John Hay

A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress

Prepared by Frank Tusa
Revised and expanded by Donna Ellis

Manuscript Division, Library of Congress

Washington, D.C.

2002

Contact information: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html

Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress
Manuscript Division, 2003

Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms003049

Latest revision: 2008 February

Table of Contents

Collection Summary

Selected Search Terms

Names:

Subjects:

Occupations:

Administrative Information

Provenance:

Processing History:

Transfers:

Copyright Status:

Microfilm:

Preferred Citation:

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

Organization of the Papers

Description of Series

Container List

Collection Summary

Selected Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.

Administrative Information

The papers of John Hay, statesman, diplomat, historian, journalist, and poet, were given to the Library of Congress in 1952 by Hay's son and daughter, Clarence L. Hay and Alice Hay Wadsworth. Additional material was received from his grandchildren, Mrs. Stuart Symington, Reverdy Wadsworth, and James J. Wadsworth, in 1960 and from James W. Symington in 1999 and 2008. A few items were also obtained through gift, purchase, and transfer between 1910 and 1942.

The papers of John Hay were arranged and described in 1971. Additional material received in 1999 and items transferred from the Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection were incorporated into the collection in 2002. When the collection was rehoused in 2002, the organization of the material remained unchanged. Although the finding aid and container list were revised to indicate the current housing, the container numbers noted in the microfilm edition reflect the original housing. A letter dated 1913 was added in 2008.

A broadside was transferred to the Rare Book and Special Collections Division where it is identified as part of these papers.

Copyright in the unpublished writings of John Hay in these papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to the public.

A microfilm edition of part of these papers is available on twenty-three reels. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan.

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or reel number, John Hay Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

The papers of John Hay (1838-1905) span the years 1783 to 1999, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1897-1905. The collection focuses on his diplomatic efforts as secretary of state but also contains material on his career before 1898 and on his personal life. It is composed mainly of correspondence, scrapbooks, and newspaper clippings supplemented by diaries, letterbooks, and miscellaneous material. There is also an autograph collection relating chiefly to slavery in the United States.

American diplomacy from 1898 to 1905 is the central theme of the Diaries and Notebooks and various correspondence series. As secretary of state during the period, Hay played a crucial role in the formulation and execution of American foreign policy. The diaries reflect Hay's role in the later years of his tenure in office. The Letterbooks and John Hay Letters series reveal his views and activities in the diplomatic sphere under presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Hay's letters to his wife in the Family Correspondence series, although primarily concerned with personal and social activities, also provide an occasional glimpse into his official concerns.

The Special Correspondence and General Correspondence series provide information on all aspects of American foreign affairs while Hay was secretary of state and are useful in portraying his nondiplomatic activities as well. The letters from American diplomatic agents throughout the world reveal the conditions in various countries that influenced official American policy and the manner in which policy decisions were implemented. The largest number of letters in this category are from Joseph Choate and William W. Rockhill in the Special Correspondence. Hay's correspondence with Roosevelt and Alvey A. Adee, among others, provides an intimate glimpse into the formation of policy. The Special Correspondence and General Correspondence series also help to elucidate Hay's personal and political concerns.

The container list includes an index to the Special Correspondence series. Included among the correspondents are Brooks Adams, Samuel L. Clemens, George B. Cortelyou, Charles William Eliot, Henry James, Clarence King, Henry Cabot Lodge (1850-1924), William McKinley, Julian Pauncefote, Elihu Root, and Cecil Spring-Rice.

A Miscellany series contains autographs, drawings, invitations, notes, photographs, printed matter, receipted bills, research material, speeches, and writings. Included is a vellum copy of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution autographed by the signators of the amendment.

The Scrapbooks series contains newspaper clippings dealing with America's participation in the Spanish-American War and Hay's personal and political activities, particularly from 1898 to 1905.

The Addition includes a land grant issued by the state of Kentucky on July 2, 1798, to Abraham Lincoln (1744-1786), grandfather of President Abraham Lincoln, and his heirs, along with a letter of January 5, 1877 to John G. Nicolay from A. C. Matthews concerning the grant and a report documenting its authenticity. Also included is a scrapbook containing photographs and newspaper clippings relating to diplomatic functions and family occasions.

Organization of the Papers

The collection is arranged in eleven series:

• Diaries and Notebooks, 1861-1908, n.d.
• Letterbooks, 1898-1905
• John Hay Letters, 1858-1905, n.d.
• Family Correspondence, 1882-1914, n.d.
• Special Correspondence, 1885-1913, n.d.
• Autograph Collection, 1783-1878
• General Correspondence, 1856-1905, n.d.
• Miscellany, 1802-1953
• Scrapbooks, 1860-1905
• Addition, 1798-1999
• Oversize, 1783-1905

Description of Series

Container List