Government Archives - Kansas Oral History Project

Government uses portions of oral history interviews and sample Compelling Questions to examine how the three branches of government work, how public policy in a variety of areas is made by governmental bodies. The role of leadership by elected and appointed officials to effect compromise on controversial issues is illuminated.

The Arc of Water Policy

In two separate interviews, Joe Harkins, former director of the Kansas Water Office and Mike Hayden, former Governor of Kansas, discussed the arc of policymaking in the context of water policy. Both pointed to the importance of state leaders who saw water quality and quantity as important issues for the state. Both also pointed to the ebb and flow of interest in the issues as leaders changed through the electoral process. The clips of those interviews lead to some questions about how public policymaking depends on individuals' interactions with one another and how the formal structures of government Show Moreplay a role in those interactions. Show Less

Bipartisanship and Working Across the Aisle

This 10 minute video was prepared for the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Kansas Oral History Project by former State Representative and Speaker ProTem David Heinemann. The video clips came from interviews in the KOHP archives. The first clip is former Congressman Jim Slattery talking about a speech he made on the floor of the House and Speaker Clyde Hill's comments to him. Next is Representative Kenny Wilk from Leavenworth area talking about advice from Rep. Bill Reardon, a Wyandotte county Democrat. Rep. Don Hineman, former Majority Leader speaks to the importance of "working Show Moreacross the aisle." Senator Paul Feleciano made a similar comment. Rep. Bob Tomlinson, Insurance Committee Chair had a great relationship with his ranking member. Rep. Carl Holmes was pulled off his post as chair of the Energy committee by the Speaker. Rep. Solbach spoke about the importance of socializing with members of the other party. Governor Graves talked about bipartisanship and his job as Governor in "taking care of the people's business." Senator Wint Winter was on a committee in 1986 trying to develop a state-wide plan for economic development. Heinemann concludes with more information on how the economic development task force was constructed and its successes. Show Less

Navigating the Kansas Appellate Court System

This lesson plan for a high school government class was crafted by Susan Sittenauer, a Kansas high school teacher with 39 years of teaching experience. Using excerpts from an oral history of former Supreme Court Justice Carol Beier, she developed a series of questions and discussions to give learners a solid understanding of the decision-making process for cases before the Kansas Supreme Court. Justice Beier's explanations are very clear and easily followed in the three excerpts from her oral history interview. Sittenauer's lesson plan is also congruent with the social studies standards for Kansas.

How the Legislature Works

The 30 minute video, "How Things Got Done in the Kansas Legislature" is an introduction to how laws are made in Kansas and features 12 different legislators talking about how they got elected, how they determined their legislative priorities--in effect, how they made things happen in the Kansas Legislature.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mjBQoT-FZw[/embedyt]

What Kansas Courts Do

Retired Kansas Supreme Court Justice Carol Beier explains in this short video how the courts are different from the other two branches of state government and how the Supreme Court works to preserve the rule of law. The complete text of the interview of Justice Beier by Richard Ross can be found under the Kansas Courts and the Rule of Law collection.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI9qSgsL-4M[/embedyt]

What Kansas Governors Do

This 14 minutes video uses segments from the oral history interviews of two Kansas Governors, Kathleen Sebelius and Bill Graves, to illustrate how each of these popular, two-term governors navigated the political waters. Topics include budgets, school finance, working with a cabinet, court mandates.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vLaO4pqen0

Compare and Contrast Kansas Governors – a lesson plan

In this lesson plan for high school government classes, students will select two oral history interviews from the KOHP Kansas Governors collection or from other oral histories. They will learn research skills and will analyze the videos or transcripts of these interviews in order to draw conclusions about the historical significance of the person and the resulting consequences of that person’s actions. Activities include taking Cornell notes about the important aspects of their identity and use a graphic organizer to contrast and compare the two governors. Complete details of the four-lesson plan can be downloaded below. Michael Kates, a Show Moreteacher in the Topeka Public Schools created the lesson plan. Show Less