The Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center is a nonpartisan institution devoted to teaching and research related to the United States Congress and, more broadly, to strengthening representative democracy through engaged and informed citizens. Located at the
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...
in
Norman, Oklahoma
Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, Oklahoma, Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma C ...
the Center is a living tribute to the ideals, leadership, and accomplishments of
Carl Albert
Carl Bert Albert (May 10, 1908 – February 4, 2000) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 46th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1977 and represented Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district as a ...
- native Oklahoman, University of Oklahoma alumnus, Rhodes Scholar and 46th
Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
of the
U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
.
History
The Carl Albert Center was founded by Professor Ron Peters and established in 1979 by the
Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education and the Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma. Supported by private, foundation and public funds, the Center has grown into one of the largest and most comprehensive congressional studies centers in the country. The Center's early federal funding proved to be controversial, as a "yearlong battle" occurred in Congress before it approved a $2-million appropriation in 1982.
[Gamino, Denise (December 15, 1982). "Albert bill faces hurdle". NewsOK. Retrieved September 25, 2014.] Of the eight members in Oklahoma's congressional delegation that year, seven supported federal funding for the Carl Albert Center, with only
Don Nickles
Donald Lee Nickles (born December 6, 1948) is an American politician and lobbyist who was a Republican United States Senator from Oklahoma from 1981 to 2005. He was considered both a fiscal and social conservative. After retiring from the Senat ...
opposing it.
Nickles argued that the "Senate won't buy" the idea of federal funding for the Center, while
Dave McCurdy
David Keith McCurdy (born March 30, 1950) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and former politician who was the Democratic U.S. Representative from Oklahoma's 4th congressional district, in office from 1981 to 1995. Described as a moderate or con ...
(one of the seven in support) termed Nickles' opposition "unfortunate" and contended that the institution was "good for the University of Oklahoma" and "of national importance".
In 1982, the Center contained 40 sets of congressional papers, 36 of which were from Oklahomans; however, a number of Oklahoma lawmakers wanted it to eventually become, in the words of journalist Denise Gamino, "the premier national repository for congressional papers".
Congressional and political collections
![Carl Albert Center September 2014 4 (stacks)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Carl_Albert_Center_September_2014_4_%28stacks%29.jpg)
The Carl Albert Center now houses the largest collection of political and congressional papers in the state of Oklahoma; the Center's Archives contain
manuscript
A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...
s,
photograph
A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now create ...
s, and
oral histories
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...
,
including the papers of 61 former Congress members and 25 political leaders, congressional staffers, and others related to congressional history and scholarship, including
scholar
A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...
s,
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
s, former political aides, and organizations.
Besides the papers of Carl Albert himself, the Carl Albert Center also holds the collections of numerous United States Senators and Representatives from Oklahoma, including
Dewey F. Bartlett
Dewey Follett Bartlett Sr. (March 28, 1919 – March 1, 1979) was an American politician who served as the 19th governor of Oklahoma from 1967 to 1971, following his fellow Republican, Henry Bellmon. In 1966, he became the first Roman Ca ...
,
Page Belcher
Page Henry Belcher (April 21, 1899 – August 2, 1980) was an American Republican politician and a U.S. Representative from Oklahoma.
Biography
Belcher was born in Jefferson in northern Oklahoma to George Harvey Belcher and Jessie Ray. He w ...
,
John Newbold Camp
John Newbold Camp, known as Happy Camp (May 11, 1908 – September 27, 1987) was an American politician and a Republican U.S. Representative from Oklahoma.
Biography
Born in Enid, Camp was the son of Minnie C. Newbold and John R. Camp. Becaus ...
,
Fred R. Harris
Fred Roy Harris (born November 13, 1930) is an American academic, author, and former politician who served as a Democratic member of the United States Senate from Oklahoma.
Born in Walters, Oklahoma, Harris was elected to the Oklahoma Senate ...
,
James R. Jones,
Robert S. Kerr
Robert Samuel Kerr (September 11, 1896 – January 1, 1963) was an American businessman and politician from Oklahoma. Kerr formed a petroleum company before turning to politics. He served as the 12th governor of Oklahoma from 1943 to 1947 and ...
