Manuscripts Collection
Robert Eliot Matteson was born in St. Paul (Minn.) in 1914, the son of a St. Paul banker, and graduated from Carleton College (Northfield, Minn.) in 1937. He received his M.A. in public administration from Harvard University in 1940, married Jane Paetzold (also from St. Paul) that same year, and taught political science at Carleton College, 1940-1942. Matteson was a state department desk officer briefly in 1943, but went on to serve in the 80th infantry division of Patton's third army (1943-1946), during which time he earned the silver star for capturing Nazi Gestapo and intelligence chief Ernst Kaltenbrunner in the Austrian Alps.
After World War II, Matteson was research director for Harold Stassen's 1948 presidential campaign (1946-1948), and when Stassen was president of the University of Pennsylvania (1948-1952), Matteson was assistant to the president and assistant professor of international relations. Matteson's government career began in 1953 when he joined Harold Stassen in the Foreign Operations Administration. Still associated with Stassen, Matteson was then director of the White House Disarmament Staff (1955-1958). He stayed with the Eisenhower administration after Stassen left in 1958, first as assistant to Sherman Adams, White House chief of staff, then with the CIA's Board of National Intelligence Estimates (1959-1962). He then served in the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (1962-1967), in Vietnam as director of the military-civilian pacification program (1967-1968, sparsely documented), in the Agency for International Development as director of the Office of International Training (1968-1971), and with the Foreign Affairs Executive Seminar (1971). During 1964 and 1965 he attended the National War College. Matteson's personal friends and professional associates included many top level government officials.
As the first director of the Sigurd Olson Institute of Environmental Studies at Northland College (Ashland, Wis.), Matteson's work consisted primarily of program development and fund-raising. Later, he was a trustee of Northland College. He maintained contacts with government officials, business leaders, educators, and environmentalists (especially Sigurd Olson). As a resident of the town of Namekagon (near Cable, Wis.) Matteson was also involved with local and regional environmental issues, including zoning and the impact of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore on northern Wisconsin. During 1976 and 1977 Matteson was chairman of the President's Quetico-Superior Committee.
In both personal and professional life, Matteson traveled extensively, often keeping journals or logs of the trips. Also, until the late 1980s when he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, Matteson was an avid canoeist, having traveled in Canada, Wisconsin, and Minnesota by various routes.
In addition to the topics noted above, the papers also document Matteson's service in World War II, especially his role in the capture of Nazi Ernst Kaltenbrunner, and his long association with Harold Stassen. Matteson's career and writing reflect lifelong interests in U.S. foreign relations, disarmament, government service, higher education, and environmental affairs (especially wilderness preservation). The papers include genealogical research materials relating to the Matteson, Dickerman, and Hickcox families.
There is very little material relating to Matteson's immediate family--wife Jane and children Adelaide (Daidie), Fredric, Robert, Sumner, and Elizabeth--and it is interspersed throughout the papers. There is some material relating to a scholarship for Indian students that Matteson funded in memory of his uncle, Sumner W. Matteson, Jr., a photographer and writer who spent some time on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation (Mont.) during 1905-1906.
Matteson's autobiographical books are in the Minnesota Historical Society Book collection.
A print version of this finding aid is available in the repository; filed in ALPHA notebooks under the heading: Matteson, Robert E.
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: 14,321; 14,595
Processed by: Marion Matters, May 1990
Catalog ID number: 001714798
Letters written by Matteson to his wife between May and December; some handwritten, some typed, some carbon copies.
Overseas journal, World War II, July 1, 1944-January 3, 1946. Carbon copy. List of persons arrested by 80th CIC, Altaussee Office, May 10-June 10, 1945. Account of capture of Dr. Ernst Kaltenbrunner, undated. Travel brochure "Salzkammergut/Austria" (in German, undated), describing the area in which Altaussee lies.
Report on Congressional nominees in Illinois, May 20, 1946; and memoranda concerning foreign policy, Marshall Plan, world economics.
