Thomas J. Wood papers

Collection

Thomas J. Wood papers

• 1943-1966 (Production)
• 1953-1965 (Production)

18.00 linear feet (36 document cases)

Thomas J. Wood was professor of government at the University of Miami. The Wood Papers document the move to consolidate the city of Miami and Dade county governments.  Legislation introduced in 1945 represented the first effort to combine local governments and alleviate conflicts and confusion resulting from overlapping city and county functions.  The various municipalities, however, opposed the bill.  Although a similar effort was made in 1947, no change occurred until 1953 when the Metropolitan Miami Municipal Board organized to draft a new plan for municipal and county government in Dade County.  As the Board's initial step, it hired the University of Miami Government Department to supervise a survey of Greater Miami governments. The university contracted a firm of professional government consultants, the Public Administration Service of Chicago, to begin research.  Members of the Government Department reviewed the findings and reported to the 3M board.  A special Charter Board of the  3M board drafted a charter and legislation to reorganize local government and initiated a campaign to promote metro government.

The Wood papers include political advertisements, correspondence, minutes of meetings, clippings, transcripts of radio broadcasts, survey forms and government reports.

The Thomas Wood Papers contain, in SERIES I, Miami local government papers including political advertisements, correspondence, minutes of meetings of the Board of County Commissioners, Board of Public Instruction and of organizations such as the Metropolitan Miami Municipal Board, the Dade County Research Foundation and others.  Newspaper clippings, transcripts of radio broadcasts and other documents, survey forms and reports on the governments of greater Miami also comprise a portion of the papers.

The files contain correspondence, memos, financial and membership records of the Dade County Research Foundation, the 3M Board and other organizations, as well as forms and reports of data on cities including statistics on housing costs, and on local governments including information on services and expenditures. Drafts of bills, budgets, statements to the 3M board, propaganda, records of supporters and opponents of metro government and a record of metro government activities 1956-58 also appear in SERIES I.

SERIES II contains newspaper clippings from major and neighborhood newspapers and provides a chronological record of Miami local government and its development through the period 1953-65.

This collection is open for research.

This collection is kept in an off-campus storage facility. Please contact Special Collections at asc.library@miami.edu with the boxes you are interested in prior to your visit, and allow up to 1 week for delivery of materials.

Thomas J. Wood Papers Finding Aid © 1994 University of Miami. Requests to reproduce or publish materials from this collection should be directed to asc.library@miami.edu.

• anglais

• latin

• City planning -- Florida -- Miami-Dade County

• Dade County (Fla.). Board of County Commissioners (Sujet)
• Dade County (Fla.). Board of Public Instruction (Sujet)

• Coupures de presse
• Correspondance » Letters (correspondence)
• Minutes (administrative records)
• Reports
• Transcripts