Truman Library - Sam M. Wear Papers

Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum

Sam M. Wear Papers

Dates: 1932-1959.

Missouri political associate and friend of Harry S. Truman.

The papers of Sam M. Wear include correspondence; newspaper clippings, brochures, and other printed materials; speeches and speech drafts; lists of voters and party officials; and other items pertaining to Missouri election campaigns and Wear’s service as a leader of the Democratic Party.

[Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List]

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Size: Two linear feet (about 4,000 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: The donor gave to the U.S. government his copyright interest in the writings of Sam M. Wear in these papers and in any other papers deposited in the Harry S. Truman Library. Documents created by U.S. government officials in the course of their official duties are in the public domain. Copyright interest in other documents presumably belongs to the creators of those documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Erwin J. Mueller (1967).
Updated by: Catherine Shelley (2006) as part of the Truman Library Internship Program.
Supervising Archivists: Randy Sowell and David Clark.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

1880 (January 14)		Born, Cassville, Missouri
1902		Graduated from Drury College, Springfield, Missouri
1904		LL.B., Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tennessee
1912-1916		Greene County Prosecutor
1932		Elected Member of the Democratic State Committee
1936		Chairman of the Democratic State Convention
1942-1943		Unsuccessful Candidate for U.S. Representative from Missouri, 6th Congressional District
1944		Served as Chairman of the Democratic State Committee
1945-1953		U.S. Attorney, Western District of Missouri
1965 (September 10)		Died, Springfield, Missouri

COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The papers of Sam M. Wear consist mostly of correspondence between Wear and various Missouri Democrats regarding election campaigns, campaign financing, and Democratic Party activities. The collection includes correspondence with prominent Democratic leaders such as Senator Harry S. Truman, Governor Lloyd Stark, and Robert Hannegan, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Requests for campaign contributions and related correspondence make up much of the collection. Other letters inquire about the prospects for a strong Democratic vote in Missouri or in different parts of the state. The papers also include newspaper clippings, campaign brochures, and other printed materials, as well as a variety of documents relating to electoral politics in Missouri, such as lists of voters and party officials. Although the date span of the collection extends from 1932 to 1959, only a few documents in the collection are dated later than 1944.

The collection is comprised of three series. The first series, the Subject File, contains correspondence, speeches and speech drafts, printed materials, and other documents relating to Missouri political campaigns and Wear’s work as a Democratic Party leader from 1932 to 1944. The series includes information about Wear’s campaign for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri’s Sixth Congressional District in 1942. Wear lost the election in November 1942 to the Republican incumbent, Phil A. Bennett. Bennett died shortly thereafter, and a special election was held in January 1943 to fill his seat. Wear was again the Democratic candidate, but he lost again, this time to Bennett’s son. The Subject File also contains information on other political campaigns in Missouri, including Truman’s bid for reelection to the U.S. Senate in 1940, and his candidacy for Vice President as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s running mate in 1944.

The second series, Missouri—1942 Elections—County File, contains information relating to the 1942 campaign in eleven Missouri counties. Most of the correspondence and other materials in this series pertain to Wear’s campaign for Congress in the Sixth Congressional District. The third series, Missouri—1944 Elections—County File, contains material concerning the 1944 campaign in Missouri. As Chairman of the Democratic State Committee during that campaign, Wear received many requests for financial assistance and reports on the political situation from Democratic leaders throughout Missouri. There are folders in this series for all 114 counties in the state, but 34 of the folders were empty when the collection was donated to the Truman Library.

More information on Sam M. Wear can be found in the Harry S. Truman Papers: in the President’s Personal File of the White House Central Files (PPF 1018) and in the Personal File of the President’s Secretary’s Files.

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Container Nos.		Series
1-3		SUBJECT FILE, 1932-1959
		Correspondence, printed materials, speeches and speech drafts, and other items. Arranged alphabetically.
3-4		MISSOURI—1942 ELECTIONS—COUNTY FILE, 1941-1943
		Correspondence and other items. Arranged alphabetically.
4-5		MISSOURI—1944 ELECTIONS—COUNTY FILE, 1937-1944
		Correspondence and other items. Arranged alphabetically.