Guide to Federal Records

General Records of the Department of Commerce

(RECORD GROUP 40)
1898-1991

OVERVIEW OF RECORDS LOCATIONS

Table of Contents

  • 40.1 ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY
  • 40.2 GENERAL RECORDS 1903-74
  • 40.3 RECORDS OF OFFICIALS 1922-72
  • 40.3.1 Records of Secretaries
  • 40.3.2 Records of Under Secretaries
  • 40.3.3 Records of Deputy Under Secretaries
  • 40.3.4 Records of Assistant Secretaries
  • 40.3.5 Records of Deputy Assistant Secretaries
  • 40.3.6 Records of special assistants and deputies
  • 40.3.7 Records of other officials
  • 40.4 RECORDS OF ORGANIZATIONAL UNITS
    1903-74
  • 40.4.1 Records of the Office of the Secretary of Commerce
  • 40.4.2 Records of the Office of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Transportation
  • 40.4.3 Records of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Affairs
  • 40.4.4 Records of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Domestic Affairs
  • 40.4.5 Records of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs
  • 40.4.6 Records of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Science and Technology
  • 40.4.7 Records of the Office of Budget and Management
  • 40.4.8 Records of the Office of the General Counsel
  • 40.4.9 Records of the Office of Public Information
  • 40.4.10 Records of the Office of Technical Services (OTS)
  • 40.4.11. Records of the Clearing Office for Foreign Transactions and Reports and its successor, the Balance of Payments Division
  • 40.4.12 Records of the Office of Industry Cooperation
  • 40.4.13 Records of the Office of Strategic Information (OSI)
  • 40.4.14 Records of the Office of International Trade Fairs
  • 40.4.15 Records of the Office of State Technical Services
  • 40.4.16 Records of other organizations
  • 40.5 RECORDS OF THE WASTE-RECLAMATION SERVICE (WRS) 1917-19
  • 40.6 RECORDS OF THE INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION SERVICE (ICS) 1918-19
  • 40.7 RECORDS OF COMMISSIONS, COUNCILS, AND BOARDS 1898-1991
  • 40.7.1 Records of the Industrial Commission
  • 40.7.2 Records of the Industrial Board
  • 40.7.3 Records of the Business Advisory Council
  • 40.7.4 Records of the Commerce Committee for the Alliance for Progress (COMAP)
  • 40.7.5 Records of the U.S. Commission - New York World's Fair
  • 40.7.6 Records of the President's Review Committee for Development Planning in Alaska (PRCDPA)
  • 40.7.7 Records of the National Industrial Pollution Control Council (NIPPC)
  • 40.7.8 Records of the United States Metric Board
  • 40.7.9 Records of the President's Interagency Task Force on Women Business Owners
  • 40.7.10 Records of the National Fish and Seafood Promotional Council (NFSPC)
  • 40.7.11 Records of other commissions, councils, and boards
  • 40.8 RECORDS OF THE FEDERAL ADVISORY COUNCIL ON REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (FACRED) AND FEDERAL COCHAIRMEN OF REGIONAL COMMISSIONS 1966-81
  • 40.8.1 Records of the Federal Cochairman, Coastal Plains Regional Commission (CPRC)
  • 40.8.2 Records of the Federal Cochairman, Ozarks Regional Commission
  • 40.8.3 Records of the Federal Cochairman, Upper Great Lakes Regional Commission
  • 40.9 RECORDS OF PLANS FOR PROGRESS 1961-69
  • 40.10 CARTOGRAPHIC RECORDS (GENERAL) 1927, 1944, 1957
  • 40.11 MOTION PICTURES (GENERAL)
  • 40.12 40.12 VIDEO RECORDINGS (GENERAL) 1973-74, 1988-91
  • 40.13 SOUND RECORDINGS (GENERAL) 1973-74 1988-91
  • 40.14 STILL PICTURES (GENERAL) 1903-74

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40.1 ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY

Established: By Department of Commerce Act (37 Stat. 736), March 4, 1913.

Predecessor Agencies:

  • Department of Commerce and Labor (1903-13)

Functions: Promotes foreign and domestic commerce, the manufacturing and shipping industries, and the transportation facilities of the United States.

