Federal Union and Federal Trust for Education and Research

Correspondence and papers of the Federal Union and Federal Trust for Education and Research. Includes letters, reports, notes, minutes; printed material such as newspapers and newsletters, publications, press cuttings, leaflets and publicity material; some photographs, audio and videotape. Material relates broadly to administration and management, activities, external relations and research, 1931-2004.

The Federal Union was founded in 1938 to advance the cause of federal government among democratic states in order to achieve international peace, economic stability and civil rights, by means of research, debate and political activity. The Federal Union flourished throughout the war years and established a series of active local and regional organisations. During the 1950s and 1960s, the Union was involved in political debates on topics such as the United Nations charter, international monetary reform and disarmament. It also concerned itself with post war reconstruction and, through this, the cause of European integration and the British entry into the European Economic Community. Federal Union continues to campaign for federalism for the UK, Europe and the world and argues that democracy and the rule of law should apply between states as well as within them. In 1945, on the initiative of Sir William Beveridge, the Federal Educational & Research Trust, an educational charity, was established. The purpose of the Trust was to encourage the study of international relations and co-operation and further research into federal principles and institutions by conducting enquiries, seminars, conferences and reports. Now known as the Federal Trust for Education and Research it continues to operate as a think tank studying the interaction between regional, national, European and global levels of government. Federal Trust has always had a particular interest in the European Union and Britain's place in it. In more recent years, it has supplemented its European work with studies on devolution and regional government in the United Kingdom and reports on global governance.

Arranged into 3 sub-collections as follows: A: Federal Union and Federal Trust material, 1938-1983, collected and arranged by University of Sussex Library. B: Additional Federal Union material, 1931-2004. C: Additional Federal Trust material, 1941-1997. As far as possible the original order has been maintained.

Mainly open, some items closed.

Sub-collection A was transferred from the University of Sussex in 1991. Additional deposits by Federal Union and Federal Trust have taken place between 1997 and 2006.

Online catalogue available.

Amended October 2006 by Lorraine Screene, LSE Archives as part of the Foyle Foundation Project. Sources: Federal Union http://www.federalunion.org.uk/index.shtml Federal Trust for Education and Research http://www.fedtrust.co.uk/default.asp

Copyright is held by the creator.

Sub-collection A: In 1956, to commemorate the services of Lionel Curtis who had been a member of the original advisory council of Federal Union, those papers illustrating the movements history that were not required for current business were gathered together to found a collection of federalist papers. To these were added personal papers from R.W.G.Mackay. The collection was given to the University of Sussex Library in a series of deposits between 1966 and 1974 and in 1991 was transferred to LSE. Sub-collections B and C: Contain additional material deposited at LSE by Federal Union and Federal Trust in a series of deposits between 1997 and 2006.

Ronald William Gordon Mackay correspondence and papers c1928-1952 (Ref: MACKAY) William Henry Beveridge correspondence and papers 1939-1962 (Ref: BEVERIDGE) (Ref: BEVERIDGE/ADDENDA)