Abstract
J. Howard Pew (1882-1971) was president of one of the largest wholesale distributor of motor petroleum companies, the Sun Oil Company (now Sunoco) from 1912 to 1947. He was a prominent philanthropist. In 1948, Pew and his siblings co-founded The Pew Charitable Trusts, a non-profit, non-governmental organization with the purpose of serving the public. The J. Howard Pew papers are primarily concerned with Pew's political activities and philanthropy. The collection is arranged into seven series: Alphabetical general correspondence; Subject files; Presbyterian Church; Christian Freedom Foundation; Glenmede Trust Co.; Pew Memorial Foundation; and Grove City College.
Dates
- 1902-1971
Creator
Extent
117 Linear Feet
Biographical Note
J. Howard Pew (1882-1971) was president of one of the largest wholesale distributor of motor petroleum companies, the Sun Oil Company (now Sunoco) from 1912 to 1947. He was a prominent philanthropist. In 1948, Pew and his siblings co-founded The Pew Charitable Trusts, a non-profit, non-governmental organization with the purpose of serving the public.
He was born in Bradford, Pennsylvania, in 1882 to Joseph Newton Pew, Sr. (1848–1912) and Mary Catherine Anderson Pew (1850-1935). He attended Grove City College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. From there he went to work for his father, Joseph N. Pew, Sr., the founder of the Sun Oil Company. He became a supervisor at the Marcus Hook Refinery where he was instrumental in developing the Sun Red Line lubricants. In 1906 he was named vice president and member of the board of directors. When his father died in 1912, he became president of the Sun Oil Company a position he was to hold until 1947.
J. Howard Pew was a prominent member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Manufacturers. He served on the National Petroleum War Service Committee (1915-1918) and was a founder of the American Petroleum Institute.
Pew was an elder and trustee of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. He was an active supporter of the periodicals Christian Economics and Christianity Today. He was also a leader of the conservative Republican opposition to Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal.
Arrangement
Series I. Alphabetical general correspondence; Series II. Subject files; Series III. Presbyterian Church; Series IV. Christian Freedom Foundation; Series V. Glenmede Trust Co.; Series VI. Pew Memorial Foundation; Series VII. Grove City College.
Scope and Content
The J. Howard Pew papers are primarily concerned with Pew's political activities and philanthropy. Of particular interest are the letters which document Pew's activities in the American Liberty League, the Republican National Committee, and the National Association of Manufacturers. Political files include analysis of 1944 election, strategy for state and local elections and analyses of Democratic senators' voting records (1933-1938). Files on Communism include solicitations for the Russian government in exile and information collected by the National Council for American Education on the political activities of selected college professors during the 1940s and 1950s. Presbyterian Church files reflect the split in the church over integration, McCarthyism, and civil liberties. To buttress his campaign for conservativism within the church, Pew also sponsored research on the life of Calvin and Calvinism. There are also files from the National Council of Churches, Grove City College, United Presbyterian Foundation, and the Christian Freedom Foundation. Other files describe Pew's involvement with the Glenmede Trust Company and The Pew Memorial Trust. Files contain copies of applications and document awards made.
Access Restrictions
No restrictions for those conducting scholarly research.
Use Restrictions
Literary rights retained by depositor.
Language of Materials
English
Additional Information
Subjects
- Aero Commander, Inc
- American Economic Foundation
- American Liberty League
- Anti-communist movements
- Beaver Valley Railroad Company
- Bohemian Club (San Francisco, Calif.)
- Boone County Coal Corporation
- Boy Scouts of America
- Buckley, William F. (William Frank)
- Business and politics
- Byrd, Harry Flood, 1887-1966
- Charitable uses, trusts, and foundations
- Chilton Company
- Christian Freedom Foundation
- Committee for Constitutional Government
- Communism and religion
- Conant, James Bryant, 1893-1978
- Conservatism
- Crane, Jasper E. (Jasper Elliot), 1881-1969
- Glenmede Trust Company
- Goldwater, Barry M. (Barry Morris), 1909-1998
- Graham, Billy, 1918-2018
- Grove City College
- Haake, Alfred P. (Alfred Paul), 1885-1961
- Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964
- Hoover, J. Edgar (John Edgar), 1895-1972
- Industry and state
- John Birch Society
- Lane, Rose Wilder, 1886-1968
- Lawrence, David, 1888-1973
- Loeb, William, 1905-1981
- McIntire, Carl, 1906-2002
- Merion Cricket Club
- Mont Pelerin Society
- National Association of Manufacturers (U.S.)
- National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
- National Industrial Conference Board
- National Radio Advertisers Association (U.S.)
- Newton Falls Paper Mill Company
- Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994
- Peale, Norman Vincent, 1898-1993
- Pepper, George Wharton, 1867-1961
- Petroleum industry and trade
- Pew Memorial Foundation
- Pew, J. Howard (John Howard), 1882-1971
- Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A
- Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Foundation
- Presbyterian Lay Committee
- Reagan, Ronald
- Republican National Committee (U.S.)
- Rickenbacker, Eddie, 1890-1973
- Rockefeller, John D., Jr. (John Davison), 1874-1960
- Rogers, Sherman
- Spellman, Francis, 1889-1967
- Taft, Robert A. (Robert Alphonso)
- Thomas, Lowell, 1892-1981
- Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972
- United Presbyterian Church of North America. General Assembly
- United Presbyterian Foundation
- Von Mises, Ludwig, 1881-1973
- Weir, Ernest Tener, 1875-1957
- Welch, Robert
- YMCA of the USA
- Yama Conferences on National Industrial Efficiency (1915 : Napanoch, N.Y.)
- Young Americans for Freedom
- Young Women's Christian Association of the U.S.A
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title:
- J. Howard Pew papers
- Status:
- Description rules:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description:
- English
- Script of description:
- Latin
Repository Details
Repository Details
Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository
