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Mac Collins papers, 108 Congress

 Collection
Identifier: POL-0022-08

Scope and Contents note

The collection consists of the papers of Mac Collins from 2003-2004 related to his service in the 108th Congress. It includes six series: (I) Legislative materials, (II) Washington, D.C. Office, (III) Constituent letters, (IV) Photographs, (V) Invitations, and (VI) Case files.

The legislative materials series includes materials generated and/or used by Collins’ service in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2003 to 2004. Files contain documents related to or summarizing specific legislative issues, House Resolution language, reports, correspondence, “Dear Colleague” letters, hand-written notes, and printed material. Major topics among the legislative materials include the State Infrastructure Bank, tobacco buyout, the Farm Bill, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (mad cow disease), temporary agriculture labor, No Child Left Behind, and transportation infrastructure funding. Also included in this series are materials related the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, efforts to obtain funding for needed Fish and Wildlife Service personnel at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport, a variety of local Georgia projects, air quality standard non-attainment, recognition of faith-based initiatives, sewer infrastructure funding, and other issues.

The Washington, DC Office series includes material created in or regarding Collins’ Washington, DC office during his U.S. House of Representatives service from 1993 to 2004. Contained here are receipts, invoices, statements, emails, official forms (blank and completed), office directory, lists, plans, correspondence, memoranda, and architectural drawings related to the day-to-day working of the Congressman’s D. C. office.

The constituent letters include correspondence written to Representative Collins along with his responses. Major topics include the conflict with Iraq, abortion politics, LGBT rights, health insurance and other medical issues, and gun control. Some of the constituent letters are form letters and have been sampled, with duplicate materials removed. Collins’s staff assigned a number to each letter which have been retained in the folder titles.

Photographs include constituents, art shows, Town Hall meetings, Fort Benning, and fundraisers among others. Many include Congressman Collins on the steps of the Capitol building or in his office.

Dates

  • 2003-2004

Creator

Biographical/Historical note

Mac Collins was born on October 15, 1944 in Jackson, Georgia. He attended Jackson High School, and afterwards he worked for his father’s concrete company rather than attend college. Around this time, he also married his high school girlfriend, Julie Watkins. They had four children. Later, Collins incorporated Collins Ready Mix Concrete, Inc., into Collins Trucking Co., Inc., and the business became focused on hauling timber. At its peak, Collins Trucking Co., Inc. operated over thirty trucks that hauled timber for Georgia Pacific as part of an exclusive contract. In 1992, his son Michael (Mike) Collins purchased the company from him. Collins was also a member of the Georgia Army National Guard from 1964 to 1970.

Collins began his political career in 1977 as a Democrat, and he won election to the Butts County Commission. He served on the commission until 1980, when he switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. He lost election to the Georgia State Senate in the 1984 and 1986 elections. He was successful in winning election in the Georgia State Senate’s seventeenth district in 1988. His district contained the counties of Butts, Clayton, and Henry. At the start of the 140th Georgia General Assembly, he was only one of eleven Republicans in the Georgia State Senate, compared to forty-five Democrats.

While in the State Senate, Collins served on the Special Judiciary committee. He pursued stricter drug laws, sponsoring bills that would result in longer prison sentences for those convicted of drug selling and trafficking. He also served on the Corrections committee, arguing for more funding for the prison system. He opposed early parole as a program that allowed dangerous criminals to be released back into society. He also served on the Education committee.

In 1992, the Georgia General Assembly redistricted the Sixth Congressional District, the district formerly represented by Republican Newt Gingrich. This act moved much Gingrich’s former territory into the area where Collins lived. Collins declared himself a candidate for the United States House of Representatives, and he defeated Paul Broun in the Republican primary. He defeated incumbent congressman Richard Ray in the general election by over ten points. Collins served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1993 to 2004, and held a seat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee.

In 2004, he ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary against Johnny Isakson for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate.

Mac Collins died on November 20, 2018, near Jackson, Georgia.

Extent

15.84 Linear feet (17 boxes)

Language

English

Arrangement note

This collection is arranged into six series: (I) Legislative materials, (II) Washington, D.C. Office, (III) Constituent letters, (IV) Photographs, (V) Invitations, and (VI) Case files.

Immediate Source of Acquisition note

Donated by Mac Collins.

Processing Information note

Processed by Lalah Manly, Anne Hunter, and W. Michael Camp, 2019; updated in 2023 by Danielle Jett Rutherford. In 2023, the Mac Collins papers were weeded to discard materials that did not warrant retention. In POL-0022-08, 6 linear feet of clippings and invitations/regrets were discarded. This collection now consists of 17 boxes. The boxes were previously numbered 213-229, but are now 1-17.

Title
Guide to the Mac Collins papers, 108th Congress POL-0022-08
Author
Finding aid prepared by Written by Lalah Manly, Anne Hunter, and W. Michael Camp, 2019; updated in 2023 by Danielle Jett Rutherford.
Date
2019
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English

Repository Details

Part of the University of West Georgia Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Special Collections, Ingram Library
University of West Georgia
1601 Maple Street
Carrollton GA 30118-2000 United States