Finding Aids: Forrest R. Holdcamper, comp., "Preliminary Inventory of the General Records of the Department of Commerce," NC 54 (Mar. 1964).

Security-Classified Records: This record group may include material that is security-classified.

Related Records: Record copies of publications of the Department of Commerce in RG 287, Publications of the U.S. Government. Records of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, RG 23.
Records of the Weather Bureau, RG 27.
Records of the Bureau of the Census, RG 29.
Records of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation, RG 41.
Records of the Inland Waterways Corporation, RG 91.
Records of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, RG 151.
Records of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, RG 167.
Records of the Department of Commerce and Labor in RG 174,
General Records of the Department of Labor. Records of the Patent and Trademark Office, RG 241.
Records of the National Production Authority, RG 277.
Records of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, RG 370.
Records of the International Trade Administration, RG 489.

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40.2 GENERAL RECORDS
1903-74

History: Department of Commerce and Labor established by Department of Commerce Act (32 Stat. 825), February 14, 1903. Divided into separate Department of Commerce and Department of Labor, 1913. SEE 40.1.

Textual Records: General correspondence, 1903-55 (751 ft.), with related indexes. Declassified correspondence and other records relating to investigations, personnel actions, and security procedures and operations, 1925-50. Correspondence control cards, 1945-50, 1953-74. Letters relating chiefly to labor matters, sent by President Taft to the Department of Commerce and Labor, 1910-12. Organization charts, ca. 1929-55. Department orders, 1939-45, with index. Briefing handbooks, 1952-3. Speech files, 1927-46. Monthly bureau reports to the secretary, 1913-50. Separately maintained files relating to bureaus and functions no longer in the department, including the Bureaus of Corporations, Mines, and Alaskan Fur Seal Fisheries, ca. 1907-42. Reports prepared by commerce bureaus of the Department of Commerce and Labor for the President's Commission on Economy and Efficiency (Taft Commission), 1910-11. Records of the Joint U.S.-Canadian Committee on Trade and Economic Affairs, 1953-67. Operations subject file, 1949-61. Capital goods international commodity control file, 1949-60. Industry Reports on Domestic Transportation prepared by the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, 1943-48.

Microfilm Publications: M838.

Related Records: Additional records of Secretary of Commerce Herbert C. Hoover in Hoover Library and in Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace, at Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA.

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40.3 RECORDS OF OFFICIALS
1922-72

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40.3.1 Records of Secretaries

Textual Records: Correspondence, speeches, and other records of Secretaries of Commerce Robert P. Lamont, 1929-32; Roy D. Chaplin, 1932-33; Daniel P. Roper, 1933-39; Jesse H. Jones, 1941-44; Charles Sawyer, 1948-49; Luther H. Hodges, 1962-63; John T. Connor, 1965-67; Alexander Trowbridge, 1967-68; C.R. Smith, 1968-69; and Peter G. Peterson, 1972-73.

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40.3.2 Records of Under Secretaries

Textual Records: Subject correspondence files and other records of Under Secretaries of Commerce Edward J. Noble, 1939-40; Wayne C. Taylor, 1941-45; Alfred Schindler, 1944-46; C.V. Whitney, 1949-50; William C. Foster, 1945-48; Charles Sawyer, 1948-49; Walter Williams, 1952-58; Philip A. Ray, 1959-60; Edward Gudeman, 1961-63; Luther H. Hodges, 1962-63; Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr., 1963-65; LeRoy Collins, 1965-66; Howard J. Samuels, 1967-69; and Joseph W. Bartlett, 1968-69. Correspondence files of the Under Secretary for Transportation, 1951-55. Subject correspondence files and other records of Under Secretary of Commerce for Transportation Louis S. Rothschild, 1953-58.

Related Records: Personal papers of Under Secretary Alfred Schindler, 1934-55, in Truman Library.

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40.3.3 Records of Deputy Under Secretaries

Textual Records: Records of Deputy Under Secretary for Transportation Lowell K. Bridwell, 1962-67.

