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This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
This collection has use restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the FAQ section for more information.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 4232 interviews; about 10,000 textual items |
| Abstract | In 1973, the History Dept. of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill established an oral history program devoted to the study of the southern region of the United States. The Southern Oral History Program collects interviews with Southerners who have made significant contributions to various fields of human endeavor. In addition, the Program undertakes special projects with the purpose of rendering historically visible those whose experience is not reflected in traditional written sources. Interviews are conducted by Program staff, graduate students, faculty members, and consultants. The Program also serves as a collecting agency, accepting donations of tapes and transcripts of interviews conducted by other researchers. The collection includes sound recordings of interviews conducted under the auspices of the Southern Oral History Program or by other researchers, who donated their recordings to the Program. Also included are transcripts of most interviews, abstracts or tape indexes of many interviews, introductory biographical sketches for some interviews, and photographs of a few interviewees. The contents of each series of interviews is described in separate catalog records. Note that names of interviewees are listed in the series descriptions below. |
| Creator | Southern Oral History Program. |
| Language | English. |
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Information For Users
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Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
This collection contains materials related to the following subjects. Each project in the collection is accompanied by more specific subject headings. These are included with the project descriptions below.
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Historical Information
In September 1973, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill established an oral history program devoted to the study of the southern region. The Southern Oral History Program is engaged in the collection of interviews with individuals in North Carolina and in the South who have made significant contributions to various fields of human endeavor. In addition, the Program undertakes special projects with the purpose of rendering historically visible those whose consciousness and experience are not reflected in traditional written sources. The result is the preservation of information that exists only in the minds of living men and women, material which, if unrecorded, would soon be lost.
The Program has established projects in several areas-- individual biographies, southern women, workers and labor movements, contemporary politics, and North Carolina social history. In addition, the Program serves as a collecting agency; tapes and transcripts are donated to the Program by other researchers.
In 1994, a gift from Walter Royal Davis enabled the Southern Oral History Program and the Academic Affairs Library to establish the Davis Oral History Fund and to launch five projects aimed at understanding how North Carolinians have dealt with the changes that have transformed the state since the Great Depression. These projects focus on University history; North Carolina politics; business history; women's leadership and grassroots activism; and memory and community studies.
Interviews done directly under the auspices of the Southern Oral History Program are conducted by Program staff, graduate students, faculty members, and consultants. The structure of the interview depends on its purposes. In some cases, lengthy biographical memoirs are undertaken. In others, interviews focus only on the specific aspects of the respondent's experience that bear on the historical concerns of the interviewer.
Transcripts are available for many of the interviews. Inaudible phrases may be indicated in the transcripts by a blank space, appearing: ( ). Ellipses indicate a pause in speech. False starts are omitted and punctuation is added for the sake of clarity. It should be noted that transcripts vary somewhat in style and appearance. Early transcripts were corrected by hand; in later ones, corrections have been typewritten. Abstracts or tape indexes exist for many interviews, and introductory biographical sketches have been prepared for some interviews. Some transcripts were returned to the interviewee for approval. If necessary, a revised transcript was prepared. In cases where transcripts have been significantly rewritten, a note to that effect is appended.
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Scope and Content
As of September 2006, the Southern Oral History Program Collection consists of twenty series, as follows:
Photographs and other related materials: A few interviews or interview series have related photographs, notes, or other materials. The existence of these materials is noted in the series or item description as appropriate.
Using the collection: The Southern Oral History Program views oral history not as an end in itself, but as an additional tool for exploring social life in past times. Interviews constitute primary source material, retrospective evidence of individual experiences and perceptions. Those who use the Program's tapes or transcripts are cautioned to bring to them the same rules of evidence applied to other forms of historical documentation, testing one interview against another as well as against written sources. The Program makes no representation as to the factual accuracy of a memoir; the scholar judges for him or herself.
For each series, the Program supplies an introduction describing the purpose and origin of the series. Each series is assigned a letter and each interview within the series is assigned a unique number within its series (e.g., A-1, B-1). Arrangement of the interviews within each series varies. Researchers should include both letter and number when requesting interviews.
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Series Quick Links
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A. Southern Politics.
This series contains interviews conducted for three different projects: (1) Bass-DeVries interviews (original deposit, appendix, and additional interviews) for The Transformation of Southern Politics, A-1-334, 358; (2) Southern Liberalism interviews by John Egerton, A-335-367; (3) North Carolina Politics interviews, A-370-431.
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A.1. Bass-DeVries Interviews, 1973-1975.
