Inventory of the Richard L. Watson, Jr. Papers, 1941 - 1989

The first series, Army Air Force Historical Office, contains material Watson collected while serving as the Chief of the Southwest Pacific Branch of the Army Air Force Historical Office. The work of the office was eventually collected in the seven volume series, The Army Air Forces in World War II, edited by Wesley Frank Craven and James Lea Cate. Watson's contributions to the series pertain chiefly to Vols. I and IV. Types of material in this series include general correspondence about the work of the Historical Office, newspaper clippings chronicling daily events, and notes taken from primary wartime documents on Southwest Pacific Air Operations. Major events include Rabaul, Battle of the Bismarck Sea, Philippines campaign, Pearl Harbor, Wau, and Nassau Bay. Strategic topics include bombing techniques, equipment, men and morale, radio and radar, supplies, and allocations. There are also draft chapters of his work, The Fifth Air Force in the Huon Peninsula Campaign. Also included are several reference works such as maps of the Southwest Pacific, a gazetteer of New Guinea, and several works by J.V. Cragg on the Fifth Air Force.

The materials in the second series, History Department, contain information relating to Watson's forty-five year tenure in the department both as a professor and administrator. Insights into his teaching style can be gleaned from numerous teacher-course evaluations as well as syllabi and book lists. The series contains thirty-five years of correspondence primarily relating to departmental and teaching matters. Also included are departmental meeting minutes, enrollment statistics, and materials relating to graduate students. This series includes numerous planning and curriculum reports, the bulk dating from the 1960s to early 1970s. There is also a run of the departmental publication Research Notes (Nos. 1-14), which describes the scholarly research of faculty members. The development of the departmental honors program is detailed as well as the early history of teaching African-American history at Duke. This series also contains historical information on the activities of the Trinity College Historical Society, a social and professional society for faculty and graduate students of the History Department.

The third series, University, documents Watson's involvement and service on numerous faculty and university committees, councils, and task forces. Watson served as vice chair of the University Council from 1961-62; Chairman of the Academic Council from 1964-66, as well as 1975-77; and vice chair of the Academic Council from 1973-74. Materials relating to the University Council document discussion about tuition benefits for faculty children, by-laws, faculty qualification and improvements, and the role of University Council. His long service on the Undergraduate Faculty Council (UFC) and Undergraduate Faculty Council of Arts and Sciences (UFCAS) is reflected in this series. He chaired the UFC Faculty Committee on Admissions and the minutes and report are contained in these files. He also was appointed to the review committee on the structure of UFCAS. In addition, in the early 1970s Watson was on the executive committee of the Undergraduate Faculty Committee of Arts and Sciences. These files include a proposal on Afro-American studies.

Watson was appointed to numerous university committees formed in response to the period of student protest and unrest of the late 1960s. This series contains minutes, reports, correspondence, and background material from said committees. The Committee on Judicial Procedures, also called the "Watson Committee", was created to define and implement judicial procedures and address the pickets and protests regulations. The files contain committee reports, meeting minutes, background materials and correspondence. They also include information on the existing judicial structures and procedures of the Men's Student Government Association, the Women's Student Government Association, and the Nursing and Medical Schools. There is also information on honor codes as embedded in the judicial structures. The materials from the Faculty Committee on Student Concerns relate to the Allen Building takeover, Afro-American studies program, and the Afro-American society. The Student-Faculty-Administration Committee files contain information relating to university drug policy, military recruitment on campus, and pickets and protest policies.

In 1981, Duke President Terry Sanford proposed Duke as a possible site for the Richard M. Nixon presidential library. Watson played a central role in faculty debate over the appropriateness of placing the library at Duke. This series contains news clippings, correspondence, academic council material, and his own diary and notes on the controversy.

Materials in this series relating to the Committee on Social Implications of Duke's Investment Policy all appear to be originals from committee co-chair William A. Reppy and chairman James D. Cox's files. The committee consisted of twelve members appointed by the President and included four administrators, four faculty members, and four students. The committee was allowed to make specific recommendations or general guidelines to the Board of Trustees. It primarily dealt with issues relating to investments with companies doing business with South Africa. This collection of materials includes news articles, church shareholder resolutions, correspondence, and minutes.

Other committees and subjects addressed in this series include the Task Force on Yearly Operations, the Institute of Policy Studies and Public Affairs, the library council and the George Washington Flowers Collection, the Forest History Society, Phi Beta Kappa, the South Atlantic Quarterly, and the YMCA.

The fourth series, Professional Organizations, documents Watson's long contribution of service to national, state, and local professional historical organizations and his work for the promotion of history. His work with the American Historical Association includes serving on the Ad hoc committee on Ph.D. programs in history, as well as being a session chair and member of the committee to collect the basic data of American political history. For six years he served the Organization of American Historians, and its predecessor organization, the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, as a member of their prize committees. Documents in this series shed light on the changes in prize policy and process. In addition to serving as its president from 1976-1977, Watson served on numerous annual program committees and as session chairs for the Southern Historical Association. This series contains material on program and nominating committees, sessions, and his work on the board of editors of the Journal of Southern History.

Watson also worked to advance the promotion of history. This series documents his work with the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the NDEA Institute for Advanced Study in American History, the National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History, and the United Negro College Fund Distinguished Scholars Program.

The series also contains materials related to Watson's work with historical organizations at the state and local level. It documents his twenty-year involvement with the Historical Society of North Carolina, as well as his work with the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association, and the State Archives of North Carolina. At the local level, this series contains materials about the Durham County history project to publish a history of Durham County, N.C.

Forty years of Watson's research and writings are reflected in this fifth series, Research and Writings. The bulk of the series is related to the two major books that Watson edited along with William Cartwright, Interpreting and Teaching American History, and Reinterpretation of American History and Culture. These books were aimed at giving a historiographical overview of American history to high school teachers. Leading scholars of the time contributed essays. The files, which include chapter files and general correspondence, reflect the changes in historiographical interpretations of American history from the early 1960s to the early 1970s. Book reviews, articles, grants and grant applications make up the rest of the series.

Materials in the sixth series, Personal, relate to Watson's personal activities. They include items about his life in the military, including his military records, correspondence, and a diary from 1944. The series also details his involvement with St. Philip's church of Durham and the Episcopal Church, Diocese of North Carolina. A copy of his curriculum vitae and items related to his retirement and the establishment of the Watson Graduate Fellowship are also included.