Collection inventory

Overview of the Collection
Creator:	McKinley, William Brown, 1856-1926.
Title:	William Brown McKinley Papers
Inclusive Dates:	1906-1920
Quantity:	30.0 linear ft.
Abstract:	Papers of the American legislator. McKinley was the Republican U.S. Representative(1905-1913; 1915-1920) and Senator (1920-1926) from Illinois. Collection includes correspondence, financial records, pamphlets, petitions, photographs, press releases, scrapbooks, and speeches, mostly relating to McKinley's roll as director of William H. Taft's renomination campaign prior to the Presidential election of 1912.
Language:	English
Repository:	Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center

Biographical History

William Brown McKinley, businessman and congressman, was born in Petersburg, Illinois, September 5, 1856, the son of George and Hannah (Finley) McKinley. After attending local public schools, he enrolled at the University of Illinois, Urbana, for two years. In 1881 he married Kate Frisbee of Chicago.

McKinley began a business career in the family firm of J.B. & W.B. McKinley. The company originally specialized in private banking and mortgages, then expanded into public finance and the construction of municipal utilities. In the city of his residence, Champaign, Illinois, McKinley built and controlled the trolley car lines and water, gas and electric utilities. He continued to acquire urban utilities and interurban lines across the state, eventually becoming president of both the Western Railways & Light System and the Illinois Traction Company.

After the turn of the century, McKinley served three years as a trustee of the University of Illinois, then, almost fifty, he embarked on a twenty-year career in politics. As a Republican, he was elected representative of the 19th Illinois district in the 59th, 60th, 61st, and 62nd Congresses (19051913). His unsuccessful candidacy in 1912, the year he directed President William Howard Taft's renomination campaign, was followed by three more terms in the House of Representatives (1915-1921).

McKinley left the House of Representatives for the Senate in 1920. He died on December 7, 1926, months short of completing his first term in the Senate and weeks after the disappointment of losing a renomination for a second term.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The William Brown McKinley Papers are organized into six groups: correspondence, political records, legislative documents, petitions, printed material, and scrapbooks. The larger part of the papers fall within the decade 1908-1918. One of the congressman's major assignments was the organization of the 1912 Republican Presidential Convention in Chicago in support of incumbent William Howard Taft. Most of the collection focuses on the political contest between Taft and Theodore Roosevelt for the Republican party nomination, but correspondence and election records concentrating on other campaign years are present, as well as McKinley's correspondence relating to international affairs, such as the proposed Pan-American Congress of 1906; the national issues debated in Washington, such as the tariff, the trusts and judicial reform; and the special concerns of politics in McKinley's Illinois constituency.

Among subjects of potential research value are the position of the Negro in the Republican Party, the relation of Congressman McKinley to the business community, and an abundance of contemporary comment, both crank and sophisticated, about the election issues of 1912 and the contrasting personalities of William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt.

Correspondence (Boxes 1-51) consists of more than 28,000 letters, most of which were sent to McKinley and his staff in 1912 when McKinley directed the National Taft for President Bureau. Carbon copies of outgoing correspondence are attached to the incoming correspondence from supporters and opponents of the. Taft candidacy. The "Miscellaneous" folders included with some states contain anonymous, unidentified, fragmentary, group and form correspondence; and the "Miscellaneous, United States" folder in Box 51 contains the same type of materials which cannot be identified with any particular state.

Much of the correspondence appears to have been dictated by McKinley's personal secretary, John C. Eversman, as well as by Henry Casson, William Hayward and Leroy T. Vernon, all officers of the Republican National Committee and its organs in the convention, the National Taft Bureau and the Subcommittee on Arrangements. Party correspondence addressed to President Taft at the White House was often referred to McKinley for answer by the Presidential Secretary, Charles D. Hilles. After McKinley succeeded in managing the renomination of Taft at the Chicago convention, Hilles took charge of the national campaign against Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. There is one letter signed by President Taft which covers enclosures advocating legal reforms.

Other notable correspondents include Charles Ballinger; Charles G. Dawes, president of the Central Trust Company of Illinois, associate of McKinley, and a financier who gained prominence after World War I for his plan to cope with reparations payments; Henry A. DuPont of Delaware; and Henry L. Stim5on, Secretary of War in Taft's cabinet. Within the correspondence of several states will be found letters from governors, congressmen, civil servants, political organizers, businessmen, and voters of every opinion about the issues and personalities in the election of 1912.

Political Records (Boxes 52-56) are subdivided into national campaign records, state campaign records, financial records, speeches and position papers, press releases, and memorabilia.

