Cyrus Hall Adams, III, papers
Descriptive Summary
- Repository
-
Chicago History Museum
Research Center1601 North Clark StreetChicago, IL 60614-6038
- Creator
- Cyrus Hall Adams, III, Chicago (Ill.) -- Board of Education, Citizens Schools Committee (Chicago, Ill.), Clements, James, Redmond, James F., Shriver, Sargent -- 1915-2011, Willis, Benjamin C.
- Bib number
- 00065265
- Title
- Cyrus Hall Adams, III, papers
- Dates
- 1874-1968
- Predominant Dates
- 1964-1968
- Quantity
- 21.1 linear feet (41 boxes, 2 volumes, 1 oversize folder)
- Call number
- MSS Lot A
- Call number
- MSS Oversize A
- Language
- English
Restriction(s)
For listening purposes, it is necessary to use a copy, not the original sound recording (and to have a listening copy made if one is not available).
Terms governing use
Copyright may be retained by the creators of items, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States coyright law, unless otherwise noted.
Provenance statement
These papers were donated to Chicago Historical Society by Cyrus Hall Adams III in January and February 1967, and in January and May 1968 (accession #: 1967.0631, 1967.0643, 1968.0706, 1968.0739). Sound recordings were a gift of his widow, Harriet Adams (accession #: 1985.0030).
Please cite this collection as
Cyrus Hall Adams, III, papers (Chicago History Museum) plus a detailed description, date, and series/box/folder/call number of a specific item.
Collection Summary
The papers of Cyrus Hall Adams III date from 1874 to 1968 (mainly 1964 to 1968) and consist of correspondence, minutes, financial and other reports, transcripts of board hearings and meetings, news clippings, and other printed materials related to the Chicago Board of Education and Adams' service as a member of the board (from 1964-1968). Adams corresponded with other members of the board, with the General Superintendents Benjamin Willis and James Redmond, and with citizens and civic associations in Chicago regarding the policies and plans of the board. The papers reflect the major issues facing the board during the 1960s, especially racial integration of the public schools and related topics such as the Hauser and Havighurst reports and the various methods for achieving integration including the use of mobile classrooms, voluntary transfer plans, and busing. Other topics covered, though not as extensively, include labor relations with public school teachers and the Chicago Teachers Union, a shared-time plan with the Chicago Catholic Archdiocesan school system, the performance of Benjamin Willis as superintendent of schools and the educational, physical, and financial status of the Chicago public schools. Statistical information on individual public schools and on the Chicago school system as a whole is found in reports in the collection. Personal or business-related papers of Cyrus H. Adams III are limited to two scrapbooks, two publications on the history of Carson Pirie Scott and Company, a prayer book, and certificates. There are no other personal or business-related papers of Adams in this collection.
Biographical/historical note
Cyrus Hall Adams, III, a Chicago business executive, civic leader and member of the Chicago Board of Education, was born on October 24, 1909. The son of Cyrus Hall Adams, Jr. (1881-1968) and Mary Shumway Adams (1882-1962), Cyrus Adams III grew up in Lake Forest, Illinois. He attended the Hill School (a preparatory school) in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, and in 1931, he received his A.B. degree from Princeton University.
Adams began his business career in 1932 as a salesman for Carson Pirie Scott and Company in Chicago. He remained in their employ for 36 years, holding positions such as merchandise manager, assistant to the treasurer, controller, and assistant to the president. Adams was vice president for civic affairs when he retired from Carson's in 1968.
Adams participated actively in various organizations in the Chicago community including the Chicago Historical Society, of which he served as treasurer and trustee, and the Better Government Association, of which he was trustee and president. Adams was also a director of the Chicago Area Project at one time and a director and president of the board of North Side Boys Club. Adams' interests in education was evident in this service as a trustee of Glenwood School for Boys, and as a trustee (for 15 years) and chairman of the board (for 3 years) of the Chicago Latin School. Adams was also a trustee for over 19 years of The Hill School.
