John Leonard Pilcher Papers, Series V: Political

Descriptive Summary
Title: John Leonard Pilcher Papers, Series V: Political
Creator: Pilcher, John Leonard, 1898-1981.
Inclusive Dates: 1952-1965
Language(s): English
Extent: 12 box(es) (6 linear feet)
Collection Number: RBRL131JLP_V
Repository: Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies
Abstract: Series V: Political is concerned with Pilcher's involvement in the Democratic Party in Georgia and the Second District, his campaigns and speeches, and his interest in local projects. It is composed of a wide variety of materials, including correspondence, telegrams, reports, and speeches. Topics include Flint River Project, mutual security, postal pay increases, civil rights, and campaign expenditures for Pilcher's congressional campaigns.

---

Collection Description

Biographical Note

John Leonard Pilcher was born in a two-room log cabin near Meigs, Georgia on August 27, 1898. Although Pilcher's father died when he was five, and Pilcher had to support his mother and two young sisters, he completed seven grades of public school and graduated from Massey Business College. In 1922, he married Dorothy Covington of Moultrie, Georgia. They had two sons: John Leonard, Jr., who in 1946, at the age of seventeen, was killed in a plane crash while serving as an ROTC air cadet at the University of Georgia; and Charles, who handled the family business while his father was in Washington.

Pilcher started working at the age of fifteen, and by the time he was twenty he was operating a small business. Involved in agricultural pursuits most of his life, Pilcher not only owned a farm, but expanded his holdings to include a general mercantile business, a fertilizer manufacturing plant, feed mill, corn elevator, cotton gins and warehouses, and a syrup canning plant. He was involved in many business organizations, such as the National Cotton Council and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and served as the director of the Thomas County PEA (production and marketing). He also became president of the Bank of Meigs, Georgia.

At the age of twenty--one, Pilcher was elected mayor of Meigs. During the years 1921 through 1940, he also served as a councilman and a public school trustee. In 1940, he was elected to represent the Seventh District in the Georgia State Senate. After his term expired in 1943, he returned to Meigs and was elected to the post of county commissioner of roads and revenue for Thomas County, a position he held from 1943 to 1947. During this same period he also served as a member of the Agricultural and Industrial Board for the county (1944-1948). From 1948 to 1949, Pilcher was the Supervisor of Purchases for the state of Georgia, serving under Governors Thompson and Arnall. In 1953, Edward Eugene Cox, the congressman representing the Second District, died and a special election was held to fill his seat. In spite of a large field of candidates and his late entrance into the race for the position, Pilcher won the seat in a hardworking campaign by a 2,000 vote margin over his nearest competitor.

Pilcher was a member of Congress from February 4, 1953 to January 3, 1965. He started on the House Committee on Government Operations, serving on the committee from 1953 to 1954. After an attempt to gain a seat on the House Agriculture Committee failed, he accepted a seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee where he served from 1955 to 1964. He was a member of the Subcommittee on the Far East and the Pacific and became chairman of the Subcommittee on Foreign Economic Policy. Twice, in 1959 and 1961, Pilcher went abroad with other members of the subcommittee on Special Study Missions to oversee U.S. economic and technical assistance programs.

Pilcher did not run for reelection in 1964. Instead, he retired from his congressional career and took the post of Southeastern Regional Director of the Office of Emergency Planning. Pilcher died on August 20, 1981, at the age of 82.

Scope and Content

Series V: Political is concerned with Pilcher's involvement in the Democratic Party in Georgia and the Second District, his campaigns and speeches, and his interest in local projects. It is composed of a wide variety of materials, including correspondence, telegrams, reports, and speeches. Topics include Flint River Project, mutual security, postal pay increases, civil rights, and campaign expenditures for Pilcher's congressional campaigns.

Organization and Arrangement

This series is organized into four subseries: A. Subjects, B. Campaigns, C. Georgia File, and D. Speeches.

---

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

VII. Academies and VIII. Case Files are closed. Restricted files have been removed from II. Meigs Office, III. Miscellaneous File, and VI. Post Office and are housed separately from the rest of the collection.

