Special Collections: Primary Resources in Politics, Policy and Government Research Guide

The papers of Senator John J. Williams span the dates 1946-1988, with the bulk of the collection representing the years of his career in the U.S. Senate, 1947-1970.

J. Allen Frear, Jr. (1903-1993) was a politician from Dover, Delaware (Kent County). A member of the Democratic Party, Frear served two terms as U.S. Senator from Delaware. The Senator J. Allen Frear, Jr. papers are primarily those of his congressional career, when he represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate from 1949 to 1960, though the collection also includes personal material from pre- and post-Congressional periods. The collection dates from 1917 to 1963, with bulk of the material dating from 1949 to 1961. The collection consists of correspondence, memoranda, reports, legislation, speeches, clippings, photographs, and audio-visual material. Personal material includes correspondence, class notes, travel brochures and post cards, and memorabilia.

Thomas R. Carper (1947- ) served the state of Delaware as its member-at-large in the U.S. House of Representatives for five terms: he was elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-eighth and to the four succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1983 - January 3, 1993). Carper served on the committees of Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs, and Merchant Marine and Fisheries, with memberships on several subcommittees. Carper was elected with the "budget conscious class of 1982" and was a fiscal conservative in his legislative efforts. Carper worked on the bailout plan for the savings and loan industry, correctly predicting the enormity of the problem. The Thomas R. Carper congressional papers reflect issues on banking, environmental and coastal concerns, fishing and tourism, and many other topics of interest to Delawareans in the 1980s. In addition to correspondence, memoranda, and office files, the collection includes reports, documents, and memorabilia from Carper's congressional career.

Edward E. "Ted" Kaufman (b. 1939) represented Delaware in the United States Senate from January 15, 2009 - November 15, 2010. Democrat Ted Kaufman was appointed by Governor Ruth Ann Minner to fill the Senate vacancy caused by the resignation of newly elected Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.; Senator Ted Kaufman did not seek election to the office in a special election for the seat in November 2010. The bulk of the Ted Kaufman papers documents the 22 months he spent in the United States Senate with additional materials related to his earlier political career and post-Senate activities.