William H. Tucker (#239)

An Inventory of His Personal Papers
At the John F. Kennedy Library
National Archives and Records Administration

Biographical Note
William H. Tucker was born in Boston, Massachusetts on September 8, 1923. He attended Boston public schools and graduated from Roslindale High School in 1941. At the age of eighteen he joined the Army and served with the 82 ^nd Airborne Division in Africa, Italy, Normandy, Holland, Belgium, and Central Europe during World War II. Upon his return from war, Tucker attended the Boston University College of Liberal Arts from 1945 to 1947, and entered the accelerated program at the B.U. School of Law in 1947. He served as an editor of the Boston University Law Review and graduated, cum laude, in 1949. After graduation Tucker settled in Athol, Massachusetts, where he began to practice law.

William Tucker first met John F. Kennedy in 1946 when Kennedy, then a Congressional candidate, spoke at an airborne veteran’s dinner in Boston at which Tucker was serving as chairman. In Athol, Massachusetts, Tucker continued his acquaintance with Kennedy, campaigning for his Senate races in 1952 and 1958, as well as Kennedy’s presidential bid in 1960. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Tucker to the United States Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). Tucker remained a Commissioner on the ICC for seven years, serving as Chairman of the Commission in 1967.

After leaving the ICC, William Tucker served as Vice President of the Penn Central Railroad and Special Consultant to the Board of Directors of Eastern Airlines. He was also appointed U.S. Trustee for the Department of Justice. He is the author of the memoir Parachute Soldier, which documents his service in the Army during World War II. William Tucker married Caroline E. Aitken of Boston, with whom he had two daughters. He currently resides in Athol, Massachusetts.
 

Historical Note
The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was created by an act of Congress, approved February 4, 1887. Subsequent legislation strengthened the authority of the ICC and broadened the scope of its jurisdiction until its abolition on December 31, 1995. The general purpose of creating the Commission was to provide for a body empowered to regulate, in the public interest, common carriers engaged in transportation in interstate commerce and in foreign commerce to the extent that it takes place within the United States. It was responsible for promoting safe, adequate, economical, and efficient service on all modes of transportation subject to the act; for encouraging establishment and maintenance of reasonable charges for transportation services, without unjust discriminations or unfair competitive practices; and for developing, coordinating, and preserving a national transportation system by water, highways, rail, or other means, adequate for the needs of the Postal Service, the national defense, and the commerce of the United States. (From National Archives Reference Information Paper 91 -- Railroad-related Records)

Collection Overview
This collection of William H. Tucker papers primarily contains case files from his service on the United States Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), including files relating to major railroad mergers and racial discrimination in Interstate travel. The collection also contains manuscript material from his autobiographical book Parachute Soldier. The papers are arranged into two series, Interstate Commerce Commission Files and Parachute Soldier Manuscript Material.

List of Series

Series Description

Series 1. Interstate Commerce Commission Files, 1958-1968.
About 58,500 items.

This series consists of material that was created and received by William Tucker in his capacity as a Commissioner on the Interstate Commerce Commission. The files are arranged into two subseries: Case Files and Subject Files.

Series 1.1. Case Files, 1958-1968 (bulk 1961-1967).
About 54,000 items.
Arrangement: alphabetical by case type, thereunder numerical by case number.

This series consists of files related to the cases heard and decided on by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) during William H. Tucker’s tenure as a Commissioner (1961-1967). The types of cases represented include Formal Dockets (numbered cases without a prefix), Ex Parte Reports (Ex Parte and Ex Parte MC), Finance Dockets (FD), Freight Forwarder Reports and Complaints (FF and FF-C), Investigation and Suspension Reports (I&S and I&S-M), Motor Carrier Reports (MC and MC-F), Section 5A Applications, and Water Carrier Reports and Complaints (W and W-C). The files for each case generally include supporting documents such as replies, petitions, reports, statements, requests, briefs, exceptions, and approvals, as well as transcripts of the proceedings of the ICC. Also present are internal memoranda, drafts of statements and decisions, published documents, and correspondence pertaining to the respective cases. Finance Dockets, which relate to control, merger, acquisition and trackage rights cases involving non-motor carriers, make up one of the largest groups of cases. These dockets contain information on the organization, functions, and operations of common carriers. A typical file includes the application of the carrier, transcripts of testimony, reports, exhibits, correspondence, telegrams, and the order of the Commission. Most of the cases involve railroads. Motor Carrier Reports, which make up the other major group of cases, relate to cases involving motor carrier operating rights or brokers licenses. Motor Carrier Complaints (MC-C) relate to motor carrier complaint cases except rates. Cases with the designation MC-F consist of major motor carrier acquisition, merger, control or purchase cases.

Of particular interest to researchers is MC-C-3358: Discrimination in Operations of Interstate Motor Carriers of Passengers, which resulted from Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy’s proposed regulations banning discrimination in interstate bus facilities. The proposals were made in response to the violence faced by the “Freedom Riders,” who traveled throughout the South in the spring and summer of 1961 in order to test the 1960 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that declared racial segregation in interstate public facilities to be unconstitutional. Of special note are the folders entitled “Correspondence of More Informal Types,” which include letters from citizens both for and against the proposals. Researchers should also refer to the folders entitled “Representations of Interested Parties,” which include the Attorney General’s statement in support of the proposals, factual statements gathered by the Interstate Commerce Commission’s Bureau of Inquiry and Compliance, and the formal statements of organizations and individuals on both sides. Also of interest are the “General” files containing the Commission’s internal documents, particularly those covering August and September.

Please note that the original order of material within the case files was reverse chronological, and that this order has been maintained. When it was necessary to arrange files into smaller folders for preservation concerns, they were most often split chronologically. Although date spans that are noted on some folders were not present on the original folder titles, they are not contained in brackets because the order remains original rather than imposed. When brackets are present, they are indicative of an imposed arrangement of a file by type of material or subject matter.  An appendix containing an alphabetical listing of all cases in this series is available in the research room.

Series 1.2. Interstate Commerce Commission Subject Files, 1958-1967.
About 4,500 items.
Arrangement: alphabetical by subject.

This series consists of subject files created and kept by Commissioner William Tucker during his seven years on the Interstate Commerce Commission. These files focus on the general business of the Commission rather than the individual cases heard by it, although some case material can be found here. Much of the material consists of recommendations, statements, and correspondence regarding specific pieces of Congressional legislation. Another major subject is the issue of railroad mergers and the future of railroad transportation in the United States. (Further information about specific railroad mergers can be found in Series 1.1.) Other files relate to transportation safety regulations, Tucker’s appointment to the position of Chairman of the ICC in 1967, cases that were assigned to Tucker’s personal docket, and speeches made by Tucker in his capacity as Commissioner and Chairman of the ICC.

Series 2. Parachute Soldier Manuscript Material, 1989-1994.
About 1,500 items.
Arrangement: alphabetical by subject.

This series consists of material generated by William H. Tucker as he wrote Parachute Soldier , his autobiographical account of service as a parachute soldier in World War II. Included are numerous drafts of the manuscript, individual chapters, handwritten notes, a list of names appearing in the finished manuscript, and limited correspondence. Parachute Soldier was published in 1994.