Covers trip made with Stassen. Includes handwritten notes in two steno notebooks, and a typed version (carbon copy). Covers Finland, Sweden, Norway, Great Britain, and Russia. Also includes additional notes, correspondence, clippings, and memorabilia.
Besides correspondence, includes materials relating to the Mid-Century Convocation on the Social Implications of Scientific Progress, held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, March 31-April 2, 1949 (Stassen was a speaker). Primary correspondent is Donald J. Cowling. Other correspondents: G. Keith Funston (Trinity College, Hartford, Conn.), Jean Ballantyne Gerhardt, Morris B. Jandric, Rupert Emerson, and Payson S. Wild, Jr. (Harvard University), concerning Matteson's proposal to complete Ph.D. program; and Charles Albright (Men's League, First Presbyterian Church, Ardmore, Pa.).
Trip made with Stassen to Alaska, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, India, Pakistan, Israel, South Africa, Belgian Congo (Zaire), French Equatorial Africa, and London. Includes handwritten notes in two steno notebooks, and a typed (carbon) copy. Also includes invitations; postcards; a sketch and photograph of Albert Schweitzer's hospital compound at Lambarene (with annotations in French, apparently by Schweitzer); clippings; and copies of Stassen's article "Schweitzer vs. Stalin" which appeared in The Ladies Home Journal, July 1951.
Includes Matteson's report to Stassen on a visit to England and Africa, with reference to setting up an African study program at the University of Pennsylvania. Also includes typed translations of two letters to Stassen from Albert Schweitzer; postcards of scenes from Schweitzer's home in Alsace; and postcards of African scenes.
Primarily itineraries and memorabilia relating to foreign travel by Stassen and Matteson.
Includes photograph of Stassen and FOA staff; report to the president, January 1953-June 1955 (printed); memorandum (Matteson to Stassen, July 9, 1955); and clippings relating primarily to Stassen's political future.
United States Delegation Record of Plenary Meetings and Meetings of the Foreign Ministers.
Memoranda, press conference briefings, and clippings.
Typed original and an incomplete carbon copy; both were retained because they bear slightly different annotations. The thesis of the paper was that during disarmament negotiations between 1955 and 1958, the United States was represented by two men-John Foster Dulles and Harold Stassen-pursuing two different foreign policies, between which President Eisenhower vacillated.
Memorandums of conversations with Dwight Eisenhower, Harold Stassen, Admiral Arthur W. Radford, Nelson A. Rockefeller, Lt. Gen. Andrew J. Goodpaster, Admiral Lewis L. Strauss, and John S. Eisenhower. All were done as background for a paper on disarmament that Matteson wrote while attending the National War College. Also includes a photograph of Matteson and other National War College attendees in tennis garb.
Narrative and chronology, with supporting documentation (e.g., notes, memoranda, reports, clippings). Carbon copies. Table of contents; narrative and chronology, p. 1-99.
Relating to Stassen's unsuccessful attempt to get the Republican Party to "dump Nixon" as vice presidential candidate; also materials relating to disarmament.
Memoranda (most from Matteson to Stassen) and clippings relating to Stassen's "dump Nixon" campaign among other matters; other clippings; and invitations to diplomatic receptions and the Washington debutant ball.
Includes material relating to U.S. foreign policy (including the UN disarmament talks in London), the Stassen-Dulles conflict, Stassen's political aspirations, and Matteson's career. Primarily file memoranda, very little correspondence. Correspondents: Jay Cooke, Harold Stassen, Anna Rankin Harris, and William H. Jackson.
