Caleb Cushing Papers

Caleb Cushing Papers A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division, Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 2006 Revised 2010 March Contact information: <a href="/goto?url=http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact" target="_blank">http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact </a>Additional search options available at: <a href="/goto?url=http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms000002" target="_blank">http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms000002 </a>LC Online Catalog record: <a href="/goto?url=http://lccn.loc.gov/mm78017509" target="_blank">http://lccn.loc.gov/mm78017509 </a>Prepared by John McDonough, Esther Coles, Woodrow Hamilton, and Bessie Waters Revised and expanded by Nan Ernst Collection Summary Title: Caleb Cushing Papers Span Dates: circa 1785-1906 Bulk Dates: (bulk 1820-1878) ID No.: MSS17509 Creator: Cushing, Caleb, 1800-1879 Language: Collection material in English Extent: 120,000 items ; 420 containers plus 4 oversize ; 190 linear feet ; 9 microfilm reels Location: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Summary: United States cabinet official and representative from Massachusetts, army officer, diplomat, and lawyer. Correspondence, memoranda, diaries, journals, writings, speeches, notes, notebooks, legal file, business papers, biographical material, newspaper clippings, printed material, maps, photographs, and other papers reflecting Cushing's role in national and international affairs of the mid-nineteenth century. 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 Bancroft, George, 1800-1891--Correspondence. Buchanan, James, 1791-1868. Butler, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1818-1893--Correspondence. Campbell, James, 1812-1893--Correspondence. Choate, Rufus, 1799-1859--Correspondence. Cushing, Caleb, 1800-1879. Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889--Correspondence. Dobbin, James C. (James Cochran), 1814-1857--Correspondence. Everett, Edward, 1794-1865--Correspondence. Fish, Hamilton, 1808-1893--Correspondence. Guthrie, James, 1792-1869--Correspondence. Johnson, Andrew, 1808-1875. Lieber, Francis, 1800-1872--Correspondence. Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865. Marcy, William L. (William Learned), 1786-1857--Correspondence. McClelland, Robert, 1807-1880--Correspondence. McCulloch, Hugh, 1808-1895--Correspondence. Pierce, Franklin, 1804-1869--Correspondence. Pike, Albert, 1809-1891--Correspondence. Pillow, Gideon Johnson, 1806-1878--Correspondence. Rose, John, Sir, 1820-1888--Correspondence. Seward, William Henry, 1801-1872--Correspondence. Sparks, Jared, 1789-1866--Correspondence. Taney, Roger Brooke, 1777-1864--Correspondence. Tyler, John, 1790-1862--Correspondence. Webster, Daniel, 1782-1852--Correspondence. Whittier, John Greenleaf, 1807-1892--Correspondence. Organizations Democratic Party (U.S.) Geneva Arbitration Tribunal. Massachusetts. Attorney General's Office. United States and Mexican Claims Commission. United States. Department of Justice. Office of the Attorney General. <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Caleb Cushing Papers </li><li style="flex:1">2</li></ul>Whig Party (U.S.) Subjects Canals--Panama. Diplomatic and consular service, American. Land speculation. Mexican War, 1846-1848. Political parties--United States. Places China--Foreign relations--United States. Colombia--Foreign relations--United States. Great Britain--Foreign relations--United States. Massachusetts--Politics and government--1775-1865. Mexico--Foreign relations--United States. Panama Canal (Panama)--History. Spain--Foreign relations--United States. United States--Foreign relations--China. United States--Foreign relations--Colombia. United States--Foreign relations--Great Britain. United States--Foreign relations--Mexico. United States--Foreign relations--Spain. United States--Foreign relations. United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Claims. United States--Politics and government--19th century. Titles North American review. Occupations Army officers. Cabinet officers. Diplomats. Lawyers. Representatives, U.S.--Massachusetts. Administrative Information Provenance The papers of Caleb Cushing, lawyer, author, United States representative from Massachusetts, envoy to China, Colombia, and Spain, brigadier general in the Mexican War, attorney general of the United States, and senior counsel for the United States at the Geneva Tribunal of Arbitration, were given to the Library of Congress by his niece, Margaret W. Cushing, 1935-1942. Several small additions have been acquired through purchase, gift, and transfer, 1906-1995. Processing History The papers of Caleb Cushing were initially arranged and described between 1961 and 1962. Additional material was incorporated into the collection in 1984 and in 1999, and the finding aid was revised in 2006. Additional Guides A description of the Caleb Cushing Papers appeared in the Report of the Librarian of Congress, 1936, p. 33. The provenance of Cushing's papers may be