Preferred Citation

John Leonard Pilcher Papers, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia 30602-1641

Processing Notes

Scrapbooks, photographs, and artifacts were physically separated from the papers for preservation. Photographs were removed from scrapbooks wherever possible and replaced with Xerox copies.

User Restrictions

Library acts as "fair use" reproduction agent.

Copyright Information

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.

Finding Aid Publication

Finding aid prepared on: September 2008.

---

Related Materials and Subjects

Subject Terms

Related Collections in this Repository

Iris F. Blitch Papers

S. Ernest Vandiver, Jr. Papers

Carl E. Sanders Papers

Herman E. Talmadge Collection

August H. Turnbull Collection of Carl Sanders Speech/Press Files

E. L. (Tic) Forrester Papers

Stephen Pace Post Office Files

Richard B. Russell, Jr. Collection

Democratic Party of Georgia Records

Related Collections in Other Repositories

Georgia Government Documentation Project, Series F: Marvin Griffin oral history collection. Special Collection Department, William Russell Pullen Library, Georgia State University

Stellanova Osborn papers, 1916-1992. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University

Griffin Bell Papers, School of Law, Mercer University

---

Series Descriptions and Folder Listing

 

V. Political

12 box(es)

(6 linear feet)

This series is concerned with Pilcher's involvement in the Democratic Party in Georgia and the Second District, his campaigns and speeches, and his interest in local projects. It is composed of a wide variety of materials, including correspondence, telegrams, reports, and speeches

A. Subjects ( 1 box(es) ) ( (.5 linear feet) )

Composed of note cards for speeches, membership lists, notarized affidavits of election results, campaign button and poster promotional material, rules for primaries, memos, correspondence (including congratulatory letters), telegrams, newspaper clippings, and disclosures of campaign expenditures arranged alphabetically by subject. The subseries focuses on the Democratic Party in the Second District and its committees, although there is some material on the party outside of the Second District. There is some material on various pieces of legislation, such as the Flint River Project, Mutual Security, postal pay increases, and Civil Rights, which will be found in the folders titled "Miscellaneous". This subseries is cross-referenced by series III. Miscellaneous File.

box

folder

Request box

V.1

1

Committee and Convention, 1960-1964

V.1

2

Committee for Second District, 1952, 1954, 1956, 1958-1960

V.1

3

Committee Lists and Information, Democratic Executive Committee, 2nd District, 1953-1954, 1960

V.1

4

Congressional Committee - 2nd District, 1960-1964

V.1

5

"Convention Data", 1956

V.1

6

Convention Information, 1958

V.1

7

Democratic Executive Committee, 10th Georgia Senatorial District, 1963

V.1

8

Invitation List, 2nd District Democratic Convention, 1958

V.1

9

Miscellaneous, Folder I, 1957-1964

V.1

10

Miscellaneous, Folder II, 1957-1965

V.1

11

Miscellaneous, Folder III, 1956

V.1

12

Pilcher Appreciation Day, Tifton, GA, 1961-1962

B. Campaigns ( 1 box(es) ) ( (.5 linear feet) )

This subseries is primarily congratulatory messages concerning Pilcher's 1953 election victory. It also includes material on campaign expenditures for his congressional campaigns and correspondence on Pilcher running for re-election in 1964. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by subject.