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40.3.4 Records of Assistant Secretaries

Textual Records: Subject files and other records of Assistant Secretaries of Commerce Edward Eyre Hunt, 1921-31; John Dickinson, 1933-35; Robert H. Hinckley, 1938-42; and William A. M. Burden, 1944-47. Subject files of Assistant Secretary of Commerce E. Willard Jensen relating to the Special Industrial Recovery Board, 1933. Subject files of Assistant Secretary for Aeronautics John R. Alison, 1940-53. Subject files of the Assistant Secretary for Foreign and Domestic Commerce, David K. E. Bruce, 1947-48. Subject files of Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Affairs Henry Kearns, 1958-60. Security-classified records of the Assistant Secretary for Domestic and International Business, 1961-67.

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40.3.5 Records of Deputy Assistant Secretaries

Textual Records: Security-classified records of Deputy Assistant Secretary for Resources Stanley Nehmer, 1963-70. Security-classified records of Deputy Assistant Secretaries for Financial Policy Lawrence C. McQuade, 1962-65; and Mark C. Feer, 1966-67. Security-classified records of Deputy Assistant Secretary for Trade Policy Robert L. McNeill, 1961-67.

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40.3.6 Records of special assistants and deputies

Textual Records: Subject files and other records of Special Assistants to the Secretary of Commerce Hyman Bookbinder, 1961-62; Clifford Rucker, 1962-63; Paul O'Day, 1968-69; Jan T. Dykman, 1968-69; Anthony Chase, 1969-70; and Joseph Casson, 1969-72. Security-classified records of Deputy to the Secretary of Commerce, Peter T. Jones, 1962-65. Security-classified program subject files of Deputy to the Secretary for Textile Programs James S. Love, Jr., 1962-63. Records of Special Assistants to the Secretary of Commerce relating to public power, 1922-27; and to the cotton processing tax of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, 1935.

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40.3.7 Records of other officials

Textual Records: Records of J. Clayton Miller, Coordinator of International Cooperation Programs, 1945-48. Correspondence and reports of the chief regional economist showing the development of statistical techniques for the representation of national and regional economic trends, 1944-47. Correspondence and reports of Advisor on Negro Affairs Emmer Martin Lancaster concerning blacks in small businesses, 1940-53. Subject files and other records of National Export Expansion Coordinators Draper Daniels, 1962-63; and Daniel L. Goldy, 1962-63. Subject files of Harriet M. Sweet, Director, Office of Contacts and Conferences, relating to international fairs, expositions, and conferences, 1929-46.

Photographs: Collected by Emmer Martin Lancaster, Advisor on Negro Affairs, including departmental activities; and prominent African-American educational and business leaders, 1940-53 (NA, 884 images).

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40.4 RECORDS OF ORGANIZATIONAL UNITS
1903-74

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40.4.1 Records of the Office of the Secretary of Commerce

Textual Records: Subject files, 1950-74. Select subject files including records relating to the St. Lawrence Seaway, transportation studies, the Intensive Review Committee on Census Bureau Programs (1954), and the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, 1945-60. Records of the departmental war history project, documenting activities during World War II, including correspondence, reports, and monographs, 1944-52. Records relating to terminated councils, committees, and boards, 1968-73. Records of the Emergency Planning Coordinator relating to departmental emergency readiness, 1959-63. Records of the Executive Secretariat including subject files, 1953-74 (378 ft.); and program operation files, 1958-74. Subject files of the Office of Policy Development, 1965-71. Security-classified records of the President's Advisory Committee on Labor-Management Policy, 1961-65.

Related Records: Additional records of the President's Advisory Committee on Labor-Management Policy in RG 220, Records of Temporary Committees, Commissions, and Boards.

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40.4.2 Records of the Office of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Transportation

Textual Records: Central files, 1960-65. Program policy files, 1959-63. General records including records relating to the transportation study, air transportation, and ocean shipping, 1955-62. Records of the Transportation Council advisory committee, 1952-61. Program policy files of the director, Office of Transportation Research, 1963-65. Security-classified records relating to the Planning Board for Ocean Shipping, 1953-57.