found in Claude M. Fuess, The Life of Caleb Cushing (1923): vol. 1, pp. vii-viii; vol. 2, pp. 399-400. <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Caleb Cushing Papers </li><li style="flex:1">3</li></ul>Copyright Status The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Caleb Cushing is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.). Access and Restrictions The papers of Caleb Cushing 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. Microfilm A microfilm edition of correspondence, Dec. 1856-Dec. 1860, is available on eight reels and the treaty of Wang Hiya (Wanghsia), 1844, is available on one reel. Consult reference staff 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. Preferred Citation Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or reel number, Caleb Cushing Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Biographical Note <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Date </li><li style="flex:1">Event </li></ul><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1800, Jan. 17 </li><li style="flex:1">Born, Salisbury, Essex County, Mass. </li></ul><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1817 </li><li style="flex:1">Graduated, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. </li></ul>1820-1821 1821 Tutored mathematics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Admitted to bar and commenced practice of law, Newburyport, Mass. Edited local newspaper Began contributing to North American Review <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1824 </li><li style="flex:1">Elected representative to Massachusetts general court </li></ul>Married Caroline Elizabeth Wilde (died 1832) <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1825 </li><li style="flex:1">Elected Massachusetts state senator </li></ul>1829-1830 1834-1842 1843 Traveled to England, France, and Spain U.S. representative from Massachusetts, Whig party Nominated three times as secretary of the treasury but rejected by the Senate <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Commissioner to China; negotiated Treaty of Wang Hiya </li><li style="flex:1">1843-1844 </li></ul><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1846 </li><li style="flex:1">Traveled to Great Lakes region and along St. Croix River </li></ul>Reelected representative to Massachusetts general court 1847-1848 1850 Brigadier general, Mexican War Reelected representative to Massachusetts general court <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Caleb Cushing Papers </li><li style="flex:1">4</li></ul><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1851 </li><li style="flex:1">Elected first mayor of Newburyport, Mass. </li></ul><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1852 </li><li style="flex:1">Appointed associate justice, Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts </li></ul><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Attorney general of the United States </li><li style="flex:1">1853-1857 </li></ul><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1857 </li><li style="flex:1">Reelected representative to Massachusetts general court </li></ul><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Named permanent president of the National Democratic Convention, Charleston, S.C. </li><li style="flex:1">1860 </li></ul><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1860 </li><li style="flex:1">Sent as President James Buchanan's personal representative to Charleston, S.C., to delay passing </li></ul>of ordnance of secession 1865-1870 1868 Counsel for the United States before the British and American Joint Commission to settle claims by the Hudson's Bay and Puget's Sound companies Special Minister to Colombia to negotiate a treaty regarding a canal across Isthmus of Panama Appointed agent and counsel by the Mexican government to present claims before the Mexican- American Claims Commission <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1871 </li><li style="flex:1">Appointed counsel for the United States, Geneva Tribunal of Arbitration </li></ul><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Minister to Spain </li><li style="flex:1">1873-1877 </li></ul><ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">1879, Jan. 2 </li><li style="flex:1">Died, Newburyport, Mass. </li></ul>Scope and Content Note The papers of Caleb Cushing (1800-1879) span the period circa 1785-1906 with the bulk of the material dating from 1820 to 1878. The collection includes diaries; journals; general and special correspondence; subject, legal, and financial files; a speech, article, and book file; and related newspaper clippings and printed matter. There is also an extensive file based on Cushing's land speculation and an additional file with papers that relate to his varied public employments, beginning with the China mission of 1843-1844 and ending with his ministry to Spain, 1873-1877. The General Correspondence series, constituting approximately one-third of the collection, documents Cushing's life and touches on many of the national and international issues that