Keith, Nathaniel S. Papers

Assistant to the Administrator, Housing and Home Finance Agency, 1947-1949; Director, Division of Slum Clearance and Urban Redevelopment, Housing and Home Finance Agency, 1949-1953

The papers of Nathaniel S. Keith consist of correspondence, speeches, press releases, legislation, and Congressional voting records mostly regarding housing and urban redevelopment during Keith's career at the Housing and Home Finance Agency. The collection also includes photographs, news clippings, and other items.

Size: 1 linear foot, 9 linear inches (about 3,000 pages)
Access: Open.
Copyright: The donor gave to the U.S. government her copyrights in the unpublished writings in this collection. Documents created by U.S. government officials in the course of their duties are also in the public domain. Copyright interest in other documents presumably belongs to the creators of those documents, or their heirs
Processed by: Erwin J. Mueller (1975).
Updated by: Staci Sanders (2013) as part of the Truman Library Internship Program.
Supervising Archivists: Randy Sowell and David Clark.

The Nathaniel S. Keith Papers include correspondence, newspaper clippings, speeches, press releases, Congressional legislation, and voting records relating to the career of Nathaniel S. Keith and his involvement in government housing programs.

The correspondence consists of professional letters to and from John B. Blandford, Administrator of the National Housing Agency, and correspondence with other members or officials of various housing committees or agencies, as well as notes from meetings Keith was involved in. Congratulatory letters to Keith regarding his appointment as Director of the Division of Slum Clearance and Urban Redevelopment are filed under "Scrapbook," along with copies of speeches delivered by Keith.

Much of the collection consists of Congressional legislation regarding housing. Drafts of various bills as well as voting records of members of Congress are included. This material reflects Keith's duties as liaison between the housing agency and Congress.

Press releases, newspaper articles, and material regarding policy statements for the Housing and Home Finance Agency (HHFA) can also be found in the collection. Printed materials include task force reports, reports to Congress, and booklets containing information about housing.

The collection focuses on matters regarding Keith's work in the HHFA; there is no material concerning his personal life.

More information about housing policy during the Truman administration can be found in the papers of Raymond M. Foley, B. T. Fitzpatrick, and William K. Divers.