Related Records: Additional records of the Office of the Under Secretary for Transportation, Department of Commerce, in RG 398, General Records of the Department of Transportation.

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40.4.3 Records of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Affairs

Textual Records: Reports and other records relating to the Foreign Trade Impact Study, 1958. Reports and other records relating to the Export Origin Study, conducted by the Bureau of the Census, 1961-62.

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40.4.4 Records of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Domestic Affairs

Textual Records: Subject files, 1953-62.

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40.4.5 Records of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs

Textual Records: Security-classified subject files, 1963-72.

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40.4.6 Records of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Science and Technology

Textual Records: Subject and chronological files, 1962-70. Subject files, 1964-68. Research files of Robert Fish, 1962-64. Records relating to Commerce Technical Advisory Board panels on electrically powered vehicles, high speed ground transportation, and the international transfer of technology, 1966-69. Correspondence files of the Office of Telecommunications, 1966-78. Records of the Federal Council for Science and Technology, 1960-70.

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40.4.7 Records of the Office of Budget and Management

Textual Records: Central budget records, and supplementary records of the Director, 1910-50. Correspondence and other records regarding the Civil Aeronautics Administration budgets, 1940-50. Departmental budget records of the chief of the Division of Accounts, 1945-49. Management policy subject files, 1953-70.

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40.4.8 Records of the Office of the General Counsel

Textual Records: Correspondence, contracts, opinions, and related legal matters files, 1903-47, with index (190 ft.). Legislative files, 1932-40. Subject files, 1939-69, with index. Correspondence, reports, and memorandums of the department solicitor, South Kimble, Jr., relating to air and sea disasters and important strikes, 1934-36. Records relating to contracts, delegation of authority, and organization and functions of the Department of Commerce, 1958-65. Legal program subject correspondence, 1947-58. Legal program subject correspondence regarding the transfer of Bureau of Public Roads property to the State of Alaska, 1959. Subject file of the Assistant General Counsel for Science and Technology, 1962-70. Records relating to the Inland Waterway Corporation, the Hoover Commission, and other matters, 1946-60. Security-classified records of the Associate General Counsel relating to antitrust issues and the Taft-Hartley Act (1947), 1941-60.

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40.4.9 Records of the Office of Public Information

Textual Records: General records including Secretary's speech and correspondence files, subject files, and articles, 1962-68. Press releases, 1949-74 (270 ft.). Speech files, 1962-73, with index. Commerce News Digest, 1953-59. Transcripts of press conferences, 1953-68. Biographical files, 1959-68.

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40.4.10 Records of the Office of Technical Services (OTS)

History: Established July 1, 1946, to administer programs intended to increase the technological productivity of U.S. commerce and industry, including research and development, assistance to inventors, and collection and dissemination of technical and scientific information. Became a component of newly established Business and Defense Services Administration (BDSA, SEE 489.4), 1953. Separated from BDSA, 1962. Transferred to National Bureau of Standards (NBS), Department of Commerce, and redesignated Institute for Applied Technology, 1965. Redesignated National Engineering Laboratory, NBS, 1979.

Textual Records: Technical information exchange correspondence, internal memorandums, and reference materials of Technology Division Chief and assistant to the director, OTS, John Weber, 1955-59. Subject correspondence files of O.T. Colby, special assistant to the director, OTS, relating to the exchange of scientific information with communist countries, 1953-58. Interdepartmental committee records, 1947-54. Industrial research and development program files, 1943-48. Program and policy files of the Publications Board, 1943-49. Letters received by the Review Division from German scientists and American firms inquiring about work and entry into the United States ("Miscellaneous National Interest File"), 1946-51. Policy and program files of commodity supervisors and economic advisers, Technical Industrial Intelligence Division, 1945-48, relating to wartime OTS efforts to obtain information on German, Italian, and Japanese industrial processes. Reference files of Eugenia E. Lewis, 1947-57, principally Guide to the Industrialization of China, 10 vols. Records of the German Scientists Program, 1946- 53.

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40.4.11 Records of the Clearing Office for Foreign Transactionsand Reports and its successor, the Balance of Payments Division

Textual Records: Correspondence, reports, and other records concerning the origin and development of the continuing program for compiling statistics about the balance of payment accounts of all federal agencies, 1942-54.

