Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Guide to the Kenton Bird Papers
1950s-2003
Cage 802
Table of Contents
- Summary Information
- Biography/History
- Scope and Content
- Arrangement
- Administrative Information
- Related Materials
- Names and Subjects
- Detailed Description of Collection
- Series 1: Research files: Chronological
- Series 2: Research files: Subject
- Series 3: Other Research files
- Series 4: Dissertation drafts, outlines, notes, and additional research material
- Series 5: Other Foley projects by Kenton Bird
- Series 6: Interview documentation and audiovisual media
Summary Information
- Repository
- Washington State University Libraries, Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
- Creator
- Bird, Kenton, 1954-
- Title
- Kenton Bird Papers
- ID
- Cage 802
- Date [inclusive]
- 1950s-2003
- Date [bulk]
- 1995-1997
- Extent
- 6 Linear feet of shelf space, 12 Boxes
- Language
- Collection materials are in English.
- Abstract
- This collection consists of papers related to Kenton Bird's research on Thomas S. Foley, Representative from the Fifth Congressional District of Washington State from 1964 to 1994, and Speaker of the House from 1989 to 1995. Most materials are research files, notes, and drafts related to Bird's 1999 Ph.D. dissertation, "The Speaker from Spokane: The Rise and Fall of Tom Foley as a Congressional Leader" (Washington State University).
Preferred Citation
[Item Description]
Kenton Bird Papers, circa 1950s-2003 (Cage 802)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
Biography/History
Journalism educator, reporter, and editor Robert Kenton Bird earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Idaho, where he edited the student newspaper, the Argonaut. He attended the University of Wales on a Rotary fellowship, earning a master's degree in journalism history, and continued his graduate work at Washington State University, earning a Ph.D. in American Studies. His doctoral dissertation is a political biography of Tom Foley, speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1989 to 1995.
During a 15-year career as a reporter and editor, Bird worked for newspapers in Moscow, Lewiston, Sandpoint and Kellogg, Idaho, and spent a summer at The Washington Post. In 1989, he was a congressional fellow of the American Political Science Association, assigned as a congressional staff member in Washington, D.C. He spent three years on the faculty at Colorado State University before returning to the University of Idaho in 1999. In 2003, he was appointed director of the University of Idaho School of Journalism and Mass Media.
Scope and Content
This collection consists of papers related to Kenton Bird's Ph.D. dissertation, "The Speaker from Spokane: The Rise and Fall of Tom Foley as a Congressional Leader" (Washington State University, 1999). It includes planning and research notes, drafts, collected primary and secondary sources (mainly reproductions), interview records including audio recordings and notes, and video recordings (compilations of 1994 campaign advertising for Foley and his opponent, George Nethercutt).
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in six series:
Series 1: Research files: Chronological. This file sequence follows the chronology of Tom Foley's career, from the 1950s to 1997. It includes collected research material (mainly reproductions), as well as correspondence.
Series 2: Research files: Subject. This file sequence consists of research materials arranged by topic. It includes collected research material (mainly reproductions and clippings).
Series 3: Other research files. This series contains additional Foley research files, and consists of notes and collected research material (mainly reproductions and clippings).
Series 4: Dissertation drafts, outlines, notes, and additional research material.
Series 5: Other Foley projects by Kenton Bird, including publications and presentations.
Series 6: Interview documentation and audiovisual media. This series consists of audio recordings (microcassettes) of interviews conducted by Bird, interview documentation including notes and a name and topic index, and video recordings (VHS cassettes) of campaign advertising for Foley and his opponent, George Nethercutt.
Administrative Information
Publication Information
Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections © 2014
https://libraries.wsu.edu/masc/
Terrell Library
P.O. Box 645610
Pullman, WA, 99164-5610 USA
509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Restrictions on Access
This collection is open and available for research use.
Restrictions on Use
Copyright restrictions apply.
Acquisition Information
Kenton Bird donated these papers to the Washington State University Libraries in two installments, in 2005 and 2012 (MS.2005.29, MS.2012.22)
Processing Information
Cheryl Gunselman processed this collection in 2013.
Alternative Form Available
Audio recordings in this collection were digitized in January 2021. The audio files are retained both as unedited wav files and as speed-corrected mp3 files in MASC’s archival digital storage. Contact the repository for access information.