Matteson's speech, "Disarmament Dilemma," made as part of the university-sponsored Conference on National Security in the Nuclear Age, attracted considerable attention, especially since it came three days after Harold Stassen announced his resignation as Eisenhower's Special Assistant on Disarmament. Includes responses to the speech from a number of people (both inside and outside government), but there are also memoranda and other materials relating to Stassen's and Matteson's positions in the administration. Correspondents: Arnold Toynbee, George F. Kennan, Judson Bemis, Norman Cousins (Saturday Review), Warren Burger, Lester B. Pearson, Joseph D. Shane, John Meek (Dartmouth College), Miriam (Mrs. Irving) Levy, George M. Elsey (American National Red Cross), C. D. Jackson (Time, Inc.), Robert R. Bowie (Harvard University), Christian Herter, Philip E. Mosely (Council on Foreign Relations), Clinton Morrison, George S. Franklin (Council on Foreign Relations), Nelson Rockefeller, Ed McVitty, Kenneth E. Boulding (The Journal of Conflict Resolution), Atherton Bean, Robert F. Leach, and Charles H. McLaughlin (University of Minnesota).
Primarily typed and handwritten file memoranda (particularly covering conversations with Russians Valentin Ivanov and Vladimir Lavrov). Remaining materials deal with American foreign policy (especially regarding disarmament), Stassen's unsuccessful Republican primary bid for governor of Pennsylvania, and Matteson's post-White House career. A few items also relate to the University of Minnesota speech. Correspondents: Robert C. Cutler, Sherman Adams, A. Lachlan Reed (Minneapolis-Honeywell), Christian Herter, Clifton E. Wilson (University of Minnesota), John Meek (Dartmouth College), Frank M. Coffin, and Henry S. Reuss.
Much of the material relates to Matteson's work preparing a State Department report, Disarmament: The Intensified Effort, 1955-1958 (Department of State Publication 6676, General Foreign Policy Series 131), released in July 1958. There are file memoranda, letters, and copies of the published version of Matteson's University of Minnesota speech, "The Disarmament Dilemma," Orbis 2 (Fall 1958). One family letter, to "Gabby and Gamp" (Sept. 29, 1958), describes the birthday party the Mattesons held for their 12-year old son, Robbie, and 34 of his St. Albans School classmates. Correspondents: Sherman Adams, George F. Kennan, J. C. Satterthwaite, Howard H. Sargeant (American Committee for Liberation), Herbert Lewis (St. Paul Dispatch-Pioneer Press), Nelson Rockefeller, Christian Herter, and Henry A. Murray (Harvard University).
Includes material relating to Matteson's position with the CIA Board of National Estimates; proposals to establish a permanent disarmament unit within the executive office of the president; Harold Stassen's unsuccessful campaign for mayor of Philadelphia; Matteson's attendance at the Defense Atomic Support Agency's Weapons Orientation Advanced Course (including a photograph of attendees). Correspondents: Harold Stassen, Philip Mosely (Council on Foreign Relations), A. J. Goodpaster, and Christian Herter.
Matteson's accounts of two mountaineering adventures, the latter accompanied by his daughter Daidie (Adelaide). Also includes copies of several newspaper accounts of similar ascents, 1978-1988.
Includes material relating to the ten-nation disarmament talks in
Geneva, especially draft notes, and memoranda of conversations with members of
the Soviet delegation. Also includes poem and cartoon featured at a pre-Geneva
going away party. Correspondents: Sherman Kent, Frederick Eaton, Donald G.
Brennan (guest editor for
Report of fact-finding survey on participant training (Matteson was then director, Office of International Training, Agency for International Development).
Includes a copy of the talk given at SPA graduation exercises and a few letters congratulating him on its quality. Correspondents: Richard A. Moore, Robert L. Trescher, Catherine Shepard, John W. Nason, Blake Shepard, and Thomas Read (SPA headmaster).
Report on Africa trip (November 5-25, 1969), progress report on the Office of International Training, and letters concerning Matteson's job search. Correspondents: William Scranton, Don [Oberdorfer?], Hubert Humphrey, William R. Polk (Adlai Stevenson Institute of International Affairs), William P. Rogers, Richard F. Pederson, and Gabriel Hauge.
Primarily material relating to the Office of International Training (OIT), of which Matteson was director. Includes a copy of "Training for Development 1970" prepared by OIT, and OIT progress reports. Also includes two long and thoughtful letters between Matteson and Flo (Mrs. Carlos Gibson) concerning young people and the use of marijuana. Correspondents: Mrs. Carlos (Flo) Gibson, Howard R. Swearer (Carleton College), Elliot L. Richardson, Christian A. Herter, Jr., and John H. Chafee.
