John Barrett Papers
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John Barrett Papers A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division, Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 2011 Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact Additional search options available at: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms011111 LC Online Catalog record: http://lccn.loc.gov/mm81011874 Prepared by Manuscript Division Staff Collection Summary Title: John Barrett Papers Span Dates: 1861-1943 Bulk Dates: (bulk 1907-1933) ID No.: MSS11874 Creator: Barrett, John, 1866-1938 Extent: 50,000 items ; 171 containers plus 2 oversize ; 68.4 linear feet Language: Collection material in English Location: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Summary: Journalist and diplomat. Family and general correspondence, diaries, journals, notebooks, subject files, writings and speeches, financial papers, reports, biographical materials, scrapbooks, clippings, and other papers relating principally to Barrett's career as a journalist and diplomat. Selected Search Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein. People Barrett, John, 1866-1938. Dewey, George, 1837-1917. Organizations Pan American Union Subjects American newspapers--California. American newspapers--Oregon. American newspapers--Washington (State) Diplomatic and consular service, American--Argentina. Diplomatic and consular service, American--Colombia. Diplomatic and consular service, American--Panama. Diplomatic and consular service, American--Thailand. Places Argentina--Foreign relations--United States. Colombia--Foreign relations--United States. East Asia--Description and travel. Latin America--Commerce--United States. Latin America--Foreign relations--United States. Panama Canal (Panama) Panama--Foreign relations--United States. Philippines--History--Philippine American War, 1899-1902. Thailand--Foreign relations--United States. United States--Commerce--History--20th century. United States--Commerce--Latin America. United States--Foreign relations--Argentina. United States--Foreign relations--Colombia. United States--Foreign relations--Latin America. United States--Foreign relations--Panama. United States--Foreign relations--Thailand. Venezuela--Boundaries. Occupations Diplomats. John Barrett Papers 2 Journalists. Administrative Information Provenance The papers of John Barrett, journalist and diplomat, were given to the Library of Congress by his nephew and wife, John Walton Barrett, and Mary X. Ferguson Barrett, between 1939 and 1964. Processing History The collection was processed in 1940 and revised or expanded in 1948, 1960, 1978, and 1987. The finding aid was revised in 2011. Additional Guides A card index to correspondence in the collection is available in the Manuscript Reading Room. Consult reference staff for information. Transfers Items have been transferred from the Manuscript Division to other custodial divisions of the Library. Maps have been transferred to the Geography and Map Division. Photographs have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division. All transfers are identified in these divisions as part of the John Barrett Papers. Copyright Status Copyright in the unpublished writings of John Barrett in these papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to the public. Access and Restrictions The papers of John Barrett 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. Preferred Citation Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, John Barrett Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Biographical Note Date Event 1866, Nov. 28 Born, Grafton, Vt. 1881 Attended Vermont Academy, Saxtons River, Vt. 1884 Graduated from Worcester Academy, Worcester, Mass. 1885 Taught school, Orwell High School, Orwell, Vt. 1888 Toured the Southern states representing a syndicate of Northern newspapers Attended a special course of study and lectures, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn. 1889 B.A., Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H. John Barrett Papers 3 1889-1894 On editorial staff of newspapers of San Francisco, Calif.; Seattle and Tacoma, Wash.; and Portland, Oreg. 1890-1891 Traveled extensively through South America, Asia, Hawaii, and Europe as special correspondent for leading newspapers 1894-1898 Appointed U.S. minister to Siam by President Grover Cleveland 1898 Resigned post as U.S. minister to Siam Became press correspondent and special diplomatic adviser to Admiral George Dewey during the Philippine conflict 1899 Special commercial commissioner to China, Japan, the Philippine Islands, Korea, Siberia, India, Australia, and Europe Published Admiral George Dewey: A Sketch of the Man. New York: Harper & Bros. 1900 Elected honorary member of the American Asiatic Association for services in developing American prestige and interests in Asia 1901-1902 U.S. delegate, Second Pan American Conference, Mexico 1902-1903 Commissioner general, Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, Mo. 1903-1904 U.S. minister to Argentina 1904-1905 U.S. minister to Panama 1905-1906 U.S. minister to Colombia 1907-1920 Director general, Pan American Union 1921-1922 Member, General Committee on the Limitation of Armaments 1923 Became counselor and arbiter in Pan American and other international relations 1934 Married Mary Elizabeth Tanner Cady 1938, Oct. 17 Died, Coral Gables, Fla. Scope and Content Note The papers of John Barrett (1866-1938) span the period 1861-1943, with the bulk of the material between 1907 and 1933. They include diaries, journals, notebooks, letterbooks, family correspondence, general correspondence, subject files, speeches, articles for publication, drafts of manuscripts for books, financial papers, notes, memoranda, reports, listing of names and addresses of correspondents, scrapbooks, clippings, and other items. The collection also contains an unpublished biography of Barrett by his niece through marriage, Mary X. Ferguson Barrett, as well as her research materials, and it also contains a study of Barrett's Pan Americanism, by Roger L. Headrick, a Williams College student. The papers fully document Barrett's long public career as a journalist, diplomat, director general of the Pan American Union, and as counselor and international arbiter of Pan American commercial relations. The material is organized in eight series: Diaries, Journals, and Other Record Books; Correspondence; Subject File; Speeches and Writings File; Financial Papers; Biographical File; Miscellany; and Oversize. John Barrett Papers 4 The correspondence and writings of Barrett are extensive. The early part of the correspondence relates to his activities while minister to Siam, where he presided over the settlement of some longstanding claims against Siam, renegotiated a treaty, and secured an expansive definition of American extraterritorial rights that reinforced American practice in Far Eastern diplomacy. During his tenure as minister to Siam, Barrett made extensive trips throughout Burma, China, Eastern Siberia, India, Japan, Java, Korea, and the Philippines in order to study the commercial and political opportunities of the United States in Asia. His papers contain numerous reports and articles to newspapers and magazines and special letters to businessmen, chambers of commerce, congressmen, senators, educators, and others advancing the theory that America should take greater interest in Asia and in the Pacific. There are many letters and articles relating to Barrett's resignation from his mission in Siam. He later become a war correspondent and special adviser to Admiral George Dewey during the Spanish American War and subsequent Philippine American War. Barrett believed that full independence for the Philippine Islands was not in the best interest of the islands or the United States and that American interests required that it compete for friends, coaling stations, and bases in the Pacific with Great Britain, France, Germany, and other European nations. The bulk of Barrett's correspondence, as well as his numerous articles and speeches, relates to Latin America. His duties as minister to Argentina, Panama, and Colombia were a prelude to his work as director general of the International Bureau of the American Republics, later to become the Pan American Union. There are documents relating to his influence in the settlement of the Colombia-Panama dispute, the Venezuelan controversy, the need for invoking the Monroe Doctrine, the building of the Isthmian Canal, the Panama Canal tolls, the flow of ships through the canal, and most importantly, the establishment of commerce and comity between Latin America and the United States. There are papers documenting Barrett's influence in changing the name of the International Bureau of the American Republics to that of the Pan American Union, and it was under his administration that a new building housing the organization was built and completed in Washington, D.C., in 1910. As director of the Pan American Union, Barrett sponsored several conferences on hemispheric cooperation and Latin American conditions, prepared speeches and articles on a vast array of problems, organized the Pan American Society