ContentsContainer List Diaries and Notebooks, 1863-1927 General Correspondence, 1777-1915 Tariffs, circa 1880-circa 1915 National Monetary Commission, 1908-1912 Biographer's Papers, circa 1860-circa 1930 Financial Records, circa 1880-circa 1915 Serial Publications, circa 1885-circa 1915 Printed Matter, circa 1880-circa 1915 |
Nelson W. Aldrich PapersA Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of CongressPrepared by Manuscript Division Staff2009
Biographical Note
Return to the Table of Contents Scope and Content NoteThe papers of Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich (1841-1915) span the years 1777-1930, with the bulk of the material concentrated in 1879-1915. The collection is composed primarily of correspondence, printed matter, and material relating to tariff legislation and the National Monetary Commission, supplemented by diaries, notebooks, speeches, research notes, serial publications, financial records, and miscellaneous items. The collection focuses on Aldrich’s service as United States Senator from Rhode Island, 1881-1911 and reflects his involvement with national economic and fiscal policy. Tariff legislation is a recurring theme throughout the Correspondence series, particularly during the years of major tariff revision in 1890, 1897, and 1909. The correspondence, mainly incoming mail from businessmen representing a wide range of economic interests, reveals the depth of feeling generated by the prospect of tariff revision and the importance of the issue during these years. The letters also provide an insight into American business practices and the economic views of a large segment of the American business community during this era of industrial expansion. Aldrich’s personal attention to the details of rate revision is revealed in the tariff file, while his speeches help document his attitude toward tariff duties as a source of protection for American industry from foreign competition. Aldrich gave considerable attention during his last years in office to the problems of United States monetary policy. Following the Panic of 1907, with its accompanying rash of bank failures, he cosponsored the Aldrich-Vreeland Act of 1908, providing for the establishment of a National Monetary Commission to study banking and currency operations at home and abroad and to suggest changes in American practices. The National Monetary Commission’s correspondence for the years 1908-1912 documents its activities and Aldrich’s role as chairman. Much of the commission’s correspondence was with bankers, public officials, financial experts, and academicians employed to prepare special studies, translate documents, and collect statistics on financial operations and monetary systems in foreign nations as well as in the United States. Aldrich and other members of the commissions visited England, France and Germany to consult with experts and collect data, and specialists representing the commission made similar visits to other nations and reported their findings. Hearings were held in selected American cities to solicit opinions from bankers and other interested parties, while numerous individuals sent unsolicited opinions and plans directly to the commission. Most of the letters were sent and received by Abram Piatt Andrew, special assistant to the commission; Arthur B. Shelton, secretary to the commission; and staff members Charles E. Alden, J. William Sheetz, and William A. Slade. Aldrich’s personal views are reflected in occasional correspondence, speeches delivered to promote monetary reform, and in the final report of the commission soon labeled the “Aldrich Plan.” The commission’s correspondence is also a rich source of information regarding American financial institutions in the early twentieth century and the views of members of the financial community at the time. The National Monetary Commission file contains most of its publications as well as a sampling of the collected data and related material. After the death of Senator Henry B. Anthony in 1884, Aldrich assumed Anthony’s former position as a powerful figure in Rhode Island politics. Letters in the collection from numerous state political figures, particularly Henry B. Gardner and Charles R. Bryaton, kept Aldrich abreast of local affairs and include requests for favors, advice, and patronage. Aldrich’s personal affairs and family relations form a relatively small portion of the collection. A series of letters written to his future wife in 1865-1866 offers a glimpse into his personal relations and plans at this time. Letters written to Mrs. Aldrich during his first trip abroad in 1872-1873 describe family relations and reveal his initial impressions of European society and culture. Scattered letters in the Correspondence series and the financial records offer insight into his extensive financial ventures, particularly his investments in the rubber industry. Principal correspondents include William B. Allison, Henry B. Anthony, Jonathan Bourne (1811-1889), C. R. Brayton, Jonathan Chace, William E. Chandler, Charles A. Conant, Henry Pomeroy Davison, Eugene Hale, Philander C. Knox, Charles Warren Lippitt, Stephen B. Luce, Orville Hitchock Platt, Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), William H. Taft, Henry Moore Teller, Paul M. Warburg, and George Peabody Wetmore. Return to the Table of Contents Selected Search TermsPeople
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Return to the Table of Contents Arrangement of the PapersThis collection is arranged in ten series:
