The papers of Sidney R. Yates at the Harry S. Truman Library consist of correspondence, drafts of legislation, printed material, newsletters to constituents, and other items documenting the work of Representative Yates during the 81st and 82nd Congresses, from 1949 through 1952. These papers are photocopies of original documents that are part of a much larger collection of Yates papers at the Chicago Historical Society.

Size: 1.6 linear feet (approximately 3,200 pages)
Access: Open
Copyright: Sidney R. Yates retains his copyright in his writings in this collection during his lifetime. After his death, copyright will pass to the U.S. government. Copyright in any other writings in this collection is assumed to remain with the authors of the documents.
Processed by: Randy Sowell, Sharie Simon, and Janice Davis

The papers of Sidney R. Yates at the Harry S. Truman Library are photocopied portions of a much larger collection of Yates papers that was transferred from the Truman Library to the Chicago Historical Society in 1999. Representative Yates originally donated papers to the Truman Library in 1962, and made a further donation in 1991. When Yates decided to retire from the U.S. House of Representatives in 1998, he asked that the Chicago Historical Society take custody of all of his papers, which by that time consisted of a vast quantity of material documenting a half-century of service representing his Chicago district in Congress. At the same time, he permitted the Truman Library to retain in its holdings photocopies of those of his papers which pertained to his service, during the administration of President Truman, in the 81st and 82nd Congresses, from 1949 through 1952.

The Yates papers consist of two series, a Bills Introduced File and a Newsletters File. The Bills Introduced File is composed of two subseries, one for the 81st Congress and the other for the 82nd Congress. In addition to drafts of legislation introduced by Rep. Yates, the series includes correspondence with constituents and other interested parties; memoranda; press releases; Congressional reports; transcripts of Congressional hearings; printed material; and other items relating to the proposed legislation. Among the bills that Yates introduced during the 81st and 82nd Congresses were proposals to extend equality of treatment to Japanese and other Asian persons under U.S. immigration law; to provide for federal housing loans; to restrict the interstate transportation of fireworks; to establish rent controls; to create a Labor Extension Service within the U.S. Department of Labor; and to increase federal penalties for the sale of narcotics. Yates also introduced many private relief bills relating to immigration, including a number of bills that exempted the Japanese fiancees or wives of U.S. servicemen from the racial restrictions of the Immigration Act of 1924, thus allowing the women to come to the United States. The two subseries of the Bills Introduced File are arranged in alphabetical order by subject.

The Newsletters File contains approximately 120 brief newsletters which Rep. Yates sent to his constituents on a weekly basis while Congress was in session, from March 17, 1949 to July 3, 1952. The newsletters provided information on legislation affecting Yates's constituents, and also featured interesting insights into the day-to-day activities of Congress and Yates's experiences as a junior member of the House of Representatives. Among other things, they document the struggle in Congress over President Truman's Fair Deal program of social welfare legislation, which Yates supported in his capacity as a liberal Democrat. The material in the Newsletters File is arranged in chronological order.

More information relating to Representative Sidney R. Yates, including his correspondence with Mr. Truman, can be found in the Harry S. Truman Papers: White House Central Files: President's Personal File (PPF 4879) and in the Harry S. Truman Papers: Post-Presidential Papers (General Correspondence File).

BILLS INTRODUCED FILE: 81st Congress, 1932-1952 (bulk dates, 1949-1950)

Anti-Monopoly Legislation--H. R. 3402
Beck, Mary, a.k.a. Mary Plairee--H. R. 6761
Food, Committee to Investigate--H. R. 723 [proposal to establish House committee to investigate food shortages and price increases following the outbreak of the Korean War]
Housing Bill--H. R. 4597
Housing Bill, Veterans'--H. R. 4716 [proposal to amend the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944]
Ito, Mitsuko, Fiancee of Corporal Thomas Stafford Radtke--H. R. 7658
Japanese Citizenship--H. R. 1444

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Judge--Authorizing Two Additional Judges for the Northern District of Illinois-- H. R. 6255
Kominami, Yoko, and Daughter, Fiancee of Raymond L. Finn, Jr.--H. R. 9242
Kurihara, Ayako, Fiancee of Steve Seiji Sugano--H. R. 7706
Labor Extension--H. R. 1736
Marine Corps, Create Assistant Secretary of the Navy for the--H. R. 5444
Morita, Mrs. Claude and Son Rodney, Wife and Son of Claude Morita--H. R. 8956
Nakamura, Mitsuko, Fiancee of Sgt. John Komei Kato--H. R. 9065

Nationality Act--H. R. 4434 [amendment]
Nishitsuru, Mieko, Fiancee of Frank Endo--H. R. 7256
Nishiyama, Judy Fukuyo, Fiancee of Jim Sumito Moritsugu--H. R. 6661
Ogura, Fumiko, Fiancee of Sgt. Chiharu Tagami--H. R. 9066
Promoting Maximum Employment and Production--H. R. 5797
Railroad Retirement Act--H. R. 7490 [amendment]
Rent Control--H. R. 1851

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Schneider, Mrs. Harry, nee Hamako Amano--H. R. 6271
Screens, Reduce Tariff on Half-Tone--H. R. 7124

Stojnic, Peter N.--H. R. 7543
Tsutsumi, Masaka, Fiancee of Sgt. Makoto Sugino--H. R. 9155

BILLS INTRODUCED FILE: 82nd Congress, 1936-1954 (bulk dates, 1951-1952)

Aging--H. R. 238
Authorize Sale of Chicago Appraisers' Stores Building--H. R. 3049
Breger, For the Relief of Rica, Lucy, and Salomon--H. R. 6762
Dorchester Day--H. J. Res. 443 [proposal to commemorate February 3, the anniversary of the deaths of four chaplains aboard the Army transport Dorchester in 1943]
Fireworks Bill--H. R. 4675

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Icamina, For the Relief of Dr. Frederico O.--H. R. 6090
Internal Revenue Code, Amend--H. R. 6824
Japanese Citizenship--H. R. 438
Kanzaki, Reiko--H. R. 5271 [for the relief of the fiancee of Shizuo Hojo]
Kono, Aya Iyoda--H. R. 2728 [for the relief of the wife of Joseph M. Kono]

Kubelik, Rafael, and Family--H. R. 1979
Moy Yin Sue--H. R. 5544
Narcotics Law, Amending Penalty--H. R. 2645

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Slucka (or Slucki), Mrs. Paula and Son, Ariel--H. R. 1978
Tsuzuki, Toshio, For the Relief of--H. R. 6092
Yeh, David--H. R. 3668

NEWSLETTERS FILE, 1949-1952

Newsletters--No. 1 (March 17, 1949) Through No. 120 (July 3, 1952)

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