Parsons, William W. Papers

Administrative Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, 1950-1959

 

The papers of William W. Parsons consist of daily summaries, press releases, Treasury Department reports, and other documents that pertain to his work as Administrative Assistant Secretary of the Treasury from 1950 to 1957. The collection documents the Treasury Department’s reorganization, staffing issues including homosexuals and the loyalty program, the federal and Treasury Department budgets, and daily operations.

 

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

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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Size: 1.6 linear feet (about 3200 pages)
Access: Open.
Copyright: Janette Rainwater has donated to the U.S government her copyright interest in all writings in this collection. Documents created by U.S. government employees in the course of their official 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: Dennis Bilger
Updated by: Nathan Troup (2005) as part of the Truman Library Internship Program.
Supervising Archivists: Randy Sowell and David Clark.

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

1912 (June 18)		Born, Los Angeles, California
1935		Received B.S. degree, University of Southern California
1937-1940		Field Consultant, Public Administration Service, Chicago
1938		Received M.S. degree, Syracuse University
1941-1944		Budget Examiner, Bureau of the Budget
1944-1945		Deputy Director, Management Procurement Division, Treasury Department
1945-1946		Technical Assistant, Office of the Secretary of the Treasury
1946-1950		Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury
1950-1959		Administrative Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
1959-1963		Vice President, System Development Corporation
1963-1968		Senior Vice President, System Development Corporation
1968-1970		Vice President of Administration, System Development Corporation
1970-1972		Vice President, Business Affairs, University of Hawaii
1972-1973		Special Consultant to United States Comptroller General
1973-1974		Assistant Regional Manager, United States General Accounting Office, San Francisco
1974-1979		Assistant Regional Manager, United States General Accounting Office, Los Angeles
1979-1991		Distinguished Professor in Residence, School of Public Administration, University of Southern California
1991 (September 28)		Died, Santa Monica, California

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

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COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The papers of William W. Parsons consist mostly of documents relating to his position as Administrative Assistant Secretary of the Treasury from 1950 to 1959. Born in Los Angeles, Parsons received his baccalaureate from the University of Southern California and master’s degree from Syracuse University. After working for a short time in Chicago as a field consultant in the Public Administration Service, Parsons began working in the Bureau of the Budget as a budget examiner in 1941. After 1950 he served as an Administrative Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during both the Truman and Eisenhower administrations. During the Truman administration Parsons was put in charge of the reorganization of the Treasury Department.

The Reorganization Act of 1949 was signed into law by President Truman on June 20, 1949. The goal was to streamline departments in the executive branch and have them perform their functions with fewer funds. The Treasury Department would oversee the reorganization of the Bureau of Internal Revenue as well as the Bureau of Customs.

There were a number of Reorganization Plans which affected the Treasury Department. Among them were Plans Number 1-6 of 1949, Number 26 of 1950 and Number 1 of 1952. These plans changed the name and structure of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, which became the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS had seventeen district offices reduced to nine, in the hope that such a change would be more economical.

The Parsons papers are organized into one series, a Chronological File. This series contains daily summaries, press releases and Treasury Department reports documenting Parsons’s activities and the day-to-day functions of the department, including the reorganization of the department, staffing, and the federal budget. Included in these daily summaries and reports are references to various reorganization plans as well as information on the openings of new Treasury Department offices in regions around the country. The daily summaries also include documentation of staffing issues, including hiring, investigations into suspected homosexuality and disloyalty to the United States, and resignations. Concerning the federal and Treasury Department budgets, the summaries document budget cuts and appropriations for various federal agencies. The summaries also include documentation of day-to-day operations such as building maintenance and meetings.

More information about William W. Parsons and the reorganization of the Treasury Department can be found at the Truman Library in the John W. Snyder Papers and in the Martin L. Friedman Papers.

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

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