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40.4.12 Records of the Office of Industry Cooperation

History: Established in the Office of the Secretary of Commerce, January 1948, pursuant to EO 9919, January 3, 1948, and a joint resolution of December 30, 1947 (61 Stat. 945), to develop voluntary anti-inflationary wage and price agreements and plans for allocating and controlling scarce commodities impacting on the cost of living or industrial production. Authority to enter into agreements lapsed March 1, 1949. All such agreements expired by September 1, 1949. Office funded through June 30, 1949. Precise termination date not known.

Textual Records: Records of the Director, Earl W. Clark, 1949-50. Correspondence and press releases of the Office of the Director relating to the control of wages and prices, 1948-49. Voluntary plans, 1948-49. Transcripts of public hearings, 1948-49. Files of staff members and administrative units established to formulate plans for voluntary regulation of specific industries, 1948-49.

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40.4.13 Records of the Office of Strategic Information (OSI)

Textual Records: General records, 1954-57. Correspondence files, 1954-57. OSI case studies, 1954-57, with index. Agency evaluation reports, 1954-57. Office files of directors R. Karl Honaman, 1954-56; and Edwin Seago, 1955-57. Office files of Assistant Director Robert A. Bowman, 1953-55. Office files of W.T. Mason, 1956. Records of the Interdepartmental Committee on International Exchange, 1954-56. Records relating to the "C" (Croning) process, ca. 1950.

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40.4.14 Records of the Office of International Trade Fairs

History: Established in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Affairs by Departmental Order 159, January 27, 1955, to coordinate, plan, design, establish, and maintain joint industry-government exhibits at international trade fairs. Transferred to the Bureau of International Business Operations, 1961, and abolished, 1963.

Textual Records: Public information files, 1955-56. Records relating to public information and industry relations, 1955-56. Records of the Design and Construction Division, 1956.

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40.4.15 Records of the Office of State Technical Services

History: Established in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Science and Technology by Departmental Order 7A, November 19, 1965, pursuant to the State Technical Services Act of September 14, 1965 (79 Stat. 679), to promote commerce and encourage economic growth by supporting State and interstate programs to place the findings of science usefully in the hands of American enterprise. Abolished by Secretary, effective June 30, 1970.

Textual Records: Subject files, 1965-71. Legislative subject files, 1962-70. Evaluation committee files, 1967-68. Annual and five-year plans of state programs, 1966-71. Annual reports of state technical services programs, 1965-70. Applications files and final reports of special merit program grants and planning grants, 1965-70. Records of the National Conference on State Technical Services, 1964-70.

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40.4.16 Records of other staff organizations

Textual Records: Records of the Appointment Division dealing with employee relations and facilitation of services, 1903-41. Correspondence, lists of Coast and Geodetic Survey field personnel, and personnel changes and reports of the Division of Personnel Management and Supervision, 1907-42. Subject files of the Transportation Committee, 1933-34. Subject files of the Office of Small Business, 1948-51. Subject files of the General Counsel, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, 1946-61. Security-classified subject files of the General Counsel, National Production Authority, 1950-60.

Related Records: Records of the Office of Small Business in RG 151, Records of the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce.

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40.5 RECORDS OF THE WASTE-RECLAMATION SERVICE (WRS)
1917-19

History: Established in the Office of the Secretary of Commerce, January 1, 1919, under a Presidential authorization of December 3, 1918, absorbing waste reclamation functions of the abolished War Prison Labor and National Waste-Reclamation Section, Labor Division, War Industries Board, which had been established as the War Prison Labor Committee, February 9, 1918, and redesignated on May 9, 1918. WRS investigated and publicized means of reclaiming waste materials. Terminated June 30, 1919.

Textual Records: Records of the War Prison Labor and National Waste-Reclamation Section relating to the use of prisoners of war in industry and agriculture, 1917-18. Correspondence and reports of the WRS relating to salvage plans, 1918-19.

