The papers of John D. Lewis, spanning the years 1902 to 1977, document Lewis' career as a teacher and scholar in the discipline of political science. They relfect in detail his personal and professional associations with other leading members of the field. The collection also offers information pertaining to the family of John and Ewart Lewis.

The Lewis papers are arranged into six records series: I. Biographical Files; II. Lewis Family Correspondence; III. Professional Correspondence of John D. Lewis; IV. Teaching Materials; V. Research Notes and Writings; and VI. Subject Files. Within series, materials are further subdivided into subseries or arranged chronologically or alphabetically by topic or type of material. The file headings in Series VI are largely those employed by John Lewis.

Information relating to John Lewis' personal life is contained in Series I and Series II, Biographical Files and Lewis Family Correspondence. Series I is an artificial grouping of miscellaneous materials and includes the wills of Lewis' parents, land deeds, and student files dating from the period of Lewis' undergraduate (1926-28) and graduate study (1928-33) in Oberlin, Madison, and Berlin. Series I also includes several of Professor Lewis' annual reports (1936-49) to the President of Oberlin College. A complete run of these reports, which report professional achievements of the preceding year, are available in the records of the Office of the Secretary (5). John Lewis' personal correspondence (1928-72) is entirely incoming and consists largely of Ewart Kellogg's lengthy and spirited epistles to her fiance in Berlin. Later letters from Ewart, written to her husband during his absences from Oberlin, offer an intimate portrayal of the Lewis family from 1935 to 1950. Other correspondents of John Lewis include his parents, John T. and Mary Lewis, his brother, Lew J. Lewis, his young son David, and colleagues Frederick B. Artz (1894-1983), Oscar Jaszi (1875-1957), Cecelia Marie Kenyon (1922-90; A.B. Oberlin 1943), and George (1913-81) and Susi Lanyi.

John Lewis' professional correspondence, housed in Series III, consists largely of file copies of letters of recommendation written for colleagues and undergraduates. They are filed with letters requesting such support. Also present is incoming and outgoing correspondence pertaining to speaking engagements, candidates for academic posts at other institutions, nominees for fellowships or tenure, departmental staffing, and American Political Science Association committee work. Correspondents of John Lewis include political scientists F. W. Coker (b. 1878), John M. Gaus (b. 1894), Oscar Jaszi (1875-1957), Michael Karpovich (1888-1959), Frederic A. Ogg (1878-1951), Roland Pennock (b. 1906), Harold Sprout (b. 1901), and Pitman B. Potter (b. 1892).

Lewis' teaching materials, while not of significant research value, offer evidence of his competence to teach in several subjects, including the comparative government of western Europe; the history of political theory; American foreign policy, political theory, government, and party politics; and nineteenth and twentieth-century political theories and movements. Files include course evaluations, examination questions, syllabi, course outlines, and bibliographies for courses taught at Oberlin and other institutions.Series V, Research Notes and Writings, contains manuscript drafts of Lewis' three published books, Against the Tyrant (Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press, 1957), Anti-Federalists versus Federalists: Selected Documents (San Francisco: Chandler Pub. Co, 1967), and The Genossenschaft-theory of Otto von Gierke: A Study in Political Thought (Madison, 1935). Numerous drafts of talks are filed with attached correspondence and reveal Lewis' popularity as a speaker at both professional meetings and Oberlin College assemblies. The research notes represent a sampling of the voluminous note cards received in the 1991 accession.

The subject files used by John Lewis for reference purposes are maintained in the present arrangement in Series VI. They provide evidence of Lewis' involvement in the governance of Oberlin College and of his contributions to various professional associations. Files relating to Oberlin College include correspondence, memoranda, and reports of various college committees on which Lewis served. Committees represented include the Faculty Council Committee on Promotions (1949-65), the General Council Committee to Study the A.A.U.P. Salary Report (1946-47), the Educational Policies Committee (1949-50), and general files relating to the 1973 governance controversy. Additional files include statistics gathered by Lewis on European governments and election results, and a study of Oberlin elections from 1908-38. Also present are writings of former students and Oberlin political science colleagues, Paul Dawson, Oscar Jaszi, and Harlan Wilson and miscellaneous files pertaining to the American Political Science Association, the American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy, and the Midwest Political Science Association.

Series I. Biographical Files, 1902, 1926-74, n.d. 2 l.f.

File copies of Lewis' annual or performance reports to the President of Oberlin College, financial and medical records, land deeds, wills, Who's Who in America entry forms, letters of introduction, identity cards, student notes and papers, clippings, and other miscellaneous materials providing biographical information. Arranged alphabetically by type of material and thereunder chronologically.

Series II. Lewis Family Correspondence (Personal), 1928-72, n.d. 1 l.f.

Personal, incoming correspondence of John D. and Ewart K. Lewis, arranged into two subseries: 1. Correspondence of John D. Lewis; and 2. Correspondence of Ewart K. Lewis. Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by correspondent.

Series III. Professional Correspondence of John D. Lewis, 1941-76, n.d. 3 l.f.

Incoming and outgoing correspondence with attached and related material arranged into two subseries: 1. Correspondence, 1941-76, n.d; and 2. Letters of Recommendation, 1941-76.Correspondence is arranged chronologically in Subseries 1. In Subseries 2, letters of recommendation are organized in two separate runs, alphabetical and chronological, according to the original filing system.

Series IV. Teaching Materials, 1933-73, n.d. 1 l.f.

Lecture notes, syllabi, bibliographies, examination questions, and course outlines arranged chronologically under two headings: Political Science Course Materials; and Miscellaneous Teaching Materials. Duplicate course materials were disposed of.

Series V. Research Notes and Writings, 1934-75, n.d. 2.8 l.f.

Research notes; ms. and typescript drafts of articles, talks, books, and book reviews; reprints, reports, and obituaries. Arranged into two subseries: 1. Research notes; and 2. Writings. Files in Subseries 2 are arranged alphabetically by genre and thereunder alphabetically by title.

Series VI. Subject Files, 1932-77, n.d. 3.2 l.f.

Correspondence with attached and related material, committee files, charts, graphs, draft reports, conference programs, clippings and other miscellaneous printed materials. Also includes unpublished writings of Lewis' former students and Oberlin colleagues. Arranged alphabetically by topic or type of material.

The papers of John D. Lewis were transferred under deed of gift to the Oberlin College Archives in 1991.

For additional correspondence of John Lewis, consult the presidential papers of Ernest Hatch Wilkins (2/7), William Edwards Stevenson (2/8), and Robert Kenneth Carr (2/9). The papers of John Lewis' longtime friend George Lanyi are housed in record group 30/180. A complete bibliography of John Lewis' writings is housed in his staff file (28). Records of college committees are housed in Record Group 33. Ewart Lewis' staff file (28) provides additional biographical information about her.