Howard E. Shuman, Legislative and Administrative Assistant to Senators Paul Douglas and William Proxmire 1955-82, discusses his Illinois background as well as his political education in Washington D.C. He discusses family and education in Morrison, Illinois, military service during WWII, education at the University of Illinois and Oxford University, and his involvement in civil rights and desegregation. He discusses bills, legislation, issues, and politics in the U.S. Senate; Senators Paul Douglas and William Proxmire; other members of Congress, including Robert Kerr, Robert Byrd, Hubert Humphrey, Herbert Lehman, and Adlai Stevenson; Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Truman, Carter, Reagan, but especially Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon; and civil rights Legislation. He discusses the mechanics of Congress, day-to-day activities, coalitions, majority and minority leaders, and other procedures. Also discusses his work and position; the case of Sergeant Carl Buck; and ethics in government.

Memoir, 631 pp. Interview by Donald A. Ritchie, an associate historian of the Senate Historical Office, 1987 Donated by the Senate Historical Office, Washington, D.C. OPEN