,
Dave McCurdy
David Keith McCurdy (born March 30, 1950) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and former politician who was the Democratic U.S. Representative from Oklahoma's 4th congressional district, in office from 1981 to 1995. Described as a moderate or con ...
, Dick T. Morgan,
A. S. Mike Monroney
Almer Stillwell "Mike" Monroney (March 2, 1902February 13, 1980) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from Oklahoma from 1951 to 1969, and previously as the United States representative for Oklahoma's 5th congressiona ...
,
Tom Steed
Thomas Jefferson Steed (March 2, 1904 – June 8, 1983) was an American politician and a U.S. Congressman from Oklahoma.
Early life
Steed was born on a farm near in Eastland County, Texas (near Rising Star, Texas) on March 2, 1904. His family ...
, and
Elmer Thomas
John William Elmer Thomas (September 8, 1876 – September 19, 1965) was a native of Indiana who moved to Oklahoma Territory in 1901, where he practiced law in Lawton. After statehood, he was elected to the first state senate, representing the L ...
.
Beyond these Oklahoma-related materials, the Center also includes the papers of a number of congressional representatives from other states, including
Jeffery Cohelan
Jeffery Cohelan (June 24, 1914 – February 15, 1999) was an American politician who served six terms as a United States representative from California from 1959 to 1971.
Biography
He was born in San Francisco, California and attended the public ...
and
Helen Gahagan Douglas
Helen Gahagan Douglas (born Helen Mary Gahagan; November 25, 1900 – June 28, 1980) was an American actress and politician. Her career included success on Broadway, as a touring opera singer, and in Hollywood films. Her portrayal of the villain ...
of
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
,
Millicent Fenwick
Millicent Vernon Hammond Fenwick (February 25, 1910 – September 16, 1992) was an American fashion editor, politician and diplomat. A four-term Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey, she entered politic ...
and
Cornelius Edward Gallagher
Cornelius Edward "Neil" Gallagher (March 2, 1921 — October 17, 2018) was an American Democratic Party politician who represented New Jersey's 13th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1959 until 1973.
Ea ...
of
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
,
Carl Hatch
Carl Atwood Hatch (November 27, 1889 – September 15, 1963) was a United States senator from New Mexico and later was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico.
Education and career
Hatch w ...
of
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
,
Dick Armey
Richard Keith Armey (; born July 7, 1940) is an American economist and politician. He was a U.S. Representative from Texas's (1985–2003) and House Majority Leader (1995–2003). He was one of the engineers of the "Republican Revolution" of t ...
of
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
,
Elbert D. Thomas
Elbert Duncan Thomas (June 17, 1883February 11, 1953) was a Democratic Party politician from Utah. He represented Utah in the United States Senate from 1933 until 1951. He served as the Chair of the Senate Education Committee.
Biography
Thomas ...
of
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, and
Andrew Biemiller of
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
.
The institution additionally holds the papers of many people related to the history and study of Congress, including
UPI
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...
reporter Harry Culver, historians Danney Goble and Richard N. Lowitt, presidential advisor
Bryce Harlow
Bryce Nathaniel Harlow (August 11, 1916 – February 18, 1987) was a congressional staff member, army officer, advisor to U.S. presidents, and corporate lobbyist.
Early life
He was born in 1916 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the son of Victor E. Ha ...
, political scientist Ronald M. Peters, Jr., former Mayor of Norman and political scientist Cindy Simon Rosenthal and press secretaries Jim Monroe, Beth Campbell Short, and Malvina Stephenson.
The Carl Albert Center is also home to the
Julian P. Kanter Political Commercial Archive, a depository for over 100,000 political television and radio commercials.
In addition to its congressional collections, the Carl Albert Center holds materials relating to
state politics in Oklahoma, including oral history interviews with
state senators.
The Center also contains a number of collections of thematic interest, such as on the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
and the relationship between
Native Americans and
public policy
Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...
.
These congressional and political collections encompass over 100 years of American History, from Oklahoma's territorial days to the turn of the century, with the largest amount of materials created between the 1930s and the 1990s.
The Carl Albert Center's Congressional Archives sponsor exhibits, including traveling an
online exhibitson the
Mingo Creek flooding in
Tulsa
Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
, OK, the creation of
Lake Thunderbird
Lake Thunderbird is a reservoir located in Norman, Oklahoma. The lake was constructed between 1962 and 1965 for the purpose of providing municipal water to the nearby communities of Del City, Midwest City and Norman. It is formed by an earthfill em ...
in Norman, as well as trave
grantsfor visiting scholars. Former exhibits at the Carl Albert Center have included such subjects and collections as the relationship between
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
politicians and
Hollywood actors,
Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
greeting card
A greeting card is a piece of card stock, usually with an illustration or photo, made of high quality paper featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment. Although greeting cards are usually given on special occasions such as birthday ...
s, Oklahoma's representatives in the
U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
and
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
, the
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...
, and the history of Speakers of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Carl Albert Center Archives were featured on the
C-Span
Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...
Cities Tour in 2018 and 2012.
Activities and programs
![CAOffice](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/CAOffice.jpg)
The Center promotes academic inquiry into the history, structure and leadership of the Congress, the relationship between citizens and the Congress, and the processes of policy-making with other institutions in the American political system. Over the years, the Center has hosted national conferences for scholars including the Congress and History Conference in 2016. In addition, the Center is a founding member of the Association of Centers for the Study of Congress – the premier national collaboration preserving historical material on the Congress.
Since 1983, the Center has hosted the biennial Julian J. Rothbaum Distinguished Lecture in Representative Government, which focuses on the health of representative institutions in the United States and emphasizes the importance of participation by private citizens in public affairs. The Rothbaum lectures have featured the nation’s most distinguished political scientists and statespersons including Pulitzer Prize-winning historian
Jack N. Rakove and
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
professor
Thomas E. Patterson. The lectures, suitably revised and extended, are individually published as a book by the University of Oklahoma Press.
The Center offers academic programs in congressional studies at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The Center's doctoral program has trained more than 37 students who now play leadership roles in academia and politics. The Center engages undergraduates in scholarly research, civic engagement activities, and service-learning opportunities at the
Oklahoma State Capitol
The Oklahoma State Capitol is the house of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the building that houses the Oklahoma Legislature and executive branch offices. It is located along Lincoln Boulevard in Oklahoma City and contains 452,5 ...
and in the local community. Several of our former undergraduates currently hold elected office and others are pursuing careers dedicated to public service across the state and nation.
Believing that professional research is the foundation upon which its academic programs rest, the Center promotes original research by faculty members and students into various aspects of politics and the Congress. Further, the Center’s congressional archive provides a national resource available to historians, political scientists, the media and members of the public interested in the health of our representative institutions.
The Carl Albert Center is also home to the Women's Leadership Initiative,
["Women's Leadership Program". The Carl Albert Congressional Research & Studies Center. University of Oklahoma. Archived from the original on November 24, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2014.] which addresses historic gender imbalances and challenges facing women in leadership and public service positions, including politics. Started by former Director Cindy Simon Rosenthal, the initiative consists of a number of programs that endeavor to increase the number of women in political roles and other positions of public service, and they are targeted at both female college students and post-collegiate working women.
The National Education for Women's Leadership program, which is a five-day event designed to encourage female college students to consider public service-related career paths, was established at the University of Oklahoma in 2002 and is at the heart of the Initiative.
[Perez Snyder, Carmel (January 20, 2003). "Program aims to lead more women to politics". NewsOK. Retrieved September 25, 2014.]
The Carl Albert Center additionally publishes the journal Extensions, which it considers a "forum of discussion" for topics concerning the United States Congress.
[CAC: Extensions". The Carl Albert Congressional Research & Studies Center. University of Oklahoma. Archived from the original on November 24, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2014.] It includes articles written by congressional scholars, interviews with members of Congress, historical commentaries, and notes about the Center's current activities and research efforts.
References
External links
Official websiteCarl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center - FacebookCarl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center - TwitterExtensions Journal of the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies CenterVideo tour of the Carl Albert Center with Dr. Cindy Simon Rosenthal from C-SPANVideo tour of the Carl Albert Center with Dr. Mike Crespin from C-SPAN
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University of Oklahoma
History of the United States Congress
Politics of Oklahoma
Archives in the United States
Political research institutes
1979 establishments in Oklahoma