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Beth Campbell Short Collection

 Collection
Identifier: CAC-PP-073
The Short Collection consists of correspondence, publications, newspaper clippings, memoranda, press releases, speeches, notebooks, calendars, bills, directories, pamphlets, and notes from the period 1953-1966.

This collection is useful for understanding the Democratic Party's election aid to senators and the role and issues covered by a senator's press secretary.  Incorporated into the latter part are issues facing Oklahomans in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including agriculture, oil and gas regulation, aviation, and military development. Monroney's legislative interests, especially congressional reform and the International Development Association, are also detailed. A small photograph collection is included with the collection.

Dates

  • 1953-1966

Language of Materials

English

Conditions Governing Use:

The University of Oklahoma asserts no claim of copyright over photographs in this collection taken by private citizens. Any publication of such photographs requires the consent of the copyright holder.

Extent

5 Linear Feet (4 containers)

Biographical Information:

Born in Rogers County, Oklahoma, in 1908, Beth Campbell Short was a journalist and press secretary. Following her graduation from the University of Oklahoma, she served as a reporter for the Springfield (Missouri) Leader and the Daily Oklahoman before joining the Associated Press in Washington, D.C., in 1936 to cover Eleanor Roosevelt. There she met her future husband Joseph Short, who was the Associated Press Washington correspondent. In 1950, he was named White House press secretary by President Harry S. Truman. Shortly after her husband's sudden death in 1952, Truman appointed Mrs. Short as his correspondence secretary. From 1953-1956, she worked for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. In 1957 she became press secretary to U.S. Senator A. S. Mike Monroney. In 1966, she left Monroney's office to join the Office of Research and Statistics in the Social Security Administration as a special assistant for research and development. She retired in 1978. Mrs. Short died in 1988.

Arrangement of Materials:

The collection is arranged into two series reflecting two periods in her career and a photograph series.  Both career-related series, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Subject Files and Press Secretary to Mike Monroney are arranged alphabetically by subject then chronologically by year and month. Most of the photographs in the Photograph Series are arranged into groups based on content and event.

Acquisition Information:

Direct gift.
Title
Guide to the Beth Campbell Short Collection
Language of description
The collection description/finding aid is written in English

Repository Details

Part of the Carl Albert Center Congressional and Political Collections Repository

Contact:
630 Parrington Oval
Room 202B
Norman Oklahoma 73109 United States