The William S. Cohen papers consist of the records created by Cohen and his staff in the course of Cohen’s duties as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1973 to 1979 and as a U.S. Senator from 1979 to 1997. They include correspondence, memos, reports, press releases, appointment calendars, speeches, voting records, photographs, and videos. These files record Cohen’s legislative and committee-related work, the attention and services he offered to his constituents, his public relations and press activities, and the administrative activities of his office in Washington D.C. and in the six state offices in Maine. They also document Cohen’s career from his decision to run for Congress in 1972 through the announcement of his retirement from the Senate in 1996. His service as Secretary of Defense from 1997 to 2001 is reflected in 16 CD-ROM disks and a group of videotapes. Cohen’s private papers, the bulk of which consist of the manuscripts for the nine books he has written, are included as well. The collection is organized into six major record groups: 1) private papers, 2) papers from the U.S. House of Representatives, 3) papers from the U.S. Senate, 4) audiovisual materials, 5) photographs and memorabilia and 6) Department of Defense papers.
The William S. Cohen papers are housed in the Special Collections Department of the Raymond H. Fogler Library. Access to some of the papers is restricted. Please contact the Special Collections Department for further information.
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