Scope and Content Note
The papers of Frank Knox (1877-1944) span the years 1898-1954. The collection consists mainly of family and special correspondence, some general correspondence, Knox's speeches and writings, correspondence and speeches of his wife, Annie Reid Knox, and a clippings file. Additional papers donated by Annie Reid Knox document the establishment of the Frank Knox Memorial Fellowship at Harvard University. The Knox Papers are strongest for his role in politics and government service; they contain little material relating to his career as a publisher. The collection is organized into eight series: Diaries , Family Correspondence , General Correspondence , Special Correspondence , Speeches and Writings , Annie Reid Knox File , Miscellany , and Oversize .
The Family Correspondence reflects Knox's service as a private in the Rough Riders regiment in the Spanish-American War and his World War I service as an artillery officer. The letters to his wife in the 1930s and 1940s provide insights into the development of his public career. A Special Correspondence file of letters with Theodore Roosevelt documents Knox's support of Roosevelt's political ambitions from 1911 through 1918.
The General Correspondence extends from 1917 through 1944, but the bulk of the material covers Knox's service as secretary of the navy. This series includes letters with many prominent public figures such as Calvin Coolidge, Henry Ford, James Forrestal, Felix Frankfurter, Cordell Hull, Chiang Kai-shek, Harold L. Ickes, Walter Lippmann, George Marshall, John Adam Muehling, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Arthur H. Vandenberg, William Allen White, Wendell Willkie.
Knox's Speeches and Writings cover the major addresses he delivered from the late 1930s through his tenure as secretary of the navy. The writings include a series of editorials he wrote from 1934 to 1940 while he was publisher and editor of the Chicago Daily News. The clippings file contains rather extensive coverage of Knox's campaign as Republican vice-presidential candidate in 1936.