Collection Summary
Tyler Dennett Collection
Relating to John Hay
1861-1937
(bulk 1899-1937)
1861-1937
(bulk 1899-1937)
MSS51383
Dennett, Tyler,
1883-1949
200 items
8 containers
3.2 linear feet
English
Collection material in
English
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress
Washington, D.C.
Historian, editor, and
biographer. Correspondence, research notes, galley proofs, photographs, and
printed matter relating to Dennett's books
John Hay: From Poetry to Politics and
Lincoln and the Civil War in the Diaries and Letters of John
Hay.
Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
People
Adams, Henry, 1838-1918--Correspondence.
Beard, Charles A. (Charles Austin), 1874-1948--Correspondence.
Dennett, Tyler, 1883-1949.
Dennett, Tyler, 1883-1949. John Hay: from poetry to politics. 1933.
Dennett, Tyler, 1883-1949. Lincoln and the Civil War in the diaries and letters of John Hay. 1939.
Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881--Correspondence.
Hay, John, 1838-1905--Correspondence.
Hay, John, 1838-1905.
Jameson, J. Franklin (John Franklin), 1859-1937--Correspondence.
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865.
Louttit, W. Easton (William Easton), 1904-1973--Correspondence.
McKinley, William, 1843-1901.
Nevins, Allan, 1890-1971--Correspondence.
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919--Correspondence.
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919.
Subjects
American poetry.
Places
United States--Foreign relations--1865-1921.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
Titles
Tyler Dennett papers
Occupations
Biographers.
Editors.
Historians.
Provenance
The collection of Tyler Dennett, historian, editor, and biographer,
was given to the Library of Congress by Ellen Wadsworth in 1947.
Processing History
The collection was arranged and described in 1966. The finding aid was
revised in 2008.
Related Material
There is a collection of Tyler Dennett papers at
Williams College, Williamstown, Mass. Major
collections of John Hay papers are at
Brown University, Providence, R.I., and the
[Manuscript
Division of the Library of Congress] . There is also a substantial
amount of Hay material in the
[James
Wadsworth Family Papers] in the Manuscript Division of the Library of
Congress.
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in unpublished writings in the Tyler Dennett
Collection Relating to John Hay is governed by the Copyright Law of the United
States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Tyler Dennett Collection Relating to John Hay are open
to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room
prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is
needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Tyler Dennett Collection Relating to
John Hay, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Tyler Dennett
Date
Event
1883, June 13
Born, Spencer, Wis.
1904
B.A., Williams College, Williamstown, Mass.
1908
B.D., Union Theological Seminary, New York, N.Y.
1911
Married Maybelle Raymond
1924
Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.
1924
1929
Chief, Division of Publications of the Department of
State
1929
1931
Historical advisor, Department of State
1931
1934
Professor of international relations, Princeton University,
Princeton, N.J.
1933
1934
Published and received Pulitzer Prize in biography for
John Hay: From Poetry to Politics.
New York:
Dodd, Mead & Co., 1933.
1934
1937
President, Williams College, Williamstown, Mass.
1939
Published
Lincoln and the Civil War in the Diaries and Letters of
John Hay.
New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1939.
1949, Dec. 29
Died, Geneva, N.Y.
John Hay
Date
Event
1838, Oct. 8
Born, Salem, Ind.
1858
Graduated, Brown University, Providence, R.I.
Entered the law office of his uncle, Milton Hay,
Springfield, Ill.
1861
1864
Assistant private secretary to Abraham Lincoln
1864
1965
Assistant adjutant general, United States Army
1865
1867
Secretary of American legation, Paris, France
1867
1868
Charge d'affaires, Vienna, Austria
1869
1870
Secretary of American legation, Madrid, Spain
1870
1875
Editorial writer,
New York Tribune
1874
Married Clara Louise Stone (died 1914)
1879
1881
Assistant secretary of state
1897
1898
Ambassador to Great Britain
1898
1905
Secretary of state
1905, July 1
Died, Lake Sunapee, N.H.
Scope and Content Note
The collection of Tyler Dennett (1883-1949) relating to John Hay
(1838-1905) spans 1861-1937, with the bulk of the collection concentrated in
the period 1899-1937. The collection relates to Dennett's research for his
biography of statesman John Hay,
John Hay: From Poetry to Politics
, for which he won a
Pulitzer Prize in 1934, and
Lincoln and the Civil War in the Diaries and Letters of John
Hay
. It includes Dennett's correspondence as well as letters between
Hay and others.
Dennett was a professor and historian specializing in the foreign
relations of the United States with Asia. The subject of his biography, John
Hay, served as secretary of state during the William McKinley and Theodore
Roosevelt administrations and in that capacity formulated foreign policy with
Asian countries, particularly China and the Philippines, during the expansion
of American diplomatic, commercial, and military initiatives in the region in
the wake of the Spanish-American War. As a young man, Hay had been assistant
private secretary to Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War.
The collection is grouped into correspondence, galley proofs of
correspondence, transcripts of correspondence, and miscellany. Much of
Dennett's own correspondence is with his editor, Allan Nevins, and relates to
his biography of Hay. Other correspondents include Charles Austin Beard, J.
Franklin Jameson, and W. Easton Louttit.
Correspondence between Hay and others consists mainly of copies of
letters that Dennett transcribed or of printed versions of letters in galleys
of Dennett's books. The collection includes a few original Hay letters.
Correspondents include Henry Adams (1838-1918), James A. Garfield, and Theodore
Roosevelt (1858-1919).
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is arranged alphabetically by type of material with
miscellany filed at the end.
Container List
Container
Contents
1
Correspondence
1
Dennett, Tyler,
1928-1937
1928-1937
(11
folders)
2
Hay, John
2
Abbott, E. W.,
1890
1890
2
Adams, Henry (1838-1918),
1897
1897
2
Bigelow, John and Jane Tunis
Poultney,
1867, 1871-1900
1867, 1871-1900
2
Garfield, James A.,
1879-1898
1879-1898
2
Hopkins, Archibald,
1903
1903
2
Madrid, Spain, writing as
secretary of the American Legation,
1869-1870
1869-1870
2
McKinley, William,
1899-1905
1899-1905
2
Miscellaneous,
1870, 1899, 1900-1904
1870, 1899, 1900-1904
2
Nicolay, John G.
1861-1863
1861-1863
2
Reid, Whitelaw,
1861-1903
1861-1903
2
Galley proofs of correspondence
2
1861-1870
3
1885-1905
1885-1905
3
Transcripts of
correspondence
3
Card index
3
Alaska boundary dispute,
1899-1903
1899-1903
3
Chronological file
3
1869-1870
1869-1870
(2
folders)
4
1898-1901
1898-1901
(7
folders)
5
1902-1903
1902-1903
(4
folders)
5
1904
1904
Jan.-June
Jan.-June
(2
folders)
6
July-Dec.
July-Dec.
(2
folders)
6
1905
1905
(2
folders)
7
Miscellany
7
Deleted pages of correspondence,
1861-1867
1861-1867
7
Footnotes relating to deleted
pages of correspondence
8
Notes and background
material
8
Chapters,
undated
undated
(9
folders)
8
Miscellaneous,
1931-1932
1931-1932
8
Poetry by Hay,
1858, undated
1858, undated
8
Reid, Whitelaw,
undated
undated
8
Photographs and cartoons,
undated
undated
8
Printed matter
8
Dennett, Tyler,
1934
1934
8
Hay, John,
1901-1905
1901-1905