Scope and Content Note
The papers of Stuart Chase (1885-1985) span the years 1907 to 1978, with the bulk of the items concentrated in the period 1931 to 1955. He was a member of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "brain trust." His interests and contributions in the fields of economics and social policy are documented throughout the collection. This collection includes correspondence, notes, reports, contracts, book reviews, printed matter, and card files divided among the original gift and two subsequent ones organized as Additions I and II.
The material of the first installment has been organized in three series: Correspondence, Subject File, and Printed Matter. The Correspondence series includes letters to and from prominent correspondents, letters from readers of Chase's works, and correspondence with his publishers and his literary agent, Ann Watkins. The Subject File contains correspondence and other material relating to Chase's writings, career, and other interests. Although many of the files pertain to his writings, only manuscript drafts for The Power of Words are found in this installment. Clippings, reviews, and correspondence concerning many of his prominent writings, however, are represented. Included also in the Subject File is material on Chase's work with the Federal Trade Commission investigating Chicago meat packers in 1919 and subsequent accusations of socialist leanings among members of the project staff, the organizing of a consumers' research foundation in 1928, Chase's work with the Temporary National Economic Committee in 1939, and his participation in conferences on peace and international affairs in the post-World War II period.
Prominent correspondents include Dean Acheson, Chester Bowles, Theodore Dreiser, Albert Einstein, Clifton Fadiman, William D. Hassett, Harold L. Ickes, Helen Keller, John P. Marquand, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Upton Sinclair, and Harry S. Truman.
Addition I was appended to the Chase papers in 1979 and consists largely of literary manuscripts in the form of typewritten book drafts and related records. Letters relate to the publication of Chase's The Power of Words as well as a variety of subjects, including economic theory, publishing interests, and literary and political criticism. Notable in the correspondence is a letter dated 13 January 1964 to Jonathan Daniels in which Chase recalls his early association with Sinclair Lewis. Also of note are letters written by Chase in response to the publication of John A. Stormer's None Dare Call It Treason (1964) which cited allegations about Chase's political associations before World War II. Correspondents include Ernest Angell, William Benton, Hadley Cantril, Malcolm Cowley, Jonathan Daniels, Marriner S. Eccles, John Kenneth Galbraith, John Gunther, David Eli Lilienthal, Lewis Mumford, Nathan M. Pusey, Elmo Roper, and Charles Woodruff Yost.
Addition II, appended to the Chase papers in 1993, includes a subject file containing correspondence and drafts of articles relating to Chase's work for the Standard Oil Company and Reader's Digest as well as general correspondence. Letters relating to Chase's articles concern research material, business conducted with publishers, and reaction to a publication. A majority of Chase's articles for the Reader's Digest were written about programs for supervisory job training during World War II.
The bulk of this addition consists of research notes written on note cards arranged alphabetically by the title of the book to which they correspond. The notes consist of quotations and attached documents, articles, citations to books, pamphlets, and newspaper clippings. Chase did not footnote his works, but these cards seemed to have served that purpose. Other note cards contain references to speeches apparently given by Chase.
Correspondents include Roger N. Baldwin, Hugo LaFayette Black, Chester Bowles, Marriner S. Eccles, Leon Henderson, Robert Houghwout Jackson, Phillip Fox La Follette, Milo Perkins, Nelson A. Rockefeller, Eleanor Roosevelt, Elmo Roper, Harlan Fiske Stone, and Henry A. Wallace.