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Charles Peters, Editor and Author, Papers

 Collection
Collection Number: A&M 4449

Scope and Contents

Professional correspondence, writings, and other papers of Charles Peters, creator and publisher of "The Washington Monthly," a political magazine and website that launched the careers of several Pulitzer Prize-winning and MacArthur Genius Grant-winning authors and editors. Peters was the first Director of Evaluation for the Peace Corps and the organizer of President John F. Kennedy's campaign in West Virginia.

Includes correspondence, research, writings, newspaper clippings, articles, manuscripts, proofs, books, publications, reports, audiovisual material, and oversize framed items. This collection is minimally processed.

Series include:

Series 1. Correspondence, Notes, and Writings (52 Boxes)
Series 2. Clippings and Articles (55 Boxes)
Series 3. Manuscripts and Proofs for Publications (8 Boxes)
Series 4. Books (12 Boxes)
Series 5. Periodicals and Reports (4 Boxes)
Series 6. Audiovisual Materials (2 Boxes)
Series 7. Oversize Framed Items

Dates

  • Creation: circa 1975-2016

Conditions Governing Access

No special access restriction applies.

Researchers may access born digital materials by requesting to view the materials in person by appointment or remotely by contacting the West Virginia & Regional History Center reference department at https://westvirginia.libanswers.com/wvrhc.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Biographical / Historical

Born December 22, 1926 in Charleston, West Virginia, Charles Peters, creator and publisher of The Washington Monthly, went on to attend Charleston High School, graduating in 1944. That same year, Peters enlisted with the U.S. Army where an injury in a training accident resulted in a long stay in Army hospitals beofre being discharged from the Army in 1946.

Using the G.I. Bill, Peters went to New York City to attend Columbia College, earning a BA in 1949. Peters continued his education at Columbia, entering their graduate program and earning his MA in 1951. Between the years of 1952 and 1953 Peters worked for the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency in New York. A fan of theather, Peters also performed various backstage roles between the years of 1946-1954 at a variety of theaters, and even owned his own repertory company in Charleston, West Virginia. Peters entered the University of Virginia Law School in 1954 and was named to the editoral board of the Virginia Law Review in 1955, serving until his graduation in 1957.

After earning his law degree, Peters and his wife, Elizabeth Hubbell, returned to Charleston, West Virginia to practice law at his father's firm, Peters, Merricks, Leslie, and Mohler. In 1959, he was named chief staff officer of the Judiciary Committee of the West Virginia House of Delegates before being elected to the House in 1960. In that same year, Peters also managed the primary and general election campaigns for presidential candidate John F. Kennedy. After serving in the 1961 session of the state legislature, he went to Washington, D.C. to assist in the formation of the Peace Corps. Returning in 1962 to serve in the legislative session, he was named the Peace Corps' Director of Evaluation.

In 1968, Peters resigned from his position with the Peace Corps and began planning the publication of a new magazine called The Washington Monthly. The magazine’s prospectus said its purpose would be “to look at Washington the way an anthropologist looks at a South Sea island, helping the reader understand our system of politics and government, where it breaks down, why it breaks down, and what can be done to make it work.” The first issue was published in January 1969. Throughout its publication, the magazine featured numerous unknown authors who later became influential journalists, including Pulitizer Prize winners such as Taylor Branch and Jon Meacham, among others. Peters served as the editor of the magazine until his retirement in 2001, continuing to write a regular column unti 2014. Peters authored five books and coediting five more.

Adapted from West Virginia and Regional History Center Newsletter, Vol. 35, No. 1-2, 2020 and WV Living, Spring 2021 https://wvliving.com/tilting-at-windmills-how-charlie-peters-helped-jfk-win-west-virginia/

Extent

102.7 Linear Feet (102 ft. 8 in. (63 record cartons, 15 in. each); (1 record carton, 17 in.); (28 document cases, 2.5 in. each); (2 document cases, 4 in. each); (38 document cases, 5 in. each); (2 oversize items, 0.5 in. each))

0.0009 Gigabytes (73 files, formats include .txt and .img)

Language

English

Physical Location

West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/

General

All of the material in the SEP boxes (in Series 1) was separated from the corresponding regularly-numbered boxes (in Series 2 and 3).

Processing Information

One file from a 5.25 inch floppy disk (identifier: 4449_5_25fdisk_02) has been redacted because it contains a social security number for a living person.

Title
Charles Peters, Editor and Author, Papers
Author
Grace Musgrave
Date
2019/08/19
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the West Virginia and Regional History Center Repository

Contact:
1549 University Ave.
P.O. Box 6069
Morgantown WV 26506-6069 US
304-293-3536