Collection Summary
Robert McNutt McElroy Papers circa 1909-1924
(bulk 1913-1924)
circa 1909-1924
(bulk 1913-1924)
MSS32078
McElroy, Robert McNutt,
1872-1959
5,700 items
28 containers plus 1 oversize
11.4 linear feet
English
Collection material in English
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
Editor, author, and historian.
Correspondence, writings, and other material relating to McElroy's book Grover
Cleveland: The Man and the Statesman and papers pertaining to his work as educational
director of the National Security League, as professor of American history at Princeton
University, and supporter of Leonard Wood and Warren G. Harding for the Republican
nomination for president in 1920.
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
Cleveland, Frances Folsom, 1864-1947--Correspondence.
Cleveland, Grover, 1837-1908--Correspondence.
Cleveland, Grover, 1837-1908.
Gibbons, James, 1834-1921--Correspondence.
Harding, Warren G. (Warren Gamaliel), 1865-1923--Correspondence.
Harding, Warren G. (Warren Gamaliel), 1865-1923.
McElroy, Robert McNutt, 1872-1959.
McElroy, Robert McNutt, 1872-1959. Grover Cleveland, the man and the statesman. 1923.
Page, Arthur W. (Arthur Wilson), 1883-1960--Correspondence.
Putnam, George Haven, 1844-1930--Correspondence.
Wood, Leonard, 1860-1927--Correspondence.
Wood, Leonard, 1860-1927.
Organizations
National Security League.
Princeton University--Faculty.
Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- )
Subjects
Military readiness.
Presidents--United States--Election--1920.
Places
United States--Defenses.
United States--History.
United States--Politics and government--1921-1923.
Occupations
Authors.
Editors.
Educators.
Historians.
Provenance
The papers of Robert McNutt McElroy, educator, author, and historian, were acquired
from McElroy by the Library of Congress together with his collection of autograph
letters of Grover Cleveland, circa 1924-1932.
Processing History
The McElroy Papers were processed in 1959. The finding aid was revised in 2012.
Related Material
Related collections in the Library of Congress include the papers of [Grover
Cleveland] .
Copyright Status
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Robert McNutt McElroy is
governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
Access and Restrictions
The papers of Robert McNutt McElroy 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, Robert McNutt McElroy Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress, Washington, D.C.
Biographical Note
Date
Event
1872, Dec. 28
Born, Perryville, Ky.
1896
B.A., Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.
1900
Ph.D., Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.
1900
1901
Studied at universities of Leipzig and Berlin, Germany, and Oxford University,
Oxford, England
1898
1901
Instructor in history, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.
1901
1909
Assistant professor, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.
1909
1925
Professor, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.
1912
1916
Succeeded Woodrow Wilson as chairman, Department of History and Politics,
Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.
1916
1917
First American exchange professor to China
1917
1919
Educational director, National Security League
1919
Organizer, national campaign to celebrate Constitution Day
1924
1925
Associate editor in charge of international events,
Current
History
1926
Sir George Watson Lecturer, London, Cambridge, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh,
and Bristol, England; and fellow of Queens College, Oxford, England
1942
1945
Historian, Office of Civilian Defense and Chemical War Services
1959, Jan. 16
Died, Lihue, Hawaii
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Robert McNutt McElroy (1872-1959) span the years 1909-1924,
with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1913-1924. The collection
relates to his work as the educational director of the National Security League,
professor of American History at Princeton University, supporter of General Leonard Wood
for the Republican nomination for president, 1920, and later that year of Warren G.
Harding, and especially as official biographer of President Grover Cleveland.
Considerable correspondence dates from 1913-1924, although only the years 1918-1921 seem
to be represented with anything like completeness. The papers are organized into five
series: [
General Correspondence and Other Papers
](Gen); [
Subject File
](Subj);
[
Speech, Article, and Book File
](Speech); [
Miscellany
](Misc); and [
Oversize
](Over).
Of consequence to those interested in the papers of Grover Cleveland is the
correspondence, June 1922-1924, relating to the ninety collections of holograph
Cleveland letters that McElroy assembled and later presented to the Library as the
“McElroy Collection, Cleveland Papers.” These letters are now bound in the Cleveland
Papers. Among McElroy’s correspondents are Frances Folsom Cleveland, James Cardinal
Gibbons, Warren G. Harding, Arthur W. Page, George Haven Putnam, and Leonard Wood.
Also included in the papers are the manuscript of
Grover Cleveland: The Man and
the Statesman
(1923); many copies of Cleveland letters, 1824-1905; McElroy’s
notes for the book; and a list of his sources. The notes are particularly useful as the
published edition omits the footnotes included in them. Additional material includes
lecture notes, speeches, memoranda, printed matter, and a scrapbook of clipping
concerning McElroy’s service as educational director of the National Security
League.
Arrangement of the Papers
This collection is arranged in five series:
-
[
Genereal Correspondence and Other Papers, 1913-1924
](Gen)
-
[
Subject File, 1909-1922
](Subj)
-
[
Speech, Article, and Book File, circa 1912-1924
](Speech)
-
[
Miscellany
](Misc)
-
[
Oversize
](Over)
Container List
Container
Contents
1-7
General Correspondence and Other Papers,
1913-1924
1913-1924
Largely letters sent and received.
Arranged chronologically by month.
1
1913-1918, June
1913-1918, June
2
1918, July-1919, Mar.
1918, July-1919, Mar.
3
1919, Apr.-Oct.
1919, Apr.-Oct.
4
1919, Nov.-1920, Mar.
1919, Nov.-1920, Mar.
5
1920, Apr.-Oct.
1920, Apr.-Oct.
6
1920, Nov.-1922, Oct.
1920, Nov.-1922, Oct.
7
1922, Nov.-1924
1922, Nov.-1924
8
Subject File, 1909-1922
1909-1922
Course material and memoranda relating to Princeton University and calling
cards.
Arranged by type of material.
8
Calling cards
8
Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey,
course material and office memoranda, 1909-1922
1909-1922
9-26
Speech, Article, and Book
File, circa 1912-1924
circa 1912-1924
Notes and drafts, largely of McElroy’s biography of Grover Cleveland.
Arranged by chapter. Some notes, copies of Cleveland’s letters, and drafts are
unarranged.
9-18
Grover Cleveland
, manuscripts and related
material
19
Miscellaneous notes
19
China and Germany
20
National Security League
21
Political campaigns of Leonard Wood and
Warren G. Harding
22-26
Cleveland, Grover, copies of letters
27-28
Miscellany
Genealogical chart, photographs, printed matter, and a scrapbook of clippings
relating mainly to McElroy’s position as educational director of the National
Security League.
Arranged by type of material.
27
Cleveland, Grover
27
Genealogical chart, photographs, and printed
matter
28
Printed matter
28
Scrapbook, circa 1917-1919
[
See
Oversize
](Misc28)
circa 1917-1919
OV 1
Oversize
Scrapbook.
Described according to the series and container from which it was removed.
OV 1
Miscellany
OV 1
Scrapbook, circa
1917-1919 (Container 28)
circa
1917-1919