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Collection Number: 04426

Collection Title: Willis P. Whichard Papers, 1965-1998

This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.


expand/collapse Expand/collapse Collection Overview

Size 98.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 36,000 items)
Abstract The Willis P. Whichard Papers document the career of a white lawyer, judge, legislator, and educator from Durham, N.C. The collection includes legislative correspondence, committee, and resource files; judicial subject files; materials relating to the North Carolina General Statutes Commission, North Carolina land policy and land use, the Southern Growth Policies Board, and ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in North Carolina; speeches; collected North Carolina political ephemera; personal papers; and photographs.
Creator Whichard, Willis P.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Information For Users

Restrictions to Access
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 Willis P. Whichard Papers #4426, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Received from Willis P. Whichard of Durham, N.C., in October 1985 (Acc. 85125); September 1986 (Acc. 86112); January 1991 (Acc. 91050); December 1998 (Acc. 98270); October 2004 (Acc. 99917); October 2005 (Acc. 100221); August 2008 (Acc. 100984); June 2012 (Acc. 101602); March 2018 (Acc. 103181); and January 2022 (Acc. 20220110.3; and via Donald Matthews, in January 1990 (Acc. 90005).
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.
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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Processing Information

Processed by: Manuscripts Department Staff, 1998; Margaret Dickson, July 2007; Nancy Kaiser, July 2018.

Encoded by: Margaret Dickson, July 2007

Updated: May 2019, April 2022

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subject Headings

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.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Biographical Information

Willis Padgett Whichard (1940- ) was a lawyer, judge, legislator, and educator. He served as a member of the North Carolina General Statutes Commission, 1969-1973; the Southern Growth Policies Board, 1971-1980; the North Carolina House of Representatives, 1970-1974; and the North Carolina Senate, 1975-1980. From 1980 to 1986, he was judge of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, and, from 1986 through 1998, he was an Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. On 1 July 1999, Whichard became dean of the School of Law at Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C.

24 May 1940 Born to Willis Guilford and Beulah Padgett Whichard.
1946-1958 Attended Durham City Schools.
4 June 1961 Married Leona Irene Paschal and they had two children, Jennifer Diane and Ida Gilbert.
1962 A.B., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
1965 J.D., University of North Carolina School of Law.
1965- Member of the American Bar Association, the North Carolina Bar Association, the Durham County Bar Association, North Carolina State Bar, Order of the Coif, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Alpha Delta, and Phi Delta Phi.
1966-1980 Practiced law with the firm of Powe, Porter, Alphin and Whichard in Durham, N.C.
1965-1966 Law Clerk to William H. Bobbitt (Former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court).
1966-1972 Served in the Army National Guard and was a life member of the National Guard Association.
1966-1975 Durham Jaycees
1968 and 1969 March of Dimes (Durham County) Campaign Director.
1969-1974 Chapter Chairman of the National Foundation of the March of Dimes.
1970-1974 Served in the North Carolina House of Representatives.
1971-1973, 1975-1977 Member, Legislative Research Commission
1971 Recipient of the Distinguished Service Award of Young Man of the Year in Durham.
1971-1979 Board member, Durham County Chapter of the American Red Cross.
1971-1978 Transition of Youth, Inc.
1971-1980 Southern Growth Policies Board (Vice-Chairman, 1975-1978).
1972-1973 Member, Governor's Advisory Committee on Youth Development.
1972-1975 Senior Citizens Coordinating Council.
1973-1977 Member, Durham YMCA Board of Directors.
1974- Member, Kiwanis Club of Tobaccoland.
1975 Outstanding Legislator Award, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers.
1975 Outstanding Youth Service Award, North Carolina Juvenile Correctional Society.
1975-1980 Served in the North Carolina Senate.
1978-1979 President, University of North Carolina Law Alumni Association.
1980-1986 Judge, North Carolina Court of Appeals.
1983 Outstanding Appellate Judge Award, North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers.
1984 LL.M., University of Virginia.
1986-1998 Associate Justice, North Carolina Supreme Court.
1987- Member, North Carolina Central University School of Law Board of Visitors.
1988-1994 Member, North Carolina Child Advocacy Institute Board of Directors.
1988- Chair, North Carolina Supreme Court Permanent Families Task Force.
1991-1994 Member, Straight Talk Blue Ribbon Panel.
1992- Braxton Bragg Craven American Inn of Court (President, 1995).
1993- Member, North Carolina Courts Commission.
1994 S.J.D., University of Virginia. Dissertation: The sixth justice: a life of James Iredell.
1999- Dean, Norman A. Wiggins School of Law, Campbell University.

