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/mm79018762
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 James R. Doolittle, United States senator and jurist, were given to the Library of Congress by Duane Mowry between 1913 and 1932.
The papers of James R. Doolittle were arranged and described in 1968 by Joseph Sullivan. The collection and the finding aid were revised in 2007 by Joseph K. Brooks. 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The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of James R. Doolittle is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
The papers of James R. Doolittle 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 one reel. 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, James R. Doolittle Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of James Rood Doolittle (1815-1897) consist of letters received and a few letters sent, typed transcripts of letters sent and received, copies of speeches, and newspaper clippings. The transcripts, in part, are annotated by Duane Mowry, the donor of the collection. The papers span 1859-1927, with the bulk of the collection concentrated in 1859-1896.
The collection relates primarily to Doolittle's interests while he served in the United States Senate, and later, as a lawyer in private practice. There is no documentation for his career prior to his election to the Senate.
Correspondence for the years Doolittle spent in the Senate (1857-1869) touches on the issue of slavery and its aftermath, in particular the resettlement of African Americans in Africa and political reaction in Ohio and other Midwestern states to President Andrew Johnson's veto of congressional measures in 1866. Correspondence with Amos Reed, a federal official in the Utah Territory, discusses hostility toward the United States by Native Americans living in the territory and includes an appraisal of the Indian Bureau. Correspondence with Secretary of State William Henry Seward relates to negotiations between the United States and Denmark regarding the purchase of the Danish West Indies (present-day Saint Thomas, Saint John, and Saint Croix). Other correspondents include Thomas A. Hendricks, Samuel Phillips Lee, and Hiram Paulding.
Among subjects discussed in Doolittle's post-Senate period are Radicalism and the Republican Party, tariff issues, and bimetallism.
This collection is arranged alphabetically by type of material and therein chronologically.
Available on microfilm. Shelf no.14,110