box

folder

Request box

V.2

1

Congratulations, 1958

V.2

2

Congratulatory - Atlanta, GA, 1953, 1962

V.2

3

Congratulatory Messages by Counties, Brooks County, 1953

V.2

4

Congratulatory Messages by Counties, Calhoun County, 1953

V.2

5

Congratulatory Messages by Counties, Colquitt County, 1953

V.2

6

Congratulatory Messages by Counties, Decatur County, 1953

V.2

7

Congratulatory Messages by Counties, Dougherty County, 1953

V.2

8

Congratulatory Messages by Counties, Early County, 1953

V.2

9

Congratulatory Messages by Counties, Grady County, 1953

V.2

10

Congratulatory Messages by Counties, Miller County, 1953

V.2

11

Congratulatory Messages by Counties, Mitchell County, 1953

V.2

12

Congratulatory Messages by Counties, Seminole County, 1953

V.2

13

Congratulatory Messages by Counties, Thomas County, 1953

V.2

14

Congratulatory Messages by Counties, Tift County, 1953

V.2

15

Congratulatory Messages by Counties, Worth County, 1953

V.2

16

Congratulatory - Others, Folder I, 1953-1954

V.2

17

Congratulatory - Others, Folder II, 1953

V.2

18

Election - Congressional, 1953-1954

V.2

19

Election Proclamation, Governor of Georgia, Ernest Vandiver, 1962

V.2

20

Expenditures, 1960, 1962

V.2

21

Expenditures, 1958

V.2

22

Expenditures, 1955-1957

V.2

23

Miscellaneous, 1963 and undated

V.2

24

Re-Election Letters, 1964

V.2

25

Secretary of State, Georgia, 1956, 1964

C. Georgia File ( 8 box(es) ) ( (4 linear feet) )

The Georgia File could almost be considered a subset of series III. Miscellaneous File (which cross-references this subseries). The subject matter in both is similar, and the arrangement is identical--alphabetical by name or subject. This subseries has cross-references to individual files within the subseries, and partially cross-references I. Legislative D. Bills. It is composed of correspondence, telegrams, reports, memos, news releases, newspaper clippings, and other printed material which tend to concentrate (more than III. Miscellaneous File) on economic projects, such as government contracts and programs or the establishment, inprove­ment, or demolition of government facilities, and on personal cases in­volving Georgia and Georgians, especially those residing in the Second District. The Flint River Channelization Project is extensively dealt with here, as are the Dry Creek Watershed of Georgia and the city of Albany, Georgia.

box

folder

Request box

V.3

1

Agriculture, Cotton Reconcentration - CCC Cotton, Control File, 1964

V.3

2

Agriculture, Peanut Price Support Differentials, 1961-1964

V.3

3

Albany, GA, City of, Carey Burnett, City Manager, Federal Advance Planning Funds, etc., 1955, 1957-1961, 1963-1964

V.3

4

Albany, GA, FAA (Federal Aviation Agency) Flight Station, 1964

V.3

5

Area Redevelopment Administration, 1962-1963

V.3

6

Baconton, GA, City of, 1962-1964

V.3

7

Bainbridge, GA. City of, 1956-1964

V.3

8

Batjalie, Mr. M.E., California friend of M.E. Thompson, 1964

V.3

9

Bell, Mr. Fred, Jr., 1964

V.3

10

Bill Forms - Forms for introducing bills, n.d.

V.3

11

Bridges, Mr. Edwin, 1963-1964

V.3

12

Bryant, Mr. Bobby Jack (deceased), 1961-1962

V.3

13

Byrd, Mrs. Rosa Lee, 1964

V.3

14

Cannon, Agnes Moulton (deceased), also Cliff Cannon, Mr. and Mrs. Alto Ross, E.B. Ard and daughter Mrs. Joan Ard Nichols, 1957-1958

V.3

15

Carswell, Mr. W.B., 1964

box

folder

Request box

V.4

1

Chamber of Commerce, Albany, GA, File 2; #1, 1962-1964

V.4

2

Chamber of Commerce, Albany, GA, File 2; #2, 1960-1961

V.4

3

Chamber of Commerce, Bainbridge, GA, 1960-1963

V.4

4

Chamber of Commerce, Cairo, GA, Grady County, 1954-1964

V.4

5

Chamber of Commerce, Moultrie, GA, 1955-1964

V.4

6

Chamber of Commerce, Thomasville, GA, File 1, 1955-1960

V.4

7

Chamber of Commerce, Thomasville, GA, File 2, 1961-1964

V.4

8

Chamber of Commerce, Tifton, GA, 1958-1960, 1962-1964

V.4

9

Chamber of Commerce, Turner County, Ashburn, GA, 1964

V.4

10

Committee - 2nd District, 1958, 1960-1961, 1964

box

folder

Request box

V.5

1

City of Albany, GA - County Commissioners and Mayor Asa D. Kelly, Jr., 1959-1961, 1963-1964