(Source: North Carolina Manual, 1983, p. 787; Clipping Collection, North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina Library.)

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Scope and Content

This material has been roughly arranged into the following categories: legislative correspondence files, 1971-1979, relating chiefly to Willis P. Whichard's career as a North Carolina legislator; legislative subject files, 1969-1980, relating to Whichard's legislative career; legislative committee files, 1972-1973, 1975, and 1979, relating to Whichard's service on the Legislative Research Commission, the Juvenile Code Revision Commission, and the Governor's Advisory Committee on Youth Development, including legislative reports, printed materials, drafts of bills, notes, and a few items of correspondence; legislative resource materials, 1977-1980, relating to Whichard's legislative career, including printed material, newspaper clippings, drafts of bills, speeches, notes, a few letters, and two files on Terry Sanford's presidential campaign in 1976 and James B. Hunt's gubernatorial campaign in 1980; miscellaneous and related legislative files, 1971-1980, relating to Whichard's public career, including miscellaneous correspondence, printed material, and miscellaneous subject files; North Carolina General Statutes Commission files, 1969-1973, documenting Whichard's service on the General Statutes Commission, including commission reports, legislative bills, commission minutes, correspondence, and other materials; North Carolina Land Policy and Land Use materials, 1974-1976, documenting Whichard's service on the North Carolina Land Policy Council and his interests in land use and land management, consisting chiefly of subject files; Southern Growth Policies Board materials, 1974-1979, relating to Whichard's service on the Southern Growth and Policies Board, including correspondence, subject notes, printed material, Southern Growth and Policies Board reports, and other material; personal files, 1976-1978, relating chiefly to Whichard's legislative career and interests in North Carolina politics, including correspondence, newspaper clippings, and subject notes. Subsequent additions to the collection include materials relating to Whichard's career as a judge, 1979-1986, including correspondence, printed material, newspaper clippings, and other material, on subjects such as adoption, parole, the Prison and Jail Project of North Carolina, and the North Carolina State Bar Association. There are also items relating to legal work for the North Carolina Home Builders Association and on municipal bond proposals for the City of Atlanta; the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in North Carolina, 1972-1979; speeches delivered throughout his career, offering a substantive view of political rhetoric and issues in North Carolina politics in the last half of the 20th century; collected North Carolina political ephemera; scrapbooks; and several photograph albums and a small amount of loose photographs.

Note that the additions have not been integrated into the original deposit but may include legislative and judicial material that overlaps with content in the first nine series.

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Contents list

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series Quick Links

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 1. Legislative Files: Correspondence, 1971-1979.

About 4000 items.

Arrangement: By year, then roughly alphabetically.

Items relating to Whichard's career as a North Carolina legislator. Correspondence consists chiefly of letters from Whichard's constituents about legislative issues such as the soft drink tax, ERA, the death penalty, and environmental legislation. Correspondence also includes letters from legislative colleagues and government officials about North Carolina legislative and political affairs.

Box 1-5

Box 1

Box 2

Box 3

Box 4

Box 5

Legislative Files: Correspondence

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 2. Legislative Files: Subject Files, 1969-1980.

About 9600 items.

Arrangement: Roughly alphabetically by subject.

Items relating to Whichard's legislative career. These files also include some non-legislative material documenting Whichard's service with various state agencies and non-legislative committees. Subjects include abortion, appropriations, the Democratic Party, ERA, higher education, taxes, and tobacco. Types of material include printed items, legislative reports, drafts of legislative bills, Whichard's notes, memorandums, and some correspondence.