In December 1963, Adams was appointed to the Chicago Board of Education by Mayor Richard J. Daley. Adams joined the 11 member school board at a time when it was experiencing some of its deepest controversies. One especially volatile topic was racial integration. Benjamin C. Willis, who had been superintendent of the Chicago public schools since 1953, came under attack in the 1960s for allowing de facto segregation of Chicago schools to continue. His critics charged that Willis' opposition to integration was manifested in the use of mobile classrooms to alleviate overcrowding at schools in Black neighborhoods instead of transferring pupils to schools with space in white neighborhoods, and also in his lack of response to the important reports on the school system. These reports were (1) a survey done by Dr. Philip M. Hauser and a panel of four other educators who concluded that Black children were receiving an inferior education; and (2) a survey released in November 1964 by the chairman of the survey committee, Dr. Robert J. Havighurst, which also argued that Chicago was not doing an adequate job of educating its children.
A rift between Superintendent Willis and board members grew over this increasing pressure to desegregate the schools and over conflicts about the respective areas of responsibility of the General Superintendent and of the board. In May 1965, the board voted (with Adams concurring) not to renew Willis' contract when it expired in August 1965. However, a few weeks later, against much opposition, the board agreed to grant Willis a four year contract with the provision he retire in December 1966 when he reached the age of 65.
Funding for Chicago schools was always a major problem faced by the Board of Education and one that was of special concern to Adams during his tenure. Both the Hauser and Havighurst reports focused on the school system's need to obtain more money, especially for compensatory education in underserved areas. In October 1965, the situation became even more tense when the U.S. Commissioner of Education withheld federal funds from Chicago schools because of the many charges of "enforced" segregation there. Adams was one of the board members who was particularly active in pressing for state as well as federal aid to finance the school system. At his reappointment hearing in May 1966, Adams designated lack of money as the number one problem facing the school system; the other major problem was prejudice, he said.
The last two years of Adams' service on the school board were also ones of controversy for the board. James F. Redmond succeeded Benjamin Willis as General Superintendent of the Chicago Public Schools in October 1966, and in August 1967, he released a report which called for busing as the means to achieve a better racial balance in the schools. Discussion and protest over this plan continued into early 1968 when open hearings were held. Adams was one of the two board members who refused to serve on the board's busing committee because he said hearings would serve no useful purpose. Instead, Adams supported a busing plan based on voluntary participation; this plan was approved by the board in March 1968.
Adams had announced as early as Sept. 1967 that he would not serve out his five-year term (until 1971), but would retire from the board in spring 1968. His resignation became official in May 1968. At the same time, Adams retired from his position as vice president for civic affairs at Carson Pirie Scott and Company. After retirement, Adams and his wife Harriet divided their time between their residence in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and their home in Chicago. Adams died in 1985.
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Indexed Terms
- Adams, Cyrus Hall III -- 1909-1985 -- Archives
- Chicago (Ill.) -- Board of Education
- Busing for school integration -- Illinois
- Community organization -- Illinois -- Chicago -- 20th century
- Discrimination in education -- Illinois -- Chicago -- 20th century
- Public schools -- Illinois -- Chicago -- 20th century
- Teachers’ unions -- Illinois -- Chicago -- 20th century
- Chicago (Ill.) -- Politics and government -- 20th century
- Chicago (Ill.) -- Race relations -- 20th century
- Audiotapes
- Correspondence
- Financial records
- Minutes
- Newspaper clippings
- Reports
- Transcripts
Organization and Arrangement of Collection
This collection is arranged in two series.
Series 1. Board of Education files, 1874-1968 (Boxes 1-42)
Series 1 contains Cyrus H. Adams III's Board of Education files. These files consist of correspondence, minutes, financial and other reports, transcripts of board hearings and meetings, speeches, news clippings, and other printed materials. The correspondence is composed of both incoming letters and copies of Adams' outgoing ones. It includes letters exchanged between Adams and other board members (especially James Clements) and with General Superintendents Benjamin Willis and James Redmond sometimes frankly discussing the course of the board's actions. The correspondence also includes administrative letters and memos from Superintendent Willis, letters from the Chicago Teachers Union, and an exchange of letters with R. Sargent Shriver (in Sept. 1966) discussing the philosophy behind the War on Poverty programs, especially Head Start.
