Noyes, David M. Papers

Consultant without compensation to President Truman, 1948-53; assistant to former President Truman, 1953-72

The papers of David M. Noyes document his work as adviser to President Truman, particularly during the 1952 campaign, and as friend and adviser to, ghost writer for, and personal representative of former President Truman from 1953 until nearly the end of Truman's life. The collection includes over 100 letters from Truman to Noyes, several of them hand-written, as well as several longhand notes by Truman on various subjects.

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

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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Size: About 300 pages.
Access: Open.
Copyright: David M Noyes Jr. donated his copyright interest in David M. Noyes' writings in this collection, or in any other collection in the custody of the United States Government, to the people of the United States. In addition, documents prepared by United States Government employees in the course of their official duties are also in the public domain. Copyright interest in documents that do not fall in these two categories is presumed to remain with the creators of the documents.
Processed by: Raymond H. Geselbracht, Dennis Bilger, and Anita Smith

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

1898, April 19		Born, Berezna Gingover Gibernia, Russia
1913		Emigrated to the United States. His family settled in Chicago, Illinois
ca. 1920s		Advertising executive, Chicago Herald Examiner and the Topeka Household
late 1920s		Publisher and president, Dickson, Weiland and Noyes Newspapers and Lake County Newspapers, Inc.
ca. 1930-1940		Executive vice president, Lord and Thomas advertizing agency, Chicago, Illinois
ca. 1942-44		Consultant to the chairman of the War Production Board
ca. 1945-47		Worked with the Citizens Food Committee
1948, July 26		Appointed Consultant to the President without compensation
1953-72		Assistant to former President Truman
1981, August 7		Died, Los Angeles, California

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COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

David M. Noyes, who had been a journalist, newspaper owner and advertizing executive, came to Washington shortly after the beginning of World War II as a consultant to the chairman of the War Production Board. Shortly after he started to work ar the War Production Board, he met Senator Harry S. Truman, then chairman of the Special Committee of the Senate to Investigate the National Defense Program. After Truman became President in 1945, Noyes was appointed consultant to the President without compensation, in which capacity he advised Truman on various matters and helped prepare his speeches, especially during the 1948 campaign. Noyes also advised Truman on political issues during the 1952 campaign.

Noyes's relationship with Truman became very close after Truman left the presidency. Noyes, together with author William Hillman, assisted Truman in the career of writing and public speaking that he pursued after leaving the White House. Noyes advised Truman regarding the writing of his Memoirs and other publications, helped in the preparation of speeches and counseled him on his relations with his publishers and his many correspondents. Noyes also contributed to the production of a twenty-six program series of television films about Truman's presidency, "Decisions: The Conflicts of Harry S. Truman," which was produced in 1964-65. Noyes at the end of his life, in a letter written to the Harry S. Truman Good Neighbor Foundation on Sept. 14, 1979, reflected on the special nature of the relationship that he had enjoyed with Mr. Truman. "To this day," he wrote, "I can never fully account for the intuitive compatibility between us that lasted to the end."

The collection has only one series, a Chronological File. The Noyes papers came to the Truman Library in plastic sleeves in two binders. The chronological order in which the material was arranged in the binders has been maintained, and undated items have been kept in their original positions. The papers include 122 letters and handwritten notes from Truman to Noyes. in addition, the collection contains copies of a few of Noyes's letters to Truman, and a few letters to or from other correspondents. The correspondence with Truman relates primarily, for the presidential period, to the 1952 campaign, and, for the post-presidential period, to Truman's writing projects and speech making.

Several files in Truman's papers contain material on Noyes. In the presidential papers, they are as follows: President's Personal File 4241; President's Secretary's Files: General File - N; PSF: Chronological Name File - Noyes, David M.; PSF: Personal - Noyes, David M.; and PSF: Presidential Appointments: Noyes, David M. In the Post-Presidential Papers, there are files relating to Noyes in the Secretary's Office File and the Name File. The Library's oral history interview with Edwin A. Locke, Jr., contains information about Noyes's work with the War Production Board.

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