Box 6-18

Box 6

Box 7

Box 8

Box 9

Box 10

Box 11

Box 12

Box 13

Box 14

Box 15

Box 16

Box 17

Box 18

Legislative Files: Subject Files

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 3. Legislative Files: Committee Files, 1972-1973, 1975, and 1979.

About 1600 items.

Arrangement: Roughly by committee.

Items relating to Whichard's service on the Legislative Research Commission, the Juvenile Code Revision Commission, and the Governor's Advisory Committee on Youth Development. Types of material include legislative reports, printed material, drafts of bills, Whichard's notes, and a few items of correspondence.

Box 19-20

Box 19

Box 20

Legislative Files: Committee Files

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 4. Legislative Files: Resource Materials, 1977-1980.

About 900 items.

Arrangement: Roughly alphabetically by subject.

Items relating to Whichard's legislative career, including printed material, newspaper clippings, drafts of bills, speeches, Whichard's notes, and a few letters. Notable items include two files on Terry Sanford's presidential campaign in 1976, and James B. Hunt's gubernatorial campaign in 1980.

Box 21

Legislative Files: Resource Materials

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 5. Legislative Files: Miscellaneous and Related Files, 1971-1980.

About 800 items.

Items relating to Whichard's public career, including miscellaneous correspondence, printed material, and miscellaneous subject files.

Box 22

Legislative Files: Miscellaneous and Related Files

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 6. North Carolina General Statutes Commission Files, 1969-1973.

About 700 items.

Arrangement: Partially arranged by bill docket number.

Items documenting Whichard's service on the General Statutes Commission. These files include commission reports, legislative bills, commission minutes, correspondence, and other material.

Box 23

North Carolina General Statutes Commission Files

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 7. North Carolina Land Policy and Land Use Material, 1974-1976.

About 800 items.

Arrangement: Roughly by one of two categories, either North Carolina Land Policy Council or land use material.

Items documenting Whichard's service on the North Carolina Land Policy Council and his interests in land use and land management. This material consists chiefly of subject files.

Box 24

North Carolina Land Policy and Land Use Material

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 8. Southern Growth Policies Board Materials, 1974-1979.

About 2400 items.

Items relating to Whichard's service on the Southern Growth and Policies Board. The files include correspondence, subject notes, printed material, Southern Growth and Policies Board reports, and other material relating to the Southern Growth and Policies Board.

Box 25-27

Box 25

Box 26

Box 27

Southern Growth Policies Board

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 9. Personal Files, 1976-1978.

About 150 items.

Arrangement: Alphabetically by subject.

Items relating chiefly to Whichard's legislative career and his interests in North Carolina politics. The files include correspondence, newspaper clippings, subject notes, and other material.

Box 28

Personal Files

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Series 10. Additions.

Arrangement: As received.

expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 10.1. Judicial Files, 1979-1986 (Addition of September 1986).

About 650 items.

Acquisitions Information: Accession 86112

Arrangement: Roughly arranged topically in alphabetical order.

Items relating to Whichard's judicial career, including correspondence, printed material, newspaper clippings, and other material. Subjects included are adoption, parole, the Prison and Jail Project of North Carolina (committee seeking alternatives to prison incarceration), and the North Carolina State Bar Association. Also interfiled are materials relating to Whichard's personal and civic interests, such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Self Help Study Committee, the American Cancer Society, and the UNC Law Alumni Association.

Box 29-32

Box 29

Box 30

Box 31

Box 32

Judicial Files

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 10.2. Equal Rights Amendment Files, 1972-1979 (Addition of January 1990).

About 800 items.

Acquisitions Information: Accession 90005

Items relating to the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in North Carolina. Whichard was a sponsor of bills supporting North Carolina ratification of the Amendment; letters from constituents who supported or disagreed with his stand on the Amendment make up a large part of this material.

Box 33-34

Box 33

Box 34

Equal Rights Amendment Files

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 10.3. Subject Files, 1980-1998 (Addition of December 1998).

