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     MANUSCRIPTS and ARCHIVAL MATERIAL

Bradley H. Patterson, Jr. papers

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: MSS 16641

Content Description

The Bradley H. Patterson, Jr. collection consists of personal, professional, and business papers and files related to Patterson’s work and research as a historian and expert on the organization and function of White House staff and executive branch personnel. These papers include correspondence, interview transcripts, notes, memorandums, press releases, organizational charts, newsletters, government and association reports, journal articles, conference... and association presentations, audiocassettes, CDs, and newspapers and clippings spanning from 1943 to 2017. This collection also contains large amounts of secondary source materials which have been retained given the importance of Patterson’s intellectual decisions and subsequent research value of these organized items as part of the historian’s collection.

The bulk of the papers and files focus on the Nixon (c. 1970s) to George W. Bush (c. 2000s) administrations. While the earliest primary source materials are from the Roosevelt administration (c. 1940s), the notable contents of this collection on the organization, operation, and function of White House staff begin in the Eisenhower administration (c. 1950s) and continue through the Obama administration (c. 2010s).

The largest portions of the Patterson papers revolve around topics relating to the organization and operation of the White House, function of federal government offices and personnel, presidential nominations, chiefs of staff, presidential transitions, roles and responsibilities of White House offices, White House administrative operations, executive branch officials, foreign policy, national security, federal government spending, presidential advisors and advisory committees, legislative leadership, presidential cabinets, and presidential initiatives.

While there are no deed restrictions for this collection, some of the materials (boxes 9-12) are restricted due to the presence of personal identifying information. There are also items with “classified” stamps, however, these items have either been marked declassified or are otherwise publicly available.

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Dates

  • Creation: c.1943-2017

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is minimally processed and open for research.

Conditions Governing Access

Boxes 9-12 must be reviewed by archivists prior to researcher use as these boxes contain personally identifiable information.

Biographical / Historical

Bradley Hawkes Patterson, Jr., was born on December 5, 1921, in Wellesley, Massachusetts to Bradley Hawkes Patterson, Sr. and Helen Gilman. Patterson completed his post-secondary education at the University of Chicago and received his bachelor’s degree in 1942 and his master’s degree in 1943. Patterson first served in the U.S. Department of State from 1945 to 1954, and then as the Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet under the Eisenhower administration... from 1954 to 1960. Following this service, Patterson received the Arthur S. Fleming Award as one of the ten outstanding young men in federal service.

In the Kennedy administration, Patterson served as the first Executive Secretary of the Peace Corps from 1961 to 1962. He continued his service as a national security assistant at the Treasury Department in 1962 for four years, and in 1966, graduated from the National War College. In 1964, Patterson served as the Deputy Assistant Director of President Johnson’s Inaugural Ball, and two years later, in 1966, was appointed as the Executive Director of the National Commission on Selective Service. In the later years of the Johnson administration, from 1967 to 1968, Patterson served as the Executive Director of the National Advisory Council on Economic Affairs.

Beginning in 1969 through 1974, Patterson served as Executive Assistant to Leonard Garment, a special consultant to the president and later White House Counsel in the Nixon administration. In 1974, Patterson worked as a staff aide for First Lady Betty Ford before serving as the Assistant Director of the Office of Presidential Personnel from 1975 to 1976 under the Ford administration. Following his years of White House service, Patterson joined the Brookings Institution as a senior staff member in their Center for Public Policy Education from 1977 to 1988. He also served as a member of the American Political Science Association, including one term as president from 1984 to 1985, and as an associate of the Center for the Study of the Presidency.

As one of the most prominent authorities on the organization and functioning of White House staff and personnel, Patterson authored three books: Ring of Power: The White House Staff and Its Expanding Role in Government (Basic Books, 1988), The White House Staff: Inside the West Wing and Beyond (Brookings Press, 2000), and To Serve the President: Continuity and Innovation in the White House Staff (Brookings Press, 2008).

Patterson taught at George Washington University, and conducted a regular class on the presidency for several years for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at American University. In 2004, he was awarded the University of Chicago National Alumni Association’s Professional Achievement Citation.

Patterson died on Thursday, March 19, 2020, in Bethesda, Maryland at the age of 98.

Sources:

American Society for Public Administration [ASPA]. “In Memoriam: Past President Bradley Patterson.” March 2020. https://www.aspanet.org/ASPA/About-ASPA/In-the-Community/Mem-News/PattersonBradley.aspx

“Obituary of Bradley H. Patterson, Jr.” March 2020. https://rappfuneral.com/tribute/details/25358/Bradley-Patterson-Jr/obituary.html

Patterson Jr., Bradley H. MSS 16641 Bradley H. Patterson, Jr. Papers, Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia. Box 27, [Biographic Notes] folder.

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Extent

36.5 Cubic Feet (34 cubics, 5 legal document boxes, and 2 half legal document boxes)

0.000339 Gigabytes (10 word doc files ) : 1 cd

54 audiocassettes (52 audiocassettes, 2 micro audiocassettes)

9 videocassettes ( 9 videocassettes)

3 items (3CDs)

Language of Materials

English

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