Suggested Research Topics - Michigan and the National Democratic Party: G. Mennen Williams and the Presidential Election of 1960

Gov. Williams, Dearborn Memorial Day Parade, 1960.

Gov. Williams, Dearborn Memorial Day Parade, 1960.

G. Mennen Williams was Democratic governor of Michigan from 1949 to 1960. Beginning with his first election victory in 1948, Williams, along with key organizational politicos (such as Neil Staebler, Margaret Price, Martha Griffiths, and others), resurrected the state Democratic party with a model of campaign strategies that other state political parties sought to emulate throughout the nation.

With each election victory, Williams became an increasingly powerful voice in the national Democratic party. Beginning in 1956 and continuing into 1959, Williams directed staff and trusted advisors to evaluate his chances of capturing the Democratic nomination for president in 1960. Although this effort never went beyond the identification of important issues for the election campaign, Williams had enough clout that his support of John F. Kennedy over the other Democratic candidates was meaningful, and that his ideas regarding the party platform would be given a hearing.

Use selected portions of the following collections to analyze the relationship between G. Mennen Williams and the national Democratic party:

In particular, describe those issues that Williams hoped the Democratic party would exploit in the 1960 campaign. Also, describe and evaluate the reasons for Williams's decision not to announce his formal candidacy? What did he and his advisors see as his major strengths? Major weaknesses? Describe the decision-making process that went into Williams' support of John Kennedy. What did Williams hope to gain by this decision?


In an effort to encourage creative thinking about possible research topics for students unfamiliar with archives and their inevitable complexities, archivists and student employees of the Bentley Historical Library have authored "suggested research topics ." The purpose of these is not to define a topic but rather to stimulate thinking about a topic where the holdings of the Bentley Library are particularly strong.