John C. Stennis papers, Series 002: State Department

The State Department Series contains correspondencce and other materials related to Stennis's interactions with the Department. Materials are broken into series as thehy relate to members of the diplomatic corps, citizen requests for passports and visas, and diplomatic agencies such as the Peace Corps and the United Nations.

The Correspondence Sub-Series contains correspondence with constituents regarding overseas travel, immigration, various cultural and educational programs in foreign countries, U. S. foreign policy, import and export regulations, business investments in foreign countries, religious persecution in various areas, and a variety of other matters involving foreign governments. Pertinent entries related to the above topics are included in the index. Individual countries have been entered in the index when correspondence includes a policy statement regarding those countries. Files in this sub-series with individual names or subjects in the folder title have been retained as created by the Stennis office staff. These folder titles have either been entered separately in the index or added to other appropriated entries. This sub-series includes a few items from 1980. Ordinarily all Stennis files created after 1977 are computerized and thus processed separately from the pre-1978 material. However, the 1980 items included here were not assigned computer number and have been processed accordingly.

The Agency for International Development Sub-Series contains correspondence regarding constituent inquiries about the programs of the AID. Prior to 1961, the AID was known as the International Cooperation Administration. The name change apparently occurred as a result of legislation presented to the Congress in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy proposed an Act for International Development, which called for funds to assist nations vital to U. S. security, to aid underdeveloped countries, to meet U. S. obligations under multilateral agreements, and to establish a contingency fund for emergency use. Entries in the index from this sub-series in addition to the AID entry reflect agency activities in foreign countries and include pertinent individual entries.

The Embassies and Ambassadors Sub-Series consists mostly of constituent inquiries regarding overseas travel or information about acquaintances in foreign countries. Except for significant historical personages, name entries of individual ambassadors have been omitted from the index.

The Passports and Visas Sub-Series includes correspondence regarding overseas travel, immigration, and naturalization. No attempt was made to enter in the index all names mentioned in the correspondence. However, names included in folder titles as created by Stennis’s staff have been entered and the folders have been kept intact. As in the General Correspondence Sub-Series, this sub-series contains a few items from 1980 that were not assigned computer numbers.

This Sub-Series contains only three folders with very little correspondence.

This United Nations Sub-Series contains correspondence that deals mostly with the role of the U. S. in the UN and the nature of the UN itself. The controversial nature of the UN since its creation is clearly reflected in the correspondence in this sub-series as well as in related items (see index) in the General Correspondence Sub-Series. The UN Sub-Series also contains one folder that includes Senator Stennis’s personal notes and thoughts about the UN. Included in this same folder are several pamphlets regarding the UN.