Thomas Daschle: U.S. Senate Papers Finding Aid
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Collection Summary
Identifier
DA 2
Title
Thomas A. Daschle Papers: U.S. Senate papers
Creator
Senator Thomas Andrew Daschle
Dates
1964-2006
Extent
660 linear feet (660 records center boxes)
Language
English
Access note
This collection is open to researchers without restrictions. The materials in the Archives do not circulate and may be used in-house only.
Preferred Citation
Name of item. DA 2, box #, folder #, Thomas A. Daschle Papers: U.S. Senate papers, South Dakota State University Archives and Special Collections, Hilton M. Briggs Library, Brookings, South Dakota
Abstract
Composed of records created by Tom Daschle and his staff during his tenure in the U.S. Senate. Included are trip schedules, speeches, sponsored and cosponsored legislation and administrative files including financial disclosures, appointments and schedules. This series does not contain much material related to Daschle's campaigns for voting records during this time. Also included are files on the Whitewater issue during the Clinton administration, veterans’ issues, Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota Water Projects, the accident of South Dakota Governor Mickelson and aviation issues.
Historical Note
In 1986, Daschle was elected to the Senate in a close victory over incumbent Republican James Abdnor, becoming the nation's 1,776th senator. In his first year, he was appointed to the Finance Committee. In 1994, he was chosen by his colleagues to succeed the retiring Senator George Mitchell as Democratic Minority Leader. In the history of the Senate, only Lyndon B. Johnson had served fewer years before being elected to lead his party. In addition to the Minority Leader's post, Daschle also served as a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. South Dakotans re-elected Daschle to the Senate by overwhelming margins in 1998. At various points in his career, he served on the Veterans Affairs, Indian Affairs, Finance and Ethics Committees.
During his brief stint as the 20th Senate Majority Leader, he became part of the phenomenon in which a new congress takes office before a new presidential administration. From January 3, 2001, to January 20, 2001, Daschle became Senate Majority Leader for the first time. The Senate was evenly divided with 50 members from each major party, but Vice President of the United States Al Gore acted in his constitutional capacity as ex officio President of the Senate, and used his tie-breaking vote to give the Democrats the majority in that chamber. Upon the swearing-in of the George W. Bush Administration on January 20, 2001, Dick Cheney became Vice President and the Democrats returned to being in the minority and Daschle reverted to being Senate Minority Leader.
However, when Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont announced in that he was leaving the Republican caucus to become an independent and would caucus with Democrats, this returned control of the body to the Democrats and Daschle again became Majority Leader.
Democratic losses in the November 2002 elections returned them to the minority in the Senate in January 2003 and Daschle reverted to being Minority Leader.
Contents Note
The U.S. Senate papers series on the Tom Daschle Congressional Career Papers is composed of records created by Tom Daschle and his staff during his tenure in the U.S. Senate. Included are trip schedules, speeches, sponsored and cosponsored legislation and administrative files including financial disclosures, appointments and schedules. This series does not contain much material related to Daschle's campaigns for voting records during this time.
The trip schedules and files regarding his frequent trips back to South Dakota, including quite a few of Daschle's "Trip Notes" which are Daschle's notes to his staff regarding his impressions of the details of the trip and issues and concerns encountered on the trips that he wanted his staff to address.
Also included are files on the Whitewater issue during the Clinton administration, veterans issues, Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota Water Projects, the accident of South Dakota Governor Mickelson and aviation issues.
Due to the size and scope of the Daschle collection this collection was minimally processed.
This means that material was placed in acid-free folders and containers, but processing at the item level was keep to a minimum. Only folders that had little or no description were looked into with more depth, or contained items that appeared at risk, due to deteriorating fasteners or fragile material. This type of material was handled on a case-by-case basis.
Books and other publications were separated from the collection and shelved. Artifacts, such as plaques, framed items, textiles, art and other three-dimensional items, were separated and placed in appropriate storage. Photographs were also separated and placed in proper storage containers.
Dates for each folder were chosen on what could be quickly ascertained. The dates are meant to give researchers a general idea of the dates of the material that is in each folder. These dates were selected on what could be quickly ascertained. If there was a range of dates covering material, then the earliest date was chosen.
Key Words
- Daschle, Thomas A. (Thomas Andrew), Senator, 1947-
Legal Status
Materials and resources from the Thomas A. Daschle Career Papers are not in the public domain and copyright is largely held by the donor. Staff makes these materials available for private study, research and teaching. Online material may be downloaded and printed without prior permission for these purposes, on condition that you attribute the Archives in all copies.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open to researchers without restrictions. The materials in the Archives do not circulate and may be used in-house only.
Researchers conducting extensive research are asked to make an advance appointment to access archival material. Please call or e-mail prior to visiting the collection and indicate as much detail as possible about a particular topic and intended use.
South Dakota State University supports access to the materials, published and unpublished, in its collections. Nonetheless, access to some items may be restricted as a result of their fragile condition or by contractual agreements with donors.
Copyright note
Copyright restrictions apply in different ways to different materials. Many of the documents and other historical materials in the Archives are in the public domain and may be reproduced and used in any way. There are other materials in the Archive carrying a copyright interest and must be used according to the provisions of Title 17 of the U.S. Code. The Archive issues a warning concerning copyright restrictions to every researcher who requests copies of documents. Although the copyright law is under constant redefinition in the courts, it is ultimately the responsibility of the researcher to properly use copyrighted material.