The issue of integration of the schools is reflected in many documents throughout the collection, including the correspondence among board members and the General Superintendents and numerous letters from Chicago citizens and civic organizations including the Citizens School Committee. Other documents include reports of the board committees, transcripts of community committee hearings including those of the 1968 committee on Transferring Students at which both board members and citizens spoke, press releases, and news clippings. There is also material concerning the Hauser report (released in March 1964) and the Havighurst survey (released in November 1964), both of which were designed to guide the board's plans with regard to the elimination of segregation in the schools. There are transcripts of meetings (ca. June-August 1964) of the Committee to Study and Make Recommendations to Implement Sections I, II, and III of the Hauser Report. Adams was chairman of this committee whose purpose was to consider student enrollment patterns, the utilization of space, and the location of schools and school boundaries.
The suggestions and plans of the school board with regard to school boundaries, student transfer plans, etc., caused a great deal of reaction within the community. Adams' papers contain many letters that he received from individual citizens and community organizations such as the Lincoln Kenwood Community Conference and the coordinating Council of Community Organizations, both opposing and supporting various board proposals. Most letters from these organizations can be found in chronological groups in the collection, including those received in late 1964 and early 1965 regarding the modified open enrollment plan (known as the "cluster" plan), those received in the summer of 1966 about a student transfer plan, and another lot in June 1967 concerning boundary changes for Nash and May Elementary schools among other things. Also, in August 1967, Superintendent James Redmond released a plan to decrease segregation through busing. Most of Adams' letters from citizens in 1967-1968 protest this busing plan.
Items which document the physical, financial, and educational condition of the public schools, both individually and as a whole, include statements from Parent-Teacher Associations to the Board of Education at the board's annual budget hearings. These statements (which appear in the December preceding the budget years of 1965 to 1968.) outline the specific needs of the individual schools; they were usually requests for supplies and the repair or construction of facilities at the schools. There are also a number of statements given by PTAs and civic associations at November 1964 and April 13, 1957 policy meetings of the board; most of the statements in November 1964 are in support of the neighborhood school policy, while many in April 1967 call for more board attention to furthering and stabilizing integration of the schools. The series also includes annual financial reports, and reports with statistical information about the Chicago public schools including figures on racial distribution of pupils and faculty and on class and faculty size. Adams annotated many of the reports in the collection, as well as the correspondence providing information and comments about their contents.
Letters, reports, legal memos, and statements by involved parties discuss (especially during April 1964) a proposed time-sharing plan between the public and Catholic school systems in Chicago through which pupils would attend classes in both school systems.
Copies of speeches given by Adams, mostly to local groups, on the topic of the school system, and the transcript of Adams' reappointment hearing (in May 1966) appear here and are useful for determining Adams' position on many of the issues which the board faced.
Miscellaneous material includes some reports from Booz, Allen and Hamilton about administratively reorganizing the Board of Education and the school system, some minutes and reports (Nov. 1964, Spring 1965, and Fall 1966) from the Research Council of the Great Cities for School Improvement of which Dr. Willis was president, and some publications by the state concerning education in Illinois. This series is arranged chronologically.
Series 2. Carson Pirie Scott and Company materials, 1932-1968 (Boxes 43-44)
Series 2 contains printed material on the history of Carson Pirie Scott and Company and one scrapbook. This series is arranged chronologically.