About 6600 items.

Acquisitions Information: Accession 98270

Arrangement: Alphabetically by folder title.

These files have been re-foldered and filed in alphabetical order. Original folder titles have been retained. No other processing has been done.

Box 34

1980-1986: Correspondence with Chief Judges

1980-1986: Correspondence with other judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, A-C

Box 35

1980-1986: Correspondence with other judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, D-R

Box 36

1980-1986: Correspondence with other judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, S-Z

1987-1991: Correspondence with other judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, A-G

Box 37

1987-1991: Correspondence with other judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, H-Z

Box 38

1992-1998: Correspondence with other judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, A-L

Box 39

1992-1998: Correspondence with other judges of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, M-Z

Administrative Law (3 folders)

American Bar Association (3 folders)

Box 40

American Cancer Society Public Issues Committee

Appellate Judges Seminar

Attorney Fee Recommendation

Burton Magnet School Advisory Committee

Citizens Task Force on Community Services

Court Conference Materials, 1989-1990 (4 folders)

Court Ordered Arbitration

Clark, Walter: Errata sheets

Clemency

CLE (Continuing Legal Education)

Criminal Judgments: Cost Statements

Democratic Campaign Material, 5 December 1986

Democratic Judicial Campaign Committee, 1987

Duke University Hospital Advisory Board (3 folders)

Duke University Private Adjudication Center

Durham Community Penalties Program (2 folders)

Exchange Clubs Child Abuse Prevention Center in Durham

Germany-Austria Trip, 1991

Inns of Court, Braxton Craven, 1992-1996

Judges of Superior and District Courts

Judicial Conduct Code, Proposed revisions, 1990

Judicial Selection Legislation

Jury Focus Groups

Justice Fellowship, North Carolina Task Force

Juveniles: Alternatives to Detention

Juveniles: Secure Custody Study (2 folders)

Box 41

LAMP (Legal Assistance for Mothers in Prison)

Licklog Players (2 folders)

National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

National Judicial College

North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers and North

Carolina Bar Association Nominations Committee

North Carolina Alternative Sentencing Association

North Carolina Bar Association Appellate Rules Study Committee (5 folders)

North Carolina Bar Association Bench, Bar, and Law School Liaison Committee (3 folders)

North Carolina Bar Association Centennial Exhibits Committee

North Carolina Bar Association Centennial Symposium

North Carolina Bar Association Commission on Race Relations

North Carolina Bar Association Convention Planning Advisory Committee

North Carolina Bar Association, House Bill 977, Amend. to Rule 58, Civil Proc.

North Carolina Bar Association Legislative Advisory Committee, 1989

North Carolina Bar Association Litigation Section Council (3 folders)

Box 42

North Carolina Bar Association Litigation Section Council (3 folders)

North Carolina Bar Association Litigation Section

Subcommittee on Childhood Sexual Abuse Statute of Limitations

North Carolina Bar Association Nomination Committee for Board of Governors

North Carolina Bar Association Renaissance Weekend Symposium

North Carolina Bar Association and North Carolina State Bar, Joint Historical

Commission

North Carolina Bar Foundation

North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research

North Carolina Center on Crime and Punishment, 1986-1991 (18 folders)

Box 43

North Carolina Central University School of Law Board of Visitors (3 folders)

North Carolina Central University School of Law Statutory Interpretation Class

North Carolina Child Advocacy Institute Board of Directors (9 folders)

North Carolina Child Advocacy Institute, Family Preservation Action Project

Advisory Committee

North Carolina Courts Commission (5 folders)

Box 44

North Carolina Courts Commission (2 folders)

North Carolina Institute of Justice

North Carolina Judicial Conference (2 folders)

North Carolina Judicial Conference Judicial

Salaries, Benefits and Resources Committee

North Carolina Literary and Historical Association

North Carolina Prison and Jail Project

North Carolina State Bar (2 folders)

North Carolina State Bar Long Range Planning Meeting

North Carolina State-Federal Judicial Council (4 folders)