ABSTRACT: SERIES A.1. BASS-DEVRIES INTERVIEWS: The Bass-De Vries group of interviews includes discussions with political leaders, journalists, editors, party officials, political scientists, campaign directors, union officials, civil rights leaders, and congress people from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. These interviews were conducted as part of a study of politics in the South between 1945 and 1974 that resulted in The Transformation of Southern Politics: Social Change and Political Consequence Since 1945 (Basic Books, 1976). Some of these interviews are exclusively related to the impact of the civil rights movement, black political participation, the rise of the Republican Party, and the results of industrialization and urbanization. Others include information on a broad range of events and movements. Interviews with leaders of regional importance, civil rights activists, and those persons who exercised political power over long spans of time are of particular interest. Also included are a group of interviews, largely conducted by the Southern Oral History Program (SOHP) and other University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill) groups, that expand on those collected by Bass and De Vries. Among these are in-depth biographical memoirs of national figures, regional commentators, state party leaders, and local officials. In addition to discussing political issues, each interview aims at revealing the forces that shape the lives of public people--family culture, childhood experiences, education, self-concepts, and early political involvements. The process of political decision-making is also examined.
SCOPE AND CONTENT: Bass and DeVries interviewed more than 300 respondents from 1973 through 1975. Through a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Southern Oral History Program provided transcripts for 215 of the most important interviews. Some of these interviews are exclusively related to the themes in The Transformation of Southern Politics: the impact of the civil rights movement, black political participation, the rise of the Republican Party, and the results of industrialization and urbanization. Others include information on a broad range of events and movements. Interviews with leaders of regional importance, civil rights activists, and those persons who exercised political power over long spans of time are of particular interest.
Jack Solomon Bass (1936- ) is a political reporter. He received a B.A. degree in journalism from the University of South Carolina and was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. From 1966 to 1973, he served as Columbia, S.C., bureau chief for the Charlotte Observer. He is the author of Porgy Comes Home: South Carolina After 300 Years (1972) and other books. Walter DeVries (1931- ) is a political consultant. He received his Ph.D. degree in political science from Michigan State University. From 1962 to 1967, he was executive assistant to Governor George Romney of Michigan. Since 1973, he has served as associate professor in the Institute of Political Sciences and Public Affairs at Duke University. He is also director of the North Carolina Institute of Politics.
The additional interviews expand on those collected by Bass and DeVries through in-depth biographical memoirs of national figures, regional commentators, state party leaders, and local officials. In addition to discussing political issues, each interview aims at revealing the forces that shape the lives of public people-family, culture, childhood experiences, education, self-concepts, and early political involvements. The process of political decision-making is also examined. Most of these interviews were conducted by the Southern Oral History Program and students and faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Three interviews were received on exchange, one each from Rice University, Columbia University, and Louisiana State University. Two interviews with Terry Sanford were donated by the interviewer, Joe B. Frantz. The three interviews with Sam Ervin have been extensively abstracted rather than transcribed, and one interview with L. M. Wright has not been transcribed.
The original deposit contained the 215 interviews for which transcripts were prepared. They are arranged alphabetically within state groupings. Transcripts for interviews marked with an plus sign (+) are available on microfilm. Following these interviews is the appendix, containing interviews conducted by Bass and DeVries that were not transcribed. These are also arranged in state groupings. The Southern Oral History Program was unable to supply any information on how or by whom transcribing decisions were made. Appendix tapes were transferred to the Manuscripts Department in December 1976. Some attempt has been made to identify interviewees in this group. Please note that, since tapes are used in lieu of transcripts, quotation is permitted. Interviews marked with a number sign (#) share a tape with another interview.
Interviews marked with an asterisk (*) are closed or restricted. Interview numbers are not necessarily in sequence, and some may be missing.
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A.1.1. Original Deposit.
Interviews marked with an plus sign (+) are available on microfilm. Interviews marked with a number sign (#) share a tape with another interview. Interviews marked with an asterisk (*) are closed or restricted. Interview numbers are not necessarily in sequence, and some may be missing.
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A.1.2. Appendix.
Interviews marked with an plus sign (+) are available on microfilm. Interviews marked with a number sign (#) share a tape with another interview. Interviews marked with an asterisk (*) are closed or restricted. Interview numbers are not necessarily in sequence, and some may be missing.
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A.1.3. Additional Interviews.
Interviews marked with an plus sign (+) are available on microfilm. Interviews marked with a number sign (#) share a tape with another interview. Interviews marked with an asterisk (*) are closed or restricted. Interview numbers are not necessarily in sequence, and some may be missing.