National campaign records (Box 52) contain historical references from conventions antedating the convention of 1912, a few memoranda on strategy, an unbound packet of electoral statistics for all states in 1918, party organizational charts, and a scrapbook of form letters, broadsides, press releases, pamphlets and serial publications issued by the National Taft Bureau in 1912. Among the miscellaneous campaign records is a confidential packet of instructions to doormen, bandmasters, police operatives, "yell captains", and other McKinley functionaries inside convention hall. Rosters of Republican National Committee members and minutes of the Republican National Congressional Committee (Box 53) cover the period 1908-1916.

State campaign records (Box 54) are divided by state (35) and include formal assessments of political conditions on the eve of the 1912 convention, as well as copies of Republican state committee resolutions, lists of party officers, delegates and workers, memoranda on state organization, reports on local issues, and materials referring to the campaign strategy of the opposition.

Financial records (Boxes 54-55) include bills and receipts for the following expenses listed here in descending order of cost: printing, engraving, and campaign novelties; telephone, telegraph and messenger service; office and hotel rent; freight charges; decorations and military bands; office supplies. Also included in this section are expense accounts, bank deposits, drafts, statements and cancelled checks. The bills were accumulated between the years 1907 and 1916, and the larger part fall within the six-months preceding the Chicago convention of 1912. "Studies and reports" consist of lists of campaign contributors, periodic statements of receipts and disbursements of the Republican National Committee, and analyses of campaign expenditures between 1912-1917.

Speeches, position papers and press releases about President Taft and Theodore Roosevelt are located in Box 56. Memorabilia include a brochure of the Taft inauguration, itineraries, two photographs of Taft, the family genealogy, a Taft banner, a campaign ribbon and assorted campaign buttons.

Legislative documents (Box 57) contain a small group of bills and acts in draft and printed form.

Petitions (Box 57) are dated 1910 and concern boiler inspection legislation and the parcels post.

Printed materials (Box 57) consist of broadsides, government publications, magazines, separates, clippings and pamphlets about Taft, his opponents, and a range of political issues between 1906 and 1920. All titles are given in the shelf list.

There are two Scrapbooks of clippings (Boxes 58-59) taken from Chicago newspapers of June, 1912.

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Arrangement of the Collection

Correspondence is arranged first according to state or territory of origin in alphabetical sequence, and within each state or territory in alphabetical sequence by name of correspondent. A small group of correspondence originating from outside the United States follows and is arranged alphabetically by country of origin. Legislative documents and petitions are in chronological order. Printed material is arranged alphabetically by type and within that in chronological order.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

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Subject Headings

Persons

Subjects

Places

Genres and Forms

Occupations

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

William Brown McKinley Papers,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Purchase, ca. 1963.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: JEJ
Date: Mar 1969
Revision history: 23 Jul 2008 - converted to EAD (MRC)

