Restrictions to Access

RESTRICTED: Use of audio or visual materials may require production of listening or viewing copies.

This collection contains additional materials that are not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact Research and Instructional Service staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options for consulting these materials.

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 Richard J. Murphy Papers #5209, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Received from Richard J. Murphy of Bethesda, Md., in May 2005 (Acc. 10069).

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: Margaret Dickson, September 2006

Encoded by: Margaret Dickson, September 2006

Updated by: Nancy Kaiser, January 2021; Anne Wells, February 2022

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.

• Democratic National Committee (U.S.)
• Democratic National Convention.
• Democratic Party (U.S.)--History--20th century.
• Discrimination in employment--United States.
• Lowenstein, Allard K.
• Minorities--Employment--United States.
• Murphy, Richard J. (Richard James), 1929-
• Peace Corps (U.S.)--History.
• Reverse discrimination in employment--United States.
• Unisys Corporation.
• United States National Student Association.
• United States Postal Service--History.
• United States. Post Office Dept.--Officials and employees.

Richard J. Murphy was born in 1929 in Baltimore, Md. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina in 1951. While at UNC, Murphy was a member of the Golden Fleece and president of the North Carolina State Student Legislature. In 1952, he was elected national president of the National Student Association.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Murphy to the position of Assistant Postmaster General of the United States, a position he held until 1969. During his tenure, he encouraged the hiring and promotion of minorities. In 1963, he testified in defense of desegregation at a reverse discrimination investigation in Dallas, Tex. Upon retirement, Murphy became assistant to the chair of the Democratic National Committee, Lawrence F. O'Brien. In 1972, his office at the Watergate complex was broken into in what is regarded as the first Watergate break-in. Murphy attended every political Democratic National Convention from 1952 to 2000 and supervised the security at seven conventions. He also served as general director of the 1972 convention and was a member of six site-selection committees.

In 1970, Murphy co-edited The Crisis in Public Employee Relations , about labor relations with public employees. During his career, he was also vice president of Time Warner Cable and director of government affairs for Unisys Corporation.

Murphy died in 2006 at the age of 76 in Bethesda, Md.

The papers of Richard J. Murphy contain materials relating to his work with the United States Post Office Department, the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Party, Unisys Corporation, and the National Student Association, among other activities. Correspondence, speeches, press releases, and other items relate to Murphy's tenure as Assistant Postmaster General of the United States, including material relating to Murphy's participation in a 1963 reverse discrimination hearing. Democratic Party materials reflect Murphy's role as assistant to the chair of the Democratic National Committee and his work as supervisor of the security committees. There are audiocassette tapes containing information regarding security at the 1988 convention; convention and campaign materials; and buttons, posters, and memorabilia. National Student Association materials include correspondence about the Central Intelligence Agency's influence over the organization. Unisys Corporation materials consist primarily of issues of Murphy Memo and Public Sector. An original draft of a 1960 speech that Murphy co-authored in which presidential candidate John F. Kennedy first mentioned his intention to form the Peace Corps, materials related to Allard K. Lowenstein's death, and other items are also included.

• Audiocassettes (C-5209/1-12)
• Audiodiscs (D-5209/1-4)
• Museum Items (MU-5209/Box 1)
• Films (F-5209/1)
• Videotapes (VT-5209/1-2)
• Photographs (P-5209)
• Oversized papers (OP-5209/1-2 and XOP-5209/1)