Two Gentlemen from Louisiana

on display from September 8,2009
to January 30,2010, in Lower Main Gallery

Many of us remember the “I’m Just a Bill” ditty from School House Rock, but few outside of government have a chance to see the legislative process in action up close. The papers of former U.S. Senators and Representatives provide a useful resource for studying the development of public policy and the actors behind it. LSU Libraries Special Collections is fortunate to hold several such collections from Louisiana’s former Congressmen. The exhibit “Two Gentlemen from Louisiana,” an exhibition of the Congressional Papers of Senators John B. Breaux and J. Bennett Johnston, will highlight two of them.
Named for the manner in which Congressmen address one another on the House and Senate floors, the exhibition opens September 8th and marks the formal opening of the Breaux papers. Documents and photographs highlighting Breaux and Johnston’s political careers and legislative accomplishments during their combined fifty-five years in Congress will be displayed. A small sampling of items from other Congressional collections will also be included. Breaux and Johnston plan to be on hand at a reception to be held at Hill on October 9th in conjunction with a symposium hosted by the Manship School of Mass Communication, at which the senators will speak.

Breaux, a Democrat from Crowley, first represented the Seventh District of Louisiana in the U. S. House of Representatives, beginning in 1972, and held that position until his election to the U.S. Senate in 1986. He left office in January 2005. During his tenure, he came to be known for his abilities to broker compromises across party lines, as well as his work on Social Security, healthcare, and Medicare reform and efforts to restore and save Louisiana’s wetlands. Though largely recognized for his focus on fostering bi-partisanship cooperation, Breaux also held leadership roles in the Democratic Party, especially among the New Democrats. He was elected Chief Deputy Whip in 1993 and held the post for the remainder of his career and served as chair of both the Democratic Leadership Council (1991-1993) and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (1989-1991). Senator Breaux donated his papers to the LSU Libraries in 2004. Processing of the collection was supported through a grant from the Department of Education. The finding aid produced is available at http://www.lib.lsu.edu/special/breaux.html.

Johnston, a native of Shreveport and also a Democrat, was elected to the Senate in 1972 and served until his retirement in January 1997. Throughout his tenure, Johnston had many legislative triumphs in areas important to Louisiana including navigation, wetlands protection, flood control, hurricane protection, and other natural resources programs. Many consider Johnston’s crowning achievement to be passage of the National Energy Security Act, the most comprehensive package of energy related measures to be considered in Congress until that time. He chaired the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee during the 93rd Congress and narrowly lost to George Mitchell in the election for Senate Majority Leader. Senator Johnston’s papers have been available for research since 2002. For more information about this collection, see the finding aid at http://www.lib.lsu.edu/special/ppapers.html.

Additional details about exhibit-related events are available at http://www.lib.lsu.edu/special/exhibits/index.html.

Tara Laver, Curator of Manuscripts
LSU Libraries’ Special Collections
(225) 578-6546