arose during the middle years of the nineteenth century. The much less voluminous Special Correspondence series includes letters dealing with patronage questions during Cushing's congressional career (1835-1843) and during his service as President Franklin Pierce's attorney general (1853-1857). Social correspondence, autograph requests, bound correspondence, and a small amount of family correspondence complete this series. Legal and business correspondence is included as part of the extensive Legal File. The Legal File is divided among cases in which Cushing was in some way personally involved and those in which he acted as attorney or consultant. Also in the Legal File, and separately arranged therein, are drafts of Cushing's opinions as attorney general. Correspondence is also included in the Land Speculation and Related Business Ventures File illustrating Cushing's financial interest in lands located from Maine to Lower California. The Speech, Article, and Book File has material as disparate as Cushing's fledgling attempts at poetry in 1816 and his philippic against Britain's Sir Alexander Cockburn in The Treaty of Washington (1873). The bulk of this file, however, is made up of drafts and printed copies of Cushing's speeches and addresses and drafts of articles for the North American Review and other publications. <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Caleb Cushing Papers </li><li style="flex:1">5</li></ul>A Subject File incorporates notes, memoranda, and extracts, largely in Cushing's hand and principally dealing with political topics of the day. Personal Miscellany contains biographical material, early notebooks, commissions, and photographs. Numerous lists and inventories reflect Cushing's reading habits and wide-ranging interests. Much of the Financial File is in small, dated bundles as kept by Cushing. The series of newspaper clippings and printed matter complete the collection. From an early date Cushing was in correspondence with important figures of his day. Names such as George Bancroft, Rufus Choate, Edward Everett, Jared Sparks, and Daniel Webster appear in the General Correspondence series as early as the 1820s, and in some instances frequently reappear for decades thereafter. A number of letters and notes from John Tyler and Franklin Pierce are found during their terms as president but are not confined to those years. Every member of Pierce's cabinet, including James Campbell, Jefferson Davis, James C. Dobbins, James Guthrie, Robert McClelland, and William L. Marcy, is represented in the 1853-1857 period. Included among the many other prominent correspondents are Benjamin F. Butler, Hamilton Fish, Francis Lieber, Hugh McCulloch, Albert Pike, Gideon Johnson Pillow, Sir John Rose, William Henry Seward, Roger Brooke Taney, and John Greenleaf Whittier. The Addition includes two items of correspondence. The first item is a printed circular letter dated 1841 from Frederick Franks hand-addressed to Cushing requesting the establishment of national banks and a uniform fiscal policy for the United States. The second is a letter dated 1853 from Cushing to attorney Philip B. Key asking his views on William W. Williamson's conviction for forging bank notes. Organization of the Papers The collection is arranged in thirteen series: •••••••••••••Diaries, Journals, and Notes, 1827-1844 General Correspondence, 1815-1878 Special Correspondence, 1817-1899 Special Commissions File, 1843-1878 Speech, Article, and Book File, 1816-1877 Subject File Legal File, circa 1785-1886 Land Speculation and Related Business Ventures File, circa 1813-1906 Miscellany, circa 1814-1879 Financial File, 1805-1878 Printed Matter, circa 1820-1878 Addition, 1841-1853 Oversize, 1823-1874 <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Caleb Cushing Papers </li><li style="flex:1">6</li></ul>Description of Series <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Container </li><li style="flex:1">Series </li></ul>BOX 1-2 Diaries, Journals, and Notes, 1827-1844 About sixty small, unbound notebooks and two bound volumes. Arranged chronologically by type of material. BOX 3-143 General Correspondence, 1815-1878 Letters sent and received. Arranged chronologically or alphabetically by name of correspondent. Undated correspondence includes files for Cushing and Franklin Pierce. Microfilm edition available of Containers 79-88, Dec. 1856-Dec. 1860. Shelf no. 19,366. BOX 144-162 Special Correspondence, 1817-1899 Bound copies of selected letters to Cushing, bound correspondence of I. Lowell, and correspondence and related papers of J. N. Cushing, L. B. Cushing, S. Stevens, and others. Patronage letters are followed by files for invitations, announcements, and requests for autographs. Each file is arranged chronologically. Microfilm edition available of the treaty of Wang Hiya (Wanghsia), 1844. Shelf no. 21,859. BOX 163-197 Special Commissions File, 1843-1878 Memoranda, drafts, extracts, official documents, and other material connected with Cushing's many public offices. Arranged chronologically by title of office or subject and thereunder by type of