The Elizabeth Hanford Dole U.S. Secretary of Transportation Papers, which date 1982 – 1998, consist primarily of correspondence, newsclippings, briefing books and other policy documents, schedules, subject files, and speeches. This collection documents Dole’s time as head of the Department of Transportation, and as such, a Republican Party campaign surrogate and member of President Reagan’s cabinet. To a lesser extent, her personal and professional relationship with Senator Bob Dole and his position in Congress are also represented in the collection.
The majority of the collection was created while Dole served as Secretary of Transportation; however, some later files (dating through the late-1990s) following up on initiatives and projects from her tenure are present. Predominant topics reflect Dole’s main initiatives while she served at the DOT: safety, renovating D.C.’s Union Station, the government sale of Conrail, transferring control of D.C. airports, regulation and deregulation, and the promotion and support of women and minorities within the Department. Safety comprises many subjects involving all transportation modes – airplane, car, railroad, trucking – like drunk driving and the nation-wide 21 drinking age, random drug testing, and new regulations involving safety belts and air bags in cars.
Original order has been preserved and reconstructed wherever possible. The Speeches, Newsclippings, and Correspondence series largely arrived organized and labeled by the creator. Speeches and newsclippings are arranged chronologically; correspondence is arranged alphabetically.
The Administrative series is comprised of the remainder of the files that pertain to Dole’s time at the Department of Transportation that did not fit in the other series. The processing archivist applied the Administrative label to classify this grouping of material that encompasses the beginning and end of Dole’s time at the DOT, as well as policy decisions and initiatives.