Henry Morgenthau Papers A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division, Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 2009 Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact Additional search options available at: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms010034 LC Online Catalog record: http://lccn.loc.gov/mm78033498 Prepared by Manuscript Division Staff Collection Summary Title: Henry Morgenthau Papers Span Dates: 1795-1941 Bulk Dates: (bulk 1870-1941) ID No.: MSS33498 Creator: Morgenthau, Henry, 1856-1946 Extent: 30,000 items ; 60 containers plus 1 oversize ; 23.8 linear feet ; 41 microfilm reels Language: Collection material in English, with French, German, and Greek Location: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Summary: Businessman and diplomat. Diaries, correspondence, letterbooks, family papers, speeches and writings, subject files, printed matter, memorabilia, and other papers relating chiefly to Morgenthau's service as ambassador to Turkey, other diplomatic efforts, involvement in Democratic Party politics, and as a philanthropist. 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 Baker, Newton Diehl, 1871-1937--Correspondence. Barton, James L. (James Levi), 1855-1936--Correspondence. Bloomfield, Meyer, 1878-1938--Correspondence. Bryce, James Bryce, Viscount, 1838-1922--Correspondence. Daniels, Josephus, 1862-1948--Correspondence. Dodge, Cleveland H. (Cleveland Hoadley), 1860-1926--Correspondence. Elkus, Abram I., 1867-1947--Correspondence. Gibbons, Herbert Adams, 1880-1934--Correspondence. Grayson, Cary T. (Cary Travers), 1878-1938--Correspondence. Harbord, James G. (James Guthrie), 1866-1947--Correspondence. Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964--Correspondence. Hoskins, Franklin E. (Franklin Evans), 1858-1920--Correspondence. House, Edward Mandell, 1858-1938--Correspondence. Jusserand, J. J. (Jean Jules), 1855-1932--Correspondence. Lansing, Robert, 1864-1928--Correspondence. Long, Breckinridge, 1881-1958--Correspondence. Marshall, Louis, 1856-1929--Correspondence. Morgenthau, Henry, 1856-1946. Morgenthau, Lazarus, 1815-1897--Correspondence. Paderewski, Ignace Jan, 1860-1941--Correspondence. Page, Walter Hines, 1855-1918--Correspondence. Peet, William Wheelock, 1851-1942--Correspondence. Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962--Correspondence. Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945--Correspondence. Ruppin, Arthur, 1876-1943--Correspondence. Schiff, Jacob H. (Jacob Henry), 1847-1920--Correspondence. Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930--Correspondence. Tumulty, Joseph P. (Joseph Patrick), 1879-1954--Correspondence. Vickrey, Charles Vernon, 1876-1966--Correspondence. Wilson, Edith Bolling Galt, 1872-1961--Correspondence. Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924--Correspondence. Wise, Stephen S. (Stephen Samuel), 1874-1949--Correspondence. Wolf, Lucien, 1857-1930--Correspondence. Organizations Henry Morgenthau Papers 2 American Jewish Relief Committee for Sufferers from the War. Armenian Refugee Settlement Commission. Democratic National Committee (U.S.) Greek Refugee Settlement Commission. League to Enforce Peace (U.S.) Monetary and Economic Conference (1933 : London, England) Paris Peace Conference (1919-1920) Subjects Diplomatic and consular service, American--Turkey. Economic policy. Elections--United States. International cooperation. International economic relations. International relations--Societies, etc. Jews--Palestine. Jews--Poland. Monetary policy. Peace. Refugees--Armenia. Refugees--Greece. World War, 1914-1918--Peace. World War, 1914-1918--Refugees. Zionism. Places Turkey--Foreign relations--United States. United States--Foreign relations--Turkey. United States--Politics and government--20th century. Occupations Businessmen. Diplomats. Administrative Information Provenance The papers of Henry Morgenthau, businessman and diplomat, were given to the Library of Congress by Morgenthau in 1942. Small additions were made by his son, Henry Morgenthau (1891-1967), and by Maude Phelps McVeigh Hutchins in 1952-1953. Processing History The Henry Morgenthau Papers were processed in 1960 and prepared for microfilming in 1983. The finding aid was revised in 2009. Copyright Status Copyright in the unpublished writings of Henry Morgenthau 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 Henry Morgenthau 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. Henry Morgenthau Papers 3 Microfilm A microfilm edition of these papers is available on forty-one reels. 