James Harvey Slater was elected prosecuting attorney for the 5th Judicial District in 1866, served in the U.S. House from 1871-1873, and was a U.S. senator from Oregon from 1879-1885. Papers include correspondence; estate and family papers; reminiscences; and speeches, 1867-1885, on topics including economics, politics, tariffs, and slavery.

Printed extracts of speeches regarding an 1882 bill to prohibit Chinese immigration to the United States for 20 years, as well as vote tallies and U.S. President Chester A. Arthur's veto message. The bill referred to in this item failed to override presidential veto, but a modified version, which barred Chinese laborers from entering the United States for 10 years, passed as the Chinese Exclusion Act later that year, was renewed in 1892, made permanent in 1902, and repealed in 1943.