Primarily relating to circumstances leading to Matteson's leaving the OIT and seeking other government employment. Includes other material relating to OIT and to the National Council for Community Services to International Visitors (COSERV). Correspondents: John H. Chafee, Robert A. Aylward (COSERV), Robert H. Thayer, Ward B. Chamberlain (AFS), Rogers C.B. Morton, Lyle P. Schertz, Howard R. Swearer, Stanley R. Resor, and William S. Gaud.
Report and other materials relating to trip, at the behest of U.S. Air Force Secretary Robert Seamans, to U.S. military bases in Greenland, Iceland, and Alaska.
Letters and a newspaper clipping relating to Matteson's trip to Antarctica as part of an 11-member team led by John H. Chafee, secretary of the navy. The trip was to give Chafee first-hand knowledge of the Antarctic Support Command, for which the Navy was responsible; Matteson served as environmental consultant. Also includes a copy of Matteson's performance evaluation covering his work with the Foreign Affairs Executive Seminar. Correspondents: William Scranton, Laurence M. Gould, James L. Buckley, Gilbert W. Fitzhugh, William F. Buckley, Jr., John F. Reichard, and Charles S. Gubser.
Letters and notes from friends and colleagues in Washington and elsewhere on the occasion of Matteson's departure from federal service to head the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute at Northland College. Also, the text of a humorous sketch presented at a farewell party, and the "FAES Blues," a talking blues parody about the Foreign Affairs Executive Seminar. Correspondents: Ann and James Buckley, Mary Scranton, Elizabeth Nason, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Channing Seamans, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Richard B. Wathen, McGeorge and Mary Bundy, Anne and Elliot Richardson, Howard E. Haugerud, William F. Buckley, Jr., Laurence M. Gould, and Elvera (Mrs. Warren) Burger.
Letters, copies of deeds, and lists of improvements made over the years to Blue Ridge Summit, Matteson's country property in Frederick County, Maryland, which they sold in 1972 when they moved permanently to Wisconsin. The property was purchased by Robert and Jacquelyn Alvord.
Materials relating to a conference (Northland College) on the recommendations in the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute's study on the impact of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.
Besides Olson/Matteson correspondence, includes letters to and from others that relate to Olson.
Three letters to Matteson from Morse, national director of the Association of Canadian Clubs, containing suggestions or advice relating to canoeing in Canada.
Newspaper clippings of stories about the trips.
Notes, typescripts, printed items, and newspaper clippings.
Correspondence and other documents relating to the early development of an environmental curriculum at Northland College, ideas for the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute, and Matteson's possible role. Correspondents: Malcolm McLean, Sigurd Olson, Samuel C. Johnson, John M. Musser.
Materials relating to development, administration, program (especially conferences), and funding for the institute. Includes correspondence with members of the institute's advisory board and with Northland College administrators and board of trustees. Correspondents: Sigurd Olson, Malcolm McLean, David E. Donnelley, Samuel C. Johnson, Judson Bemis, Edward G. Kaelber (College of the Atlantic), Julian Baird, Robert Alvord, Elizabeth Nason, Russell E. Train, John M. Musser, Marcus G. Raskin (Institute for Policy Studies), Kent D. Shifferd, Anthony Wise, Atherton Bean, Edward E. Carqueville, Melvin Laird, F. B. Hubachek, Jr., Gaylord Nelson, Charles H. Stoddard, Theodore A. McGraw, Emily H. Barley (Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin), Alvin E. O'Konski, Jonathan P. Ela (Sierra Club, Madison, Wis.), Roger G. Kennedy (Ford Foundation), Johanna Clausen (Nicollet College and Technical Institute), R. D. Banks, Mrs. Jackson Burke (signed Mary or Mimi), Laurence M. Gould, John Nason, Carl B. Drake, Jr., Wallace C. Dayton, Elliot Richardson, A. D. Hulings, George B. Strother, Elmer L. Andersen, Ella (Mrs. Thomas M.) Crosby, F. T. Weyerhaeuser, Lew V. Versnik (Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation), Ken Todd (Ashland County Board), Frederick Greeley, Roger W. Hanson, Walter Pomeroy (Northern Environmental Council), Rick Baker (Chairman, Lac Court d'Oreilles), Ginnie (Mrs. G. H.) Binger, Richard W. Cutler, John Dreier, James C. Otis, Wesley A. Hotchkiss, David R. Obey, Roger F. Swanson (School of Advanced International Studies), Edward Joseph Shoben, Jr. (University of Pittsburgh), Kenneth A. Bro, and Thomas C. Savage.
