Scope and Content Note
The papers of Mark Lambert Bristol (1868-1939) span the years 1882-1939, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1919-1939. The collection consists of diaries, correspondence, memoranda, reports, official dispatches, telegrams, speeches, press releases, appointment sheets, and scrapbooks reflecting Bristol's naval career, eight years as a diplomat, and active retired life. The papers are organized into seven series: Diaries , Family Papers , General Correspondence , Official Correspondence , Subject File , Miscellany, and Oversize.
Although the material from the early years is sparse, the collection documents Bristol's early interests in naval personnel and gunnery, and it provides insights into his growing responsibilities as director of naval aeronautics. The collection is particularly rich in its coverage of his duties as commander of the U.S. Naval Detachment in Turkish Waters and concurrent service as United States high commissioner to Turkey after World War I. Topics from the period include racial and religious conflicts in the Near East; Allied activities in pursuit of special interests, mandates, and empire; the decline of the Ottoman Empire; and the rise of Mustafa Kemal and the Nationalist Movement that led to the founding of modern Turkey.
Also featured is the rise of Bolshevik activities in South Russia. Topics include the advance in the region of the Red Army, subsequent resistance of White Russians under Generals Anton Ivanovich Denikin and Baron Ptr Nikolaevich Vrangelʹ, and the Allied response. The destablizing effects of these political and military developments in Russia and the Near East produced a large population of refugees. The papers document the relief efforts to mitigate the effects of the war, postwar revolution, and subsequent famine. As representative of the American government in Turkey, Bristol became involved in matters of trade and commerce and worked with philanthropic and educational organizations active in the area.
When Bristol assumed command of the Asiatic Fleet in September 1927, his duties were almost exclusively naval in character and required constant travel. During this period the collection is largely professional and personal in scope, lacking the broad overview available during the years in the Near East. Although the coverage is not extensive, the collection reflects the activities of the Nationalist Chinese, the Communist movement, and foreign governments involved in the Far East. During his retirement years, Bristol continued to pursue many of the interests he had developed during his naval years, maintaining contacts in Turkey and the Far East. He also inaugurated new activities such as working with the Democratic League of the District of Columbia, pursuing an active involvement in the politics of peace and control of illicit drugs, and attempting to establish a shipbuilding operation in Florida.
The Family Papers include Bristol's correspondence with his wife, Helen Moore Bristol, and are predominantly personal in nature. Included is the general correspondence of his wife, which constitutes the bulk of the series.
The Diaries document Bristol's daily activities in the Near East, including meetings with local officials and representatives of foreign governments as well as with Americans engaged in business affairs, missionary activities, or affiliated with relief or educational organizations. The Diaries also provide information on his unofficial attendance from November 1922 to February 1923 at the Lausanne Conference and his 1924 travels through Anatolia en route to visit Angora (Ankara). The Diaries treat Bristol's affairs with varying degrees of detail, sometimes offering only a list of callers, sometimes a concise statement of a discussion, and sometimes a detailed account of specific encounters. Included are weekly reports of operations on the location and operation of naval forces, information bearing on local conditions (usually taken from ships' diaries), and often a general summary of conditions in the area. The diaries of his wife are included in this series.
The General Correspondence series covers the years 1900-1939 and documents almost all aspects of Bristol's affairs. During his tour of duty in Turkey, he communicated with officials at all levels of the departments of state and navy. His dual role made his office a focal point for information and intelligence, and his correspondence contains much on conditions and activities in the Near East. His tours of duty in the Far East and on the General Board in Washington, D.C., are reflected by correspondence relating more to personal and professional activities than to political and social matters. The Official Correspondence series consists largely of dispatches sent and received. This material relates chiefly to the miscellaneous operations, activities, and personnel of the mission in Turkey. A substantial amount of official correspondence relating to specific topics is also in the Subject File . Included in the Official Correspondence series is the orders to duty file dated 1884-1928.
The Subject File consists largely of official dispatches from Bristol's years in Turkey and personal correspondence from the period of his retirement. Information on conditions and activities that Bristol transmitted to the State Department are arranged under the name of the geographic area, the organization, or individual involved. Material from the retirement years includes documentation of Bristol's association with the near East Foundation, the New Orient Society, the World Narcotic Defense Association, his political activities with the Democratic Party, and his efforts to organize the Southern Shipbuilding Corporation. While the greatest part of the series deals with his years in Turkey and in retirement, the file includes information concerning his service as censor of news releases during the Navy's 1914 operations in the Vera Cruz area, the development of naval aeronautics, and his involvement in disarmament during his service on the General Board in Washington. Although the Subject File constitutes a convenient concentration of material on specific issues, the coverage is not exhaustive.
The Miscellany file contains records of Bristol's daily appointments, invitations, printed material, scrapbooks, and an index to the original order of the his correspondence for the years 1919-1929.