Record Groups 202 - 293
- Introduction, How to Use This Guide, Explanation of Record Group Entries
- Alphabetical List of Record Groups
- Numerical List of Record Groups
- Record Groups 3 through 41
- Record Groups 52 through 96
- Record Groups 103 through 190
- Record Groups 202 through 293
- Record Groups 306 through Donated Materials
Record Group 202
Records of the National War Labor Board (World War II)
Administrative History
The National War Labor Board (NWLB) was established in the Office for
Emergency Management (OEM) by an Executive order of January 12, 1942. It
was to act as final arbiter of wartime labor disputes and to pass on adjustments
in certain wages and salaries. An Executive order of September 19, 1945,
transferred the NWLB to the Department of Labor. The NWLB was terminated
by the Executive order of December 31, 1945, that established the National
Wage Stabilization Board (NWSB) with all powers, functions, and responsibilities
of the NWLB relating to stabilization of wages and salaries as well as
limited functions relating to the settlement of disputes. The NWSB was
terminated by an Executive order of December 12, 1946.
While the initial functioning of the NWLB was solely in Washington, DC, the NWLB announced establishment of 10 regional advisory offices on October 29, 1942. The authority of these first regional offices was quite limited, but on January 12, 1943, the NLRB created two new regions and converted the (now 12) regional advisory offices to regional war labor boards with considerable independent authority in resolving disputes. The NWLB also created several special tripartite industry commissions and panels to deal with particular industries nationally.
Records Description
Dates: 1942-1947
Volume: 407 cubic feet
Records of Region II (New York State and northern New Jersey). The records relate to NWLB and NWSB intervention in labor disputes that resulted in the enforcement of board decisions or mediated settlement. The records are primarily case files including card indexes, correspondence, decisions, memorandums, minutes of meetings, reports, union contracts, wage and salary studies, and survey reports.
Finding Aid
Entries 165 through 167, 173 through 175, 177, 178, 462, 463, and 481
in Estelle Rebec, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the
National War Labor Board, World War II, PI 78 (1955).
Record Group 211
Records of the War Manpower Commission
Administrative History
The War Manpower Commission (WMC) was established within the Office
for Emergency Management by an Executive order of April 18, 1942. Operating
through regional and State WMC offices and local offices of the U.S. Employment
Service, it recruited labor for the war effort and essential civilian industries,
trained labor for essential jobs, analyzed manpower utilization practices
to increase labor efficiency, and accumulated national labor market information.
It was terminated by an Executive order of September 19, 1945, and its
functions were transferred to the U.S. Employment Service.
Records Description
Dates: 1942-1945
Volume: 47 cubic feet
Records of the New York regional office (region 2). The records document civilian production, employment stabilization programs, and manpower utilization surveys. Included are appeal case records, applications, case histories, compilations, regional central files, organizational materials, reports, and tabulations.
Finding Aid
Box contents list.
Restrictions
Access to some files or portions of documents may be restricted due
to privacy concerns.
Record Group 219
Records of the Office of Defense Transportation
Administrative History
The Office of Defense Transportation (ODT) was established in the Office
for Emergency Management on December 18, 1941, to promote the maximum utilization
of domestic transportation facilities to support the war effort. It was
authorized to coordinate activities of Federal agencies and private transportation
groups to prevent congestion and make maximum use of available resources.
The ODT employed a network of regional offices to facilitate the implementation of its activities, including regional administrative offices, which oversaw Regional Operating Managers in significant transportation hubs. There were also District and Federal Managers responsible for specific firms and field representatives.
Records Description
Dates: 1942-1946
Volume: 17 cubic feet
Records of the Waterway Transport Department, New York City. The records relate to the transportation of fuel, including oil and coal, by ship and barge, and consist of correspondence, reports, and transcripts of speeches.
Records of the Office of General Counsel. The records relate to litigation resulting from the enforcement of wartime conservation and the Certificate of War Necessity program, which regulated gas rationing for buses, taxis, and trucks. The records are memorandums and copies of court papers.
Records of the Division of Storage. The records relate to the storage of materials awaiting export for the war effort and include memorandums and permits.
