Manuscripts Collection
IMPACE (Independent Minnesota Political Action Committee for Education) was begun by the Minnesota Education Association (a teachers' union) around 1967 as a bipartisan organization to increase political activity among educators; to play a more active role in governmental policies relating to education; and to affirm the importance of political action in these matters. The board of directors was composed of sixteen individuals representing both major political parties.
To promote their objectives IMPACE raised funds through voluntary member contributions, which were used to support candidates committed to education and to screen potential candidates for local, state, and national offices.
In 1979 changes in the Federal Elections Campaign Act required that the name of a separate segregated fund established by a labor organization must include the full name of the parent organization. Because IMPACE fell into this category the name was changed to IMPACE-MEA in July, 1980.
The major portion of the collection consists of minutes, financial records, rosters of board members, correspondence, memoranda, newspaper clippings, and magazine articles detailing the activities of IMPACE, the Minnesota Education Association, and the National Education Association and their committees.
There are a few records for the 1974-1977 period, consisting of budgets, rosters, and minutes of IMPACE and the National Education Association. The records are more complete for the years 1978-1980, during which time Roger I. Johnson, donor of the collection, was chairman of IMPACE. The 1978 and 1980 files document the organization's political activities and detail the financial support given by IMPACE to Republican and Democratic candidates and for other political activities like fund raising dinners, rallies, and similar events. Minutes of the board and executive committee list candidates supported and funds given.
Throughout this section minutes, correspondence, memos, and reports detail the conflicting views of IMPACE and the MEA concerning funding and the support of various candidates, and the lack of clear-cut policies relating to the work of both organizations (See memo of June 20, 1980). Issues relating to the support of candidates created problems, particularly in the 1978 U.S. senatorial race, in which IMPACE supported Independent Republican candidate Rudy Boschwitz over DFL incumbent Wendell Anderson, based on IMPACE's criticism of Anderson's voting record on educational issues (See memos of Aug. 21 and Oct. 16, 1978).
Found in the December, 1979 files is a series of interviews and policy statements from the leading Republican candidates for president: John Anderson, Howard Baker, George Bush, John Connally, Philip Crane, Robert Dole, and Ronald Reagan. Also found in the files for 1978-1981 are applications for potential IMPACE board members including information on political affiliation and professional, political, and community activities. The files for 1981 (Jan.-Sept.) are few, but are similar in content to the 1978-1980 records.
The second section of the collection contains IMPACE's screening report forms and assessments of candidates for Congress, U.S. Senate, state elective offices (1978 and 1980), and the Minnesota legislature (arranged by district, 1978 and 1980). A folder of charts and lists of IMPACE's financial contributions to candidates (1973-1979) is also included.
At the end of the collection are fund raising kits (1979-1980); minutes and related records of IMPACE Evaluation committee (1980-1981); and a transcript of a court case: Leon W. Knight, et al, vs. Minnesota Community College Faculty Association, et al, September 7, 1978, containing the testimony of IMPACE chairman Roger I. Johnson, concerning the relationship between IMPACE and the MEA. This may relate to a lawsuit brought by the Federal Election Commission against the National Education Association Political Action Committee and eighteen state affiliates, challenging the system used to collect political action contributions. Included at the beginning of the file are copies of relevant correspondence (1978-1980) relating to the case.
Additional records of IMPACE can be found in the Fulton B. Klinkerfues Minnesota Education Association Papers, separately cataloged in the Minnesota Historical Society manuscript collections.
Additional records of the Minnesota Education Association are separately cataloged in the Minnesota Historical Society manuscript collections.
Newsletters and other publications of the Minnesota Education Association are separately cataloged in the Minnesota Historical Society book and serial collections.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should
Accession Number: 15,063
Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, November 1995
This collection was formerly cataloged as the Independent Minnesota Political Action Committee for Education-Minnesota Education Association Committee Records. It was recataloged in October 1999 as the Roger I. Johnson IMPACE-MEA papers.
Catalog ID number: 09-00320261