Frank Licht was elected Governor of Rhode Island in 1968 after defeating consecutive-three-term Governor John H. Chafee. He was born in Providence, Rhode Island on March 3, 1916, son of Jacob and Rose (Kassed) Licht. He attended public elementary schools in Providence and graduated from Classical High School in 1934 and Brown University, Phi Kappa Beta, in 1938 after which he attained a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1941. Upon being admitted to the Rhode Island Bar in 1942 Licht was employed as a law clerk for Judge John C. Mahoney of the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston for a year before becoming a partner in the Providence Law firm of Letts & Quinn from 1943 to 1956. During this time Licht also served as a State Senator from 1949 to 1956. In 1956 Licht became a justice on the Rhode Island Superior Court, a position he held for twelve years before stepping down to run for Governor.
Licht was extremely active in community and council work during his career. He was a founding member of the Providence Human Rights Commission, Chairman of the Chapin Hospital Commission and the Rhode Island Council of Community Services. He also served as Co-Chairman for the New England Regional Commission and the National Conference of Christian and Jews. He was a board member of Progress for Providence as well as a trustee and director of Butler Hospital and a member of the National Advisory Council of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and a member of the Executive Committee of the National Conference of Trial Court Judges in Hawaii in 1967. Licht was also a frequent lecturer at Bryant College and a member of the Delta Sigma Rho national debating fraternity.
During his two terms as Governor of Rhode Island Licht was elected a member of the Executive Committee of the National Governors' Conference on September 15, 1971. That same year Licht was asked to represent the National Governors' Conference in the efforts of the National Institute of Municipal Law Officers, a conglomerate of legal officials from 1500 municipalities, to design a legal code for public safety. Licht was also a member of the Executive Committee when he co-authored the Trial Judges' Code, which was published in Massachusetts in the June issue of Law Quarterly in 1965.
In June of 1967 Licht was elected President of the General Jewish Committee of Providence, which he expanded into a statewide organization. He was also the Vice-President of Temple Emanu-El in Providence and Chairman of the Rhode Island Campaign of Bonds for Israel. In recognition of his dedication to the Jewish community Licht was awarded the Herbert H. Lehman Ethics Award of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1969, and the Herbert H. Lehman Citation of the National Information Bureau for Jewish Life in 1970.
As Governor, Licht was awarded several honorary Doctor of Laws Degrees. These came from St. Francis College in Biddeford, Maine on May 31, 1969, Yeshiva University in New York on June 18, 1970, the University of Rhode Island in Kingston on June 13, 1971, and Rhode Island College in Providence on June 12, 1971. He also received a honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree from the Cincinnati School of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion on June 5, 1971. Licht was also an Honorary Fellow of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as well as a member of the Corporation of Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Licht won the 1968 Rhode Island gubernatorial race by a narrow margin. His success was in a large part due to his campaign pledge of not reinstating a state income tax as Governor Chafee had planned to do. Rhode Island voters preferred not to pay the tax even as the state's revenue dwindled and its debt rose to record highs. Yet by 1971 Licht was forced to introduce the state income tax as a temporary tax in February and a permanent tax by July of the same year.
A large part of Rhode Island's economic problems also stemmed from the fact that it was regarded as an unattractive state for business opportunity. In an attempt to counter this perception, Licht created the Rhode Island Industrial Building Authority which guaranteed mortgages for new manufacturing plants. Licht approved more business projects than any other Governor in Rhode Island's history and he established an industrial-research park in Narragansett. In addition, the state's corporation laws were loosened to attract more big business and as part of an effort to address labor concerns Licht fortified womens' compensation laws, increased employment security benefits, and established the nation's first Statewide Job Skills Bank.
Licht's stance on the Vietnam war was clear. He was strongly opposed to the bombing of North Vietnam and favored resolving the conflict through the initiation of negotiations. He asserted that the Vietnam War could not be won militarily in the manner it was being conducted. Licht also pledged financial assistance for urban renewal projects through the Minimum Housing Code, Leased Housing Program, and the Rent Receivership Program, all of which aimed to provide better housing for the poor and elderly. These projects coincided efforts to expand health services, social security benefits, family credit counseling, day care centers, and guaranteed employment insurance while increasing unemployment compensation benefits from fifty to sixty percent of the average weekly wage of the covered individuals.