V.5

2

City of Camilla, GA - Mayor Dan Palmer, 1958-1961, 1963-1964, 1973

V.5

3

Civil Service Commission, 1958

V.5

4

Cone, Mr. Ed, 1964

V.5

5

Congressional Record Information, 1961-1964

V.5

6

Contract Flying Schools (Closing), Bainbridge and Moultrie, GA, 1960

V.5

7

Copyright Forms and Information, 1955

V.5

8

Corbett, Mrs. Mattye A., Registered Nurse, Albany, GA, 1964

V.5

9

Cotton Subcommittee Hearings, 12/19/59 1959

V.5

10

Crop Correspondents - Second District, 1954-1964

V.5

11

Darley, Mr. Carl W., 1964

V.5

12

Dewberry, Mr. Oscar, Regional Supervisor, Game Management, Bainbridge, GA, 1964

V.5

13

Donalsonville, City of - Donalsonville, GA, 1964

V.5

14

Driver, Mr. William J., For Administrator of Veterans Affairs, 1964

V.5

15

Dry Creek Watershed, Georgia; File 1, 1963-1964

V.5

16

Dry Creek Watershed, Georgia; File 2, 1963

box

folder

Request box

V.6

1

Education, Office of, Washington, D.C., 1958-1964

V.6

2

Education, Office of, Washington, D.C., College Financing, 1964

V.6

3

Education, State Department of Education, Georgia, 1958-1964

V.6

4

Flint River Project, Georgia - File I, Folder I, 1962-1963

V.6

5

Flint River Project, Georgia - File I, Folder II, 1962

V.6

6

Flint River Project, Georgia - File I, Folder III, 1960-1961

V.6

7

Flint River Project, Georgia - File I, Folder IV, 1959

V.6

8

Flint River Project, Georgia - File I, Folder V, 1956-1958

V.6

9

Flint River Project, Georgia - File I, "Thronateeska - Flintwater: The Great Flint River of Georgia" Flint River Valley Development Association - Notebook, Flint River Project, Georgia - File II, 1961

box

folder

Request box

V.7

1

Flint River Project, Georgia - File II, Folder I, 1963-1964

V.7

2

Flint River Project, Georgia - File II, Folder II, 1962

V.7

3

Flint River Project, Georgia - File II, Folder III, 1962

V.7

4

Folding Room, Current File, 1962-1964

V.7

5

Folding Room, Forms, 1960-1964

V.7

6

Forester, Frank, 1955-1957, 1959-1964

V.7

7

Gainous, Mrs. Jane E., 1964

V.7

8

Gardner, Sam J., Jr., Gardner and Gibson, Attorneys, Moultrie, GA, 1958, 1961-1964

box

folder

Request box

V.8

1

Georgetown, GA steel mill, 1963-1964

V.8

2

Georgia Municipal Association, Folder I, 1964

V.8

3

Georgia Municipal Association, Folder II, 1964

V.8

4

Georgia Municipal Association, Folder III, 1961-1964

V.8

5

Georgia Municipal Association, Folder IV, 1958

V.8

6

Gresham, Miss Marsha, 1964

V.8

7

Hyman, Mr. Edward T., 1964

V.8

8

Industrial Sites, Southwest Georgia, 1954-1955

V.8

9

Irvin, Mr. Paul, 1964

V.8

10

Jackson Tubing and Conduit Corporation, Bainbridge, GA, 1963-1964

V.8

11

Jenkins, Mr. Samuel F., Jr., Georgia Coastal Plain Experime Station, Tifton, GA, 1964

