The Hunter Papers are a small collection consisting of correspondence, writings, and a few subject files.
Although the slim CORRESPONDENCE file, 1952-1970, is fragmentary in its coverage, it does include correspondents of note. There are several letters of political interest from both Estes Kefauver and William Proxmire and single letters from Hubert Humphrey, Robert Kastenmeier, John F. Kennedy (August 15, 1959), and Max Otto.
The SUBJECT FILES, 1951-1968, include correspondence, clippings, and miscellany relating to such topics as the Civil War, the Declaration of Independence petition, the 1968 elections; “The Sixties: Challenge to our Generation,” a symposium at the University of Wisconsin; and the movement of the 32nd Wisconsin to Fort Lewis, Washington, in 1961. The Civil War file contains some discussion of the planning for the Civil War Centennial in Wisconsin and includes correspondence from August Derleth, Otto Eisenschiml, and William Hesseltine. The “Sixties” forum file includes correspondence from participants William F. Buckley, Edward P. Morgan, Harlow Shapley, and Norman Thomas.
The material in the WRITINGS file has been weeded to remove by-lined Capital Times articles, as these columns are readily available on microfilm in the Society Library. The collection does include a file of unsigned columns which Hunter wrote for the New York Times. A number of the articles may be found together with the telegrams from the Times' New York and Chicago offices which prompted the columns. The majority of the articles date from 1968 to 1970 and relate to politics and student unrest at the University of Wisconsin. Hunter's column on the bombing of Sterling Hall is included.
The magazine articles include “And in Madison,” published in The New Republic, and “Next Stop, Wisconsin,” which was published in The Nation. The section also includes several poems.
