Thomas James Walsh and John Edward Erickson Papers
Scope and Content Note
The papers of Thomas J. Walsh (1859-1933) and John E. Erickson (1863-1946) span the years 1910-1934 and consist largely of correspondence pertaining to the senatorial careers of the two men as representatives from Montana from 1913 to 1934. Included in addition to official and personal correspondence are speeches, legislative files, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, photographs, and other material. Erickson succeeded Walsh after the latter's sudden death in March 1933.
Part I, 1910-1933, of the collection contains nine series: Subject File A, Subject File B, Legislation File, General File, Political File, Personal Correspondence, Miscellany, Scrapbooks, and Addition.
Part II, 1922-1934, is organized into two series: Walsh Files and Walsh and Erickson Files. The Walsh Files in Part II are arranged into ten subseries: Miscellaneous Correspondence; Bills, Amendments, and Resolutions; World Court Legislation; Flathead Power Site; Legislative Correspondence; Land Cases; Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway; War Risk Insurance; Printed Matter; and Photographs. Walsh and Erickson Files in Part II contain four subseries: Miscellaneous Correspondence, Appointments Correspondence, Legislative Correspondence, and Pension Correspondence.
Topics of significance relating to Montana include farm loan associations, Indian affairs, pardons and paroles, the Sun River irrigation project, Flathead River power sites, oil and gas permits, and land cases. Subjects of national significance include the National Council of Defense in World War I, railway legislation, war risk insurance, American Peace Society, the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway route, League to Enforce Peace, Russian famine relief, Permanent Court of International Justice (later known as World Court), and World Peace League.
Walsh-Erickson Files in Part II were maintained for the period 1933-1934, but there is some overlap chronologically with previous material. Topics include farm legislation, pensions, political appointments, and Indian affairs.
Correspondents include William Edgar Borah, Albert B. Fall, Warren G. Harding, Herbert Hoover, J. Edgar Hoover, Charles Evans Hughes, Cordell Hull, Harold L. Ickes, Wesley Livsey Jones, Andrew W. Mellon, Gerald Prentice Nye, David Aiken Reed, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Elihu Root, Henrik Shipstead, Henry L. Stimson, Henry A. Wallace, and Ray L. Wilbur.
Dates
- Creation: 1910-1934
Language of Materials
Collection material in English
Access and Restrictions
The collection is 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 Thomas James Walsh and John Edward Erickson 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
Thomas J. Walsh
- 1859, June 12
- Born, Two Rivers, Wis.
- 1884
- Law degree, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.
- Admitted to the bar and commenced law practice, Redfield, S.D.
- 1889
- Married Eleanor C. McClements (died 1917)
- 1890
- Moved to Helena, Mont., and continued the practice of law
- 1906
- Unsuccessful candidate for election to Congress
- 1908
- Delegate to Democratic national convention
- 1910
- Unsuccessful candidate for election to Congress
- 1912
- Delegate to Democratic national convention
- Elected to United States Senate
- 1916
- Delegate to Democratic national convention
- 1918
- Reelected to United States Senate
- 1920
- Delegate to Democratic national convention
- 1924
- Reelected to United States Senate
- Permanent chairman, Democratic national convention, New York, N.Y.
- 1930
- Reelected to United States Senate
- 1932
- Chairman, Democratic national convention, Chicago, Ill.
- 1933
- Married Mina Perey Chaumont de Truffin
- 1933, Mar. 2
- Died on a train near Wilson, N.C., while en route to Washington, D.C., to accept appointment as attorney general by President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt.
John Edward Erickson
- 1863, Mar. 14
- Born, Stoughton, Wis.
- 1890
- B.A. Washburn College, Topeka, Kans.
- 1891
- Studied law and admitted to the bar, Eureka, Kans.
- 1894
- Moved to Choteau, Mont., and began law practice
- 1897
- Appointed judge of Teton County, Mont.
- 1898
- Married Grace Vance
- 1905 - 1916
- Judge, Eleventh Judicial District of Montana
- 1920
- Delegate, Democratic national convention, San Francisco, Calif.
- 1925 - 1933
- Governor of Montana
- 1933
- Appointed to United States Senate to fill vacancy caused by the death of Thomas James Walsh
- 1934
- Unsuccessful candidate for nomination to fill vacancy in United States Senate
- Resumed practice of law, Helena, Mont.
- 1946, May 25
- Died, Helena Mont.
