13. Personal files, 1952-1970

The papers of L. Mendel Rivers span the years of 1876 to 1990, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the years of 1941 to 1970. The collection is composed primarily of correspondence, programs, publications, newspaper clippings, speeches, photographs, photo albums, scrapbooks, awards, and certificates relating to Rivers' legislative work as a member of Congress from the first district of South Carolina and as a powerful member of the House Committee on Armed Services. The papers are supplemented by personal, financial, and other material including L. Mendel Rivers' FBI file. Materials were collected by various Rivers family members.

Reflected in the Rivers collection is the congressman's deep concern for the armed services and security of the United States. In particular his dedication to ensuring the well-being of military personnel and their families by pushing through an armed services pay raise, his influence and opinions concerning the Vietnam War, his efforts to strengthen the armed forces (particularly through the creation of a nuclear-powered navy), and his efforts to strengthen Charleston's economy by bringing many military-related industries to the first district.

Notable correspondents and those pictured include: Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard M. Nixon, future President Gerald R. Ford, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, President of the Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek, Madame Chiang Kai-shek, King Peter II of Yugoslavia, J. Edgar Hoover, General William Westmoreland, General Douglas MacArthur, General Mark Clark, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Carl Vinson, Senator J. Strom Thurmond, Alabama Governor George Wallace, Charlton Heston, former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Jack Dempsey, Shirley Temple Black, and Evangelist Billy Graham.