A luncheon, afternoon reception, and evening Dutch- American Heritage Day celebration
were held on Thursday, November 16, to celebrate the opening of the Guy A. Vander
Jagt Congressional Papers in the Hope College collection of the Joint Archives
of Holland.
Vander Jagt, who is a 1953 Hope graduate, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1966, serving the Ninth District of Michigan until 1992. “During his quarter century in the House of Representatives, a period of time that covered six presidencies, Congressman Vander Jagt played a significant role locally as well as nationally,” said Larry Wagenaar, who is director of the Joint Archives of Holland. “The records in the collection provide a thorough look at both the major events during his time in office and the day-to-day activity experienced by a Congressman, and will be an important resource for developing our understanding of area history as well as our nation's history.”
The materials cover not only Vander Jagt’s service in Congress, but the decade before as well. His activities from 1957 until his election to the House included serving as news director of WWTV in Cadillac, practicing law at Warner, Norcross & Judd in Grand Rapids, and serving in Michigan’s state senate during 1965-66.
According to Vander Jagt, his formative experience at Hope made the college-based Joint Archives the logical choice to house the collection. “Hope College is very, very special to me, for four of the greatest years of my life were on the Hope campus,” he said. “I was impacted spiritually and intellectually in ways that shaped all the rest of my life, and so I thought it appropriate that the harvest of an entire career go back to where it all began.”
While a student at Hope, Vander Jagt was debate champion for the state of Michigan for three consecutive years, and captured the National Oratorical Championship during his senior year. He was also student body president during his senior year. He served as a disc jockey at WHTC radio in Holland while working his way through school.
In addition to his degree from Hope, he holds a B.D. from Yale Divinity School, completed in 1957, and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, completed in 1960.
During his time in the U.S. House of Representatives, Vander Jagt rose to the second-ranking Republican seat on the House Ways and Means Committee and to the ranking Republican seats on the Trade Subcommittee, the Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee, and the Health and Human Resources Subcommittee. He was also a member of the Joint Taxation Committee, among other committee appointments.
As chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), he was a member of the Republican leadership, consulting on a regular basis with Presidents Ford, Reagan, and Bush and their Cabinets. He was the keynote speaker of the Republican National Convention in 1980.
Since
1992, he has practiced in the Washington, D.C. office of the law firm of Baker
& Hostetler. With offices in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Denver, Houston,
Long Beach, Los Angeles, Orlando and Washington, the firm is one of the 25 largest
law firms in the United States. He concentrates his practice in the areas of
tax and legislative law.
Vander Jagt was inducted by the Queen of the Netherlands as a grand officer into the Order of Orange Nassau in April, of 1982, and was named the Outstanding Dutch-American of the Year by the Netherlands Amity Trust Association in 1991.
Vander Jagt was also the keynote speaker for the Dutch-American Heritage Day event at 7 p.m. in the Haworth Inn and Conference Center. Over 200 people attended heard a speech that focused on the rich relationship between the United States of America and the Netherlands, stretching back over 200 years. The Dutch played a critical role in the early years of the Revolution and arguably were one of America’s only friends at a time of grave need.
The Vander Jagt papers are open for research. A register of the entire collection can be found online. You can also search the Joint Archives of Holland’s other holdings.