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40.6 RECORDS OF THE INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION SERVICE (ICS)
1918-19

History: Established in the Office of the Secretary of Commerce, January 1, 1919, under a Presidential authorization of December 3, 1918, absorbing certain functions of the abolished Conservation Division, War Industries Board, which had been established, May 9, 1918, as the successor to the Commercial Economy Board, Council of National Defense, established March 27, 1917. ICS served as a clearinghouse for study and discussion of business and industrial problems, including standardization, waste utilization, and product development. Terminated June 30, 1919.

Textual Records: General subject files, 1918-19. Executive general files, 1918-19.

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40.7 RECORDS OF COMMISSIONS, COUNCILS, AND BOARDS
1898-1991

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40.7.1 Records of the Industrial Commission

History: Established pursuant to an act of June 18, 1898 (30 Stat. 476), to investigate labor and industrial practices. First meeting held October 17, 1898. Last meeting, February 10, 1902. Expired by statutory limitation, February 15, 1902.

Textual Records: Minutes of the commission, 1898-1902.

Microfilm Publications: T10.

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40.7.2 Records of the Industrial Board

History: Established in the Office of the Secretary of Commerce in February 1919. Terminated May 1919. Promoted voluntary price reductions in industry.

Textual Records: General subject files, 1918-19. Administrative reports, 1918-19. Commodities files, 1918-19.

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40.7.3 Records of the Business Advisory Council

History: Established by Secretary of Commerce, June 26, 1933, as the Business Advisory and Planning Council. On April 11, 1935, name changed to Business Advisory Council. Consists of prominent businessmen who advise the department on matters of concern and common interest.

Textual Records: Records relating to the establishment of the council, and to its subcommittees, 1933-37; and a review of its activities, 1933-58. Records of committees, 1934-59.

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40.7.4 Records of the Commerce Committee for the Alliance for Progress (COMAP)

History: Established by the Secretary of Commerce, May 9, 1962, in accordance with EO 11007, February 26, 1962, to mobilize increased private participation in the Alliance for Progress. Chaired by J. Peter Grace, president of W.R. Grace and Company.

Textual Records: General subject files, 1962-63. Reports of task forces, 1962-63.

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40.7.5 Records of the U.S. Commission - New York World's Fair

History: Established by EO 11014, April 17, 1962, and Departmental Order 180, August 7, 1962, to be responsible for the planning and execution of the U.S. Government exhibit at the New York World's Fair, 1964-65. Commissioner was Norman K. Winston. Terminated operations at the conclusion of the Fair and dissolution of the exhibit.

Textual Records: Correspondence and administrative subject files, including photographs, 1962-65. Contracts files, 1962-66. Scrapbooks, 1962-66.

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40.7.6 Records of the President's Review Committee for Development Planning in Alaska (PRCDPA)

History: Established by EO 11182, October 2, 1964, as successor to the Federal Reconstruction and Development Planning Commission for Alaska (established by EO 11150, April 2, 1964). The PRCDPA provided guidance and direction to the Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska. Chaired by Secretary of Commerce. Abolished and superseded by the Federal Advisory Council on Regional Economic Development, by EO 11386, December 28, 1967 (SEE 40.8).

Textual Records: Correspondence and subject files, 1964-66.

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40.7.7 Records of the National Industrial Pollution Control Council (NIPPC)

History: Established by EO 11523, April 9, 1970, to advise on programs of industry relating to the quality of the environment. NIPPC Staff established by Departmental Order 35-3, June 17, 1970. Terminated September 10, 1973, by revocation of Departmental Order 35-3 and failure of appropriations.

Textual Records: Correspondence and subject files, 1970-73.

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40.7.8 Records of the United States Metric Board

History: Established by act of December 23, 1975 (89 Stat. 1007), to promote the use of the metric system in the United States. Terminated by failure of appropriations, October 1, 1982.

Textual Records: Minutes, annual reports, research reports, surveys, and studies, 1979-82.

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40.7.9 Records of the President's Interagency Task Force on Women Business Owners

History: Established by President Carter's memorandum of August 4, 1977, to evaluate existing data on women entrepreneurs, identify discouraging or discriminatory practices and conditions, assess federal programs and practices related to women in business, and propose changes in federal law, regulation, and practice. Chaired by Anne Wexler, Deputy Under Secretary for Regional Affairs. Officially terminated 120 days after first meeting of the Task Force on November 14, 1977.

