Don K(rasher) Price, Jr. (#190)

An Inventory of His Personal Papers, 1948-1970
In the John F. Kennedy Library
National Archives and Records Administration

Administrative Information
Biographical Note
Collection Overview
List of Series
Description

Administrative Information

Abstract
Papers 1948-1970
Political scientist, educator. Staff member, U.S. Bureau of Budget (1945-1946); associate director, Public Administration Clearing House (1946-1953); assistant to Herbert Hoover on the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of Government (1947-1948); deputy chairman, Research and Development Board, Department of Defense (1952-1953); staff director for the Committee on Department of Defense organization (1953); associate director, Ford Foundation (1953-1954); vice president, Ford Foundation (1954-1958); dean, John F. Kennedy School of Government (1958-1977); professor, Harvard University (1958-1980); member of the President’s advisory committee on government organization (1959-1961); advisor, King of Nepal (1961); consultant to the Executive Office of the President (1961-1972); trustee, Rand Corporation (1961-1971); Eastman professor, Oxford University (1985-1986). Professional papers from his work in government; studies on the Presidency and government organization and administration.

Access
Open.

Usage Restrictions
Documents in this collection that were prepared by officials of the United States as part of their official duties are in the public domain. Users of these materials are advised to determine the copyright status of any document from which they wish to publish.

Copyright
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excesses of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law. The copyright law extends its protection to unpublished works from the moment of creation in a tangible form. Direct your questions concerning copyright to the reference staff.

Provenance
Received from Don Price of Wellesley, MA, in July 1985 (Acc. 1985-031).

Extent
About 9,000 items (7.5 linear feet; 9 cubic feet)

Classified Items Withdrawn
Selected folders may contain withdrawal sheets where documents containing national security classified information were removed from this collection.

Withdrawn Items
Selected folders may contain withdrawal sheets where documents, in accordance with the donor's deed of gift, were removed from the collection. These include documents which may be used to injure or harass any living person.

All withdrawn documents have been placed under seal and upon request the Kennedy Library will review any material which has been closed for a period of not less than 2 years for the purpose of opening items which no longer require restrictions. Researchers should consult the reference staff to obtain the appropriate form(s).

Date Processed
July 2005.

Finding Aid Prepared by
Jennifer Blake.

Encoded by
James M. Roth

Related Collections
Personal papers of Louis Brownlow , John F. Kenney Presidential Library
President’s Advisory Committee on Government Organization, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
Don K. Price Papers, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library
  

The Personal Papers of Don K. Price (1910-1995)

Biographical Note
Don K. Price was born in Middlesboro, KY, on January 23, 1910. Price received his A.B. from Vanderbilt University in 1931 and his B.A. from Oxford University in 1934. Price began his career as a reporter working for the Nashville Evening Tennessean (1930-1932). He began his career in government in 1935, when he started working as a research assistant at the Office of the Legislative Counsel of the House of Representatives (1935-1937). After working as a staff member at the Social Science Research Council (1937-1939), Price went on to work in several capacities, including associate director, at the Public Administration Clearing House in Washington, D.C. (1939-1953). During this time, Price also served as a lieutenant in the Coast Guard Reserves (1943-1945) and returned to the government to work as a staff member of the U.S. Bureau of the Budget (1945-1946). In 1947, Price became an assistant to Herbert Hoover on the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of Government (1947-1948). After leaving the Public Administration Clearing House, Price became vice president of the Ford Foundation (1954-1958), and in 1959 he once again returned to government and served on the President’s advisory committee on government organization (1959-1961). In 1961, Price worked in Nepal as an advisor to the King. Upon returning to the United States, Price acted as a consultant to the Executive Office of the President (1961-1972). During much of his career, Price also worked as an educator. He served as the dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government (1958-1977), a professor at Harvard University (1958-1980) and the Eastman professor at Oxford University (1985-1986). In the later part of his career, Price also became a trustee for the Rand Corporation (1961-1971). Price was also the author of several books, including Government and Science (1954), The Scientific Estate (1965) and America’s Unwritten Constitution (1983). Don K. Price died of Alzheimer’s disease in 1995 in Wellesley, MA.
  

Collection Overview
The Don K. Price collection contains a variety of material relating to the organization of government. The material pertains to all branches of the governments of several different countries, but the majority of the collection focuses on the Executive Branch of the United States government. Some of the material in this collection relates to Price’s involvement with different committees within the federal government, while other material appear to have been collected by him even though he was not involved with the creation of the documents.
  

List of Series
Series 1. Chief Executive Project Files, 1958-1970
Series 2. President’s Advisory Committee on Government Organization Files, 1957-1960
Series 3. General Subject Files, 1948 - 1960

Collection Description

Series 1. Chief Executive Project Files, 1958-1970.
About 6,000 items.
Arrangement: by subject.

This series consists of reports, memos, notes and correspondence assembled by Don Price as part of the Chief Executive Project. The material in this series relates to the organization of the executive branch of government (or its corresponding part in foreign governments). This series consists mainly of material relating to the United States, although there is also material relating to the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Unless otherwise noted, the contents of a particular folder focus on the United States. The majority of material is organized according to a classification outline for the Chief Executive Project. A copy of this outline can be found in the first folder of this series. Several folders were not integrated into the classification and these are organized at the end of the series under ‘Unclassified folders’. An index for this project can be found at the end of this series.

 

Series 2. President’s Advisory Committee on Government Organization Files, 1953-1960.
About 1,500 items.
Arrangement: by subject.

This series consists of memos, reports, clippings and correspondence generated by and relating to the President’s Advisory Committee on Government Organization. The committee was established by President Eisenhower in 1953 in order to clarify the organization of federal agencies and departments. Price served on the committee with Nelson Rockefeller and Dr. Milton Eisenhower, among others. The files in the series are arranged according to a subject-based numerical index, a copy of which can be found in the first folder of the series. There are several folders at the end of this series that are not included in the index. Original folder titles have been maintained.
  

Series 3. General Subject Files, 1948-1960.
About 1500 items.
Arrangement: by subject.

This series consists of files related to various other subjects. Included in this series are memos, reports, clippings and correspondence concerning the American Assembly, the Commission on the Organization of the Executive Branch of Government, and the organization of transportation.