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New Jersey Committee for Fair Representation Records
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
The New Jersey Committee for Fair Representation formed in July of 1964 in response to a Congressional effort, led by Senator Everett Dirksen, to circumvent the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Reynolds v. Sims. In June of 1964, the Supreme Court ruled on Reynolds v. Sims ordering that state legislatures be reapportioned on a population basis. The committee, consisting of New Jersey-based political science professors and lawyers, fully supported the Supreme Court's decision. Co-chaired by Princeton professor Alpheus T. Mason and Newark lawyer Joseph Harrison, the committee met throughout the last six months of 1964 with the purpose of drafting a report consisting of recommendations for implementing the Supreme Court's decision. Their final draft, Reapportionment in New Jersey: Recommendations and Supporting Statements, was finished in 1965 and submitted to the Legislative Reapportionment and Congressional Redistricting Commission. Among the committee's recommendations were the retention of a bicameral legislature, the use of population for the drawing of districts, enlarging the state senate to 30 members, and the re-drawing of districts with an eye toward growth trends. The committee opposed systems of weighted or fractional voting and the tying together of state legislative and congressional districts.
The New Jersey Fair Representation Committee Records document the committee's history through correspondence, reports and miscellaneous files. The correspondence consists of intra-committee letters and committee members' correspondence with members of the media and various politicians. The reports consist of drafts and copies of the recommendations submitted by the committee. Also included here are summaries of preliminary research completed before the drafting of the report. The miscellaneous files consist of charts, maps, bills, resolutions, meeting minutes, lists, financial statements, press releases, and newspaper clippings collected during the course of the committee's work and immediately thereafter.
Please see series descriptions in contents list for additional information about individual series.
Material within the collection, notably from the Reports Series, provided the information for the organizational history of the New Jersey Committee for Fair Representation.
This collection was donated by Joseph Harrison in 1968.
This collection was processed by Casey Babcock in October 2007. An EAD finding aid was created from a MARC record in 2007. This finding aid was updated in October 2007 by Casey Babcock. A collection-level description and inventory list were created at this time.
No material was separated during processing in 2007.
People
Subject
- Apportionment (Election law) -- New Jersey -- 20th century
- Election districts -- New Jersey -- 20th century
- Representative government and representation -- New Jersey -- 20th century
- Voting -- United States -- 20th century
- Demography
Place
- Publisher
- Public Policy Papers
- Finding Aid Author
- Casey Babcock
- Finding Aid Date
- 2007
- Sponsor
- These papers were processed with an operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State.
- Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
-
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. For quotations that are fair use as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission to cite or publish is required. For those few instances beyond fair use, researchers are responsible for determining who may hold the copyright and obtaining approval from them. Researchers do not need anything further from the Mudd Library to move forward with their use.
Collection Inventory
The Correspondence Series includes correspondence both to and from committee members. The bulk of the series consists of intra-committee correspondence; discussions include possible subjects for research, findings, and member positions on aspects of the committee's report. Also included are committee members' correspondence with members of the media and various politicians.
The Correspondence Series is arranged alphabetically by subject.
Physical Description1 box
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
The Reports Series includes drafts and final copies of reports generated by the New Jersey Committee for Fair Representation and reports used for research purposes. The bulk of the reports consist of the committee's final report and drafts of sections of the final report.
The Reports Series is arranged alphabetically by subject.
Physical Description1 box
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
The Miscellaneous Files Series consists of files compiled during the tenure of the committee, most likely by Princeton professors Alpheus T. Mason and Duane Lockard along with Joseph Harrison. Documents include charts, maps, bills, resolutions, meeting minutes, lists, financial statements, press releases, and newspaper clippings. Items of note include documents pertaining to the Jackman v. Bodine case, maps drafted by the committee documenting county demographic changes in New Jersey, and committee meeting minutes.
The Miscellaneous Files Series arranged alphabetically by subject.
Physical Description2 boxes
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder