Gilbert C. Fite Collection of Richard B. Russell, Jr. Research Files, 1971-1984

Summary

Creator:
Fite, Gilbert Courtland, 1918-
Date:
1971-1984
Extent:
7 box(es) (6.5 linear feet)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Gilbert C. Fite Collection of Richard B. Russell, Jr. Research Files, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia, 30602-1641.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of materials Dr. Gilbert Fite gathered while conducting research for the biography, Richard B. Russell, Jr., Senator from Georgia. The collection contains twenty-three interviews, two folders of correspondence and research notes related to Russell's service as a United States Senator from 1933 to 1971.

Biographical / historical:

Gilbert C. Fite was born in 1918 on a farm in South Dakota. He, along with twelve other students, graduated from the Free Methodist Secondary School in Wessington Springs in 1935. He attended the Free Methodist junior college where both his parents attended and where his mother was a secretary. At the junior college, Fite majored in history for two years before enrolling at Seattle Pacific College, a larger Free Methodist school, in 1937. He then enrolled at the University of South Dakota where he received his Master of Arts degree in 1941. He went on to receive his Ph.D. at the University of Missouri with an emphasis in American history. More specifically, Fite focused on United States agriculture, especially the impact of technology, economics, and politics on Midwestern and Southern farming from the late 19th century to the present.

Dr. Fite has been honored with two prestigious Fulbright Awards, as well as the Ford Fellowship and the Guggenheim Fellowship. He is past president of the Agricultural History Society, The Southern Historical Association, and the Western History Association. Also, he is past president of Eastern Illinois University and held the Richard B. Russell Professorship of American History at the University of Georgia. Dr. Fite was very active in the Phi Alpha Theta Fraternity and served as its president from 1981 to 1983. Fite authored nine books and over sixty articles, co-authored seven books, and edited of three volumes.

Gilbert Fite married his wife, June, in 1941, after graduating from The University of Missouri. They have two sons and grandchildren. The Fites currently reside in Fort Myers, Florida.

Processing information:

The collection was re-foldered in acid free folders and re-housed in archival boxes during processing. Clippings, telegrams and thermo fax paper have been photocopied onto bond paper. Paperclips, rubber bands and binder clips have been replaced. Photographs, artifacts, audiovisual materials and oversize items have been separated from manuscript materials for preservation and storage.

Arrangement:

The papers are organized into two series: I. Oral Histories and II. Notes. Series two is divided into five sub-series: presidential libraries, Russell's school records, other papers, student course papers, and research material.

Access and use restrictions

Terms of access:

Library acts as "fair use" reproduction agent.

Before material from collections at the Richard B. Russell Library may be quoted in print, or otherwise reproduced, in whole or in part, in any publication, permission must be obtained from (1) the owner of the physical property, and (2) the holder of the copyright. It is the particular responsibility of the researcher to obtain both sets of permissions. Persons wishing to quote from materials in the Russell Library collection should consult the Director. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original.

Preferred citation:

Gilbert C. Fite Collection of Richard B. Russell, Jr. Research Files, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia, 30602-1641.