North Carolina Supreme Court Historical Society

North Carolina Supreme Court Historical Society Publications Committee

North Carolina Supreme Court Permanent Families Task Force (7 folders)

North Carolina Supreme Court Permanent Families Task Force Adoptions Law Drafting Committee

North Carolina Supreme Court Seal

North Carolina Supreme Court Telephone System Study

Prison Fellowship

Robes

Rule 11

Seifert v. Seifert

Southern Growth Policies Board

Speedy Trial Act

Box 45

Straight Talk (Youth Sheler with Family Counseling) (4 folders)

Structured Sentencing

Torch Club

University of North Carolina Board of Visitors Tuition Task Force

University of North Carolina Chancellors Scholars Selection Committee

University of North Carolina Class Reunion, 1987

University of North Carolina General Alumni Association District IV

University of North Carolina Honors College

University of North Carolina Institute of Government

University of North Carolina Law School Alumni Association

University of North Carolina Law School Oral History Project

University of North Carolina Law School Self Study Committee

University of North Carolina Program in Humanities and Human Values (2 folders)

University of North Carolina School of Public Health Board of Advisors (2 folders)

University of North Carolina School of Social Work Board of Advisors

University of North Carolina Southern Historical Collection (2 folders)

University of North Carolina Southern Historical Collection Advisory Committee

University of North Carolina Southern Historical Collection. Introduction to Legal History

University of North Carolina Tar Heel Network

University of North Carolina Task Force on Undergraduate Admissions

University of North Carolina Task Force on University Values

University of Virginia LL.M. Program

University of Virginia LL.M. Program Reunion, 1987

University of Virginia LL.M. Program Reunion, 1995

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 10.4. Letters, 1965, 1989 (Addition of October 2004).

2 items.

Acquisitions Information: Accession 99917

One form letter with a personalized note to the Whichards from James B. Hunt and his family when they lived in Nepal while Hunt worked for the Ford Foundation, 15 June 1965, and one letter of reference for Dr. David J. Rowe, candidate for senior minister at the Binkley Memorial Baptist Church in Chapel Hill, N.C., from President Jimmy Carter to Whichard, 5 June 1989.

Box 45

Letters, 1965, 1989

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 10.5. Legislative and Government Correspondence (Addition of October 2005).

300 items.
1.5 linear feet

Acquisitions Information: Accession 100221

This addition is not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact Research and Instructional Service staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options for consulting this collection.

Legislative and government correspondence.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 10.6. Speeches (Addition of August 2008).

43 items.
1 folder.

Acquisitions Information: Accession 100984

This addition is not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact Research and Instructional Service staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options for consulting this collection.

Speeches.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 10.7. Legal Files (Addition of June 2012).

3000 items.
12.0 linear feet

Acquisitions Information: Accession 101602

This addition is not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact Research and Instructional Service staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options for consulting this collection.

Legal files are arranged into two groups. The first group relates to the North Carolina Home Builders Association, which appears to have been represented by the Powe, Porter, Alphin & Whichard, P.A. law firm, and includes correspondence and other materials relating to legislation on residential development, legal issues, financial billing, and other papers. The second group of materials pertain to James L. Stuart, who apparently worked on municipal bond proposals for the City of Atlanta.

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Subseries 10.8. Professional and Personal Papers, 1960s-1990s (Addition of March 2018 and January 2022).

4000 items.
18.0 linear feet

Acquisitions Information: Accession 103181 and 20220110.3.

The bulk of this addition is not available for immediate or same day access. Please contact Research and Instructional Service staff at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to discuss options for consulting this collection.

Subject files and correspondence documenting Whichard's political career in the North Carolina legislature and judiciary, including campaign materials; speeches delivered throughout his career, offering a substantive view of political rhetoric and issues in North Carolina politics in the last half of the twentieth century; collected North Carolina political ephemera; loose personal papers; scrapbooks; and several photograph albums and a small amount of loose photographs.

Oversize Paper Folder OPF-4426/1

Campaign posters and other campaign materials

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expand/collapse Expand/collapse Items Separated

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