ROGERS C.B. MORTON FILES, 1975-76

When Rogers Morton was appointed as Counsellor to the President on February 2, 1976, the White House stated that he would serve as Counsellor to the President with Cabinet rank responsible for providing advice on domestic and economic issues; member of the Economic Policy Board, Energy Resources Council, and Domestic Council; and principal White House liaison with the President Ford Committee (PFC) and the Republican National Committee (RNC).

While Morton had wide-ranging responsibilities as Counsellor, the bulk of the files consist of material on political matters compiled or created by Morton and his staff (especially his assistant Timothy Austin). The files principally cover the period of the 1976 primary campaign, but include a few documents up to the time of the November election. Most of the material consists of memoranda exchanged between the Morton staff and members of the RNC, PFC, and White House staff discussing political strategy. Included is material on political opinion and issues in the states; proposed contacts (meetings, letters, telegrams, and telephone calls) with state Republicans; and media coverage of the campaign, particularly the development of political advertising such as pamphlets and radio and television commercials.

The Morton appointment was controversial as many felt that public money should not be spent to pay the salary of a political adviser. Morton only held this post for a two-month period, however. President Ford named him as chairman of the President Ford Committee at the beginning of April 1976, following the resignation of Howard "Bo" Callaway.

After Morton's departure, his assistant Timothy J. Austin remained on the White House staff until the beginning of May 1976 when he, too, moved to the President Ford Committee. Material accumulated by Austin was interfiled with that of Morton with the exception of their separately maintained chronological files.

After Morton and Austin had left the White House, their duties were assumed by other White House staff, particularly Richard Cheney. These files were apparently maintained and occasionally added to by Jana Hruska Fagan until the November election. Fagan, who had served as confidential assistant to Morton and Austin, continued to hold the same position under Cheney.

Related Materials (May 1984)
Related material on the 1976 campaign may be found in White House Central Files categories PL (Political Affairs), PR 7-2 (Presidential Telephone Calls), TR 3/ST #/1976 (Campaign Trips by State), and SP 3-1 (Campaign Speeches). Other collections concerning the campaign include the files of James Reichley and the papers of Michael Raoul-Duval. The files of Domestic Council staff members and members of the Press Secretary's Office and Editorial Staff also contain scattered files on the campaign. The Wanda Phelan Files and Charles McCall Files include useful accumulations of clippings, published interview transcripts, articles, and speech texts concerning both the Ford and Carter campaigns.