Scope and Content Note
The papers of William James Ghent (1866-1942) span the years 1876-1942, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1902-1942. The collection consists of correspondence, reports, memoranda, drafts and typescripts of articles and books, notes, subject files, photographs, clippings, and printed matter. Also included are the diaries of Edward Settle Godfrey and Holmes O. Paulding, participants in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The Ghent Papers are organized into seven series: General Correspondence , Articles and Book Reviews , Book File , Notes , Subject File , Miscellany , and Clippings and Printed Matter .
Approximately two-thirds of the papers concern Ghent's research and writings on the West and on socialism. This material includes the drafts, typescripts, and in some instances the galley proofs of his books on the West, and the manuscripts and typescripts of his articles, book reviews, and many of the biographical entries that he contributed to the Dictionary of American Biography. Ghent was prominent in the socialist movement in the United States from 1900 to the 1920s, and the papers reflect his views on socialism and the economic life of the United States as well as his editorial work with various trade journals and papers during that period.
Correspondents include J. Neilson Barry, Charles Frances Bates, Charles A. Beard, E. A. Brininstool, P. E. Byrne, Elizabeth Bacon Custer, Frederick Samuel Dellenbaugh, Stella Madeleine Drumm, Fred Dustin, Grant Foreman, Edward Settle Godfrey, Mary J. Pocock Godfrey, W. A. Graham, Leroy R. Hafen, Grace Raymond Hebard, J. Franklin Jameson, Charles Kelly, Longmans, Green and Co., Dumas Malone, Gustavus Myers, William W. Neifert, Allan Nevins, Don Russell, Edwin L. Sabin, Frederick A. Sims, Upton Sinclair, John Spargo, Mark Sullivan, George Washington Webb, and Maurice William.