Manuscript Register

This document describes a collection of materials held by the
Special Collections Department
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1420
Phone: 319-335-5921
Fax: 319-335-5900
e-mail: lib-spec@uiowa.edu

Posted to Internet: February 2003

Acquisition Note: The papers of Ben F. Jensen were given to the University of Iowa Libraries in 1967 by Mr. Jensen.

Access and Restrictions: This collection is open for research.

Photographs: Box 14, Box 15

Digital Surrogates: Except where indicated, this document describes but does not reproduce the actual text, images and objects which make up this collection. Materials are available only in the Special Collections Department.

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Use of Collections:  The University of Iowa Libraries supports access to the materials, published and unpublished, in its collections. Nonetheless, access to some items may be restricted by their fragile condition or by contractual agreement with donors, and it may not be possible at all times to provide appropriate machinery for reading, viewing or accessing non-paper-based materials. Please read our Use of Manuscripts Statement.

Ben Jensen, born in Marion, Iowa, on December 16, 1892, was the tenth of thirteen children born to Danish parents. He adopted the name Benton Franklin when he was ten years old, after studying history. He used that name for the rest of his life. A veteran of World War I, Jensen was the manager of the Green Bay Lumber Company in Exira, Iowa, for twenty-four years. A conservative Republican, Jensen was elected to thirteen consecutive terms as Iowa's seventh district Congressman (1939 -- 1965). He was chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and was known for his interest in conserving the country's natural resources. His last bid for re-election to the Eighty-ninth Congress was unsuccessful. Jensen died on February 5, 1970.

Scope and Contents

The papers of Ben F. Jensen relate primarily to his career in politics. The papers are arranged into five series: Congressional, Political, Speeches, Personal, and Non-Correspondence. Finally, there is an Index to Correspondents and a Subject Index. Each individual item is numbered and an extensive index is included. The congressional series contains correspondence, subject files, and military academy appointments. The political series is made up of correspondence and campaign materials. The speeches include not only his addresses, but also news releases and research material. The personal section consists of correspondence grouped in categories such as family, prominent figures, and office staff. The non-correspondence section contains copies of the Congressional Record. The large subject index refers to topics from: campaigns to elections; communism to civil rights; agriculture to labor laws and legislation; and the New Deal to the Republican Party. Major correspondents include Willard D. Archie, Gerald Bogan, Paul Cunningham, James I. Dolliver, Whitney Gillilland, Robert K. Goodwin, John M. Henry, Bourke B. Hickenlooper, Karl M. LeCompte, Jake More, Fred Schwengel, and Henry O. Talle.

Extensive, item level subject and author indexes to the collection are available in the repository.

Box List

Series I: Congressional

Box 1

Correspondence

1939 -- 1958

1959 -- 1964

1949 -- 1962 Central survey correspondence

1945 -- 1949 Nishnabotna River file

Box 2

Subject Files , cont.

1950 -- 1964 Nishnabotna River file

1947 -- 1948 Robert Lee, investigative staff

1947 Interior trip

Box 3

Subject Files , cont.

1950 -- 1958 Simpson creek watershed

1948 Interior trip

1953 -- 1955 Tennessee Valley Authority

1955 Interior trip

1955 European trip

1956 -- 1961 Crooked creek watershed

1956 -- 1959 Atomic Energy Commission

1957 -- 1963 David's creek watershed

1957 South American trip

1957 -- 1963 Oskar J. W. Hansen, presidential citation

Box 4

Subject Files , cont.

1957 -- 1960 Lincoln Sesquicentennial commission

1958 -- 1963 REA transmission lines

1961 H.R. 979-mailing privileges for handicapped

1960 H.R. 13068-fish and wildlife benefits

1960 G. W. Carver commemorative commission

1960 Booker T. Washington commission

1961 H.R. 4117-World War I pensions

1961 H.R. 6920-U.S. postal service

1961 H.R. 1171-fish and wildlife benefits

1962 H.R. 8607-nonessential personnel reduction act

Box 5

Subject Files, cont.

1961 H.R. 9594-Parasheve Doudoumis 29

1961 H.J. Res 112-farm income improvements

1962 Harmony creek watershed

1962 Carter Lake

1962 H.R. 11941-farm bill

1962 Lewis & Clark Trailway

1963 H.R. 9323-anti-gun law

1963 Duck appropriations

1963 Buch creek road

Box 6

Subject Files , cont.