Other issues in the 1968 Rhode Island campaign for Governor included lowering the voting age from twenty-one to eighteen, and the rising crime rate in Providence. Licht's approach to the latter issue was to establish rehabilitation programs for criminals while expanding state and municipal police forces in conjunction with the courts. He established seven Youth Services Bureaus that aimed to keep youths out of trouble through interaction with local law enforcement officials who participated in the programs as part of their training. In addition, the courts' effectiveness was optimized through liberalization of wire-tapping procedures and witness immunity pacts, both of which helped convict numerous organized crime figures during this period. The court also underwent reorganization and modernization schemes while repeat offenders were targeted for rehabilitative programs at the Adult Correctional Institution (ACI) and the state juvenile training school in Cranston.
One of the major issues the Licht Administration confronted was the alarming increase of drug abuse and addiction that was spreading throughout not only the urban demographies but also the rural areas of the state. In response, the administration passed the Civil Commitment Law which allowed the courts to commit a drug addict to a specialized rehabilitative program in lieu of imposing criminal charges on him or her. Moreover, there was created a fifteen member Drug Abuse Control Council that advised the Governor and the General Assembly on the entire field of drug addiction and rehabilitation of addicts. Licht also created a Narcotics Squad division within the State Police Force to infiltrate and apprehend volatile drug rings and dealers on the street. Licht also encouraged the courts to prosecute drug dealers to the full extent of the law.
Licht also sought to encourage citizen participation in government affairs through the Presidential Primary Bill which allowed Rhode Islanders to select delegates to the Democratic and Republican national conventions by direct vote. A more aggressive attempt to establish a participatory democracy in Rhode Island was embodied in Licht's Little State House Program which aimed to strengthen relations between citizens and the government and to provide a means by which anyone could voice their concerns directly to the Governor's office. More information on this subject can be found in series XVII which contains records pertaining to the Little State House Program. Licht also succeeded in lowering the voting age from twenty-one to eighteen as part of the effort to increase voter turn-out during elections.
Environmental management was another priority for the Licht administration. Studies purporting the ecological deterioration of Narragansett Bay and unsafe levels of sulfur oxides in the atmosphere gained public attention during the early nineteen-seventies. In response, the administration put together an aggressive package designed to expand State laws against air and water pollution while granting tax relief to businesses who incorporated modern pollution-control systems into their operations. Other policies included revitalizing the New England Water Pollution Control Commission, regulating the use of pesticides, permitting the disclosure of the names of persons who violated air and water pollution laws, and the creation of an eleven member Governor's Council on Environmental Quality that advised and recommended ecological improvements.
Governor Licht decided not to run for reelection in 1972. His introduction of a temporary state income tax in February of 1971 and its reintroduction as a permanent tax in July of that year produced a ground swell of opposition among his political rivals and the general public that seriously diminished the administration's confidence of running a successful campaign.
Governor Licht died on May 30, 1987.
Any qualified person doing scholarly research is permitted to use material housed in the Special Collections Unit.
Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication.
The Records of Governor Frank Licht, Mss. Gr. 127, University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections.
The records document the years Frank Licht held the office of Governor in Rhode Island from 1968 to 1972. The collection also includes records consisting of political and judiciary reports from years before and after his time in office. A proposal to transfer the records was initiated in the Fall of 1972 and the deed of gift was signed on December 22, 1972 by University of Rhode Island President Werner Baum.
The Licht records were the first political papers to be acquired by URI. As such, they set a precedent for the acquisition of future governors' records and were partly responsible for the establishment of an archival department within the University of Rhode Island.
The files in each series are arranged alphabetically by subject unless otherwise noted.
The records are arranged in 31 series as follows:
A proposal to transfer the records from the Rhode Island state house was initiated in the Fall of 1972 and the deed of gift was signed on December 22, 1972 by University of Rhode Island President Werner Baum.
The records were kept at the Rhode Island state house.
The Subject File series contains more than sixty-nine linear feet of records relating to local, state, national, and global issues. These records consist of news clippings, press releases, reports from state and federal agencies concerning social, political, and economic topics, as well as correspondence from government officials, constituents, and business entities.
The series contains records pertaining to environmental legislation, Narragansett Bay conservation, and the annual National Governor's Conferences. The series also includes records documenting the introduction of a state income tax, highway construction, the Adult Correctional Institute (ACI), prisoner escapes and riots.
The records on Vietnam pertain to the bombing and invasion of Cambodia in 1970, as well as the United States anticipated withdrawal from Southeast Asia. In addition, the records include petitions to the government relating to the Vietnam Moratorium held in 1969 and casualty condolence correspondence from Governor Licht to the parents of fallen soldiers. Each of these letters is accompanied by a signed release from the Adjutant General stating the date and cause of death.