Detailed list of contents of the collection
- Title
- Reports, inventories, and other relevant materials
- Dates
- 1958-December 1963
- Title
- 1958-1961
- Title
- 1962
- Title
- 1963 January-July
- Title
- 1963 August-October
- Title
- 1963 November-December
- Title
- Publications, program proposals, and other relevant materials
- Dates
- 1963-April 1964
- Title
- 1963
- Title
- 1964 January
- Title
- 1964 February-March 10
- Title
- 1964 March 11-31
- Title
- 1964 April 1-22
- Title
- 1964 April 23-30
- Title
- Meeting minutes, reports, and other relevant materials
- Dates
- May 1964-July 1967
- Title
- 1964 May 1-26
- Title
- 1964 May 27-31
- Title
- 1964 June 1-23
- Title
- 1964 June 24-30
- Title
- 1964 July 1-6
- Title
- 1964 July 7-14
- Title
- Correspondence, reports, and other relevant materials
- Dates
- July 1964-August 1964
- Title
- 1964 July 15-31
- Title
- 1964 August 1-7
- Title
- 1964 August 8-17
- Title
- 1964 August 18-25
- Title
- Correspondence, reference materials, and other relevant materials
- Dates
- August 1964-October 1964
- Title
- 1964 August 26-31
- Title
- 1964 September 1-13
- Title
- 1964 September 14-30
- Title
- 1964 October 1-9
- Title
- 1964 October 10-27
- Title
- Budgets, reports, and other relevant materials
- Dates
- October 1964- November 1964
- Title
- 1964 October 18-31
- Title
- 1964 November 1-5
- Title
- 1964 November 5-12
- Title
- 1964 November 13-20
- Title
- 1964 November 21-30
- Title
- Reference materials, presentations, and other relevant materials
- Dates
- December 1964-November
- Title
- 1964 December 1-15
- Title
- 1964 December 15-19
- Title
- 1964 December 20-23
- Title
- 1964 December 24-31
- Title
- 1964 Undated
- Title
- Speeches, reference materials, and other relevant materials
- Dates
- 1964-January 1965
- Title
- 1964 Undated
- Title
- 1964 Undated
- Title
- 1964 Undated
- Title
- 1964 News clippings
- Title
- 1965 January 1-12
- Title
- Meeting minutes, reports, and other relevant materials
- Dates
- January 1965-Febuary 1965
- Title
- 1965 January 13-19
- Title
- 1965 January 20-25
- Title
- 1965 January 26-31
- Title
- 1965 February 1-20
- Title
- 1965 February 21-28
- Title
- Correspondence, statements, and other relevant materials
- Dates
- March 1965-April 1965
- Title
- 1965 March 1-19
- Title
- 1965 March 20-31
- Title
- 1965 April 1-4
- Title
- 1965 April 15-28
- Title
- 1965 April 29-30
- Title
- Report, statements, and other relevant materials
- Dates
- May 1965-June 1965
- Title
- 1965 May 1-12
- Title
- 1965 May 12
- Title
- 1965 May 13-31
- Title
- 1965 June 1-15
- Title
- 1965 June 16-20
- Title
- Figures, correspondence, and other relevant materials
- Dates
- June 1965-August 1965
- Title
- 1965 June 21-30
- Title
- 1965 July 1-12
- Title
- 1965 July 13-27
- Title
- 1965 July 27-31
- Title
- 1965 August 1-16
- Title
- 1965 August
- Title
- 1965 August 17-25
- Dates
- August 1965-October 1965
- Size
- Reports, programs, and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1965 August 26-31
- Title
- 1965 September 1-20
- Title
- 1965 September 21-30
- Title
- 1965 October 1-3
- Title
- 1965 October 4-10
- Title
- 1965 October 11-20
- Dates
- October 1965-December 1965
- Title
- Report, correspondence, and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1965 October 20-27
- Title
- 1965 October 27-31
- Title
- 1965 November 1-15
- Title
- 1965 November 16-30
- Title
- 1965 December 1-9
- Title
- Budgets, statements, and other relevant materials
- Dates
- December 1965-1966
- Title
- 1965 December10-13
- Title
- 1965 December 13
- Title
- 1965 December 14-22
- Title
- 1965 December 23-31
- Title
- 1966 Tentative budget
- Dates
- 1965
- Title
- Newspaper clippings, reference materials, and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1965
- Title
- 1965
- Title
- 1965
- Title
- 1965
- Title
- 1965
- Title
- 1965 News clippings
- Dates
- January 1966-Febrauary 1966
