When I imagined doing research in an archive center, my mind conjured up sitting among stacks of disorganized boxes in a dusty, old library. But, in the sleepy village of Tarrytown, New York, lies the rather magnificent Rockefeller Archive Center, which houses archives for members of the Rockefeller family and organizations in which they have been involved. The 24-acre Center was originally designed to be a personal home for Martha Baird Rockefeller, second wife of John D. Rockefeller. While she never lived in it, the mansion is today still quite lavish and well adorned. There is obviously a huge breadth of material stored in the house. Other researchers present were studying everything from Jean Piaget (who received a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation) to the Museum of Modern Arts (members of the Rockefeller family served on the museum’s Board of Trustees).
I was there to study the Rockefeller Drug Laws, which set the precedent for establishing mandatory minimum sentencing for drug possession in America. Archivist Amy Fitch took the time to listen to my project and very helpfully suggest what material I’d want to look at. I spent most of my eight-hour day looking through Nelson Rockefeller’s fourth counsel Michael Whiteman’s files. I had read that Whiteman was one of the few members of Rockefeller’s inner circle who was bold enough to criticize him and actually dissented over the drug laws, so I thought there might be some drama in his files. However, after combing through every last one of his files related to the drug laws, I had found nothing remotely dramatic. From the files, Whiteman seemed supportive of the drug laws and was working diligently to help get the controversial 1973 laws passed. If there was any dissent, it doesn’t appear to have been articulated to the governor in writing by Whiteman.
However, there were many documents that revealed many interesting potential leads. I was able to cull names of people that an aide suggested Governor Rockefeller place on a committee to advise his drug policy, which included community and business leaders. I also discovered the list of attendees from Governor Rockefeller’s delegation to a high-level meeting with U.S. Attorney General John N. Mitchell to discuss Rockefeller’s ideas for the more stringent drug laws. This is clearly a list of influential people in the New York political establishment who clearly held significant sway. It would be interesting to track those down who are still alive and interview them. I also found out that Governor Rockefeller held a series of town hall meetings across New York to get feedback about his proposed drug laws and there are transcripts available. I haven’t had a chance to read through them yet, but think that there could be some interesting characters who may have come out to speak to the governor in that setting. For instance, in Whiteman’s files, there was an archived New York Times article about Jackie Robinson coming out to a town hall meeting to support the drug laws. Finally, it seems like a group named “MAN”, Ministers Against Narcotics, held particular influence with the government. It sent a letter actually demanding certain individuals be hired to fill various positions within the agency NACC (Narcotics Addiction Control Commission) and it seems as through the government complied! I’d be interested to find out how a group of religious leaders came to hold so much clout.
While I did not find any dramatic moments within Michael Whiteman’s files as I had hoped, there is plenty in there that I think has pointed me in the right direction to discover the inner workings behind the inception of the Rockefeller Drug Laws.