Record Group 220
Records of Temporary Committees, Commissions, and Boards
Records of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on the Presidential Vote for Puerto Rico
Administrative History
Temporary committees, commissions, boards, and other bodies have been
appointed from time to time by the President or created by an act of Congress
to serve in factfinding or other advisory capacities or to perform policymaking
or coordinating functions with regard to the work of other executive agencies.
The Ad Hoc Advisory Group on the Presidential Vote for Puerto Rico was
appointed jointly by President Richard Nixon and Governor Luis A. Ferre
on April 13, 1970. The group was established pursuant to the recommendations
in 1966 of the United States-Puerto Rico Commission on the Status of Puerto
Rico to study the feasibility of extending to residents of Puerto Rico
the right to vote for the President and Vice President of the United States.
Records Description
Dates: 1970-1971
Volume: 4 cubic feet
Records of the Executive Director. The records document the process of establishing the right of eligible residents of Puerto Rico to vote in presidential elections. The records include central files, correspondence, minutes, press clippings, special studies, and transcripts of public hearings.
Finding Aid
Folder title list.
Record Group 228
Records of the Committee on Fair Employment Practice
Administrative History
The first Committee on Fair Employment Practice was established in
the Office of Production Management (OPM) by Executive Order 8802 of June
25, 1941, and then assigned to the War Manpower Commission in 1942. That
committee was abolished by Executive Order 9346 of May 27, 1943, which
created a new Committee on Fair Employment Practice in the Office for Emergency
Management. The new Committee formulated and interpreted policies to combat
racial and religious discrimination in employment; received, investigated,
and adjusted complaints of such discrimination; and assisted Government
agencies, employers, and labor unions with problems of discrimination.
The Committee terminated its activities on June 28, 1946.
The first FEPC utilized six field investigators and a few field clerical employees and held public hearings in several major cities across the country. The second FEPC initially established nine regional offices and two suboffices, continuing and expanding the network of the first FEPC's field investigators. Additional offices and suboffices were added later.
Records Description
Dates: 1941-1946
Volume: 20 cubic feet
Records of region II (New York State). The records document FEPC efforts against discriminatory hiring practices. Included are case files and correspondence.
Finding Aid
Charles Zaid, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the
Committee on Fair Employment Practice, PI 147 (1962).
Record Group 232
Records of the Petroleum Administrative Board
Administrative History
On September 11, 1933, the Secretary of the Interior established the
Petroleum Administrative Board to enforce regulations issued under the
National Industrial Recovery Act intended to prohibit the transportation
in interstate or foreign commerce of petroleum products exceeding amounts
permitted by State laws or regulations. The Board assumed most of the functions
of the Federal Oil Conservation Board, 1924-1934, and was responsible for
the enforcement of the Connally "Hot Oil" Act of February 22, 1935. The
Board was terminated March 31, 1936, and replaced by the Petroleum Conservation
Division.
Records Description
Dates: 1933-1936
Volume: less than 1 cubic foot
Records of the Field Office, Jersey City, and the Oil Enforcement Office, New York City. The records relate to enforcement of the petroleum code regulations and consist of correspondence, minutes, and reports.
Record Group 237
Records of the Federal Aviation Administration
Administrative History
The Civil Aeronautics Act of June 23, 1938, established an independent
Civil Aeronautics Authority "to promote the development and safety and
to provide for the regulation of civil aeronautics." In 1940, the authority
was divided into a Civil Aeronautics Board with safety regulatory authority
and a Civil Aeronautics Administration to enforce civil air regulations;
aid in the development of a national airport system; and plan, construct,
and operate the Federal Airways System. Both organizations were part of
the Department of Commerce until the establishment in 1958 of the Federal
Aviation Agency (FAA) which assumed all of their functions. The FAA became
a part of the Department of Transportation by an act of October 15, 1966,
and was redesignated the Federal Aviation Administration.
Records Description
Dates: 1963-1974
Volume: 20 cubic feet
Records of the eastern regional office. The records relate to airport airspace and the effect of proposed construction, alteration, activation, and deactivation of airports on the use of airspace. They are case files.