- Title
- Reports, correspondence, and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1966 January 1-13
- Title
- 1966 January 13-18
- Title
- 1966 January 19-31
- Title
- 1966 February 1-6
- Title
- 1966 February 7-15
- Dates
- February 1966-April 1966
- Title
- Agendas, reports, and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1966 February 16-28
- Title
- 1966 March 1-18
- Title
- 1966 March 18-31
- Title
- 1966 April 1-25
- Dates
- April 1966-May 1966
- Size
- Budgets, maps, and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1966 April 26-30
- Title
- 1966 Elementary and Secondary Education Act April 1966
- Title
- 1966 Elementary and Secondary Education Act April 1966
- Title
- 1966 Elementary and Secondary Education Act April 1966
- Title
- 1966 May 1-11
- Dates
- May 1966-July 1966
- Size
- Programs, recommendations, and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1966 May 12-31
- Title
- 1966 June 1-15
- Title
- 1966 June 16-30
- Title
- 1966 July
- Dates
- August 1966-September 1966
- Size
- Transcripts, case studies, and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1966 August 1-16
- Title
- 1966 August 17-31
- Title
- 1966 August, Sept. 1-20
- Title
- 1966 September 21-30
- Title
- 1966 Student Accounting Reference Manual
- Dates
- October 1966-December 1966
- Size
- Agendas, statements, and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1966 October
- Title
- 1966 November 1-20
- Title
- 1966 November 21-30
- Title
- 1966 December 1-7
- Dates
- December 1966-1967
- Size
- Budget materials, reports, and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1966 December 7-8
- Title
- 1966 December 9-20
- Title
- 1966 December 21-31
- Title
- 1966
- Dates
- 1966
- Size
- Newspaper clippings, applications, and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1966
- Title
- 1966
- Title
- 1966
- Title
- 1966 News clippings
- Dates
- January 1967
- Size
- Reports, transcripts, and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1967 January 1-20
- Title
- 1967 January 21-31
- Title
- 1967 January
- Title
- 1967 January
- Title
- 1967 January
- Dates
- 1967
- Size
- Planning proposals, reports and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1967 Title III Planning Proposal
- Title
- 1967 In Service Training Program
- Title
- 1967 February 1-22
- Title
- 1967 February 23-28
- Dates
- March 1967-April 1967
- Size
- Speeches, audit comments, and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1967 March
- Title
- 1967 April 3-12
- Title
- 1967 April 13-16
- Title
- 1967 April 17-28
- Title
- 1967 April 28-30
- Dates
- June 1967-May 1967
- Size
- Statements, surveys, and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1967 Organization Survey by Booz Allen and Hamilton, Inc.
- Title
- 1967 May
- Title
- 1967 June 1-16
- Title
- 1967 June 17-30
- Dates
- June 1967-August 1967
- Size
- Progress reports, meeting minutes, and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1967 June
- Title
- 1967 July 1-12
- Title
- 1967 July 13-21
- Title
- 1967 August 1-22
- Title
- 1967 August 22-31
- Dates
- August 1967-September 1967
- Size
- Surveys, projects, and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1967 ESEA Title I, Project I August 1967
- Title
- 1967 ESEA Title I, Project I August 1967
- Title
- 1967 ESEA Title I, Project I August 1967
- Title
- 1967 ESEA Title I, Project I August 1967
- Title
- 1967 ESEA Title I, Project I August 1967
- Title
- 1967 September 1-20
- Dates
- September 1967-November 1967
- Size
- Reports, negotiations, and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1967 September 21-30
- Title
- 1967 October 1-26
- Title
- 1967 October 27-31
- Title
- 1967 November 1-20
- Title
- 1967 November 21-30
- Dates
- December 1967-1968
- Size
- Projects, financial reports and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1967 December 1-6
- Title
- 1967 December 7-8
