Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

Restrictions to Use

No usage restrictions.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the John Hosea Kerr Papers, #3358, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Gift of John H. Kerr, Jr., and James Yancey Kerr, 1958.

Additional Descriptive Resources

A copy of the original finding aid for this collection is filed in folder 1a.

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Processed by: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007

Updated by: Adam Fielding, Kate Stratton, and Jodi Berkowitz, February 2011

This collection was rehoused and a summary created with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

This finding aid was created with support from NC ECHO.

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

• Agriculture and state--United States--History--20th century.
• Cotton growing--Law and legislation--United States--History--20th century.
• Democratic Party (N.C.)--History--20th century.
• Democratic Party (U.S.)--History--20th century.
• John H. Kerr Reservoir (Va. and N.C.)--History.
• Kerr, John Hosea, 1873-1958.
• North Carolina--Politics and government--1865-1950.
• North Carolina--Politics and government--1951-
• Peanuts--Law and legislation--United States--History--20th century.
• Subversive activities--United States--History--20th century.
• Tobacco--Law and legislation--United States--History--20th century.
• United States. Congress. House.
• World War, 1939-1945--Finance--United States.

John Hosea Kerr (1873-1958) was a United States Congressman from Warrenton, N.C., representing the 2nd district (northeastern North Carolina), 1923-1953. From 1939-1952, he served on the Committee on Appropriations where he was vice-chairman of the subcommittee that handled military appropriations during World War II, chairman for the Subcommittee on Subversive Organizations, chairman for the Subcommittee on Deficiencies and Army Civil Functions, and served on the Democratic Steering Committee. Other committees he served on include the Elections Committee No. 3, Public Buildings and Grounds, Insular Affairs, Immigration and Naturalization, Census, and War Claims. Kerr was a delegate to the Democratic national conventions of 1932 and 1940, and a promoter of the Roanoke River reservoir project subsequently named the John H. Kerr Reservoir in 1951. Additionally, he was on the Board of Visitors of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

The collection consists of the Congressional files of John Hosea Kerr, documenting his involvement in legislative actions concerning cotton, peanuts, and tobacco farming. The papers also reflect his work with various Congressional committees and subcommittees. From 1939-1952, Kerr served on the Committee on Appropriations where he was vice-chairman of the subcommittee that handled military appropriations during World War II, chairman for the Subcommittee on Subversive Organizations, chairman for the Subcommittee on Deficiencies and Army Civil Functions, and served on the Democratic Steering Committee. Other committees he served on include the Elections Committee No. 3, Public Buildings and Grounds, Insular Affairs, Immigration and Naturalization, Census, and War Claims. Papers also regard his work as a delegate to the Democratic national conventions of 1932 and 1940, and as a promoter of the Roanoke River reservoir project subsequently named the John H. Kerr Reservoir in 1951.