Textual Records: Program subject files, 1977-78. Questionnaires from a survey of women-owned businesses, 1977-78.

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40.7.10 Records of the National Fish and Seafood Promotional Council (NFSPC)

History: Established by the Fish and Seafood Promotion Act of 1986 (100 Stat. 3715), November 14, 1986, to develop a marketing and promotion plan, and educate consumers about fish and seafood. NFSPC activities indefinitely suspended, December 31, 1991.

Textual Records: Subject files, 1989-91. Correspondence, 1988-91. Minutes of meetings, 1987-91. Printed and audiovisual advertising and promotional materials, 1989-90.

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40.7.11 Records of other commissions, councils, and boards

Textual Records: Records of the Advisory Committee on Export Policy, including subcommittee files, 1947-62 (143 ft.). Security-classified records of the Trade Policy Committee, 1958-63. Security-classified chronological files of actions by the Maritime Subsidy Board, Maritime Administration, 1958-65.

Related Records: Records of the Maritime Administration, RG 357.

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40.8 RECORDS OF THE FEDERAL ADVISORY COUNCIL ON REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (FACRED) AND FEDERAL COCHAIRMEN OF REGIONAL COMMISSIONS
1966-81

History: Title V of the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 (79 Stat. 564), August 26, 1965, authorized the Secretary of Commerce to designate economic development regions to promote regional development. Each commission consisted of a Federal Cochairman and governors of states in the designated region. FACRED, established by EO 11386, December 28, 1967, and chaired by the Secretary of Commerce, provided coordination, guidance, and review for the regional commissions. Federal Cochairmen of the regional commissions were members of FACRED. Federal role terminated by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (95 Stat. 766), August 13, 1981, which repealed Title V of the Public Works and Economic Development Act, effective October 1, 1981.

Textual Records: General records of FACRED, 1968-81.

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40.8.1 Records of the Federal Cochairman, Coastal Plains Regional Commission (CPRC)

History: Coastal Plains Regional Commission, embracing 290 counties and 17 independent cities in VA, NC, SC, GA, and FL, was designated by the Secretary of Commerce, December 21, 1966, and formally organized July 29, 1967.

Textual Records: General records, 1967-73. Correspondence and other records relating to a trade mission to Egypt and Nigeria, November 1978. Scrapbooks, 1967-74. Correspondence, speeches, press releases, and other records dealing with activities of the commission, including trade missions to Egypt and West Africa, 1978-79.

Motion Pictures (1 reel): The Living Coast, an ecological study of seacoast and salt marshes, produced by the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC, 1979. SEE ALSO 40.11.

Photographs: Portraits of CPRC Commissioners, 1978-80 (CPP, 10 images). CPRC program and office activities including meetings, overseas trade fair exhibits, industrial investment seminars, and demonstration projects, 1977-81 (CP, 436 images). Documenting a trade mission to Nigeria, November 1978 (NT, 9 images). SEE ALSO 40.14.

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40.8.2 Records of the Federal Cochairman, Ozarks Regional Commission

History: Ozarks Regional Commission, embracing 134 counties in AR, KS, MO, and OK, was designated by the Secretary of Commerce, March 1, 1966, and formally organized September 7, 1966.

Textual Records: Annual reports of the commission, 1966-74. Meeting files, 1966-69.

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40.8.3 Records of the Federal Cochairman, Upper Great Lakes Regional Commission

History: Upper Great Lakes Regional Commission, embracing 119 counties in MI, MN, and WI, was designated by the Secretary of Commerce, March 2, 1966, and formally organized April 11, 1967.

Textual Records: Program subject files, 1967-70. Meeting files, 1968. Records of Victor Roterus, Special Assistant to the Federal Cochairman (1948-70), 1967-70.

Related Records: Records of Regional Economic Development Commissions in RG 414, Records of Regional Committees and Commissions.