The series contains records that were kept by Governor Licht's high-id="c1866" level aides who formed the Executive Council. The Executive Council members are identified as follows: Executive Assistant Donald Shea, Directors Kevin Coleman and John Affleck, Federal Coordinator Raymond LaBelle, Executive Counsels William Gilroy and Alan Goldman, Press Secretary Thomas Buckley, Jr., Executive Aide Joseph DeAngelis, Administrative Assistant David Evans.
The series consists of interdepartmental correspondence between council members, appointment records of candidates to state government positions, correspondence with constituents concerning private and public matters, as well as communications with state and federal agencies.
Subjects include the 1971 ratification of the twenty-sixth amendment to the Constitution involving the lowering of the voting age to eighteen and reducing the naturalization qualifications for voting in state and general elections. Other subjects include the appointments of justices, issues relating to the Adult Correctional Institute, a state-wide legal services program, airport development, taxation legislation, gambling, Labor Department suits relating to the sale of goods on Sunday, employment security, mental health funding, juvenile reform schools, drug addiction and crime prevention. There are also records relating to Supreme Court decisions on desegregation of schools in the south.
The series contains records relating to the Administration's affairs with state, local, and federal organizations. They include correspondence, telegrams, brochures, reports, proposals, news articles and other administrative materials used for reviewing and organizing the Administration's projects and programs. Jack Thompson (1969-1971) and Raymond LaBelle (1971-1973) each served one term as Federal Coordinator for the Licht Administration. The responsibilities of the Federal Coordinator are to evaluate, review, and coordinate various State and Federal assistance programs and projects at the local id="c2170" level.
The series includes records from the Department of Housing and Urban Development's "Model Cities" program which set standards for Federal Grant appropriations to cities seeking assistance. Subjects include records relating to programs and projects dealing with financial assistance for families, environmental impact on fisheries, health, education, welfare, interstate highway projects, and the National Science Foundation.
The records also include minutes from meetings of the National Governors' Conferences and the New England River Basin Commission between 1968-1972, as well as records on the Oil Importation Program. Other subjects include reords on the Urban Coalition and the Rhode Island Construction Industry who were working with the Licht Administration to expand minority hiring.
The series contains records kept by Governor Licht's personal secretary Mary S. Lima. The records include correspondence to colleagues, constituents, federal and state officials (including Vice President Spiro Agnew), as well as to state officials and higher education institutions. Included are records concerning problems at the Adult Correctional Institution that contain correspondence with officials, legislative acts, civil law suit actions, and photographs depicting damage from riots in June of 1969.
The series also contains materials relating to the Hebrew University in Jerusalem of which Licht was a member on the school's Board of Governors. In addition, there are budget reports, commission agendas, and documents relating to the Leslie College Board of Trustees of which Licht was a member. Also included are materials documenting the 1970 White House National Governor's Conference which focused on the nationwide college student strike which was precipitated by the United States invasion of Cambodia and the introduction of the Nixon administration's "Vietnamization" foreign policy.
The series contains records kept by Governor Licht's Research Assistant, Lorraine C. Silberthau. The records include reports, summations, news articles, correspondence, departmental analysis, community affairs statistical data, and critiques relating to the major political issues transpiring during Governor Licht's incumbency. The records also include officially bound reports created for the purpose of inter-departmental distribution, as well as minutes of council meetings, revenue task force agendas, budget projections, and bond issues.
The series also contains campaign statements, pamphlets and other literature regarding candidacy promotion including scripts of televised debates and drafts of inaugural messages. Of interest are records relating to racial discrimination, drug abuse, National Governors Conference, Vietnam, welfare issues, juvenile delinquency, and the highly volatile income tax act of 1971.
This series contains files kept by the Governor Licht's Press Secretary, Thomas M. Buckley. These records include newsclippings, news releases, bulletins, data analysis reports, inter-departmental communications, and summary reports. The reports focus on major issues such as prison escapes, juvenile crime, unemployment, and the fiscal crisis of the early nineteen-seventies. There are a several reports from Colonel Walter E. Stone, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police, containing crime-related statistical data, as well as newsclippings pertaining to the Rhode Island financial crisis as the focus of Litch's 1971 inaugural message.
