The Presidential historical materials of Arthur F. Burns are in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration under the provisions of Title I of the Presidential Recordings and Materials Act of 1974 (44 U.S.C. 2111 note) and implementing regulations. In accordance with the act and regulations, archivists reviewed this file group to identify personal and private materials (including materials outside the date span covered by the act) as well as nonhistorical items. These materials have been returned to the individual who has primary proprietary interest.
Materials covered by the act have been archivally processed and are described in this register. Items that are security classified or otherwise restricted under the act and regulations have been removed and placed in a closed file. A Document Withdrawal Record (NA Form 14021) marks the original position of the withdrawn items. Employees of the National Archives will review periodically the unclassified portions of closed materials for the purpose of opening those which no longer require restriction. Certain classified documents may be reviewed for declassification under authority of Executive Order 13526 in response to a Mandatory Review Request (NA Form 14020) submitted by the researcher.
- Linear feet of materials: 1
- Approximate number of pages: 2,000
Arthur Frank Burns
April 27, 1904 Born in Stanislau, Austria
1914 Family immigrated to Bayonne, NJ
1925 Received A.B. and A.M. degrees in Economics, Columbia University
1926-1927 Lecturer in Economics at Columbia
1927-1944 Taught Economics at Rutgers University, became Full Professor in 1943
1930-1968 Research Associate, National Bureau of Economics. Served as Director of Research, 1945-1953; President, 1957-1967; and Chairman, 1967-1968.
1934 Received Ph.D., Economics, Rutgers
1941-1942 Visiting Professor, Columbia
1944-1969 Professor of Economics, Columbia. Named John Bates Clark Professor, 1959.
1953-1956 Eisenhower Administration Chairman of Council of Economic Advisors and Chairman, Advisory Board on Economic Growth and Stability
1956 Chairman, Cabinet Committee on Small Business
1957-1958 Member, U.S. Advisory Council on Social Security Financing
1961-1966 Member, President's Advisory Committee on Labor-Management Policy.
1969-1970 Counsellor to the President
1970-1978 Chairman, Federal Reserve Board
1978-1981 Scholar in Residence, American Enterprise Institute
1981-1985 Ambassador to Federal Republic of Germany
June 26, 1987 Died
As Counsellor to the President, Burns was given broad responsibility in program and policy development for the new administration. Although his primary role was in development of domestic programs, he did venture into international matters in some economic programs. The subject files described here resulted from Burns's activities during the transition and early months of the administration, when he headed a series of task forces which developed program proposals. The Burns task force reports containing program proposals were sent to executive agencies and departments for review and comment. The subject files are comprised principally of the comments returned to Burns by the agencies and departments. The files are arranged by the subject of the task force reports but do not contain the task force reports.
The bulk of Burns's files as Counsellor to the President were donated by Burns to the Ford Library, which holds 14 linear feet of Burns material from the January 1969-January 1970 period as part of the 187 linear feet of donated Burns material which also document Burns's activities as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board and as Ambassador to Germany. Additional papers of Arthur Burns, 1930-1969, consisting of personal materials and files relating to his service as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, are held by the Eisenhower Library.
Series I: Subject File
Box 1
Domestic Legislative Program
I-1 Electoral College
I-2 Voting Age
II Governmental Organization
II-3 Office of Executive Management
II-4 Arms Control and Disarmament Agency
II-6 Post Office Department
II-7 Educational Activities
II-8 Health Activities
II-9 Internal Revenue Service
III Federal Expenditures
III-2 Contingency Reserve Fund for Fiscal '69
III-3 Revision of Budget for Fiscal 1970
III-4 Revenue Sharing
III-5 Grants-in-aid Programs
IV-1 Commission on Federal Tax Policy
V-2 Interest Rate Ceiling on Treasury Issues
VI-1 Reappraisal of Existing Credit Programs
VI-4 Coordination of Debt Issues
VII-I Population and Family Planning
VII-2 Oceanography
VII-6 Pollution
VIII-I Organizational Changes
VIII-2 National Science Foundation
VIII-3 Military Research and Development
VIII-5 National Accelerator Lab
VIII-7 Space Boosters
Box 2
IX-I Airport Development
IX-2 Budget for Air-traffic Control
IX-4 Highway Program
X Manpower Policy
X Other [Unemployment Compensation]
X-I Modernized Employment Service
X-2 Job Vacancy Data
X-3 Encouragement of Worker Migration
X-4 [Proposed Mexican-American White House Conference]
X-6 Transition from School to Jobs
X-7 Minimum Wage Amendments
X-8 Farm Workers under Taft-Hartley
XI Other [Education]
XI-1 The Federal Role
XI-2 Urban Schools
XI-3 Student-Teacher Corps
XI-4 Institute for Educational Future
Box 3
XII-2 Office of Economic Opportunity
XII-3 Voluntary Programs
XII-6 Community Self-Determination Act
XII-8 Review of Davis-Bacon Act
XIV-1 Medicaid
XIV-2 Medicare
XIV-3 Hill-Burton Ad
XV Other [Newsclip: Mandatory Work Programs]
XV-2 Food for the Poor
XV-3 Declaratory Applications
XVI Other [Business Regulation]
XVI-3 Occupational Safety
XVI-4 Pension and Welfare Disclosure Act
XVII Other [Citizens' Drive on Crime]
XVII-2 Crime in the District of Columbia
XVII-4 Narcotics Problem
XVII-5 Obscenity
XVIII International Economic Relations
XVIII-1 U. S. Investing and Lending Abroad
XVIII-2 Foreign Aid
XVIII-3 Textile Products
XVIII-4 Tariffs and Other Trade Barriers
XVIII-5 Tax on Foreign Deposits
XVIII-6 Telecommunications
XVIII-7 International Space Cooperation