Politics on Paper

Presentation by Audrey Coleman, Assistant Director/Senior Archivist at the Dole Institute for Politics. 

The personal papers of U.S. presidents were not considered the property of the American people until after the Watergate scandal. Federal law now prohibits their destruction and mandates their retention and eventual public access. Their counterpart, Congressional working papers, such as those of U.S. Senator Bob Dole housed in the Dole Archives at the Dole Institute of Politics in Lawrence, are not considered public property and would be lost if not for the advocacy of archivists, historians, and individual legislators. This presentation will explore these essential historical resources that act as both a window into the processes of governance and a mirror reflecting our culture, society, and communities. 

This event is presented by the Kansas Humanities Council in partnership with Newman University.