Joel T. Broyhill papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
George Mason University
2400 Fenwick Library
Special Collections Research Center
Fenwick Library MS2FL
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Mieko Palazzo
Phone: (703) 993-2220
Fax: (703) 993-2669
Restrictions:

There are no access restrictions.

Terms of access:

The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)

Preferred citation:

Joel T. Broyhill papers, C0088, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Summary

Extent:
34.25 Linear Feet 66 boxes
Creator:
Broyhill, Joel T. (Joel Thomas), 1919-2006
Abstract:
This collection contains documents pertaining to Joel Broyhill's career as a U.S. Congressman representing Virginia's 10th district. Materials in the collection deriving from his career as a legislator include bills, House resolutions, official records, press releases, Congressional (83rd-93rd) newsletters, papers, personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, schedules, and budgets.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Joel T. Broyhill papers, C0088, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection contains documents pertaining to Joel Broyhill's career as a U.S. Congressman representing Virginia's 10th district. The campaign publications included therein offer a detailed look at the election campaigns of Congressman Broyhill in the 1960s and early 1970s. Materials in the collection deriving from his career as a legislator include bills, House resolutions, official records, press releases, Congressional (83rd-93rd) newsletters, papers, personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, schedules, and budgets.

Biographical / historical:

Joel Thomas Broyhill was born in Hopewell, Virginia, in 1919. After graduating from George Washington University in 1941, Broyhill served as a captain and rifle company commander for the U.S. Army during World War II. His service in Germany, which included capture during the Battle of the Bulge and escape from a prisoner-of-war camp, earned him a bronze star. After the war, Broyhill returned to Arlington, Virginia, to work as a partner and general manager of his father's real-estate business, M.T. Broyhill and Sons, which flourished during the post-War suburban economic boom.

Broyhill won his seat in Congress in 1952, the year of Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidential landslide. During his career as state representative, Broyhill became an influential member of the House District Committee and a master of legislative strategy. Best known for local matters, Broyhill sponsored legislation that led to the construction of the Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson bridges across the Potomac River and the second span of the 14th Street Bridge, as well as a measure that led to the widening of Shirley Highway. He fought for better pay and working conditions for federal employees, federal aid to local school systems and financial support for Metro. Broyhill was also an unrelenting and outspoken opponent of "home rule" for the District of Columbia, arguing that the U.S. Constitution placed ultimate responsibility for the nation's capital with Congress, and he battled for years against measures to increase the authority of city residents to manage D.C. affairs. In 1974, in the wake of the Watergate scandal and the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon, Broyhill lost his seat to Democrat Joseph L. Fisher.

After losing his seat in Congress, Broyhill served as campaign manager for John W. Warner's successful first campaign for the Senate and returned to work for his family's real-estate development and investment company. On September 24, 2006, Broyhill died of congestive heart failure and pneumonia at his home in Arlington.

Acquisition information:
Collection donated by Joel T. Broyhill and Virginia Lampe in 1985-1988.
Processing information:

Processed by Special Collections Special Collections Staff. EAD markup completed by Eron Ackerman and Jordan Patty in April 2009.

Arrangement:

Organized chronologically and by subject.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard