Scope and Content Note
The papers of Charles Edward Russell (1860-1941) span the years 1864-1941, with the bulk concentrated in the period 1900-1930. They include diaries, correspondence, writings, and printed matter documenting Russell's life and work as a reformer, journalist, and poet. The collection is organized into five series: Bound Volumes, Notebooks, Subject File, Writings, and Miscellany.
Author of more than thirty published books and many newspaper and magazine articles, Russell began his career as a reporter. After serving in various journalistic posts, he achieved renown as a muckraker and Socialist during the 1901-1909 period through the publication of impassioned magazine articles and several books. The earlier writings – muckraking, biography, and poetry – are not well represented in the collection, but most of the papers reflect Russell's long and varied writing career, his personal commitment to socialism and humanitarianism, and his lifelong interests in music and poetry. The bulk of the collection consists of published and unpublished writings, including notes, resource materials, and related correspondence.
Most of the correspondence is in the Bound Volume series. The lengthiest exchanges are with actress Julia Marlowe relating to personal and financial matters and poet Ernest McGaffey on literary issues. Other correspondents include, Arthur Brisbane, Clarence Darrow, Ruby Darrow, Éamon De Valera, Fannie Hurst, H. M. Hyndman, W. G. McAdoo (1863-1941), Eulogio Balan Rodriguez, Mary MacSwiney, André Tardieu, Carl Dean Thompson, and William Allen White.
The Notebook series contains diaries and memoranda reflecting personal experiences, interviews, research work, and background data for various books and articles. Diaries date from 1905 to 1906 and 1914 to 1921. The first segment covers Russell's trip for an Everybody's Magazineassignment to do a series of articles on economic conditions in foreign countries. The later diaries describe his experiences in Europe at the outbreak of World War I, travels in Europe and Asia, and a series titled “Diaries of an Amateur Diplomat” that recounts Russell's travels as a presidential appointee to Russia and England.
Included in the writings series are unpublished manuscripts of poem collections written by Russell during his later years. Many of these poems provide social comment and reflect Russell's personal and philosophical development as a reformer. Other poems, together with his prose writings, reaffirm his interest in music and its relationship to poetry.
Subjects that recur most frequently are the Philippines and Filipino heroes, Ireland and Irish independence, railroads, and the United States Special Diplomatic Mission to Russia (Root Commission) in 1917. Other topics concern agribusiness, civil rights, lumber trusts, Palestine, Zionism, prison reform, woman suffrage, and labor unions.