material or by subject. Correspondence removed unless noted in container list. Microfilm edition available of the treaty of Wang Hiya (Wanghsia), 1844. BOX 198-213 Speech, Article, and Book File, 1816-1877 Handwritten drafts, printed copies, and newspaper accounts of Cushing's speeches, articles, and books. Arranged chronologically by year; poetry separately grouped. BOX 214-225 BOX 226-330 BOX 226-232 BOX 233-246 Subject File Notes, memoranda, and extracts relating to a variety of topics of interest to Cushing. Arranged alphabetically by topic. Legal File, circa 1785-1886 Opinions, briefs, legal documents, drafts, memoranda, notes, printed matter, and correspondence. Personal Cases, 1830-1878 Cases in which Cushing was himself a party to the suit. Arranged chronologically and thereunder alphabetically by case title or subject. Attorney General's Office, 1853-1857 Chiefly drafts of Cushing's opinions with official correspondence and memoranda, notes, and other material. Arranged chronologically by month and year. <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Caleb Cushing Papers </li><li style="flex:1">7</li></ul>BOX 247-330 Private Practice, circa 1822-1886 Various types of litigation and business ventures in which Cushing acted as attorney or had an interest. Arranged chronologically and thereunder alphabetically by case title or subject. In some instances, grouped by type of case. BOX 331-375 Land Speculation and Related Business Ventures File, circa 1813-1906 Correspondence, legal and business papers, financial data, memoranda, notes, maps, newspaper clippings, and printed matter. Arranged alphabetically by state and thereunder in approximate chronological order or by type of material. BOX 376-385 Miscellany, circa 1814-1879 Biographical material, notebooks, daybooks, commissions, prints and photographs, literary enterprise, inventories and lists of books, publications, memoranda, notes, and printed extracts. BOX 376-381 Personal, circa 1814-1879 Biographical material including a portion of C. M. Fuess's manuscript, notebooks, daybooks, commissions, prints and photographs, literary enterprise, inventories and lists of books, publications, memoranda, and notes. Arranged alphabetically by subject or type of material. BOX 382-385 BOX 386-392 BOX 393-419 General, circa 1816-1878 Principally memoranda, notes and extracts in Cushing's hand. Arranged chronologically. An undated memoranda file contains documents concerning Madrid, Spain, and Washington, D.C. Financial File, 1805-1878 Bills, receipts, accounts, bank books, vouchers, memoranda of expenses, and related material including some financial correspondence. Arranged in approximate chronological order with the remainder grouped by type of material. Printed Matter, circa 1820-1878 Newspaper clippings, pamphlets, magazines, and articles,some of which are annotated by Cushing and others that concern him. Arranged in two groups as Newspaper Clippings and as Pamphlets, Magazines, and Articles. Two containers of the newspaper clippings are marked "personal" by Cushing. BOX 420 Addition, 1841-1853 Two items of correspondence. BOX OV 1-OV 4 Oversize, 1823-1874 Treaty, watercolor and ink sketches, maps, legal documents, and certificates of appointment, commission, citation, and membership. Arranged according the series, container, and folder from which the documents were removed. Microfilm edition available of the treaty of Wang Hiya (Wanghsia), 1844. Shelf no. 21,859. <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Caleb Cushing Papers </li><li style="flex:1">8</li></ul>Container List <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Container </li><li style="flex:1">Contents </li></ul>BOX 1-2 Diaries, Journals, and Notes, 1827-1844 About sixty small, unbound notebooks and two bound volumes. Arranged chronologically by type of material. BOX 1 1827-1830, diary and notes on travel in Europe and U.S. See also Container 201, Notes, for Cushing's Reminiscences of Spain BOX 2 1829-1830, diary circa 1829, journal 1835, Jan., journal 1844, notes on Mexico BOX 3-143 General Correspondence, 1815-1878 Letters sent and received. Arranged chronologically or alphabetically by name of correspondent. Undated correspondence includes files for Cushing and Franklin Pierce. Microfilm edition available of Containers 79-88, Dec. 1856-Dec. 1860. Shelf no. 19,366. BOX 3 BOX 4 BOX 5 1815-1823 (13 folders) 1824-1825 (12 folders) 1826 (12 folders) 1827 Jan.-May (4 folders) June-Dec. (5 folders) 1828 BOX 6 (10 folders) 1829 Jan.-May (5 folders) June-Dec. (4 folders) 1830-1831 (13 folders) 1832-1833 (7 folders) 1834 BOX 7 BOX 8 Jan.-Feb. (3 folders) <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Caleb Cushing Papers </li><li style="flex:1">9</li></ul>General Correspondence, 1815-1878 <ul style="display: flex;"><li style="flex:1">Container </li><li style="flex:1">Contents </li></ul>BOX 9 Mar.-Oct. (12 folders) BOX 10 Nov.-Dec. (4 folders) 1835 Jan.-Oct. (11 folders) BOX 11 Nov.-Dec. (4 folders) 1836 Jan. 1-Mar. 4 (5 folders)

Caleb Cushing Papers

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