Related Materials
Related Material
Thomas S. Foley Congressional Papers, 1964-1997 (Cage 655)
Thomas S. Foley Photographs, 1905-1995 (PC 111)
Thomas S. Foley Papers, 1962-2001 (MSSM.073)
Names and Subjects
Corporate Name(s)
Subject(s) :
- United States. Congress. House -- Speaker -- Biography
Personal Name(s)
Subject(s) :
- Foley, Thomas S. -- Archives
Subject(s)
- Legislators -- Washington (State) -- Spokane -- Biography
- Laws and Legislation
- Politics and Politicians
Detailed Description of Collection
Series 1: Research files: Chronological circa 1950s-1997 |
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| box | folder | |||
|
Research files: Chronological circa 1950s-1997 |
1-4 | 1-71 | ||
|
|
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Series 2: Research files: Subject |
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| box | folder | |||
|
John Barry, 1989, The Ambition and the Power (J. Wright) 1989 |
4 | 72 | ||
|
Election overviews 1994 |
4 | 73 | ||
|
Gun control-NRA undated |
4 | 74 | ||
|
Tribune clips 1980-1989 |
4 | 75 | ||
|
Judge Ralph Foley (father), Helen Higgins Foley (mother) undated |
4 | 76 | ||
|
Heather Foley undated |
4 | 77 | ||
|
Clarice Privette undated |
4 | 78 | ||
|
Medicare undated |
4 | 79 | ||
|
Grand Coulee Dam undated |
4 | 80 | ||
|
Civil rights, fair housing 1966 |
4 | 81 | ||
|
District 5, pork barrel projects undated |
4 | 82 | ||
|
Term limits I (I-553, 1991) 1991 |
4 | 83 | ||
|
Term limits II (I-573, 1992) 1992 |
4 | 84 | ||
|
Term limits III (lawsuit) 1993-1995 |
4 | 85 | ||
|
Term limits (miscellaneous) undated |
4 | 86 | ||
|
Term limits undated |
5 | 87 | ||
|
Term limits, opposition 1991 |
5 | 88 | ||
|
House bank scandal 1991-1992 |
5 | 89 | ||
|
Bank, Post Office undated |
5 | 90 | ||
|
Post Office undated |
5 | 91 | ||
|
Internet, NFIB 1994 |
5 | 92 | ||
|
Pay and perks undated |
5 | 93 | ||
|
Campaign finance undated |
5 | 94 | ||
|
Congress, Contra aid 1986-1988 |
5 | 95 | ||
|
Foreign policy undated |
5 | 96 | ||
|
Congressional reforms, Hamilton committee 1995 |
5 | 97 | ||
|
First Amendment, free press, FOIA, flag undated |
5 | 98 | ||
|
Rivers and dams undated |
5 | 99 | ||
|
The Ragged Edge (S-R series) 1995 December |
5 | 100 | ||
|
Great Divide--Spokane vs. Seattle undated |
6 | 101 | ||
|
J. Wright, K. Olsen (miscellaneous Foley notes) undated |
6 | 102 | ||
|
Farmers, agricultural issues undated |
6 | 103 | ||
|
Forests, logging, ESA undated |
6 | 104 | ||
|
Legislators, Leading, and Lawmaking (Sinclair) 1995 |
6 | 105 | ||
|
Remaking Congress 1995 |
6 | 106 | ||
|
LBJ Papers, University of Texas undated |
6 | 107 | ||
|
Senators on the Campaign Trail (Fenno) l996 |
6 | 108 | ||
|
Former members of Congress, Northwest undated |
6 | 109 | ||
|
Henry Jackson Papers, UW undated |
6 | 110 | ||
|
Foley Papers at WSU undated |
6 | 111 | ||
|
Foley Institute, WSU undated |
6 | 112 | ||
|
Tony Coelho (1989 resignation, 1994 rehabilitation) 1989, 1994 |
6 | 113 | ||
|
Newt Gingrich undated |
6 | 114 | ||
|
Lee Hamilton undated |
6 | 115 | ||
|
George Nethercutt undated |
7 | 116 | ||
|
Nethercutt--term limits 1998-1999 |
7 | 117 | ||
|
John Sonneland undated |
7 | 118 | ||
|
Agriculture undated |
7 | 119 | ||
|
Student unrest circa 1970s |
7 | 120 | ||
|
Vietnam--student protests 1967-1970 |
7 | 121 | ||
|
Voter pamphlet profiles 1966-1994 |
7 | 122 | ||
|
Jim Wright, gun control undated |
7 | 123 | ||
|
Campaign (miscellaneous) 1988-1990 |
7 | 124 | ||
|
Expo 74 undated |
7 | 125 | ||
|
FEC reports 1976-1996 |
7 | 126 | ||
|
Miscellaneous brochures and newsletters undated |
7 | 127 | ||
|
|
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Series 3: Other Research files |