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A.2. Southern Liberalism, 1990-1991.
ABSTRACT: SERIES A.2. SOUTHERN LIBERALISM: These interviews were conducted in late 1990 and early 1991 by John Egerton as part of the research for a book on the post-World War II era and the opportunities that era presented for positive action on civil rights. Many interviews are with individuals who were involved in various ways in the civil rights struggle. In the interviews, Egerton focused on the interviewees' careers between 1945 and 1950 and their opinions of various individuals, institutions, and events. Some topics covered extensively include the New Deal and Franklin Roosevelt, the University of North Carolina and Frank Graham, the Southern Conference for Human Welfare, and the Brown decision. Researchers should note that, at times, much of the discussion concerns Egerton's thesis about the time period and the interviewee's reaction to that thesis.
Interviews marked with an asterisk (*) are closed or restricted. Interview numbers are not necessarily in sequence, and some may be missing.
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A.3. North Carolina Politics, 1994- .
ABSTRACT: SERIES A.3. NORTH CAROLINA POLITICS: These interviews are part of a North Carolina politics project begun in 1994 aimed at understanding how North Carolinians have dealt with the changes that have transformed the state since the Great Depression. The overarching themes of the interviews are the realignment in North Carolina party politics and the Republican reemergence; the evolution of African American political activity in North Carolina since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965; the evolution of women's political activity in North Carolina since the 1960s; and the centrality of cultural and social politics in the state's political contests and debates in the same time period.
SCOPE AND CONTENT: These projects were launched with a gift from Walter Royal Davis which enabled the Southern Oral History Program and the Academic Affairs Library to establish the Davis Oral History Fund. The other projects focus on University history; women's leadership and grassroots activism; business history; the broadcast media; and memory and community studies.
Project coordinator for the North Carolina politics project is William Link of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The majority of the interviews were conducted by Joseph Mosnier, a graduate student in history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Other interviews were conducted by Jonathan Houghton as part of his dissertation research on the history of the Republican Party in North Carolina or by Howard Covington and Marion Ellis.
The overarching themes of the interviews, particularly those by Mosnier, are (a) the realignment in North Carolina party politics and the Republican reemergence; (b) the evolution of African American political activity in North Carolina since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965; (c) the evolution of women's political activity in North Carolina since the 1960s; and (d) the centrality of cultural and social politics in the state's political contests and debates in the same time period.
Interviews marked with an asterisk (*) are closed or restricted. Interview numbers are not necessarily in sequence, and some may be missing. Interviews are not in alphabetical order.
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B. Individual Biographies.
ABSTRACT: SERIES B. INDIVIDUAL BIOGRAPHIES: This series contains recordings of biographical interviews conducted by the staff of the SOHP and others, intended to address the contemporary dearth of personal letters and diaries written by notable citizens. Interviews with educators, business leaders, political activists, professional workers, authors, and artists, as well as with homemakers, tobacco workers, and domestic servants, are included. Although biographical in nature, the interviews may also concentrate on specific events or periods in which the respondent was involved. In some cases there is more than one interview with a given individual, each relating to a different aspect of his or her career. Included is a series of interviews relating to African-American communist Hosea Hudson.
SCOPE AND CONTENT: The collection of biographical interviews is an ongoing project of the Southern Oral History Program. This project seeks to restore the balance personal letters and diaries, which are becoming increasingly scarce, once brought to the public record, by interviewing notable men and women in North Carolina and the southern region. Interviews with educators, business leaders, political activists, professional workers, and authors and artists are included in this series.
The interviews have been conducted by the program staff and by students and faculty whose research in southern history utilized oral sources. The interviews are biographical in nature, although they may concentrate on specific events or periods within the lifetime of the respondent. In some cases there is more than one interview with an individual, each covering a different aspect of his or her career. A biographical sketch is often filed with each interview, or with the first interview if there are several for one individual.
Because this is an open-ended series and additions are added as they are transferred, there is no uniform arrangement for the entire series.
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B.1. Individual Biographies (General).
Interviews marked with an asterisk (*) are closed or restricted.
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B.2. Interviews with a Special Focus.
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B.2.1. Idea of the American South Project.
Some of these interviews were conducted by Michael O'Brien as part of his research for The Idea of the American South (1978). A review of O'Brien's book from The State (Columbia, S.C.) is filed with the accession record and is available upon request.
Interviews marked with an asterisk (*) are closed or restricted.