Materials relating to Matteson's service on the Northland College board of trustees and the Olson Institute's advisory board. Reflects Matteson's disagreements with Northland president Malcolm McLean's administration. Correspondents: Kenneth Bro, Kim Bro, Sigurd Olson, John W. Nason, Alan C. Pape, Robert L. Gale (Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges), George B. Strother, John W. Joannis, Wesley A. Hotchkiss, Robert Alvord, Theron Pray, Judson Bemis, Malcolm McLean, Frank M. Rarig, Samuel C. Johnson, Mrs. Samuel C. Johnson, and F. T. Weyerhaeuser.
Letters, brochures, clippings, and other material (primarily 1976-1987) relating to the Sigurd Olson Institute for Environmental Studies.
Materials relating to Matteson's effort to attract funding for the institute from the Ford Foundation.
Letters, institute newsletters, and other material relating to the functioning of the institute's advisory board, of which Matteson was a member.
Minutes, proposals, letters, clippings, and other material relating to a planning committee established to deal with the impact of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore on northern Wisconsin, particularly zoning and visitor accommodations. Matteson helped organize the committee.
Letters, clippings, and other materials relating to a visit to Northland College by Tenzing Norkay and Nahwang Gombu, both Sherpa climbers; the former had climbed Mt. Everest with Sir Edmund Hilary.
Materials relating to proposals (by Matteson and others?) to establish such a committee.
Correspondence and other materials relating to a scholarship funded by Matteson in memory of his uncle, Sumner W. Matteson, Jr., a photographer and writer who spent some time on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in 1905 and 1906. Scholarships were awarded to members of the Fort Belknap Tribes, and the selection process was managed by the Fort Belknap Community Council Education Department. Most of the correspondence is with George P. Horse Capture of the College of Great Falls.
Correspondence and other materials relating to the committee, to which Matteson was appointed chairman in 1976. He served until the committee was terminated by President Carter in December 1977. Correspondents: William Scranton, Ken Todd, Charles A. Kelly, Leo Bernier and Frank S. Miller (Ontario ministers of natural resources), Sigurd Olson, M. Rupert Cutler (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture), and John Ridley (Quetico Foundation).
Materials relating to the history of the Quetico-Superior Committee and the work of the Quetico Foundation (headquartered in Toronto). Correspondents: M. Rupert Cutler, Charles A. Kelly, John B. Ridley, L. C. Bonnycastle, Omond M. Solandt.
Letters, pamphlets, and other materials relating to Matteson's work as part of the association's "Board Mentor" program, in which an experienced college board member helped other colleges or universities evaluate and improve the functioning of their governing boards. Correspondents: AGB staff and director, John W. Nason.
Primarily materials from 1977 and 1978. Matteson served on the board during 1977, resigning at the end of his one-year term because of his feeling that the association membership did not reflect environmental "balance," being industry-dominated. Correspondents: David M. Fradin (executive vice president of EBA), Judson Bemis, Robert Bigwood (Otter Tail Power Company), Luther Gerlach (University of Minnesota), Jon Bekel (Green Giant Company), Wallace C. Dayton, and Frank Liebl (chairman of EBA board).
Materials documenting Matteson's efforts (apparently at the instigation of Mary Burke) to get the foundation (headquartered in Baraboo, Wis.) on a firmer financial and administrative footing.
