Scope and Content Note
The papers of Francis Bowes Sayre (1885-1972) span the years 1861-1967, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1915-1961. The collection consists of letters received and copies of letters sent; records, reports, and memoranda; an autobiography; printed and near-print copies of addresses and articles; clippings; a small amount of memorabilia; and other printed items. The papers are organized into six series: General Correspondence ; Special Correspondence ; Subject File ; Book, Article, and Speech File ; Miscellany ; and Addition .
Sayre's long service as a spokesman for Christianity and the Episcopal Church is reflected in his religious writings and addresses. Letters on the subject are found in both the General Correspondence and Special Correspondence series.
Although this service for Christianity is illustrated throughout the entire collection, the papers primarily illustrate Sayre's diplomatic career as assistant secretary of state, high commissioner to the Philippine Islands, diplomatic adviser to the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), and as a member and president of the Trusteeship Council of the United Nations. There is also some correspondence relating to his service as an adviser to and envoy from Siam.
Papers for the period of his tenure as assistant secretary of state especially concern the foreign trade policies of the first two administrations of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Files on UNRRA are principally comprised of reports from Sayre on his efforts to secure contributions for that agency from Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Papers relating to the trusteeship council are mainly concerned with the Pacific Trust Territories, particularly Samoa, although there is some material on Palestine and Southwest Africa.
Material on the Philippines in the Subject File and in the Special Correspondence series relates to World War II in the Pacific. The files cover the period from the fall of 1939 when Sayre assumed office until February 1942 when he was evacuated from Corregidor, and are concerned with subjects such as defense preparations, internees and prisoners of war, conditions on Corregidor, Philippine independence, Manuel Luis Quezon, and collaborators. Especially interesting are memoranda of conversations and correspondence with Japanese diplomats.
Among the correspondents are Dean Acheson, Warren Robinson Austin, Ray Stannard Baker, James A. Farley, William Green, Sir Wilfred Thomason Grenfell, Cordell Hull, Thomas Charles Hart, Owen Lattimore, Herbert H. Lehman, Douglas MacArthur, George C. Marshall, Frank Murphy, Sergio Osmeña, Claude Pepper, William Philips, Roscoe Pound, Manuel Luis Quezon, William Scarlett, Edward R. Stettinius, Jr., and Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman.
Also included in the collection is a Civil War letterbook of Union Army officer Wilberforce Nevin.