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40.9 RECORDS OF PLANS FOR PROGRESS
1961-69

History: Established by EO 10925, March 6, 1961, as an adjunct to the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity (SEE 220.10.2), as the government-industry joint cooperative program for promoting equal employment opportunity in the private sector. Administrative and housekeeping support provided by the Department of Labor by EO 11246, September 24, 1965.

Textual Records: Administrative subject files, 1961-69. Conference files, 1962-69. Correspondence files, 1961-69. Questionnaires from the Employer Information Report (EEO-1 forms), 1966-69. Questionnaires from the Plans for Progress Report (EEO-10 forms), 1962-65. Records of the Vocational Guidance Institute, 1965-69. Records relating to government agency and corporate participation, 1961-69. Advertising and public information materials, including photographs, motion pictures, and sound recordings, 1966-69.

Related Records: Records of the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity in RG 220, Records of Temporary Committees, Commissions, and Boards. Record copies of publications of Plans for Progress in RG 287, Publications of the U.S. Government. Records of the Research Division in RG 403, Records of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

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40.10 CARTOGRAPHIC RECORDS (GENERAL)
1927, 1944, 1957

Maps: Industrial dispersion program "target areas," identifying concentrations of defense-related industries, published by the Office of Area Development, 1957 (1 item). "Graphic Guide to Decentralization" in the U.S. showing "reconversion target areas," and projected changes in population, income, and resources after World War II, 1944 (1 item).

Architectural and Engineering Plans: Conceptual design drawings of the proposed National Airport ("Municipal Airport, District of Columbia") at Gravelly Point, Arlington, VA, prepared for the Committee on the National Capital, American Institute of Architects, n.d. (2 items). Plans of the Department of Commerce building, Washington, DC, 1927 (16 items).

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40.11 MOTION PICTURES (GENERAL)
1961-66

Interviews, speeches, press conferences, and ceremonies attended by the Secretary of Commerce and documentation of issues of importance to the department such as air travel, and space research 1961-70 (34 reels). A Plan for Appalachia, on the economic development of Appalachia narrated by Tennessee Ernie Ford, Douglas Aircraft Corporation, n.d. (1 reel). Relating to international trade, minority business development, and energy, 1968-78 (13 reels).

SEE UNDER 40.8.1.

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40.12 VIDEO RECORDINGS (GENERAL)
1973-74, 1988-91

Speeches, news conferences, and interviews given by Secretaries of Commerce Frederick Dent and Robert Mosbacher, 1973-74, 1988-91 (27 items).

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40.13 SOUND RECORDINGS (GENERAL)
1962-91

Speeches, news conferences, and interviews given by Secretaries of Commerce Frederick Dent, Elliot Richardson, Juanita Kreps, Luther Hodges, Philip Klutznick, Malcolm Baldridge, C. William Verity, and Robert Mosbacher, and others, 1962-91 (1,571 items).

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40.14 STILL PICTURES (GENERAL)
1903-74

Photographs: Departmental senior officials at public affairs activities including Secretaries of Commerce Luther H. Hodges, John T. Connor, Alexander Trowbridge, C.R. Smith, and Peter G. Peterson, 1959-74 (SO, 768 images). Construction of the bronze exterior gates at the Department of Commerce building, Washington, DC, 1931 (GC, 5 images).

Photographic Prints and Negatives: Buildings and office space occupied by the Department of Commerce and its predecessors, 1903-37 (B, 45 images). Departmental exhibits at the Sesquicentennial Exposition, Philadelphia, 1926 (EXA, 107 images); at the International Exposition, Seville, Spain, 1929-30 (EXB, 10 images); and at the Safety First Exhibit, Washington, DC, 1916 (EXC, 5 images). Officials and activities of the Department of Commerce, 1959-64 (G, 575 images).

Finding Aids: Name index to series G.

Related Records: RG 121, series BCP, BS (for series B); RG 318, series MP (for series G).

SEE Photographs UNDER 40.8.1.


Bibliographic note: Web version based on Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States. Compiled by Robert B. Matchette et al. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1995.
3 volumes, 2428 pages.

Ordering information

This Web version is updated from time to time to include records processed since 1995.


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