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Inventory

	Correspondence
		Alabama
Box 1			A-W
		Alaska
		Arizona
Box 1			C-W
		Arkansas
Box 1			A-W
		California
Box 2			A-L
Box 3			M-Z
Box 3			Miscellaneous
		Colorado
Box 3			A-W
Box 3			Miscellaneous
		Connecticut
Box 3			A-W
Box 3			Miscellaneous
		Delaware
Box 3			B-W
		Florida
Box 3			A-Z
		Georgia
Box 5			A-Y
Box 5			Miscellaneous
		Hawaii
Box 5			[Miscellaneous]
		Idaho
Box 5			A-W
		Illinois
Box 6			A-C
Box 6			Chapman, R. N.
Box 6			Checkley, William N.
Box 6			Clark, C. N.
Box 6			Cline, C. A.
Box 7			D
Box 7			Dawes, Charles G.
Box 7			Deneen, Charles S.
Box 7			E
Box 7			Eversman (miscellaneous)
Box 7			F
Box 7			Farmer, Walter M.
Box 7			G
Box 7			Gregory, Charles A.
Box 7			Grier, T.A.
Box 8			H
Box 8			Harry, M. L.
Box 8			Hayward, W. M.
Box 8			Hook, C. O.
Box 8			I, J
Box 8			James, Edmund Janes
Box 8			K
Box 8			L-Le
Box 8			Lemon, Frank K.
Box 8			Li-Ly
Box 9			M
Box 9			McKinley (miscellaneous)
Box 9			McMillan, H. M.
Box 9			N
Box 10			O-P
Box 10			Power, S. A.
Box 10			Q-Ry
Box 10			Rankin, A. C.
Box 10			Riley, Ozias
Box 10			S-Sl
Box 11			Sm-Sw
Box 11			Sherman, Lawrence Y.
Box 11			Steele, W. A.
Box 11			Torbet, L. K.
Box 11			U
Box 12			W
Box 12			Weir, Joseph C.
Box 12			Y-Z
Box 12			Miscellaneous
		Indiana
Box 13			A-Y
		Iowa
Box 14			A-H
Box 14			Hunter, Edward H.
Box 14			I-W
Box 14			Young, Lafayette
Box 14			Miscellaneous
		Kansas
Box 15			A-L
Box 16			M-Y
		Kentucky
Box 17			A-W
Box 17			Miscellaneous
		Louisiana
Box 18			A-Y
		Maine
Box 19			A-P
Box 19			Parkhurst, Frederic H.
Box 19			R-W
Box 19			Miscellaneous
		Maryland
Box 19			A-W
Box 19			Miscellaneous
		Massachusetts
Box 19			A-W
Box 19			Miscellaneous
		Michigan
Box 20			A-D
Box 20			Diekma, Gerrit J.
Box 20			E-W
Box 20			Young, H. Olin
		Minnesota
Box 21			A-J
Box 21			Johnson, Marcus
Box 21			K-Z
		Mississippi
Box 21			A-W
		Missouri
Box 22			A-K
Box 23			L-St
Box 23			Stifel, Otto F.
Box 23			Su-Z
Box 23			Miscellaneous
		Montana
Box 24			B-W
		Nebraska
Box 24			A-C
Box 24			Currie, Frank M.
Box 24			D-Z
		Nevada
Box 25			B-W
		New Hampshire
Box 25			A-W
		New Jersey
Box 26			A-L
Box 27			M-Y
Box 27			Miscellaneous
		New Mexico
Box 28			A-W
		New York
Box 29			A-Bes
Box 29			Bennett, William S.
Box 29			Bi-Bro
Box 29			Brewster, William B.
Box 29			Brogan, William G.
Box 29			Browning, William J.
Box 29			Bru-C
Box 30			D-K
Box 31			L-Y
Box 31			Miscellaneous
		North Carolina
Box 32			A-Y
Box 32			Miscellaneous
		North Dakota
Box 32			A-W
		Ohio
Box 33			A-B
Box 33			Brown, M. R.
Box 33			Brown, Theodore F.
Box 33			Butler, Joseph G.
Box 33			C-F
Box 34			G-L
Box 34			Laylin, Lewis
Box 35			M-Y
Box 35			Miscellaneous
		Oklahoma
Box 36			A-Z
Box 36			Miscellaneous
		Oregon
Box 36			A-W
Box 36			Miscellaneous
		Pennsylvania
Box 37			A-D
Box 37			Dunlap Printing
Box 37			E-K
Box 38			L-P
Box 38			Penrose, Boies
Box 38			R-Z
Box 38			Miscellaneous
		Philippine Islands
Box 38			[Miscellaneous]
		Puerto Rico
Box 38			[Miscellaneous]
		Rhode Island
Box 39			B-W
		South Carolina
Box 39			A-Y
Box 39			Miscellaneous
		South Dakota
Box 40			A-W
Box 40			Miscellaneous
		Tennessee
Box 40			A-W
Box 40			Miscellaneous
		Texas
Box 41			A-H
Box 41			Hunt, P. B.
Box 41			I-K
Box 41			Keating, Joseph B.
Box 41			L
Box 42			M
Box 42			MacGregor, H. F.
Box 42			N-Z
Box 42			Miscellaneous
		Utah
Box 43			A-Y
		Vermont
Box 43			A-W
		Virginia
Box 43			A-Z
Box 43			Miscellaneous
		Washington
Box 44			A-P
Box 44			Perkins, S. A.
Box 44			R-W
Box 44			Miscellaneous
		Washington, D.C.
Box 45			A-By
Box 45			Browning, William J.
Box 45			C
Box 45			Cannon, Joseph G.
Box 45			Curtis, Francis
Box 45			D
Box 46			E-H
Box 46			Hilles, Charles
Box 47			J-L
Box 47			Loeb, William, Jr.
Box 47			M
Box 47			McKinley (miscellaneous)
Box 47			N
Box 47			Nagle, Charles
Box 47			O-R
Box 48			S
Box 48			Shipp, Thomas R.
Box 48			Stimson, Henry L.
Box 48			T
Box 48			Taft, William Howard
Box 48			U-Y
Box 48			Miscellaneous
		West Virginia
Box 49			A-H
Box 49			Harrison, J. Forsyth
Box 49			J
Box 50			K-Z
Box 50			Miscellaneous
		Wisconsin
Box 51			A-Z
Box 51			Miscellaneous
		Wyoming
Box 51			A-W
		United States, general
Box 51			Miscellaneous
		Foreign
Box 51			Austria
Box 51			Canada
Box 51			Cuba
Box 51			France
Box 51			Turkey