- Title
- 1967 December 9-19
- Title
- 1967 December 20-31
- Title
- 1967 December
- Dates
- 1967
- Size
- Reference materials, newspaper clippings, and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1967 News clippings
- Title
- 1967
- Title
- 1967
- Title
- 1967
- Title
- 1967
- Dates
- 1967-January 1968
- Size
- Correspondence, curriculum guides, and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1967 Long Range School Facilities Program 1967-1971
- Title
- 1967 Curriculum Guide-Educable Mentally Handicapped Children Level IV 1967
- Title
- 1967 Curriculum Guide-Educable Mentally Handicapped Children Level IV 1967
- Title
- 1968 January 1-10
- Title
- 1968 January 11-20
- Dates
- January 1968-February 1968
- Size
- Meeting minutes, reports, and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1968 January 21-31
- Title
- 1968 January
- Title
- 1968 January
- Title
- 1968 February 1-8
- Title
- 1968 February 9-15
- Title
- 1968 February 16-22
- Dates
- 1968
- Size
- Newspaper clippings, progress reports, and other relevant materials
- Title
- 1968 February 23-29
- Title
- 1968 March-April
- Title
- 1968 News clippings
- Title
- 1968 News clippings
- Title
- 1968
- Title
- Undated
- Title
- Dates
- 1964-1966
- Size
- Printed materials
- Title
- Printed material Racial Isolation in the Public Schools, U. S. Commission on Civil Rights; Programmed Instruction, Fund for the Advancement of Education
- Title
- Printed material The Public Schools of Illinois, William McClure 1964; Education for the Future of Illinois, Digest of a Study, Task Force on Education 1966; Education for the Future of Illinois, Report of a Study, Task Force on Education 1966
- Title
- Dates
- 1965-1968
- Size
- Sound recordings
- Title
- 1965 August 14, Kup's Program "Marches around Mayor Daley's Home"
- Title
- 1966 August 24, Meeting
- Title
- 1967 January 13, WBBM Cyrus Hall Adams III comments on vote
- Title
- 1967 January-February, School Board Diary
- Title
- 1967 February 23-1967 May 23, Diary of a School Board Member
- Title
- 1967 May 25-July 12, Diary of a School Board Member
- Title
- 1967, Spring Forum Program
- Title
- 1967 July 18-1968 July 24, Diary of a School Board Member
- Title
- 1967 June 14, Board Meeting
- Title
- 1968 February 28, Board Meeting Busing
- Title
- 1968 February 28, School Board Meeting Busing Part I
- Title
- 1968 February 28, School Board Meeting Busing Part II
- Title
- Undated, Meeting on Busing III
- Title
- Undated, Newscast tape recordings made the day of resignation of Benjamin Willis as Superintendent of Schools, also on the tape: W.I.N.D. Recap on Martin Luther King
- Title
- Dates
- 1874 and 1966-1968
- Size
- Prayer Book and Budgets
- Title
- 1874, Prayer book
- Title
- 1966, Tentative budget
- Title
- 1967, Tentative budget
- Title
- 1968, Tentative budget
- Title
- Dates
- 1963-1968
- Size
- Maps and Reports
- Title
- Circa 1964-1965 January, CAGO map
- Title
- Circa 1964 July-August, Lincoln Park Project I maps
- Title
- Circa 1964 May-1967 July, schools’ boundaries maps
- Title
- Circa 1964 November-December, No. 72680-C maps
- Title
- Circa 1965 January-February, No. 72790-I map
- Title
- Circa 1966 May-July, Le Moyne/Stockton map
- Title
- Circa 1966-1967 December, Yellow maps of Kenwood School
- Title
- Circa 1965 August-October, Class Size in Elementary Schools Report
- Title
- Circa 1967 May-June, Attendance Area Adjustments and Maps
- Title
- Circa 1967- 1968 January, Bryn Mawr, Spencer, South Shore area maps
- Title
- Circa 1968 February, Austin Area map
- Title
- Scrapbook
- Dates
- Undated
- Title
- Oversize materials
- Dates
- 1906-1967
- Dates
- 1968
- Size
- Publications
- Title
- 1968, Archives of Carson Pirie Scott Company Vol. 1 (1897-1954)
- Title
- 1968, Archives of Carson Pirie Scott and Company Vol. 2 (1871-1959)
- Title
- 1932-1968 Scrapbook: Cyrus H. Adams, Carson Pirie Scott and Company
- Dates
- 1932-1968