Senator Thurmond was noted for the volume of his correspondence. With very few exceptions, all correspondence that included a return address was answered, regardless of the writer’s state of residence. This resulted in an immense library of form letters on topics ranging from agriculture to the environment to health issues to veterans affairs.

The typical correspondent was either voicing an opinion or requesting assistance of some type. The opinion mail, categorized as “Issue Mail” covers the widest range of topics. Responses ranged from simple “I appreciate having the benefit of your views” letters to multi-paragraph letters reiterating Senator Thurmond’s views on the subject at hand. A sampling of Issue Mail was retained. For incoming form letters, a single sample was retained and the number discarded was noted. For unique incoming issue mail, a 20% sample was retained and the number discarded was noted.

Correspondents requesting individual assistance were usually writing about a problem they were having with a government agency, especially a benefits agency such as Social Security or the Veterans Administration. The Senator’s office typically forwarded these cases to the appropriate agency, retaining a copy for their files. Much of this correspondence was discarded as it contained sensitive information such as medical records, salary history, arrest records or family problems. A small selection of cases that appeared to have necessitated some involvement on the part of the Senator’s office was retained, though sensitive information was redacted. Also discarded were any requests that the Senator’s office referred to a Senator in another state because the writer was a member of that state’s constituency.

Other material discarded from this series includes requests for government documents, declined invitations, unsolicited resumes, duplicates, and thank you notes. Some of the major issues and/or topics documented in the this series include:AIDS,Alcoholic Beverage Labeling Act,Americans with Disabilities Act, Cable Television Consumer Protection Act, China Policy Act, Clean Water Act,Civil Rights Act, District of Columbia:Statehood,Family and Medical Leave Act,Food and Drug Administration, Hatch Act Reform Amendments,Hurricane Hugo Recovery,Individual with Disabilites Education Act, Medical Information Privacy and Security Act,Medicare,Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act,National School Lunch Act,Social Security "notch issues",Strategic Defense Initiative,Title X Pregnancy Couseling Act, and Wetlands Conservation.

Correspondents in this series include:Lee Atwater,Haley Barbour,Sol Blatt,Jr,Alan Cranston,Governor Carroll A. Campbell,Jr,Senator Tom Daschle, marian Wright Edleman, Senator Al Gore,Jr,Senator Bob Graham,Bob Jones,III,Max Lennon, Senator Trent Lott,President Richard M.Nixon,Governor Mark Sanford,Senator Ted Stevens,HRH Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, Gertrude Thrumond, Sam Walton,and Essie Mae Washington Williams