ALBERT H. QUIE:

Albert Harold Quie was born on a farm in Wheeling Township, Rice County, near Dennison, Minnesota, on September 18, 1923. He served as a pilot for the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1945. In 1948 he married Gretchen Hansen and, in 1950, graduated from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, with a degree in political science. From 1949 to 1952 he was clerk for the school board of School District 43. Beginning in 1950 he was supervisor of the Rice County (Minnesota) Soil Conservation District until 1954. In addition to his work in public service, he also owned and operated a dairy farm.

In 1955 he embarked on a long political career. From 1955 to 1958 he served in the Minnesota State Senate. On February 18, 1958 he was elected to Congress in a special election to fill a vacancy caused by the death of August H. Andresen. He served in Congress for ten successive terms. During his twenty years in office, he advocated and authored many legislative bills relating to education, agriculture, anti-poverty, and labor issues. He was a ranking minority member on the House Committee on Education and Labor. He was also a strong supporter of the International Christian Leadership, and helped organize several prayer breakfasts. In 1978, he was elected governor of the state of Minnesota. Following one term as governor, Quie was appointed to the President's Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations in 1982. In 1986 he became area director of the Prison Fellowship Program for the states of Minnesota and North Dakota, and later became the vice-president of the program nationwide. Quie and his wife later lived in Minnetonka, Minnesota. The couple had five children: Fredric, Jennifer, Daniel, Joel, and Benjamin.

Return to top

This collection is composed of records documenting Albert H. Quie's long congressional career. The records represent Quie's main objectives and goals as Congressman of the First District of Minnesota, as well as reflecting issues that were important to his district.

The Department Files series is comprised of Defense Department/Army Corps of Engineers/Flood Control Files. Records include letters from Corps engineers, reports on civil works projects in the Midwest and nationally, expense records for water resources development projects in Minnesota, correspondence between Quie and the Corps of Engineers, letters from local officials requesting Quie's support for flood control or watershed appropriations, public statements by Quie, constituent mail, and case files.

The Legislation/Legislative Committee Files are composed of staff memoranda, reports, reference and research data, and correspondence. The bulk of the correspondence is from constituents, legislators, federal personnel, and lobbyists expressing support or opposition for a particular piece of legislation relating to agriculture, education and labor, or poverty. Copies of Quie's responses are attached to the constituents' letters. Statements made by Quie on these topics are also present. Occasionally, there are letters to and from Quie and fellow representatives regarding legislation. In later accessions Legislation Files become Legislative Committee Files.

The General Files/Subject Files series, arranged by subject, include constituent mail, background material, flood control files, letters from the governor, and case files on a variety of subjects such as agriculture, civil defense, Indians, and poverty. Records generated by Quie include congratulatory letters sent to fellow representatives (found in "Party Caucus" folders), correspondence, and statements. Also included are such things as political, publicity, and personal files, as well as speeches, voting records, campaign material, and files on various topics pertaining specifically to Minnesota. "Politics" folders contain mail and news clippings sent by constituents, as well as letters from colleagues and information from and about state and congressional coalitions and Republican committees of which Quie was a member. Also included are material on the Quie Volunteer Committee, newsletters, and campaign material. "Publicity" files contain photographs, questionnaires, newsletters, press releases, and correspondence between Quie and radio and television stations regarding interviews. "Personal" files contain material regarding "religion," correspondence with family and friends, and records pertaining to his farm and horses, as well as materials regarding local committees on which Quie served. "Minnesota" files contain records on flood control, highways, politics, and private agencies in the state. There is also a small group of "Post Office" files, which document a capacity that Representatives formerly had: the power to appoint postmasters. These files contain constituent mail regarding rural route extensions and postmaster appointments.

The House Bills and Resolutions series consists largely of printed copies of bills and resolutions sponsored or co-sponsored by Quie. The bills are arranged chronologically by legislative session and thereunder by bill number. Legislation pertains to education-- especially elementary, and secondary, and vocational--labor, manpower development, preservation of natural resources in Minnesota, and anti-poverty programs.

The Quie Files series consists of a rich body of research material on the general topics of education and economic opportunity. The files relate particularly to his long service on the House Committee on Education and Labor, of which he became the ranking minority member. The files are arranged chronologically by legislative session and are comprised of published materials by private and public agencies, unpublished papers and reports, news clippings and periodical articles, staff reports and memoranda, correspondence, legislative hearing transcripts, House committee and subcommittee files, and amendments and statements authored by Quie.

The Sound and Visual series comprises photoprints, negatives, audio and video cassette tapes, films, and photograph albums that provide visual and audio documentation of Quie and his political, legislative, and campaign activities. In many of the photographs Quie is standing with constituents on the steps of the nation's capitol, or with interns in his office. There are photographs of him with his wife and their five children. Images of Quie with prominent people such as Gerald Ford and Billy Graham are also present. The films and audio and video cassette tapes, which include public service announcements and campaign material, illustrate the way Quie presented himself to the public. Some campaign material from Quie's gubernatorial years, news clippings from 1952 to 1992, and three posters drawn by Gretchen Quie, as a high school student, complete this collection.

Return to top

The collection is organized roughly by Congress, and is further organized thereunder by accession number and into the following six series:

Return to top

Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Albert H. Quie Congressional Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Appraisal Information:

From December, 1994 to July, 1995, the entire Albert H. Quie Congressional Papers collection was reappraised. This collection was composed of eleven accessions totalling 462 boxes of records. Arranged in rough order by congress, and thereunder by series, the collection's main series were: Subject/Office, General, Legislation/General Legislative, Department Files, and Miscellaneous Subject Files.

In keeping with the MHS Congressional Papers Appraisal Guidelines mandate to document issues and interests unique to the representative and the district represented, only files pertaining to those core legislative issues were retained. In Quie's case, records pertaining to agriculture, education and labor, poverty, economic opportunity, flood control, and Minnesota were retained. Files about Quie, such as campaign and personal files, were also retained.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 10,769; 11,531; 11,591; 11,783; 12,493; 13,159; 13,496; 13,515; 15,066; 15,200; 15,895; 15,964; 16,044

Processing Information:

Processed by: Susan Chin, July 1995; David B. Peterson, August 2006 and August 2010

Catalog ID number: 990017316870104294

Return to top

Return to top

Return to top

Return to top

Return to top

Return to top

Return to top

Return to top

Return to top

Return to top

Return to top

Return to top

Return to top

Return to top

Return to top

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Agricultural laws and legislation -- Minnesota.

Bills, Legislative.

Conservation of natural resources -- Law and legislation -- Minnesota.

Economic security -- United States.

Educational law and legislation.

Flood control -- Law and legislation.

Labor laws and legislation.

Manpower policy.

Postmasters -- Minnesota.

Poverty -- Minnesota.

Rivers -- Minnesota -- Regulation.

Roads -- Minnesota.

Organizations:

Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- )

United States. Office of Economic Opportunity.

United States. Congress. House.

United States. Department of Education.

Document Types:

Audiotapes.

Motion pictures.

Photographs.

Speeches.

Video recordings.

Occupations:

Legislators -- United states.

Politicians -- Minnesota.

Return to top