Records of the eastern regional office. The records relate to Project Focus, which was initiated to test the feasibility of establishing area offices within FAA regions. Included are management analysis and survey project files.
Finding Aid
Box contents list.
Record Group 245
Records of the Solid Fuels Administration for War
Administrative History
The Bituminous Coal Conservation Act of 1935 created the first Bituminous
Coal Commission. A Commission order of October 9, 1935, established 23
producer districts throughout the country. The first Commission was succeeded
by the second Bituminous Coal Commission in 1937, when the 1935 act was
modified to take into account constitutional objections to the initial
act. Both Commissions were independent Federal agencies. On April 3, 1939,
the Commission's functions were transferred to the Department of the Interior,
and in July, the Bituminous Coal Division was established within the department.
Authorization of the Division lapsed on August 24, 1943, and many of its
functions, as well as its district offices, were transferred to the Solid
Fuels Administration for War.
The two Bituminous Coal Commissions and the Bituminous Coal Division determined production costs, regulated prices and wages, and regulated marketing procedures for the bituminous coal industry. To this end, they established producer districts, gathered statistics, undertook research, and compiled the Bituminous Coal Code.
On November 5, 1941, a letter from the President to the Secretary of the Interior established the Office of Solid Fuels Coordinator for National Defense within the Department of the Interior. The name of the office was changed to the Office of Solid Fuels Coordinator for War on May 25, 1942. Under both names, the office was essentially a planning and advisory agency. Executive Order 9332 of April 19 transformed the Office into the Solid Fuels Administration for War (SFAW). The SFAW had the legal authority, lacking in its predecessor, to implement an emergency distribution and controls program.
With the lapsing of authorization for the Bituminous Coal Division on August 24, 1943, the SFAW inherited its district office structure, staff, and records, renaming the district offices area distribution offices. As had been the case with the district offices of the Bituminous Coal Commissions and the Bituminous Coal Division, SFAW area offices were responsible for entire States or, for certain counties within one or more States. The SFAW area offices were responsible for regulating the distribution and sale, as well as the production, of all varieties of coal. All field offices were closed on April 30, 1947. The SFAW itself ceased to exist on June 30 of that year under an Executive order of May 6, 1947.
Records Description
Dates: 1937-1947
Volume: 66 cubic feet
- Buffalo, New York
- Camden, New Jersey
- Newark, New Jersey
- New York, New York
- Syracuse, New York
Finding Aid
Forrest R. Holdcamper, comp., Preliminary Inventory of the Field
Records of the Solid Fuels Administration for War: A Supplement to Preliminary
Inventory 34, NC 145 (1966).
Record Group 252
Records of the Office of the Housing Expediter
Administrative History
A Housing Expediter was appointed in the Office of War Mobilization
and Reconversion by the President on December 12, 1945, to plan, coordinate,
and expedite postwar housing programs. The Expediter was authorized by
an Executive order in January 1946 to plan and coordinate a veterans' housing
program. The Office of the Housing Expediter, which had been authorized
by an act of Congress of May 22, 1946, was terminated by an Executive order
of July 31, 1951, and its functions were transferred to the Economic Stabilization
Agency and the Housing and Home Finance Agency.
Records Description
Dates: 1942-1953
Volume: 80 cubic feet
Records of Region II (New Jersey, New York), and Region IX (Puerto Rico). The records relate primarily to rent control, including the computation of rent based on accommodations, equipment, and services; termination of rent control; and general administration and public relations. Included are case files, clippings, correspondence, issuances, minutes, narrative and statistical reports, and random rent samples.
Finding Aid
Draft inventory.
Record Group 253
Records of the Petroleum Administration for War
Administrative History
An Office of Petroleum Coordinator for National Defense was established
in the Department of the Interior on May 28, 1941. It was abolished by
Executive Order 9276, of December 2, 1942, which created the Petroleum
Administration for War (PAW) under the Secretary of the Interior. The Petroleum
Coordinator and the PAW were responsible for wartime conservation, use,
marketing, and development of oil and other petroleum products. The PAW
was terminated on May 8, 1946, by Executive Order 9718.
