Scope and Content Note
The papers of George Creel (1876-1953) span the period 1857-1953, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the years 1896-1953. The collection features Creel’s correspondence with Woodrow Wilson during the World War I era when Creel was chairman of the Committee on Public Information (CPI). Also included are scrapbooks of clippings and other items by and about Creel as a journalist, newspaper editor, and public official. The papers consist of seven series: Woodrow Wilson and the Committee on Public Information , General Correspondence , Speeches and Writings , Miscellany , Scrapbooks , Addition , and Oversize.
The series relating to Wilson and the Committee on Public Information focuses on issues affecting the CPI as it broadcast the goals and purpose of the American war effort from 1917 to the Versailles Treaty. Prepared by Creel for his heirs, the bound volumes contain letters from Wilson, mostly about the work of the CPI, several manuscripts of Wilson’s speeches, and letters from Edith Bolling Wilson after her husband’s death, along with copies of letters from Creel. A manuscript of Wilson’s Fourteen Points speech of 8 January 1918 bears corrections and revisions in the president’s hand. Correspondents or individuals discussed in the series, in addition to Wilson, include John Randolph Bolling, Joseph Edward Davies, Samuel Gompers, Herbert Hoover, Robert Lansing, Breckinridge Long, Thomas J. Mooney, Walter Hines Page, and Edith Bolling Wilson. Subjects range from America’s stated war aims to Russia and the Russian Revolution, the morale of African Americans, Wilson’s opposition to proposed amendments to the Versailles Treaty, air power and aircraft production, friction between Creel and the State Department, and the teaching of the German language in American schools.
The General Correspondence series consists largely of letters relating to national politics in the years 1951-1953 reflecting Creel’s disillusionment with the Democratic Party, his interest in forming new political alignments, his efforts in behalf of Robert A. Taft’s candidacy for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 1952, and his ultimate support of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s candidacy. Correspondents include Bernard M. Baruch, Harry Flood Byrd, Josephus Daniels, Joseph E. Davies, George Dewey, Robert Donner, James Aloysius Farley, Garet Garrett, Carter Glass, Henry Hazlitt, Robert Houghwout Jackson, Robert F. Kelley, William F. Knowland, Arthur Bliss Lane, William Gibbs McAdoo, Joseph McCarthy, Raymond Moley, Felix M. Morley, Karl E. Mundt, Richard M. Nixon, J. Westbrook Pegler, Donald R. Richards, Donald R. Richberg, Robert A. Taft, Lowell Thomas, Albert C. Wedemeyer, Burton K. Wheeler, and Woodrow Wilson.
In the Speeches and Writings file, Creel's early speeches, 1917-1922, relate primarily to the CPI, to Woodrow Wilson at the Paris Peace Conference, and to America’s postwar problems. No speeches are present for the years 1923-1931. Several of his speeches made during the years 1932-1940 are in support of William Gibbs McAdoo’s candidacy for the Senate in 1932 and 1938, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s candidacy for president in 1932, and the programs of the New Deal, particularly the National Recovery Administration (NRA), in which Creel served as regional director for California, Nevada, and Utah. Other speeches concern Creel’s candidacy for the Democratic Party nomination for governor of California in 1934; the Golden Gate International Exposition, for which Creel served as United States commissioner; and the Central Valley irrigation project in California, which Creel supported. There is also a group of speeches by persons other than Creel, including Harry Flood Byrd, McAdoo, and Kathleen Norris, which were made on Creel’s behalf or on topics in which he was interested. The writings part of the Speeches and Writings series contains short stories and poems by Creel and a doctoral dissertation by Walton E. Bean on the criticism of Creel’s administration of the CPI.
The Miscellany comprises campaign material, including items related to Creel’s unsuccessful effort to become the Democratic Party’s candidate for governor of California in 1934, as well as notes, reports, publications of the CPI, photographs, cartoons, and other material.
Scrapbooks compiled by or for Creel trace his work as editor of the Kansas City Independent and editorial writer for the Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News, his activities as an amateur athlete in Kansas City and Denver, his advocacy of rights for women, especially after his marriage to actress Blanche Bates in 1912, and his service as police commissioner of Denver in 1912-1913. Also featured are his chairmanship of the Committee on Public Information and his loyalty to Wilson and the goal of world peace through the League of Nations. Evident as well are Creel’s activities during the 1920s as a lecturer and writer and as a columnist for Collier’s. Volumes covering the 1930s treat the period during which Creel was regional director of the NRA, candidate for governor of California, and commissioner for the Golden Gate International Exposition. Later volumes document his views on state and national politics in California during World II and the Cold War, including the campaign for the United States Senate in 1950, in which he headed an organization of Democrats for Richard M. Nixon. Prominent throughout are Creel’s writings on nonpolitical topics, including biographical sketches and what he called “historical romances,” highly dramatic renderings of historical events, as well as short stories and poems by other writers and reviews of Creel’s published works.