Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm76015305
Collection material in English
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.
The papers of Thomas Henry Carter, lawyer and U.S. representative and senator from Montana, were given to the Library of Congress in 1932-1933 by his son, John Galen Carter.
The Thomas Henry Carter Papers were arranged in 1953, reorganized and described by Carolyn Sung in 1968, and prepared for microfilming by Wilhelmina Curry in 1977. The series description and container list were revised in 2009 to reflect the renumbering of oversize items and other changes. The finding aid was updated in 2023 by Maria Farmer as part of a division-wide remediation project by the Inclusive Description Working Group.
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Thomas Henry Carter is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
The papers of Thomas Henry Carter 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.
A microfilm edition of these papers is available on sixteen reels. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan. To promote preservation of the originals, researchers are required to consult the microfilm.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Thomas Henry Carter Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Thomas Henry Carter (1854-1911) span the years 1883-1917, with the bulk from 1888 to 1911, the years in which Carter was active on the national political scene. The papers consist chiefly of correspondence and copies of his writings. Printed matter, clippings, memoranda, lists, notes, invitations, photographs, and financial records complete the collection.
Letters sent, copies of letters sent, and letters received make up the Family and General Correspondence that account for over half of the collection. The Family Correspondence consists chiefly of Carter's letters to his wife, Ellen L. Galen Carter, and sons, John and Hugh, chronicling his activities in intimate detail. Because there is little correspondence for the years from 1888 to 1907 in the General Correspondence , Carter's public life is principally documented in the Family Correspondence. Most of the General Correspondence dates from 1908 to 1911 with scattered letters from earlier and later periods.
The collection contains considerable material on such topics as public lands, conservation, tariffs, Native American affairs, and the postal system. The issue of public lands was vital to Carter as a Westerner. He drafted the National Forestry bill of 1897 and was instrumental in furthering legislation to improve Yellowstone National Park and to establish Glacier National Park. While an advocate of some conservation measures, Carter fought for more liberal homestead legislation and generally favored getting the public domain into private hands as rapidly as possible. Although a staunch Republican, Carter opposed the Payne-Aldrich Tariff and succeeded in securing amendments in favor of the wool growers of Montana. Carter considered the Postal Savings Bank Act, adopted during the administration of William H. Taft, the most important legislation of his career.
The course of Montana politics in the first decades of statehood is represented in the collection by letters from constituents and local political leaders, which reveal both the issues and patronage in that state. Because Carter was a leading public figure in Montana, Theodore Roosevelt and William H. Taft consulted him in arranging their tours of that state in 1911. In addition to correspondence, there is a series of notebooks that record, in part, county voting by precinct in the Montana elections of 1898.
Prominent correspondents include Richard Achilles Ballinger, Edward W. Beattie, Joseph M. Dixon, Charles W. Fairbanks, James Rudolph Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, Oscar Monroe Lanstrum, Boies Penrose, Charles Nelson Pray, Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), Thomas Fortune Ryan, and William H. Taft.
Besides politics, Carter's primary interests were the Roman Catholic Church and various Irish American societies. As a prominent layman in the church, Carter was particularly interested in Catholic missionary work among Native Americans and in Catholic higher education. His service on the Advisory Board at Georgetown University is documented. Carter, of Irish ancestry, was an active member of the American Irish Historical Society and addressed this and other groups, extolling the virtues of the Irish and emphasizing their contribution to American history. Notes, speeches, and invitations relating to this avocation abound in the papers.
Carter's writings consist mainly of political speeches, many of which were delivered on the Fourth of July and at commencements in his state. There is also an unpublished manuscript describing his career as a public figure from Montana, beginning with the campaign of 1888 and ending with the Theodore Roosevelt administration.
The remainder of the collection consists of several biographical sketches, genealogical material, financial records, and printed matter.
This collection is arranged in eight series:
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm76015305
Available on microfilm. Shelf no. 17,139
Letters sent and letters received.
Arranged chronologically.
Letters received and copies of letters sent, memoranda, maps, telegrams, and clippings.
Arranged chronologically.
Drafts of speeches, reprint of an article, drafts of congressional bills, and drafts of an unpublished book.
Arranged by type of writing and chronologically within the speeches.
Notebooks recording county votes precinct by precinct for each Montana county.
Arranged in numerical sequence. Notebooks for county numbers 13, 16, 18, and 20 are not in the collection.
Invitations and announcements.
Arranged by name of person.
Accounts, bills, receipts, invoices, deeds, and ledger.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Biographical and genealogical material, photographs, scrapbooks, and printed matter.
Arranged by type of material
Clippings and commissions.
Arranged according to the series container, and folders from which the material was removed.