Scope and Content Note

The ADA Convention File contains the records of the annual ADA conventions which began in 1948. The files are arranged chronologically by convention year, alphabetically by subject folder title within each convention year, and chronologically by month within the folders.

The records for the years 1948-1952 are more complete than those for the later years, 1953-1965. The following list provides the year and month, and the location of each convention.

Date	Place
1947 March	Washington, D.C.
1948 February	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1949 April	Chicago, Illinois
1950 March	Washington, D.C.
1951 February	Cleveland, Ohio
1952 May	Washington, D.C.
1953 May	Washington, D.C.
1954 April	Chicago, Illinois
1955 May	Washington, D.C.
1956 May	Washington, D.C.
1957 March	Washington, D.C.
1958 May	Washington, D.C.
1959 May	Washington, D.C.
1960 May	Washington, D.C.
1961 May	Washington, D.C.
1962 April	Washington, D.C.
1963 May	Washington, D.C.
1964 May	Washington, D.C.
1965 April	Washington, D.C.

The subject folders concern a variety of matters, such as: invitations, negotiations for speakers, speeches, correspondence with local chapters about delegates, the financial aspects of arranging a convention, correspondence organizing policy formulating commissions (for example: political policy commission, domestic policy commission, foreign policy commission, constitutional commission), copies of commission resolutions, replies from those invited, and general post-convention correspondence. Much of the correspondence in the policy commission folders for the various conventions relates to the leading liberals of the day and concerns the issues in which they were most involved.