V.8

12

Keyton, Jim W., 1957-1959, 1963-1964

V.8

13

Library, Coastal Plain Regional Library, Tifton, GA, 1964

box

folder

Request box

V.9

1

Mailing Record, 1964-1965

V.9

2

Marine Corps Supply Center, Albany, GA, 1955-1964

V.9

3

Miller, Mr. Henry W., 1964

V.9

4

Moultrie, GA, City of, 1955, 1957-1964

V.9

5

Murdock, Mr. James, Jr., 1964

V.9

6

National Park Service, 1962-1963

V.9

7

Nelms, Mr. Marlon W., 1964

V.9

8

Newspapers - Editors, 2nd District, Georgia, 1953-1956, 1959-1951, 1963

V.9

9

Newspapers, 2nd District, 1960, 1964

V.9

10

Office Personnel - District of Columbia Tax laws, 1964

V.9

11

Patterson, John F., Jr., 1964

V.9

12

Physically Handicapped, Information, 1958-1959, 1961-1962

V.9

13

Pilcher, Mr. J.L. - Foreign Affairs Committee Trips, 1960, 1962

V.9

14

Pilcher, Mr. J.L. - To Take Home, 1963-1964

V.9

15

Postmaster and Rural Carrier - Extra Copies (Old), 1961-1963

V.9

16

Preston, James B., 1964

V.9

17

Public Housing Administration, 1955-1956, 1958-1961, 1963

V.9

18

Quitman, City of - Quitman, GA, 1958-1961, 1963

box

folder

Request box

V.10

1

Radio Station WA LB-TV - Albany, GA, 1964

V.10

2

Radio Station WKTG - Thomasville, GA, 1963

V.10

3

Radio Station WMGA - Moultrie, GA, 1957, 1960

V.10

4

Radio Station WMGR - Bainbridge, GA, 1956, 1963-1964

V.10

5

Radio Station WMTM - Moultrie GA, 1955-1956, 1963

V.10

6

Radio Stations of 2nd District, 1955-1956, 1958-1960, 1964

V.10

7

Railroad Association of Georgia, Atlanta, GA, 1957, 1963

V.10

8

Rayburn, Mr. Johnny, 1964

V.10

9

Ross, Mr. James A., 1964

V.10

10

Rural Route, Sopchoppy, Florida, 1963

V.10

11

Searcy, Mr. Floyd H., Farmers Products Company, Inc., Thomasville, Georgia, 1960, 1962-1964

V.10

12

Searcy, Mr. Floyd H., Jr., Vice President, Citizens Bank, Cairo, GA, 1963-1964

V.10

13

Seminole County Commissioners, 1956, 1962-1964

V.10

14

Sergeant at Arms, U.S. House of Representatives, 1959, 1962

V.10

15

Small Business Administration - Information, 1955-1959

V.10

16

Small Business Administration - Loan Information, 1962-1963

V.10

17

Southeast River Basins Study, J.W. Woodruff, Chairman, 1958, 1963-1964

V.10

18

Tift County, Georgia, 1959

V.10

19

Turner Air Force Base,. Albany, GA, 1954, 1956-1964

V.10

20

Twitty, Frank S., Attorney, Camilla, GA, 1953, 1955-1964

V.10

21

Vann, Mr. Frank C., Attorney, Cami, undated

V.10

22

Vietnam Friends and American Friends B/W Prints (5), n.d.

V.10

23

York, Mr. Martin, 1964

D. Speeches ( 2 box(es) ) ( (1 linear foot) )

The subseries is arranged alphabetically by subject or document type, and consists of speeches (both drafts and final copies), Congressional Record and congressional committee statements, speaking invitations, news/press releases, correspondence and telegrams relating to speeches, and background mate­rial used in composing speeches, such as correspondence, reports, articles, and newspaper clippings.

box

folder

Request box

V.11

1

Agriculture - Farm Bureau, 1958

V.11

2

Congressional Record Insertions, 1955, 1960-1962

V.11

3

Constitution - Civil Rights, 1960

V.11

4

Memorial Addresses, 1957-1958

V.11

5

Mutual Security Bill, 1960

V.11

6

News Releases, 1955, 1958-1964

V.11

7

Newspaper Clippings, 1956

V.11

8

Peanuts - Southeastern Peanut Association, Atlanta, GA, June 8, 1959, 1959, 1963

V.11

9

Press Releases, 1953-1956, 1960-1962

V.11

10

Speaking Invitations, Speech Material, 1953-1954

V.11

11

Speech Invitations, 1959

V.11

12

Speech Material, Folder 1, 1956-1957

box

folder

Request box

V.12

1

Speech Material, Folder II, #1, 1957-1959

V.12

2

Speech Material, Folder II, #2, 1955-1956

V.12

3

Speeches, 1953-1954

V.12

4

Speeches, Material - The Budget, 1960, 1963

V.12

5

Statements in Congressional Record, Folder I, 195 -1959, 1961-1964

V.12

6

Statements in Congressional Record, Folder II, 1957

V.12

7

Statements in Congressional Record, Folder III, 1956

V.12

8

Statements made before Committee, 1958