Notebook, itineraries, letters, and clippings relating the the Mattesons' participation in a tour of China in April 1978. Includes letters from other tour members. Also includes newspapers clippings of articles Matteson wrote concerning U.S. recognition of China. Correspondents: Ronald M. Hubbs, Theodore R. Lindbom, and John S. Service.
Lecture given by Matteson on arms control.
Letters and brochures relating to the Mattesons' trip to Israel in July 1979 with friends Philip and Muriel Berman on the occasion of Philip Berman's receiving an honorary degree from Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Matteson also did some research relating to Ernst Kaltenbrunner at the Yad Vashem holocaust research center.
Materials relating to a White House briefing on the SALT treaty, which Matteson was invited to attend.
Materials relating to Matteson's The Origin and Early History of the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute: A Personal Account (Ashland, Wis.: Northland College, 1981), including a copy of it.
Materials relating to an advisory zoning committee chaired by Matteson. Includes committee reports and town board and committee minutes.
Drafts and clippings of articles written by Matteson in 1982, along with the text of the 1947 meeting as reported in the St. Paul Sunday Pioneer Press, May 4, 1947 (copy of the newspaper article).
Besides copies of Baton's and Matteson's recollections, includes a few items of correspondence and an obituary of Eaton (1984).
Matteson's narrative accounts, Science Museum Encounters article, newspaper clippings, letters, and two color snapshots relating to a canoe trip down the Mississippi that Matteson took with his grandson, Elliott Donnelley.
Materials relating to Matteson's work with the Glenview (Stassen) Foundation and the Humphrey Institute for Public Affairs to establish a world peace study center (named for Stassen) as part of the institute. Matteson was chairman of the Glenview Foundation. Correspondents: Elmer L. Andersen, Harlan Cleveland, Harold Stassen, and Warren Burger.
Notes and background materials.
Primarily letters and clippings relating to Matteson and his writing, lecturing, and service on boards (e.g., Duluth-Superior Area Educational Television Corporation), but also relating to U.S. foreign affairs and to Republican politics. Topics covered include China; the unsuccessful military attempt to rescue U.S. hostages in Iran; SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty); the Kaltenbrunner capture; the Mattesons' trans-Siberian rail journey (1982); Matteson's Saint Paul Academy 50th reunion (1983, including a color snapshot of Matteson and six classmates); the 40th anniversary of the end of World War II; "Carl Hensel's backyard," a reminiscence on the occasion of Hensel's 70th birthday (1986) with a color snapshot of Matteson's childhood home at 768 Lincoln Ave., St. Paul, Minn.; Matteson's induction into the Carleton College Alumni "C" Club Hall of Fame (1988, with a color snapshot of the Mattesons and another inductee). A letter (March 20, 1986) from Peggy Coyle, Matteson's secretary during the 1960s, contains some interesting reminiscences of the people and politics involved with disarmament over the years. There are letters and a membership list for the Informal Club (St. Paul, Minn.), of which Matteson was a member for a short time. Correspondents: John H. Chafee, Wood Foster, George S. Blanchard, Paul Warnke, Cyrus Vance, McGeorge Bundy, Helmut Sonnenfeldt (Brookings Institution), Sherman Adams, David R. Obey, Malcolm McLean, John W. Nason, William Scranton, Elliot Richardson, Clayton Axtell, Thomas J. Watson, Jr., Robert Rawson, Laurence M. Gould, Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Green, John J. Louis, Jr. (U.S. ambassador to Britain), and Peggy Coyle.
Resumes, lists of experiences and accomplishments,
Letters from relatives, libraries, and historical societies relating to Matteson's genealogical research. Matteson Family Letters, 1857-1909. Copies or transcripts of letters (1857-1885) from Matteson's grandfather, Sumner W. Matteson, to his family, some of which are annotated to the effect that "Herb Matteson has originals"; and of Arthur Matteson to his Aunt Louise Dickerman (1909).
Relating to the Matteson, Hickcox, and Dickerman families.
Includes copies of articles, mostly obituaries from the