Scope and Content Note
The papers of James Martin Barnes (1899-1958) span the years 1918-1958, with the bulk of the material from 1943 to 1945 when Barnes served as administrative assistant to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The papers are organized into General Correspondence , Special Correspondence , Presidential File , Appointment and Patronage File , Subject File , Telephone Logs , Photographs and Miscellany , and Scrapbooks (Oversize) series.
Approximately half of the collection consists of letters sent and received during his period of service on the White House staff. Dealing largely with appointments and patronage, political questions and the requests of servicemen, this correspondence reflects a segment of the domestic scene during the last few years of World War II. It also reveals the interaction between the White House, Congress, the Democratic National Committee, and various executive departments, offices and agencies.
The scrapbooks and photographs do not cover the White House years. One scrapbook of photographs documents Barnes's service with the marines during World War I.
Among the noteworthy correspondents are Chester Bowles, James Forrestal, Harry L. Hopkins, Lyndon B. Johnson, Estes Kefauver, Scott Wike Lucas, John W. McCormack, Sam Rayburn, and Eleanor Roosevelt. The Presidential File contains memoranda referring questions from President Roosevelt to Barnes.