By Emily Gibson, Martin Anderson Papers Project Archivist
Processing of the Martin Anderson papers is underway at the Hoover Institution Library and Archives. Anderson was an advisor to presidents Reagan and Nixon, an economist, author, scholar and fellow of the Hoover Institution from 1971 until his passing in 2015.
Reminiscing about a meeting with Nixon in 1970, Anderson remembers Nixon saying that, “The mark of a real leader is to keep aloof from all the details, to keep your eye on the main things. […] The only thing you will have to look back on is whether you accomplished something major.” Anderson’s “major things” included getting Richard Nixon elected president in 1968, abolishing the draft, getting Ronald Reagan elected president in 1980, and transforming supply side economics from theory to policy.
The seven-hundred linear foot collection will be processed using MPLP metrics. Stored in seven locations spanning three buildings and only partially accessioned, processing challenges should keep project archivist, Emily Gibson, busy for the two-year duration of the project, which is scheduled to end in winter of 2019. We are fortunate to have the guidance and insight of Martin Anderson’s widow, Dr. Annelise Anderson, an economist, author, scholar and fellow of the Hoover Institution, who also worked with Reagan and Nixon.
Although it’s too early to write the scope and content note, the collection promises outstanding highlights, including internal White House correspondence; documents outlining the plan to end the Vietnam War; files pertaining to the Strategic Defense Initiative (“Star Wars”); and records created by the President’s Economic Policy Advisory Board, or, as Anderson described it, the “board of directors for the development of Reaganomics.” Follow our progress on Twitter at #CatalogingMarty.
Emily Gibson
Emily Gibson is a Martin Anderson Papers Project Archivist with the Hoover Institution and can be reached at by phone at 650-721-2716 or by email ergibson[at]stanford.edu