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. Preferred Citation Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or reel number, Henry Morgenthau Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Biographical Note Date Event 1856, Apr. 26 Born, Mannheim, Germany 1866 Immigrated to the United States 1871-1877 Studied at City College of New York, New York, N.Y., and Columbia Law School, New York, N.Y. 1877 Entered law practice 1883 Married Josephine Sykes 1899 Left law practice to found Central Realty Bond and Trust Co. 1905 Began Henry Morgenthau Co. 1911 Helped form Committee of Safety, New York, N.Y., to promote better industrial conditions in the city Founded Bronx House, New York, N.Y., with his wife Josephine and Lillian Wald 1912 Finance chairman of Democratic National Committee 1913-1916 Ambassador to Turkey 1916 Returned to the United States to aid presidential reelection campaign of Woodrow Wilson 1919 Attended Paris Peace Conference Chairman of commission to investigate Antisemitism in Poland Delegate to founding conference of International Red Cross Toured United States on behalf of League to Enforce Peace 1920 Appointed but not confirmed as ambassador to Mexico 1923 Chairman, League of Nations Settlement Commission for Greece 1933 Technical delegate, World Monetary and Economic Conference, London, England 1946, Nov. 25 Died, New York, N.Y. Henry Morgenthau Papers 4 Scope and Content Note The papers of Henry Morgenthau (1856-1946) span the years 1795-1941, with the bulk of the items concentrated in the period 1870-1941. The collection consists of original or transcribed diaries, family papers, correspondence, speeches and writings, subject files, and miscellaneous clippings, printed matter, historical collectibles, and other material. The papers are arranged nine series: Diaries, Family Papers, General Correspondence, Letterbooks, Special Correspondence, Speeches and Writings, Subject File, Miscellany, and Oversize. The material is in English, with some in French, German, and Greek. Henry Morgenthau, who immigrated to the United States from Mannheim, Germany, in 1866, was a businessman, diplomat, and philanthropist whose service as ambassador to Turkey during World War I brought him center stage to Middle Eastern affairs and the breakup of the Ottoman Empire. Sent to Constantinople by Woodrow Wilson in 1913, he held the ambassadorship through the first two years of war and the beginning of the last fatal round of Armenian massacres. He aided Allied personnel in Turkey after it sided with the Central Powers, and he took the initiative to notify Washington and the world of the plight of the Armenians. Other accomplishments included helping save the lives of Jewish settlers in Palestine and serving as technical advisor on Turkish affairs at the Paris peace negotiations in 1919. He joined in the formation of the Armenian Relief Committee, a charitable organization that preceded Near East Relief, and after the war he received from President Wilson an appointment to become chairman of a special commission to investigate the persecution of Jews in Poland. A crowning philanthropic achievement was the massive resettlement under League of Nations auspices of more than one million Greeks exiled from Turkey after the Greco-Turkish War. His last important office was as an American delegate to the World Monetary and Economic Conference in London in 1933. The papers in this collection reflect Morgenthau's many activities as a public servant. Material relating to his family, while sketchy and incomplete, includes the manuscript of an early autobiographical essay, various genealogical and family memorabilia, and a smattering of correspondence that is strongest not in the Family Papers series, but in the Letterbooks series. Covering the years 1922-1940, the letterbooks contain some correspondence outside the family, but are notable for the handwritten copies of the private messages that Morgenthau sent to his wife, to his son, Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau (1891-1967), and to a few other children and relatives. Also important in revealing the personal side of his career and involvements are the diaries Morgenthau kept. Clustered in two principal groupings, 1871-1886 and 1917-1948, they are perhaps most valuable for the decade beginning with the American entry into World War I. Entries for Morgenthau's Paris