1963 H.R. 10099-beef imports

1963 H.R. 1197-Paraheve Doudoumis

1964 H.R. 9965-city of Audubon

1964 H.R. 11744-Trade expansion act

1964 H.R. 12289-Lewis & Clark Sailway

1964 H.R. 12158-reapportionment of

Military Academy Appointments

1945 Edward Adkins

1960 Maurice R. Cashey

1940 Donald V. Cox

1942 Lee G. Cutshell

1948 Robert W. Fellingham

1959 Charles Glenn

1942 Thomas J. Godwin

1939 Arnt. B. Hansen

1942 Donald H. Henderson

1950 Mauris W. Haffer

1946 Donald R. Langren

1955 Patrick L. Musmaker

1902 John S. Redd

1958 Austin C. Wedemeyer

Miscellaneous

1963 Jensen testimonial dinner

Box 7

Miscellaneous, cont.

Non-correspondence material (Reports, booklets, articles, etc.)

Box 8

Miscellaneous, cont.

Non-correspondence material (Reports, booklets, articles, etc.)

Series II: Political

Box 9

Political Correspondence (Includes: 1) correspondence followed by 2) relevant non-correspondence, such as political leaflets, party lists, etc.)

1940 -- 1942

1948

1949

1950 (2 folders)

Box 10

Political Correspondence, cont.

1950

1954 (2 folders)

1958 (2 folders)

Box 11

Political Correspondence, cont.

1958 (3 folders)

1959 -- 1960

1960

Box 12

Political Correspondence, cont.

1960 (4 folders)

Box 13

Political Correspondence, cont.

1960 (2 folders)

1961 -- 1962

1962 (2 folders)

Box 14

1962 (3 folders)

1963 -- 1964

Campaign Materials

Advertisements, photographs, form letters, etc.

Box 15

Campaign Materials , cont.

Advertisements, photographs, form letters, etc., cont.

Series III: Speeches

Box 16

Speech Materials

Speech manuscripts (6 folders)

Box 17

Speech Materials, cont.

Speech manuscripts, cont.

Research material and non-Jensen speeches

Speech reprints

News releases and news stories

Radio and Television Broadcasts

Speech texts, correspondence

Series IV: Personal

Box 18

Personal Correspondence (lesser-known persons)

Significant letters

1939 -- 1940

1941 -- 1945

1946 -- 1949

1949 -- 1950

1951 -- 1953

Box 19

Personal Correspondence (lesser-known persons), cont.

Significant letters, cont.

1953

1954 -- 1955

1956 -- 1958

1958 -- 1959

1959

Box 20

Personal Correspondence (lesser-known persons), cont.

Significant letters, cont.

1959 -- 1960

1960

1961

1962

1963

Box 21

Personal Correspondence (lesser-known persons), cont.

Significant letters, cont., n.d. (2 folders)

Invitations, greetings, flag requests, etc.

1950 -- 1959

1959

1959 -- 1964

n.d.

Christmas and birthday cards, n.d.

Box 22

Personal Correspondence (lesser-known persons), cont.

Invitations, greetings, flag requests

1940 -- 1959

1959

1959 -- 1964

Invitations, birthday cards, Christmas greetings, n.d.

Family correspondence, 1939 -- 1949

Box 23

Family correspondence, 1949 -- 1964

Personal Correspondence from Prominent Figures

1948 -- 1964 Substantial subject matter

Correspondents include Joseph W. Martin, Jr., Charles A. Halleck, Samuel Goldwyn, Herbert Hoover, Richard M. Nixon, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Sam Rayburn, Ezra Taft Benson, Hyman G. Rickover, Stewart Udall, Barry Goldwater, J. Edgar Hoover, and H.L. Hunt

1948 -- 1963 Congratulatory messages and other non-substantial subject matter

Correspondents include J. Edgar Hoover, Joseph W. Martin, Jr., Hoyt S. Vandenberg, Sam Rayburn, Arleigh Burke, Fred A. Seaton, Harold E. Stassen, James P. Mitchell, Henry Cabôt Lodge, Carl Hayden, Charles Halleck, Richard M. Nixon, and Leo Hoegh

Office Staff Correspondence

1948 -- 1964

General Office Business (Contents largely consist of bills, receipts, and statements of expenses)

1948 -- 1950

1950 -- 1956

Box 24

General Office Business, cont.

1956 -- 1959

1959 -- 1961

1961 -- 1963

1963 -- 1964

Series V: Non-Correspondence

Box 25

Iowa County historical sketches

Ben F. Jensen biographical material

Clppings, 1965 -- 1972 (includes obituaries)

Correspondence and other material concerning poem, "Right Makes Might", by Ben F. Jensen

Maps of Seventh (Congressional) District Counties (Iowa)

Loose miscellaneous printed matter (trade publications, pamphlets, etc.)

Box 26

Issues of the Congressional Record for March 2, 1964; September 4, 1940; March 15, 1944; September 11, 1940; May 11, 1949; February 29, 1960; March 19, 1959

Guest Book, 1949 -- 1954

Scrap Book

Envelope address to George C. Voss in Atlantic, Iowa, with a card inscribed to George and Evelyn

Index to Correspondents

Subject Index