records of his chairmanship of the Presidential Clemency Board, personal papers, photographs, and audio-video materials. Congressional papers include general correspondence; case and committee files; congressional district files; bills and resolutions; files relating to politics, publicity and Goodell's public activities; and files of his legislative and administrative assistants. Photographs and audio-video materials, including recordings of oral history interviews, reflect Goodell's public career. Personal papers consist of correspondence and materials related to the publication of his book Political Prisoners in America (1973), general and family correspondence, and press clippings. Records, 1974-1975, of the Presidential Clemency Board contain administrative memoranda concerning the formation and operation of the Board, memoranda to and from President Gerald Ford, case summaries, status reports, and printed matter.
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