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| box | folder | |||
|
Foley research (contact information) undated |
7 | 128 | ||
|
D.C. trip 1995 June |
7 | 129 | ||
|
To read, write on D.C. trip undated |
7 | 130 | ||
|
D.C. trip 1997 |
7 | 131 | ||
|
D.C. trip 1997 May |
7 | 132 | ||
|
Biographical/research strategies undated |
7 | 133 | ||
|
Official biographies of TSF undated |
7 | 134 | ||
|
Profiles (newspapers, magazines) undated |
7 | 135-136 | ||
|
Fifth District: geography, economics, population undated |
8 | 137 | ||
|
Demographics, migration undated |
8 | 138 | ||
|
Pacific Northwest politics (overviews) undated |
8 | 139 | ||
|
Abstracts of votes, Fifth District 1964-1988 |
8 | 140 | ||
|
State general elections (official returns and abstracts) undated |
8 | 141 | ||
|
Syllabus for course at American University (Congress and the Executive) 1996 |
8 | 142 | ||
|
Research notes, Foley Papers undated |
8 | 143 | ||
|
TSF schedules undated |
8 | 144 | ||
|
Foley Papers (copies from the collection at WSU) undated |
8 | 145 | ||
|
The System (Broder and Johnson) 1996 |
8 | 146 | ||
|
Jeff Biggs (manuscript) undated |
8 | 147 | ||
|
McCormack Institute, UMass undated |
8 | 148 | ||
|
O'Brien (2) undated |
8 | 149 | ||
|
Mike Mansfield biography (excerpt) undated |
8 | 150 | ||
|
|
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Series 4: Dissertation drafts, outlines, notes, and additional research material |
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| box | folder | |||
|
Dissertation drafts undated |
8-10 | 154-162 | ||
|
Bibliographic essay undated |
10 | 163 | ||
|
WSU dissertation and thesis guidelines; planning, notes, proposals, advisor questions undated |
10 | 164-167 | ||
|
Comments and corrections undated |
10 | 168-173 | ||
|
Unlabeled drafts undated |
10 | 174-175 | ||
|
|
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Series 5: Other Foley projects by Kenton Bird |
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| box | folder | |||
|
Book proposal, UW Press 1999 |
11 | 176 | ||
|
Books/query letters undated |
11 | 177 | ||
|
Research presentation 1997 January 30 |
11 | 178 | ||
|
Foley Institute Report article 1997 |
11 | 179 | ||
|
PNQ (Pacific Northwest Quarterly), volume 95, number 1. Contains Bird's article "Tom Foley's Last Campaign: Why Eastern Washington Voters Ousted the Speaker of the House." 2003 |
11 | 180 | ||
|
PNQ article (manuscripts, revisions, proofs, correspondence) undated |
11 | 181-183 | ||
|
|
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Series 6: Interview documentation and audiovisual media |
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| box | folder | |||
|
Interview consent forms undated |
11 | 184 | ||
|
Interviews (from unlabeled binder). Includes detailed notes and an index to names and topics. undated |
11 | 185 | ||
|
Interviews undated |
11 | 186 | ||
|
Video recordings (VHS). Compilations of campaign advertising for Foley and his opponent, George Nethercutt 1994 |
11 | 187-188 | ||
|
Interview notebooks (5 items) 1995-1997 |
12 | 189-193 | ||
|
Audio recordings (microcassettes, 19 items). Interviews conducted by Kenton Bird. Audio recordings include: Tom Foley, Les Aspin, Barney Frank, Al Swift, Lee Hamilton, Larry LaRocco, Werner Brandt, James Fallows, Scott Lukins, Richard Larson, Sid Morrison, Mike Lowry, Wilfred Woods, Jim Davenport, Rick Eskill, Phyllis Pulfur, Ken Degerness, John Sonneland, Lloyd Meeds, Joseph Moakley, James McClure, Joel Prichard, Pat Gregg, Marilyn Cornell, Sherwin Broadhead, Duane Alton, Ken Casavant, Tim Wirth, David Bonior 1995-1998 |
12 | 194-212 | ||
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