Montana Politics and Politicians

Mike Mansfield at deskAmong the largest manuscript collections in Archives and Special Collections are the papers of Montana politicians, including U.S. Representatives and Senators and state legislators. The papers of political leaders, especially those at the national level, include a wealth of information in correspondence from constituents, subject files on a variety of issues, and files about individuals and places around Montana. Particularly noteworthy are the papers of Mike Mansfield, the longest serving U. S. Senate Majority Leader; the papers of pioneer and territorial legislator James Fergus; and the papers of James Watson Gerard, U.S. Ambassador to Germany from 1913-1917 and occasional resident of Hamilton, Montana.

The Bob Brown Oral History Collection contains more than 80 interviews, conducted from 2005 to present, with a variety of Montana political figures. Our Campaign Materials Collection contains thousands of pieces of ephemera from local, state and national candidates. Additional information about relevant manuscript and oral history collections can be found in this Montana Politics and Politicians Collection List and by keyword searching or browsing in the Archives West database.