	Political records
		Campaign records, national
Box 52			Convention precedents, quotations and memoranda 1856-1912
Box 52			Electoral statistics 1918
Box 52			Mailing lists and organizational charts, 1903-1918
Box 52			Miscellaneous convention records 1912
Box 52			National Taft Bureau "Record Book" Mar 1912-Jun 1912 - bound volume
				Includes form letters, broadsides, Taft Truths, Apr 23, 1912-May 31, 1912, Taft Truths, Mar 11, 1912-Jun 1, 1912, National Taft Bureau press releases, political pamphlets, clippings
Box 53			Republican National Committee lists 1908-1912
Box 53			Republican National Congressional Committee minutes 1908-1916
Box 53			National Republican Congressional Committee, "Executive Committee Minutes" 1914-1915 - bound volume
		Campaign records, state 1912
Box 54			Arkansas
Box 54			California
Box 54			Connecticut
Box 54			Delaware
Box 54			Illinois
Box 54			Indiana
Box 54			Iowa
Box 54			Kansas
Box 54			Kentucky
Box 54			Louisiana
Box 54			Maine
Box 54			Maryland
Box 54			Massachusetts
Box 54			Michigan
Box 54			Minnesota
Box 54			Missouri
Box 54			Montana
Box 54			Nebraska
Box 54			New Jersey
Box 54			New York
Box 54			North Carolina
Box 54			Ohio
Box 54			Oklahoma
Box 54			Oregon
Box 54			Pennsylvania
Box 54			South Carolina
Box 54			South Dakota
Box 54			Tennessee
Box 54			Texas
Box 54			Vermont
Box 54			Virginia
Box 54			Washington
Box 54			Washington, D.C.
Box 54			West Virginia
Box 54			Wisconsin
		Financial records
			Bills and receipts
Box 54				1907-1910 (4 folders)
Box 54				1912, Feb, Mar
Box 55				1912, Apr-Oct
Box 55				1912 Miscellaneous
Box 55				1913-1916 (4 folders)
Box 55				Miscellaneous
Box 55			Studies and reports, Republican National Committee 1912-1917
		Speeches and position papers
Box 56			Taft 1912
Box 56			Roosevelt 1912
Box 56			Miscellaneous
		Press releases
Box 56			Taft headquarters 1912
Box 56			Roosevelt headquarters 1912
Box 56			Miscellaneous
		Memorabilia
Box 56			Brochure, Taft-Sherman inauguration 1909
Box 56			Calling cards
Box 56			Cartoons
Box 56			Invitations
Box 56			Itineraries
Box 56			Photographs
Box 56			Taft genealogy
Box 56			Miscellaneous - includes campaign buttons