Included also are press releases from the Department of Labor that report the increases and decreases in the number of jobs in Rhode Island from 1969 to 1971. There are files devoted to each major Rhode Island city and town mostly consisting of newsclippings relating to fiscal, legislative and social issues. Other prominent files contain newsclippings, printed matter, and documentation of various topics including community affairs publications, miscellaneous correspondence, appointment notifications to the Secretary of State, judicial reform analysis, and adopted legislative acts.
Publications consist of Library Services Newsletter, and the 1971, 1972 issues of The New Democrat and Fact. There are also a substantial amount of files kept on the Department of Natural Resources relating to oil spills, DDT banning, President Nixon's economic policies, emissions control, Attorney General Herbert DeSimone issues and statements, income tax reform, news releases, and a "General" file concerning issues at the University of Rhode Island.
The series consists of files kept by Governor Licht's Executive Assistant, Donald Shea. Included are budget reports, general funds balance sheets, and financial statements from the Division of Accounts and Control detailing assets and liabilities of various state departments. There are also financial records from the Office of Administration's Director Kevin Coleman outlining the department's budget, and spending reductions among state offices and bureaus. These files also contain correspondence and interdepartmental communications.
Subjects include Rhode Island issues relating to labor unions, juvenile delinquency, Department of Natural Resources, education, public school strikes of 1972, and the expansion of the powers of the Board of Regents. The records include a chronological file of transmittal records dating from January to July 1971.
Of interest are files relating to the Rhode Island Coalition for New Politics, also known as the New Democratic Coalition, which endorsed Robert F. Kennedy and Eugene J. McCarthy as candidates for the 1968 presidential election. There are also records pertaining to the nationally recognized Vietnam Moratorium on October 15, 1969 that contains press releases, flyers, and statements from Governor Licht, President of Providence CollegeWilliam Paul Hass, and local businessman Aaron H. Roitman. Also relating to Vietnam are letters to Governor Licht from constituents concerning the prosecution of Lt. William Calley for his role in the My Lai massacre on March 16, 1968
The series contains news clippings that were kept by Governor Licht's staff as research material. The articles relate to political, social, and legislative issues which were of concern to the Licht Administration. They are mounted individually on 8.5" x 11" sheets of paper.
The folders are arranged chronologically.
This series contains press releases issued by the Licht Administration under the auspices Press Secretary, Thomas Buckley. Subjects include social, political, and legislative issues impacting the state of Rhode Island during Licht's tenure as Governor.
The series contains copies of press conference statements, budget releases, inaugural messages, General Assembly addresses, and speeches Governor Licht made during his time in office. Subjects include business the budget, foreign policy, community affairs, environmental management, education, law enforcement, and tax legislation.
The series consists of invitations and rejoinders from Licht's colleagues, constituency, personal friends, and organizations asking him to attend functions, meetings, charity events, dinners, and other public and private affairs. The rejoinders, which are filed as "acceptances" and "regrets," were generated from the Executive Assistant's office.
The files are arranged chronologically.
The series contains interdepartmental communications between Governor Licht's Executive Assistant Donald Shea and the directors, commissioners, and the heads of departments and administrations within the Rhode Island state government. The records also include letters from constituents, federal and state administrative correspondence, and correspondence from citizen's groups and business organizations.
The series contains copies of outgoing correspondence. The records consist of yellow carbon copies of replies to constituent correpondence. Incoming letters from constituents are found in the Correspondence series. Each series can be cross-referenced.
The files are arranged chronologically.
The series contains original incoming correspondence to Governor Litch from constituents, state and local departmental administrations, business organizations, educational institutions, and political groups.
The folders are arranged chronologically.
The series contains correspondence with local, state, and federal officials. The records include correspondence to the Governors of each state, as well as correspondence from Rhode Island officials and foreign dignitaries. The records also include correspondence with Rhode Island officials filed alphabetically by office, city and last name.
The records include correspondence to Rhode Island mayors arranged alphabetically by city or township, as well as correspondence to Rhode Island State Representatives and Senators filed alphabetically by last name. The records also include correspondence to President Richard Nixon, Vice President Spiro Agnew, Attorney General Elliot Richardson, and the United States Rhode Island delegation. The Rhode Island delegation records consists of correpondence to United States Representatives followed by United States Senators filed alphabetically by last name.
The series contains mail routing forms that are filed chronologically from January 1969 to December 1972. The forms are divided into four columns indicating the date the letter was written, the last name of the sender, a brief subject description of the letter, and the last name, or initials, of the staff member it was being routed to. The series also contains mail routing forms of constituent letters routed to staff members and are filed under the heading "Second Floor."
