Inventor Name
Johnson, Louis Arthur
Repository
University of Virginia
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
P.O. Box 400110
Charlottesville VA 22904-4110
434-243-1776
http://www.lib.virginia.edu/small/
Physical Description
ca. 56 linear feet
Summary
The Louis Arthur Johnson Papers, ca. 1930-1964, consist of ca. 56 linear feet of correspondence, memoranda, appointment schedules, speeches, press releases, photographs, phonograph records, films, scrapbboks, and printed material, resulting from Johnson's career as Assistant Secretary of War, 1937 to 1940, as President Roosevelt's personal representative to India, 1942, and as Secretary of Defense, 1949 to 1950. His lifelong interest in the American Legion is also represented in the correspondence. Only a small amount of material from th eyears preceding his tenure in the War Department, from the years following his resignation as Assistant Secretary of War, and from the years following his term as Secretary of Defense is contained in this collection. The major portion of the collection consists of correspondence between Johnson and his friends, supporters, American Legion acquaintances, and various business leaders and political figures associated with the concerns of national defense. Johnson's letters are usually very short and "to the point." His overriding concern for adequate national defense, his support for an expanded air force, and for an active program of industrial mobilization are well-documented in the Assistant Secretary of War material. The India papers document Johnson's activities while visiting India and contain a number of letters from Prime Minister Jawaharlaw Nehru. The Secretary of Defense papers contain a great deal of general correspondence between Johnson and his friends and supporters. Commentary on Johnson's efforts to reduce defense expenditures and on the unification of the armed forces abounds throught this material. Many of the letters are from people who voice approval of various aspects of his policies. There is little documentation of Johnson's dispute with Secretary of State Acheson concerning Far Eastern policy. An excellent photograph collection and a comprehensive newspaper clippings file provide thorough documentation for Johnson's long and active public career. Eleven scrapbooks, from 1949 to 1950, provide excellent coverage of Johnson's tenure as Secretary of Defense. The papers only concern Johnson's political career, and only for the years of public service. Personal papers, papers from his legal practice, from his business connections, and from state political activies are, with few exceptions, not included in this collection. Inventions related to military - Correspondence and Documents 1938 July-1940 July Box: 62
Finding Aid
http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaead/published/uva-sc/vivadoc.pl?file=viu03648.xml