Most of the material in the CMS series consists of correspondence from and/or to constituents, colleagues, government officials of various levels, friends and family. In addition, the series contains some reports, maps, newspaper or magazine articles which append and/or support the correspondence. A variety of routine office material has been removed from this series, such as purchase orders for office supplies, requests for government documents, and declined invitations. Furthermore, in cases where a moderate to large number of form letters or postcards were received concerning a particular topic, these have been removed from this series and now comprise the Volume Mail Series, 1976-1998. A number of different subjects are covered such as agriculture, applications & employment, civil rights, crime, education, foreign relations, grants (by county), housing, labor, military, natural resources, personal, taxes, trade, textiles, and veterans affairs. These and other subjects continue from year to year within this series, applications & employment and grants being two of the larger subject files.

There are also 53 reels of 16mm microfilm which contain indexes of correspondence by name of correspondent and/or topic. These were probably generated by the Senate Correspondence Management System. The indexes are probably not complete and may refer to letters or correspondents not contained in this series. A listing of the indexes appears at the end of the series.

Senator Thurmond received thousands of letters each year from multiple and diverse sources. He was widely known for the volume of his constituent and other correspondence, and the service he tried to render to each and every request. Public knowledge of his service increased the additions to the volume of correspondence received each year; people who wanted help knew who to ask for results. Senator Thurmond answered all the correspondence he received with a simple and direct method-to solve the problem himself through his positions and influence, or refer the issue to someone more qualified-by reason of their position or influence-for a quick and satisfactory result.

Some of the major issues and/or topics documented in this series include: Abbeville Hydroelectric Compensation Measure, Alaska National Hunting Bill, Alaska National Interest Lands, Alcohol Abuse Legislation, Amoco Project-Cooper River, Animal Rights Legislation, Bamberg County Hospital Medicare Funding, Base Closures, Budget Deficit, Charleston Harbor Deepening Project, Coal Strike, Comprehensive Employment Training Administration (CETA) Refunding, Congaree Swamp & National Forest, Cowpens National Battlefield, Cypress-Turkish Arms Embargo, Davis Bacon Act, East Columbia Housing Project, Educational Block Grant, Fair Insurance Practices Act, Federal & State Inmates, Ferrochrome Production, Funding for Low Income Housing, Fur Seal Treaty, GATT Multifiber Arrangement, Grand Strand Regional Environmental Impact, Kingstree Sanitary Sewer Project, Korean Airline Tragedy (KAL 007), Martin Luther King Holiday Bill, National Republic of China-Taiwan, National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA), Natural Gas Policy Act, Nuclear Power, Old Ninety Six-Star Fort National Historic Park, Pomaria Bicentennial Festival, Rabon Creek Rural Water System, Richard Russell Dam & Lake Project, Roadless Area and Review Examination (RARE II) Legislation, Rhodesia-Lifting Economic Sanctions, SALT II Treaty, Small Business Administration, Soil Conservation Service, South Carolina-I-85 near Spartanburg Controversy, South Carolina Continental Line Revolutionary War Enthusiasts, South Carolina Private Microwave System, Stonewall Jackson, Strom Thurmond Federal Building-Columbia, Syria-Lebanon Crisis, Textile & Apparel Trade Enforcement Act, The Disincentivization of America, Toxic Substance Control, and Waccamaw Regional Laboratory.

Correspondents in this series include: James B. Allen, Roone Arledge, Lee Atwater, Malcolm Baldrige, Lloyd Bentsen, Sol Blatt, Jr., Bill Bradley, Edmund G. Brown, George Bush, Earl L. Butz, Harry Byrd, Frank Carlucci, James Clardy, Carroll A. Campbell, William S. Cohen, Alan Cranston, John Danforth, Tom Daschle, Harry Dent, Bob Dole, Pete Domenici, James B. Edwards, Cliff Finch, Gerald R. Ford, Palmer Freeman, Robert C. Edwards, T. Ed Garrison, Barry Goldwater, Alexander M. Haig, Vance Hartke, Arthur Hartman, Thomas Hartnett, Orrin G. Hatch, Jesse Helms, Ernest F. Hollings, Bob Jones III, Delbert Latta, John F. Lehman, Phil P. Leventis, Burton Levin, J. William Lewis, Bruce C. Littlejohn, Trent Lott, James R. Mann, Charles Mathias, John McCain, Edwin Messe III, Edward C. Meyer, Robert Michel, J. William Middendorf II, Roger Milliken, Paul R. Moore, Earl E. Morris, John L. Napier, Don Nickles, Trudy Huskamp Peterson, Henry Ponder, William Proxmire, Melvin Price, Jennings Randolph, Ronald Reagan, Donald Regan, Joseph R. Riley, Richard W. Riley, Arnold Schwartzenegger, Richard Schweiker, William E. Simon, John M. Spratt, John Stennis, Ted Stevens, David Stockton, Herman E. Talmadge, Auggie Tantillo, John Tower, Morris K. Udall, James M. Waddell, Brian Waggonseller, Casper W. Weinberger, David Wilkins, Pete Wilson, Kenneth P. Woodington, and Milton R. Young.