The J. William Fulbright Papers
About the Collection
J. William Fulbright presented his papers to the University of Arkansas, his alma mater, in two increments, in 1972 and 1974. The papers document his public career as a congressman and senator, and especially as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during some of the most significant episodes in twentieth-century history. These materials consist of 1,400 linear feet of correspondence, legislative bills, speeches, and other records pertaining to the governmental, political, and diplomatic issues with which he was concerned. Significant portions of the papers document the operation of Congress and its relationship with the other branches of government, the work of the Foreign Relations Committee and other committees on which Fulbright served, and the censure of Senator Joseph R. McCarthy.
The collection includes materials regarding the origin and administration of the Fulbright academic exchange program. It is also a rich resource for Arkansas studies, often providing unexpected insights into state politics and personalities.
Since the papers were first opened for research, scholars have visited the collection from throughout the United States and from England, Israel, Canada, Germany, Japan, India, Portugal, the former Soviet Union, and many other countries. Most of their work has focused on United States political history and foreign relations in the twentieth century, including such diverse topics as dissent and the Vietnam war, European federation, and the Cuban missile crisis. The papers also support research into United States policy in the Middle East, and many other aspects of American politics and foreign policy. The activities of the university's Fulbright Institute of International Relations provide opportunities for some researchers to visit the university and to pursue their inquiries in the Fulbright papers. Most of the researchers have been academics, ranging from undergraduate students to distinguished professors, but they have also represented the fields of journalism, law, and communication.
Education and cultural exchange were major concerns of Senator Fulbright's throughout his career, and his papers include interesting correspondence with American and world cultural leaders. The Special Collections Department is also the repository of other significant collections in this area: the archives of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the records of the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, and the records of the National Association for Foreign Student Affairs. Together with the Fulbright papers, they form a unique resource for research in international education and cultural exchange.
About J. William Fulbright
J. William Fulbright was born in 1905 and was educated at the University of Arkansas from the first grade at the laboratory school until he was awarded the A.B. degree in 1925. He was a Rhodes Scholar at Pembroke College, Oxford, and was awarded the M.A. degree there in 1931.
When he returned to the United States, Fulbright studied law at George Washington University in Washington, and during the 1930s he served in the Justice Department and taught as an instructor at George Washington University. In 1936 he returned to Arkansas where he was a lecturer in law and, from 1939 to 1941, president of the University of Arkansas.
Fulbright began his first term in Congress in January 1943 and was assigned to the Foreign Affairs Committee. In September of that year the House adopted the Fulbright resolution supporting an international peace-keeping machinery, earning him national attention. In November 1944 he was elected to the Senate. The Fulbright Scholar Program was established in 1946, providing opportunities for thousands of scholars in the United States and other countries to participate in what has been called “the largest movement of scholars across the earth since the fall of Constantinople.”
In 1949 he was assigned to the Foreign Relations Committee and became its chairman in 1959. He held the chair for the remainder of his tenure in the Senate, longer than any other person.
Fulbright was a powerful voice in the chaotic times of the war in Vietnam, when he chaired the Senate hearings on the conduct of the war. In 1963 Walter Lippmann wrote of Fulbright: "The role he plays in Washington is an indispensable role. There is no one else who is so powerful and also so wise, and if there were any question of removing him from public life, it would be a national calamity."
Access
A finding aid for materials in the collection is available online.
Fifty of Senator Fulbright's speeches have been digitized and are available online through the Libraries' Digital Collections site.
Access to the J. William Fulbright Papers is open to students, faculty, and others upon application to the staff. Researchers may direct inquiries to Special Collections, but extensive projects will require a visit to the department. To facilitate their work, researchers who wish to use the papers are advised to email, write, or telephone the department in advance.