Return to the Table of Contents Container ListDiaries and Notebooks, 1863-1927Diaries and social engagement books of Abby Pearce Chapman Aldrich, bound and unbound shorthand letters and notes of Nelson W. Aldrich, a Civil War company roll book, a fraternal lodge address book, minutes of the Senate Finance Committee for Dec. 1863 to June 1864, and a journal relating to the Hepburn Act of 1906. Arranged by type of material. Aldrich, Abby Pearce ChapmanDiaries, Jan. 1904; Jan.-May 1912Engagement books, 1905-1910Hepburn Act journal, no author, 1927Civil War roll book, 1863Fraternal lodge address book, undatedSenate Finance Committee minutes, Dec. 1863-June 1864Bound shorthand letters, circa Dec. 1882-Jan. 1884Bound shorthand notes, undatedUnbound shorthand letters, circa 1882-1909, undatedGeneral Correspondence, 1777-1915Mainly letters received and occasional letters sent by Aldrich, and letters sent and received by staff members of the National Monetary Commission. Arranged chronologically. 17771846-Nov. 1879Dec. 1879, Dec.-May 1880June 1880-Jan. 1881Feb.-Dec. 1881 and 1881, no day or monthJan.-Mar. 1882Apr.-June 18821-14 July 188215 Dec. 1882-19 Jan. 1883Jan. 20-Feb. 28 1883Mar.-Aug. 18831 Sept.-26 Dec. 188327 Dec. 27 1883-29 Feb.18841 Mar.-25 Apr. 188426 Apr.-30 June 1884July-Oct. 18841 Nov. 1884-21 Jan. 188522 Jan.-28 Feb. 1885Mar.-July 1885Aug.-Dec. 1885 and 1885, no day or monthJan.-Feb. 1886Mar.-Apr. 1886May-June 1886July-Dec. 1886 and 1886, no day or monthJuly-Dec. 1886 and 1886, no day or monthJan.-Apr. 1889May-Sept. 1889Oct. 1889-Dec. 1890 and 1890, no day or monthJan. 1891-July 1892Aug. 1892-June 1897July 1897-May 1899June 1899-Sept. 1900Oct. 1900-Apr. 1902May 1902-June 1903July 1903-Sept. 1905Oct. 1905-Dec. 1906 and 1906, no day or monthJan. 1907-Jan. 1908Feb.-Apr. 1908May-Aug. 1908Sept.-Dec. 1908 and 1908, no day or month1 Jan.-8 Feb. 19099 Feb.-13 Mar. 190914-31 Mar. 19091-19 Apr. 190920 Apr.-12 May 190913 May-11 June 190913 May-11 June 190911 July-8 Aug. 19099 Aug.-22 Sept. 190923 Sept.-15 Nov. 190916 Nov.-23 Dec. 190924 Dec. 1909-31 Jan. 19101 Feb.-17 Mar. 191018 Mar.-30 Apr. 1910May-June 1910July-Sept. 19101 Oct.-15 Dec. 191016 Dec. 1910-24 Feb. 191125 Feb.-31 May 1911June-Sept. 19111 Oct.-13 Dec. 191114 Dec. 1911-30 Apr. 1912May 1912-Feb. 1914Mar.-Dec. 1914 and 1914, no day or monthJan.-June 1915, undatedTariffs, circa 1880-circa 1915Bills, amendments, schedules, petitions, resolutions, reports, statements, and miscellaneous items relating to tariff rates and tariff legislation. Arranged by type of material. Bills, amendments, and schedulesMiscellaneous schedules, petitions, statements, statistics, reports, memoranda, resolutions, and fragments relating to the tariffNational Monetary Commission, 1908-1912Publications, miscellaneous draft reports, proceedings, statements, statistics, and papers relating to the National Monetary Commission. Arranged by type of material. Publications Only title pages are available on microfilm editionMiscellaneous reports, statements, minutes, lists, memoranda, questionnaires, printed matter, and fragments relating to the work of the commissionBiographer's Papers, circa 1860-circa 1930Research notes collected by Jeannette Paddock Nichols and Nathaniel W. Stephenson for the latter’s biography, Nelson W. Aldrich, a Leader in American Politics (1930), supplemented by related correspondence and a few miscellaneous items. Arranged by type of material and therein chronologically. Correspondence, 1924-1930, undatedGeneral outlineInterviews, memoranda, and miscellaneousNotescirca 1860-18861887-18931894-19011902-19051902-19051906-19091910-1915Financial Records, circa 1880-circa 1915Checkbooks, checks, statements, bills, receipts, vouchers, occasional correspondence, and miscellaneous items relating to Aldrich’s personal financial affairs and to the financial transactions of the National Monetary Commission. Arranged by type of material. CheckbooksChecksChecks and statementsMiscellaneous bills, receipts, vouchers, statements, and occasional correspondence relating to Aldrich’s personal financial affairs and the financial transactions of the National Monetary CommissionSpeech File, 1881-1913Holograph, typed and printed speeches by Aldrich, including drafts and related research material. Arranged chronologically and by type of material. 1881-18901891-Nov. 1909Nov. 1909-Oct. 1911Nov. 1911-Oct. 1913Notes for tariff speechesNotes for monetary speechesUndated and fragmentaryUndated and fragmentarySerial Publications, circa 1885-circa 1915Issues of serial publications and miscellaneous journals. Arranged by title and therein chronologically. Bankers Magazine1887-1888190819101911-1913Quarterly Publications of the American Statistical Association, 1899-1905, 1912Protectionist1902-1914, 1908-19131914-1915Journal of the American Bankers Association1908-19101911-1912Bradstreet’s Book of Commercial Ratings . . . .1885-18861886-18871891-189418961898-1899Miscellaneous journalsPrinted Matter, circa 1880-circa 1915Government documents and bound and unbound printed matter. Arranged by type of material. Government documentsBound printed matterUnbound printed matterMiscellany, circa 1862-circa 1915Bound facsimile letters, biographical information, material relating to Aldrich’s rubber investments, speeches, articles, memoranda, proceedings, legal briefs and cases, contracts, reports, requests for supplies, cards, tickets, scrapbooks of clippings relating primarily to tariff and banking matters, acknowledgments, invitations, loose clippings, photographs, and miscellaneous items. Arranged by type of material. Bound facsimiles, 1862-1863Biographical dataRubber-business contracts, reports, and miscellanySpeeches and articles1879-18901891-1915, undatedMemorandaProceedingsLegal briefs and casesContractsReportsRequests for suppliesCards and ticketsScrapbooks of clippings mainly regarding tariffs1884-18861885-18901911AcknowledgmentsInvitationsInvitationsClippingsResolutions, certificates, lists, draft bills, fragments, and miscellaneous itemsReturn to the Table of Contents |
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