	Legislative documents
Box 57		1907-1912

	Petitions
Box 57		1910

	Printed material
		Broadsides
Box 57			Miscellaneous
		Government publications
Box 57			War Department, Special Orders No. 266 Nov 9, 1906
Box 57			Congressional Record 19 May 1908, 15 Apr 1910, 10 Mar 1911
Box 57			Senate Document No. 44: "Absorption of the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company" 1911
Box 57			Hearings on House Resolution No. 314 regarding restraint of trade 1911
Box 57			Taft, William Howard, "The Judiciary and Progress," An Address, Toledo, Ohio 8 Mar 1912
Box 57			Senate Document No. 604, relating to the proposed prosecution of the International Harvester Company 24 Apr 1912
Box 57			"Campaign Contributions and Publicity Acts" 1914
		Magazines 1903-1918
Box 57			Outlook, C, No. 9 Mar 2, 1912
Box 57			Pearson's Magazine, XXVII, No. 5 May 1912
Box 57			National City Bank of New York, Bulletin Oct 1917
Box 57			National Security League Bulletin, I, No. 1, Feb 1913
		Magazine separates
Box 57			Murphy, W. R., "The Personification of a Square Deal," The Pioneer, XI, No. 12 Dec 30, 1907
Box 57			"Uncle Joe Cannon Hits Back at 'Success'," Printers' Ink Mar 10, 1909
Box 57			Foote, Allen Ripley, "Federal Interference with State and Local Taxation," Ohio Journal of Commerce Dec 16, 1911
Box 57			Leupp, Francis E., "President Taft's Own View," Ou tlook Dec 2, 1911
Box 57			Welliver, Judson C., "Catching Up with Roosevelt," Munsey's Magazine Mar 1912
Box 57			"Notes and Comments on the Reciprocity Bill," Paper Makers Journal, XI, No. 5 Apr 1912
Box 57			Kennaday, Paul, "Industrial Relations," Labor World Mar 12, 1912
Box 57			Turner, George Kibbe and Arthur Wallace Dunn, "The Forces Behind Taft," McClure's Magazine, XXXIX, No. 1 May 1912
Box 57			Durand, Elliott, "Law vs. Politics," The Hamiltonian, XVIII, No. 2 Aug 1917
Box 57			"Taft Denounces Lynching" undated
Box 57			"Three Presidents and the Chamber of Commerce of the United States," The Nation's Business Jan 1918
		Newspaper clippings
Box 57			1908-1920
		Political pamphlets
Box 57			Bryan, William Jennings, "Government Ownership of the Railroads" ca. 1908
Box 57			The Roosevelt League of New York, "Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft: What Each Has Done. . ." ca. 1912
Box 57			"Hon. Joseph G. Cannon: His Five Years' Service as Speaker of the House" ca. 1912
Box 57			Dampman, John B., "Vote Getting: The Effective, Economical and Successful Way" ca. 1912
Box 57			"Endorsed by the President"
Box 57			"Hepburn: The Friend of Labor"
Box 57			"Tariff on Zinc Ore"
Box 57			"Who Makes the Illinois Farmer and Farmer's Call?"
Box 57			"Mrs. Seward A. Simmons. . ."
Box 57			"O. H. Waddle's Declaration"
Box 57			"Third Term Danger Signals"
Box 57			"xxx Favors Taft"
Box 57			"Square Deal Due Taft"
Box 57			Stuart, T. B., "The Recall of Judges"
Box 57			"Views of the Minority" (tariff)
Box 57			Karger, Gus J., "Two Years of President Taft"
Box 57			"Three Years of Taft: An Index"
Box 57			Beath, Robert B. and others, "Open Letter to the Veterans of the Civil War"
Box 57			"Do You Know Mr. Roosevelt's Exact Position?"
Box 57			"Roosevelt's Broadside"
Box 57			"Odezwa Prezydenta Roosevelta"
Box 57			Roosevelt Progressive Republican League,". . . Circumstances Attending the Movement from LaFollette to Roosevelt"; "Wherein Taft Has Failed"; "Why Women Should Vote for Roosevelt"
Box 57			Feeney, James L., speech Oct 5, 1908
Box 57			"Why Turn Down Taft?"
Box 57			"Addresses Delivered by...William Howard Taft...Touching the Negro Problem" ca. 1909
Box 57			"Full Credit to Taft"
Box 57			Strong, Daniel Bissel, "The Philosophy of the Trust Movement," Part II ca. 1911
Box 57			Longworth, Nicholas, speeches in favor of the Payne Tariff Law 1910
Box 57			Lippitt, Henry F., speech on the Woolen and Cotton Tariff Oct 18, 1911
Box 57			Foote, Allen Ripley, "Importance of a Correct Cost Statement" ca. 1911
Box 57			"War Veterans" ca. 1911
Box 57			"Wm. H. Taft for President," Texas 1912
Box 57			Tawney, James A., Address before the Taft Club of Minneapolis, Minnesota Feb 9, 1912
Box 57			Stafford, Wendell Phillips, "The New Despotism," address before the New York County Lawyers Association Feb 17, 1912
Box 57			"President Taft as a True Friend of the Colored Man" April 1912
Box 57			Jackson, Orville E., "An Open Letter to Republicans of Idaho" Apr 10, 1912
Box 57			"Contested Election Case of Aaron P. Prileau against George S. Legare," contestant's brief Apr 18, 1912
Box 57			Taft, William Howard, address at Boston, Mass. Apr 25, 1912
Box 57			Perkins, George W., An open letter to William B. McKinley, New York Apr 29, 1912
Box 57			Austin, Richard W., Remarks on the Underwood Tariff Law and the American Sugar Industry May 9, 1914
Box 57			"Capt. H. Z. Osborne: Republican Nominee for Congress" Aug 25, 1914
Box 57			"Special Election for Congressman," Martinsburg, W. Va. Apr 29, 1916

	Scrapbooks
		Clippings
			Republican presidential news stories taken from Chicago morning papers Jun 1912
Box 58				Volume I
Box 59				Volume II

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