Finding Aids

The Chamber of Commerce of the United States is the world’s largest business organization representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions. This collection contains photographs, negatives, slides, digital images, sound recordings, videos, and films that document the history of the Chamber from its founding to the twenty-first century. The materials provide a record not only of the activities of the Chamber but also of the political landscape surrounding key issues related to business. The collection focuses on the legislation, regulations, and litigation impacting the economy, immigration reform, pensions, health care, trade, Social Security, air quality, global warming, workplace safety, and taxes, as well as major industries such as energy, aviation, automobiles, agriculture, transportation,mining, shipping, and technology.

E.B. (Edward Barnes) “Ted” Leisenring Jr. (1926-2011) was the CEO of a fourth-generation family coal-mining business. He was president of Westmoreland Coal from 1961 to 1988, and remained as chairman of the board until 1992. This small collection of photographs is from Leisenring’s personal office files, which date between 1954 and 1994. The photographs consist of group and individual portraits, snapshots. The bulk of the material centers around two events: the 1964 Westmoreland Coal Company expansion and the 1970 delegation to the USSR.

Thomas Woodnutt Miller (1886-1973) served as Delaware's Congressman in the 64th Congress (1915-1917) and spent the majority of his career in Republican Party politics, serving primarily in non-elected roles. The Thomas W. Miller papers are exclusively focused on his term in the 64th Congress. They include copies of bills introduced by Miller and reports from the Committee on Claims and the Committee of Accounts, on which he served. The papers also reflect the political influence of the DuPont Company at the time.