Extent
262,000 items
510 containers
204 linear feet
4 microfilm reels
Abstract
United States senators from Montana. Official correspondence, personal correspondence, speeches, legislative files, pamphlets, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, and photographs relating chiefly to the senatorial career of Walsh and his successor, John Edward Erickson.
Arrangement of the Papers
The collection is arranged in eleven series in two parts:
Part I:
Part II:
Additional Guides
A note on the Walsh and Erickson Papers appeared in the Library's Information Bulletin , Jan. 2, 1957; and the material was described in the Library's Quarterly Journal of Current Acquisitions 14, no. 3 (May 1957).
Catalog Record
Acquisition Information
The papers of Thomas James Walsh, lawyer and senator, and John Edward Erickson, lawyer and senator, were deposited with the Library of Congress in 1955 by Genevieve Walsh Gudger and converted to gift in 1942; Gudger gave additional material in 1956. Grace V. Erickson deposited papers in 1956 which were converted to gift in 1957. Other gifts were received between 1964 and 1979.
Microfilm
A microfilm edition of part of these papers is available on four reels. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan. To promote preservation of the originals, researchers are required to consult the microfilm edition as available.
Transfers
Items have been transferred from the Manuscript Division to other custodial divisions of the Library. Some photographs have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division. Music material has been transferred to the Music Division. All transfers are identified in these divisions as part of the Thomas James Walsh and John Edward Erickson Papers.
Processing History
The papers of Thomas James Walsh and John Edward Erickson were arranged and described in 1957. The finding aid was revised in 2005 and again in 2013.
Source
- Walsh, Thomas James, 1859-1933 (Creator, Person)
- Erickson, John Edward, 1863-1946 (Creator, Person)
Subject
- Borah, William Edgar, 1865-1940--Correspondence. (Person)
- Erickson, John Edward, 1863-1946. Thomas James Walsh and John Edward Erickson papers (1910-1934) (Person)
- Fall, Albert B. (Albert Bacon), 1861-1944--Correspondence. (Person)
- Harding, Warren G. (Warren Gamaliel), 1865-1923--Correspondence. (Person)
- Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964--Correspondence. (Person)
- Hoover, J. Edgar (John Edgar), 1895-1972--Correspondence. (Person)
- Hughes, Charles Evans, 1862-1948--Correspondence. (Person)
- Hull, Cordell, 1871-1955--Correspondence. (Person)
- Ickes, Harold L. (Harold LeClair), 1874-1952--Correspondence. (Person)
- Jones, Wesley Livsey, 1863-1932--Correspondence. (Person)
- Mellon, Andrew W. (Andrew William), 1855-1937--Correspondence. (Person)
- Nye, Gerald P. (Gerald Prentice), 1892-1971--Correspondence. (Person)
- Reed, David Aiken, 1880-1953--Correspondence. (Person)
- Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945--Correspondence. (Person)
- Root, Elihu, 1845-1937--Correspondence. (Person)
- Shipstead, Henrik, 1881-1960--Correspondence. (Person)
- Stimson, Henry L. (Henry Lewis), 1867-1950--Correspondence. (Person)
- Wallace, Henry A. (Henry Agard), 1888-1965--Correspondence. (Person)
- Walsh, Thomas James, 1859-1933. (Person)
- Wilbur, Ray L. (Ray Lyman), 1875-1949--Correspondence. (Person)
- American Peace Society. (Organization)
- International Court of Justice. (Organization)
- League to Enforce Peace (U.S.) (Organization)
- Permanent Court of International Justice. (Organization)
- United States. Council of National Defense. (Organization)
- World Peace League. (Organization)
Geographic
- Flathead River (B.C. and Mont.)
- Great Lakes (North America)
- Montana--Politics and government.
- Saint Lawrence Seaway.
- Sun River (Mont.)
- United States--Defenses.
- United States--Officials and employees--Selection and appointment.
Occupation
Topical
- Agricultural credit--Montana.
- Agriculture--United States.
- Electric power--Montana.
- Famines--Russia.
- Food relief--Russia.
- Indians of North America--Montana--Government relations.
- Insurance--War risks.
- International law.
- Irrigation--Montana.
- Land tenure--Law and legislation--Montana.
- Pardon--Montana.
- Parole--Montana.
- Peace--Societies, etc.
- Pensions--United States.
- Petroleum industry and trade--Montana.
- Railroad law--United States.
- World War, 1914-1918.
Uniform Title
- Title
- Thomas James Walsh and John Edward Erickson Papers
- Subtitle
- A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress
- Author
- Prepared by Manuscript Division Staff
- Date
- 2013
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Part of the Manuscript Division Repository
Manuscript Reading Room
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