Manuscript Division W. G. McAdoo Papers

W. G. McAdoo Papers

Collection

Identifier: MSS31823

Scope and Content Note

The papers of William Gibbs McAdoo (1863-1941) span the years 1786-1941, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1880-1941. The collection documents McAdoo's career as a lawyer and businessman in Tennessee and New York, United States secretary of the treasury and director general of railroads in the United States Railroad Administration during the Woodrow Wilson presidential administration, and United States senator from California. It also documents his role in Democratic Party politics in the 1920s and retirement from politics. The papers are organized into eleven series: Early Family Correspondence and Related Material; Family Correspondence and Related Material; General Correspondence; Letterbooks; Wilson-McAdoo Correspondence; Subject File; Speech, Article, and Book File; Scrapbooks; Miscellany; Addition; and Oversize.

Correspondents include leaders of the Democratic Party for the three decades following 1911 as well as figures from various professions. Woodrow Wilson and members of his cabinet are prominent among the correspondents. Early material includes correspondence of the Floyd, McAdoo, and Gibbs families.

Dates

Creation: 1786-1941
Creation: Majority of material found within 1880-1941

Language of Materials

Collection material in English

Access and Restrictions

The papers of W. G. Mcadoo are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.

Copyright Status

Copyright in the unpublished writings of W. G. McAdoo in these papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to the public.

Biographical Note

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1863, Oct. 31: Born near Marietta, Ga.
1880: Attended University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.
1882: Clerk, United States circuit court, Chattanooga, Tenn.
1885 - 1892: Admitted to the bar and set up law practice, Chattanooga, Tenn.
1892 - 1902: Practiced law, New York, N.Y.
1902 - 1912: Organized the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Co., which drove the first tunnel under the Hudson River in 1904
1912: Delegate to Democratic National Convention, Baltimore, Md.; Vice chairman and acting chairman, Democratic National Committee, during election campaign of 1912
1913: Appointed secretary of treasury
1917: Appointed director general of railroads
1920: Contender for presidential nomination, Democratic National Convention, San Francisco, Calif.
1920 - 1932: Practiced law, Los Angeles, Calif.
1928: Published The Challenge. New York, London: Century Co.
1931: Published The Crowded Years: Reminiscences of William G. McAdoo. Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat Press
1933 - 1938: United States senator from California
1938 - 1941: Chairman, board of directors, American President Lines
1941, Feb. 10: Died, Washington, D.C.

Extent

250,000 items
702 containers
1 oversize
263.2 linear feet
7 microfilm reels

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Additional Description

Abstract

Lawyer, business executive, U.S. secretary of the treasury, and U.S. senator from California. Correspondence, memoranda, reports, scrapbooks, drafts and copies of speeches, articles, and books, bulletins, photographs, and printed matter, relating chiefly to McAdoo's activities in business and public life during the Woodrow Wilson presidential administration. Includes family correspondence of the Floyd, McAdoo, and Gibbs families.

Arrangement of the Papers

The collection is arranged in eleven series:

Additional Guides

Notes concerning the McAdoo Papers appeared in the Library's Information Bulletin , April 2, 1948, and October 3, 1949, and the collection was described in the Library of Congress Quarterly Journal of Current Acquisitions 15, no. 3 (May 1958): 168-176. In 1958, the Library published William Gibbs McAdoo, a Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress.

Catalog Record

https://lccn.loc.gov/mm78031823

Acquisition Information

The papers of W. G. McAdoo, lawyer, business executive, U.S. secretary of the treasury, and U.S. senator from California, were given to the Library of Congress by his son, Francis H. McAdoo, between 1949 and 1978.

Microfilm

A microfilm edition of part of these papers is available on seven reels. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan.

Processing History

The papers of W. G. McAdoo were arranged and described by Manuscript Division staff in 1958. An addition was made to the collection in 1983. The finding aid was revised in 2012.