Shearer, Ross S. Papers

Official, Bureau of the Budget, 1942-1951; Official, Economic Stabilization Agency, 1951-1953

The papers of Ross S. Shearer consist of correspondence, printed materials, reports, drafts of Presidential speeches and messages, press releases, and other documents mostly relating to the labor policies of the U.S. government during the Presidencies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, and other aspects of Shearer's work with the Bureau of the Budget and the Economic Stabilization Agency.

[Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List]

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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Size: 1 linear foot, 4 linear inches (about 2,400 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: The donors gave their copyright interest in all writings in this collection, and in any other collection in the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration, to the United States of America. Documents created by U.S. government employees in the course of their official duties are in the public domain. Copyright interests in other documents in this collection presumably belong to the creators of those documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Randy Sowell (2018).

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

1911 (March 25)		Born Ross Sterling Shearer, Houston, Texas
1928-1934		Student, George Washington University and the University of Texas
1937		LL.B. Degree, South Texas School of Law
1942-1951		Official with the U.S. Bureau of the Budget, serving at various times as Budget Examiner, Principal Budget Examiner, and Chief of the Labor and Welfare Branch
1951-1953		Official with the U.S. Economic Stabilization Agency, serving at various times as Director of the Program Planning Staff, Assistant Administrator, and Acting Administrator
1953-c. 1973		Official with the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Manpower Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor
1997		Died

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COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The papers of Ross S. Shearer consist of correspondence, printed materials, reports, drafts of Presidential speeches and messages, press releases, and other documents mostly relating to the labor policies of the U.S. government during the Presidencies of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, and other aspects of Shearer's work with the Bureau of the Budget and the Economic Stabilization Agency. The collection is arranged alphabetically in a single series (the Subject File).

Shearer's papers reflect his involvement in labor issues as an official with the Bureau of the Budget whose responsibilities included evaluating bills that were under consideration by Congress or that were passed by Congress, advising the President on whether to sign or veto bills, and preparing Presidential statements and veto messages. The collection contains information about two major pieces of labor legislation that were passed by Congress in 1947, the Portal to Portal Act and the Taft-Hartley Act. Included are copies of bills and proposed amendments; memorandums; reports; newspaper and magazine articles; drafts of President Truman's statement on signing the Portal to Portal Act; and drafts of his message to Congress and speech to the nation announcing that he was vetoing the Taft-Hartley Act.

The collection also contains verbatim reports on the proceedings of the President's Labor-Management Conference in 1945, drafts of the conference's final report, and correspondence relating to Shearer's work as executive assistant to the secretary of the conference, George W. Taylor. The printed materials in the papers mostly consist of newspaper articles concerning various labor problems of the Roosevelt and Truman years. Also included in the collection are correspondence and reports regarding U.S. labor and economic policy during World War II and the efforts of such agencies as the National War Labor Board and the National Railway Adjustment Board to address labor problems during this period.

Shearer's papers contain some documents created during his service with the Economic Stabilization Agency during the Korean War. These documents include correspondence and printed materials relating to the Defense Production Act, mobilization, price control, production capacity, and the designation of Shearer as Acting Administrator of the agency in 1953. Also included is an agency report on the problem of price-wage coordination during the war.

Related collections at the Truman Library include the papers of Clark M. Clifford, Harold L. Enarson, David H. Stowe, and George W. Taylor, and the White House Records Office Files in the papers of Harry S. Truman.

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