The records include routing records cards (3" x 5" yellow index cards) filed alphabetically by the last name of the sender, as well as reply correspondence and unanswered correspondence. The records were originally kept in boxes labeled "Director's Files" and transferred to document boxes during processing.
The folders are arranged chronologically.
The series contains letters of condolence to constituents who had lost loved ones and family members.
The files are arranged chronologically.
The series contains records from Frank Licht's first campaign for governor of Rhode Island in 1968. The records consist of campaign budget records, speeches, endorsements, inaugural message drafts, television debate scripts, news releases of press conferences, notes, and itemized lists of advertising expenses. The records also include a digest of major issues that Licht addressed during his campaign.
In addition, the series contains news releases, editorials, and transcripts from radio appearances. There are also records on Senator Pell's campaigns, poll ratings, and the democratic platform for 1966 and 1968 with handwritten recommendations from constituents. There are also handwritten notes on choices of slogans and volunteer lists.
The series contains the records from the "Little Statehouses" program initiated in 1970 by the Licht Administration. It was based on the "Little City Halls" and "Mini-Capitals" programs established by several cities across the nation to improve communication between constituents and the municipal government. The Rhode Island General Assembly maintained that the purpose of the program was to encourage and develop a participatory democracy, eliminate constituency alienation from the government, and to help make the government more responsive to the needs of the average citizen.
The program utilized two 30' x 10' mobile office-trailers that were scheduled to receive citizens at twenty-six locations throughout the districts to the west and north of Narragansett Bay. The program also used fourteen rented office spaces secured to serve districts on the east side of the bay. Operations were managed by four field teams each consisting of a manager, an assistant manager, and a volunteer assigned to act either as a receptionist or as an aid. Citizens would go to the office representing their district and fill out a "Problem Sheet" form on which they would outline the nature of the issue they wished to have addressed by the state. Some of the complaints and concerns were either handwritten or typed on separate sheets of paper and stapled to the form. Once the Little Statehouse office received the forms they were evaluated and sent to the appropriate state department where an appointed representative would respond to the constituents requests.
The series has three parts. The first ten boxes consist of Problem Sheet forms filed alphabetically by the city or town in which they originated. Records of out of state and country forms follow.
The next five boxes contain subject files that include general correspondence, complaint letters, departmental files, budget files, personnel files, mailing lists, program directives, and volunteer files, as well as files pertaining to a number of social, environmental, and political issues.
The next four boxes contain case file cards. These are 3" x 5" index cards that have the constituents name, address, subject of the issue they are calling attention to, and the date they were received at the Little Statehouses office. There is also a file number located on the top right-hand corner of the card. These cards are filed alphabetically by town and city beginning first, with the northern regions of the state, followed by the southern regions of the west side of the state, and then by the eastern flank of the state. Cards originating from people located out of state and out of the country are filed last.
The last group of case cards are filed numerically from 1 to 2457. These are separated by tabbed partitions for every hundred cards.
The folders are arranged alphabetically by town and city.
The series contains records kept by Governor Licht's Executive Administrative Assistant, Charles N. Redihan. The records include essays and timelines outlining the history of Rhode Island from the colonial and revolutionary eras to present. There are also essays concerning the origins of Indian names for Rhode Island trails, waterways, and islands. The records also include correspondence with Vice President Spiro Agnew regarding programs initiated by the Office of Community Affairs and President Nixon's Retirement Security Plan.
The series also includes records of the Governor's response to the escape of four inmates from Adult Correctional Institution in September of 1972, as well as other prisoner-related issues including inmates rights to legal assistance and vocational programs. Other subjects include crime prevention, welfare, drug abuse, environmental management, human rights issues, student discord on college campuses, and budgetary matters.
The series contains records created by local, state, national boards, commissions, councils, and committees that were involved with the Licht Administration. The records include appointments of individuals to specific positions on boards and commissions, as well as correspondence from the Regents Advisory Committee (1969-1972), the Atomic Energy Commission (1970-1971), and the Human Rights Commission (1969-1972).
The series also contains requests, affirmations, endorsements, and 'thank you' letters. There are also records kept on the Board of Pharmacy (1969-1972), the Board of Plumbing Examiners, the Water Resources Board (1969-1971), and the Women's Advisory Commission (1969-1972).
This series contains records kept by Lawrence K. Walsh, an administrative aid to Governor Licht. He was active in public relations and was a member of the Rhode Island Press Corps. The series contains correspondence from radio and television executives, government colleagues, business representatives, state and federal government department heads, officials from environmental agencies, and various other public, private groups and organizations.
