Edward D. Berkowitz papers, 1934-1991

Author / Creator

Berkowitz, Edward D

Available as

Physical

Summary

Materials gathered by historian Edward D. Berkowitz for his biography of Wilbur J. Cohen, Social Security expert and Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under Lyndon Johnson. The book was p...

Materials gathered by historian Edward D. Berkowitz for his biography of Wilbur J. Cohen, Social Security expert and Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under Lyndon Johnson. The book was published in 1995 as "Mr. Social Security: the Life of Wilbur J. Cohen." The papers consist primarily of notes on interviews Berkowitz conducted with members of the Cohen family and selected associates. Interviewees include Helen Hill, Harold November, Merlyn Pitzele, Lewis E. Weeks, and Elizabeth Wickenden. Also included is a small amount of correspondence with and about Cohen, photocopied personal correspondence by Cohen obtained from family members (1934-1940) and from Wickenden (1953-1974), photographs, and draft conference papers on Cohen, the American welfare state, and related topics.

Photographs document Wilbur J. Cohen's career in public service and include images of Cohen's swearing-in as Health, Education, and Welfare Secretary; Cohen with other government officials including Presidents Kennedy and Johnson; and members of the National Commission on Unemployment Compensation. Also included are images of Cohen and his family as well as photographs of Edward Berkowitz. A number of images from "Mr. Social Security" are also in the collection.

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