Records Description
Dates: 1941-1945
Volume: 70 cubic feet
- Distribution and Marketing Division;
- Foreign Division;
- Legal Division;
- Supply and Transportation Division.
Finding Aid
Albert Whimpey and James R. Fuchs, comps., Preliminary Inventory
of the Records of the Petroleum Administration for War, PI 31 (1951).
Record Group 269
General Records of the General Services Administration
Administrative History
The General Services Administration (GSA) was established as an independent
agency by the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of June
30, 1949. The act consolidated and transferred to GSA certain real and
personal property and related functions formerly assigned to various agencies.
Its purpose is to provide an economical and efficient system for managing
Government property and services, including such activities as constructing
and operating buildings, procuring and distributing supplies, disposing
of surplus property, managing traffic and communications, and stockpiling
strategic and critical materials.
Records Description
Dates: 1946-1969
Volume: 46 cubic feet
Records of the Region 2 office, New York City. The records relate to the disposal of surplus real property and document the sale or donation of Federal property (such as airfields, forts and other military installations, Post Office buildings and sites, prisoner-of-war camps, and Veterans Administration hospitals) in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The records are case files which generally include correspondence, deeds, narrative reports, surveys and title searches. Nontextual records include maps and photographs.
Finding Aid
List of folder titles.
Record Group 270
Records of the War Assets Administration
Administrative History
The War Assets Administration (WAA) was established in the Office for
Emergency Management by Executive order on March 25, 1946. The chief WAA
function was the disposal of surplus consumer, capital, and producer goods;
industrial and maritime real property; and airports and aircraft located
in the United States and its territories. The WAA was abolished by an act
of June 30, 1949, and its functions were transferred to the newly created
General Services Administration.
Records Description
Dates: 1944-1949
Volume: 132 cubic feet
Records of Region II, New York City. The records document the disposal of surplus real property in New Jersey, New York, and parts of Pennsylvania. The property includes airports, defense plants, housing projects, and military sites. The case files may contain appraisals, bids, correspondence, deeds, easements, inspection reports, and sales documents. Nontextual records include drawings, maps, and photographs. See RG 21 (land condemnation cases), RG 121, and RG 269 for related records.
Finding Aid
Property lists (in paper and electronic format).
Record Group 276
Records of the U.S. Courts of Appeals
Administrative History
The courts of appeals are intermediate courts created by an act of
March 3, 1891, to relieve the Supreme Court of considering appeals in cases
originally decided by Federal courts. They are empowered to review final
and certain interlocutory decisions of district courts (see RG 21) except
where the law provides for direct review by the Supreme Court. They also
review orders of Federal administrative bodies such as the Securities and
Exchange Commission and the National Labor Relations Board.
Records Description
Dates: 1891-1968
Volume: 5,191 cubic feet
Records of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, New York City. The records document appeals of lower Federal court decisions in Connecticut, New York, and Vermont. Among the prominent individuals whose cases were heard are Frank Costello, Marcus Garvey, Alger Hiss, James Joyce, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, and Orville and Wilbur Wright. The records are case files and include bills of cost, opinions, stipulations, Supreme Court orders on petitions for writs of certiorari, and transcripts of record from lower courts and administrative agencies. Also included are dockets and minutes.
Finding Aid
Draft inventory.
Record Group 293
Records of the Wage and Salary Stabilization Boards of the Economic Stabilization Agency
Administrative History
The Wage Stabilization Board was established by Executive Order 10161
of September 9, 1950, to control wages and salaries during the Korean War.
In May 1951, a Salary Stabilization Board was created with authority over
administrative, executive, and professional salaries. Wage controls were
suspended February 6, 1953, and the boards were terminated April 30, 1953.
Records Description
Dates: 1951-1953
Volume: 5 cubic feet
Records of region 2 (New York State and northern and central New Jersey). The records relate to regional board approval, modification, or denial of petitions for wage or salary adjustments, and include decisions, minutes, press releases, and rulings.
Finding Aid
Draft inventory.