Charles William Whalen, Jr. (1920-),
Congressional and Personal Papers Collection
1956-2003

Introduction
Biographical Sketch
Scope and Content
Box and File List

Whalen Collection Sample Images Gallery

Introduction

Charles W. Whalen, Jr., an alumnus and former faculty member donated these papers to the University Archives. The collection is 237.5 linear feet.

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Biographical Sketch

Charles William Whalen, Jr., was born on July 31, 1920, the son of Charles W. and Colette Kelleher Whalen. He attended Oakwood Public Schools, graduating from oakwood High School in 1938. He received a B.S. from the University of Dayton in 1942 and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business Schools in 1946. He also holds an honorary L.L.D. from Central State University (1966). He served as first lieutenant in the U.S. Quartermaster Corps during World War II, including 18 months in the India-Burma Theatre. After receiving his M.B.A., Whalen joined the family business, the Dayton Dress Company, until 1952. He then became vice-president of the Whalen Investment Company. He also taught retailing and economics at the University of Dayton from 1952 to 1966. He served as chairman of the economics department for four years during that time.

Whalen entered politics as a Republican in 1954, serving as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, 1955-1961, and the Ohio Senate, 1961-1966. In 1966, he was elected to represent Ohio's Third District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served six terms and retired in early 1979. During various Congresses, he served on the Armed Services Committee, the International Relations Committee, and the District of Columbia Committee, as well as several subcommittees. He was especially interested in international economic issues. He was an active member of Members of Congress for Peace through Law (MCPL) and was a delegate to the 32nd U.N. General Assembly at the United Nations in 1977 and to the U.N. Special Session on Disarmament in 1978. Whalen was characterized as a liberal Republican who supported civil rights, freedom of information, and certain urban issues, and he vigorously opposed the U.S. involvement in Vietnam. In the 1976 primary, some conservative Third District Republicans ran a candidate against him. Whalen won both the primary and general elections, his last as a Republican. He stayed neutral in the 1978 race between Democrat Tony Hall and Republican Dudley Kircher, and he later changed his party affiliation to Democrat.

Following his service in Congress, Whalen took the position of Director in the non-profit organization New Directions, with the agenda to lobby for economic and political diplomacy throughout the world. At various times throughout the 1980s, ex-congressman Whalen also served on several committees, including: the Washington Institute of Federal Affairs, the International Communication Agency, and the Institute for Policy Studies. Whalen also published several newspaper articles that concerned political and economic diplomacy, as well as several books he and his wife, Barbara, co-authored. The most notable of these books is The Longest Debate, which discusses the debate and passage of the 1965 Civil Rights Act.

Whalen is married to the former Barbara Gleason. They have six children---four sons, Ted, Chip, Dan, and Joe; and two daughters, Anne and Mary.

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Scope and Content

The papers are divided into eight series, which follow the organization almost exactly:

Series I: Alphabetical Files
Arranged by year, then alphabetically by name, copy of Whalen's reply to all letters. Serves as a name index to correspondence. 108 Boxes.

Series II: Campaign Files
Arranged by campaign, then by subject. Includes some pre-1966 materials. 11 Boxes.

Series III: Casework Files
Arranged by year, then by agency. Archives kept a representative sampling of 10% of the casework files, including social security files that were handled by the local (Dayton) office. 24 Boxes.

Series IV: General Files
Arranged by year, then by topic. Includes appointments; Dayton information; UD information; files of Whalen's assistants, Alfred Frank and William Steponkus; Ohio; Republican Party; Wright Patterson Air Force Base; and Miscellaneous. Some files were discarded, such as flag requests; White House tour requests; and other routine matters. 67 Boxes.

Series V: Legislation Files
Correspondence, arranged by year, then by committee and/or subject; Bills and resolutions introduced by Whalen, arranged chronologically; Speeches, articles, background papers, etc., arranged by year; and Voting records, arranged by Congress and session. 216 Boxes.

Series VI: Media Files
Photographs, audio and video tapes, films, slides, certificates, plaques, etc. Arranged by type of media. 24 Boxes.

Series VII: News Release Files
Arranged chronologically. News releases, weekly columns, Capitol Comment, Washington Report, and Congressional Record Inserts. 12 Boxes.

Series VIII: Personal
Miscellaneous personal files, including travel; Members of Congress for Peace through Law; United Nations assignment; family information; United States of America Former Members of Congress; Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs; International Communication Agency; Institute for Policy Studies; Oakwood High School Reunion; The Longest Debate Research, Reviews and Letters; T. J. Gleason Tribute; and Post-Congressional newspaper articles and miscellaneous ephemera, 1956-2003. 15 Boxes.

Series IX: Memorabilia
Items from Whalen's office, like desk penholders, nameplates, and paperweights; license plates; ID cards; also some books. 4 Boxes.

Series X: Scrapbooks
Forty-one books, mostly of clippings, some have photographs and some are dated. 41 Books.

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Box and File List

Click on a Series (above) to view box and file listings for that series.

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Electronic finding aid created in Jan. 2007 by Lisa Pasquinelli, from existing collection box lists.