Dated, 1922-2008

The Rivers family papers span the years 1800 to 2011, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the years of 1920 to 2007. The collection is composed primarily of correspondence, programs, publications, newspaper clippings, journals, photographs, slides, scrapbooks, audiovisual material, genealogical material, and personal files belonging to and concerning the Rivers family. The papers particularly concern L. Mendel Rivers' legislative work as a member of Congress from the first district of South Carolina and as the chairman of the House Committee on Armed Services.

The Rivers family papers are primarily comprised of material created by L. Mendel Rivers' wife Margaret Middleton Rivers and their children Margaret Rivers Eastman (Peggy), L. Mendel Rivers, Jr., and Marion Rivers Ravenel Cato. The papers present a unique perspective on L. Mendel Rivers' congressional service through family journals, personal letters, home movies, audio recordings, interviews, slides, photographs, family scrapbooks, his wife's poetry, memoirs, published books, and other unique sources.

Reflected throughout this 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 Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Herbert W. Bush, Vice-President Spiro Agnew, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamera, General William Westmoreland, General Douglas MacArthur, General Curtis LeMay, Chiang Kai-shek, President Park Chung Hee of South Korea, Madame Chiang Kai-shek, Senators J. Strom Thurmond and Fritz Hollings, Speaker of the House John McCormack, Representatives Carl Vinson, Mendel J. Davis, and Frank Boykin, J. C. Long, General Mark W. Clark, Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, Mayors of Charleston Joseph P. Riley, Sr. and J. Palmer Gaillard, Jr., President of the College of Charleston Theodore S. Stern, evangelist Billy Graham, former world heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey, and actress Eva Gabor Jameson.