Subjects include air pollution, water pollution, televison and radio programming. The series also contains government reports and statistical data on education, civil defense, and taxation as well as files relating to the Youth Advisory Council containing committee membership criteria and numerous ballot sheets.
The series contains the records of the Department of Community Affairs, which was established by the Licht Administration in 1969 and headed by Director Frederick C. Williamson. The Community Affairs Department was responsible for coordinating the activities of state and local governments, providing technical assistance for planning projects, training local officials and private organizations in administrative procedures many of which were focused on the needs of the elderly. The series also contains records from the four branches of the Department of Community Affairs and are organized accordingly. The offices include the Division of Housing and Aging, Division of Housing Services, Division of Human Resources, and the Planning Division.
The series also contains correspondence from the Division of Aging, headed by Director Eleanor F. Slater, filed chronologically by month from 1969 to 1972. The records include grant proposals and requests, and program information on poverty-related issues as well as numerous reports concerning the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The reports include surveys and memorandum that focus on the issues of housing legislation and tenant-landlord rights and responsibilities. The Planning Division records consist of reports and map studies from the planning boards of various towns. Also included are reports and correspondence relating to building codes, community planning, historic preservation for New Shoreham, and a report on zoning procedures.
The series contains the records of the New England Regional Commission on which Governor Licht served during both his terms in office. The New England Regional Commission was sanctioned by Congress in 1965 as one of several national commissions designed to promote economic growth in multi-State regions in the United States. These were designated as the regions that had fallen behind the rest of the nation because of unusually high unemployment, low income rates, out-migration, and inadequate facilities. The New England commission consisted of all six New England Governors whose mission was to coordinate the plans and goals of federal, state, and local bodies and supply them with technical assistance and funding in order to achieve a balanced regional growth. Governor Litch was elected to the State Chairman position by the Commission in 1970.
The series consists of budgetary documents, correspondence, memorandum, and numerous annual reports. Included are records on Energy Power studies, urban planning studies, and minutes of Governor's meetings which include resolutions and tabulated report summaries. In addition, there are several files containing outlines of the organizational structure of the New England Regional Commission, copies of its policy codes, and proposals for state and regional project plans and supplemental grants.
The series contains correspondence from constituents pertaining to Senate Bills, resolutions, and other legislative matters that were brought before the General Assembly. Each letter is accompanied with a blanket statement issued by the Licht Administration acknowledging receipt and briefly commenting on the progress of the issue being addressed.
Subjects include abortion, Block Island gambling, Fair Trade Act, mental health, aid to parochial schools, teachers and the retirement system, tenant rights, and voting rights for ex-convicts.
The series contains records produced by the District Courts of various states requesting extradition of felons. Included are waivers signed by the accused and the original warrants. The records also include newsclippings and correspondence between public officials in regard to the cases.
The cases date from 1959 to 1968 and originate from the files of Governor John H. Chafee with several several files belonging to the two preceding Governors, Christopher Del Sesto and John A. Notte. Only one file falls under Governor Licht's incumbency and is dated 1970.
The series contains records relating to topics discussed at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government during lectures and speeches that were either attended by Governor Licht, or ones in which he was asked to speak. In addition to speeches and lectures, there are news releases, messages to the General Assembly, and written testimonies given before the Senate Finance Committee. There is also a copy of a speech given by former President Jimmy Carter at the 1972 National Governors Conference in Washington, D.C.
Subjects include speeches on community groups, education, adult correctional facilities, statistical election data, and student unrest on Rhode Island campuses due to President Nixon's expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia.
The series contains copies of signed and sealed proclamations ordered by Governor Licht during his four years in office. The first document of each folder is an alphabetical title list of the all the proclamations ordered for that particular year. Next to each title is the date the proclamation was signed and the page number assigned to it.
The folders are arranged chronologically from 1969 to 1972.
The series contains published annual budget reports, economic program studies, law enforcement plans, capital development program reports, economic forecasting and reports from the Department of Community Affairs on Aging.
The series contains 1.5 mm reel-to-reel audio tapes of press conferences with Governor Licht. Box 3 contains audio cassette tapes of press conferences, lectures, speeches, and General Assembly addresses.
The records are arranged chronologically from March 1969 to February 1970.
The series consists of campaign memorabilia from Governor Licht's 1968 and 1970 campaigns. The records include posters, campaign ads, buttons, bumper stickers, placards, leaflets and banners. The posters and placards are referenced on dummy folders in the series and stored in map case draw 20: Licht Oversize.