Woodrow Wilson: A Guide to Selected Resources at the Mudd Manuscript Library: Selected Holdings at Other Institutions

While the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library holds a very comprehensive set of Wilson documents, other repositories also hold significant collections of Wilsoniana; the originals of many of the documents at Mudd, especially from the Papers of Woodrow Wilson Project Records, are held within collections at other repositories. Although the following is by no means an exhaustive list of Wilson collections, it should guide the researcher to other notable collections.

The University of Virginia Press provides limited access to the digitized version of the Papers of Woodrow, edited by Arthur S. Link. The Rotunda Digital Edition includes the complete contents of the landmark letterpress edition of the papers, with nearly 35,000 documents across 69 volumes. Please ask a librarian at your home institution for access should you find that you are not able to use the database.

Please see the Library of Congress's online catalog for more information on these collections and how to use them for research purposes. Along with the following manuscript collections, the Library of Congress also holds many publications, including newspapers, journals, and monographs, pertinent to research on Woodrow Wilson. Please see the Library of Congress's website for more information.

• Papers of Woodrow Wilson, 1786-1957
  • Library of Congress control number: mm 73046029
  • Extent: 278,700 items, 1,160 containers plus 36 oversize, 542 microfilm reels.
  • Summary: Personal, family, and official correspondence, drafts and proofs of books, articles, speeches, academic lectures, scrapbooks, shorthand notes, and memorabilia relating chiefly to Wilson's presidential administrations. Includes minutes and other documents on the Paris Peace Conference. Includes previously restricted correspondence (1915-1923) between President Wilson and his second wife, Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, as well as other family and personal papers of Mrs. Wilson.
• Papers of Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, 1833-1961
  • Library of Congress control number: mm 79045930
  • Extent: 19,000 items, 71 containers, 28.4 linear feet.
  • Summary: Correspondence, diary notes, drafts of Wilson's autobiography, "My Memoir" (1938), financial and legal papers, genealogical material, printed material, memorabilia, and other papers. Chiefly correspondence with leaders in American political life and society and pertaining primarily to social affairs.
• Papers of Ray Stannard Baker, 1836-1947 (bulk 1907-1944)
  • Library of Congress control number: mm 78011593
  • Extent 30,000 items, 138 containers, 97 microfilm reels, 55.6 linear feet.
  • Summary: Correspondence, diaries, journals, notebooks, drafts of books and articles, family papers, scrapbooks, clippings, and printed matter concerning Baker's career in newspaper and magazine writing especially with the Chicago Record and McClure's Magazine, his role in the Paris Peace Conference, and his family and early life. Subjects include progressivism, labor conditions, and development of industrialism. Papers collected by Baker for his biography of Woodrow Wilson consist of Wilson's correspondence including letters to Ellen Axson Wilson, interviews, and other material relating to Wilson and his family. Also includes a bibliography of Baker's writings, portions of the autobiography of Robert M. La Follette (1855-1925), and material relating to Baker's study of African Americans in the Progressive era, "Following the Color Line."
• Additional collections:
  • Papers of Newton Diehl Baker, circa 1898-1962
  • Papers of Tasker Howard Bliss, 1870-1930
  • Papers of Josephus Daniels, 1806-1948 (bulk 1913-1921)
  • Papers of Robert Lansing, 1831-1935 (bulk 1914-1920)
  • Papers of Breckinridge Long, 1486-1948 (bulk 1910-1948)
  • Papers of Joseph P. Tumulty, 1898-1969 (bulk 1913-1940)

While NARA is not the official repository of the presidential papers of Woodrow Wilson, it does hold collections related to Wilson. For a subject or author search, please use NARA 's Archival Research Catalog (ARC) with the phrase "Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924."

• Record Group 59: General Records of the Department of State, 1756 - 1999
  • Correspondence of Secretary William Jennings Bryan with President Woodrow Wilson, 1913 – 1915
    • ARC identifier: 601686
    • Extent: 9 linear inches
    • Summary: This series consists of letters between President Woodrow Wilson and Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan. These letters concern appointments to the U.S. diplomatic service, the drafting of treaties with foreign nations, and questions arising in the diplomatic relations of the United States . Many of the Secretary's letters refer diplomatic dispatches and notes to the President for his information, comment, or approval. The letters received from the President contain his comments on the matters thus referred.
  • Personal and Confidential Letters to the President, 08/06/1915 - 07/09/1918
    • ARC identifier: 601702
    • Extent: 1 linear inch
    • Summary: This series consists of press copies of personal and confidential letters sent by Secretary of State Robert Lansing to President Woodrow Wilson. The letters report on conversations with ministers of foreign nations, dispatches received from U.S. diplomatic and consular officers, proposed treaties, notes to foreign governments, applications for appointment in the Department, and other matters concerning departmental administration and U.S. foreign relations.

Please see the Yale University Library online catalog, Orbis, and the Manuscripts and Archives On-Line Finding Aids for more information on these collections and how to use them for research purposes.

• Edward Mandell House papers, 1885-1938 (inclusive)
  • Call Number: MS 466
  • Extent: 201.75 linear ft.
  • Summary: The papers consist of correspondence, diaries, memoirs, writings, photographs, memorabilia, and other papers documenting Edward M. House's personal life and political career. The diary details his childhood experiences and also notes political observations (1912-1924). Materials relating to the Paris Peace Conference include minutes of meetings of the Supreme Council and memoranda from various countries presenting claims. Writings include essays, reviews, novels, and other works. Correspondence includes letters to and from Woodrow Wilson, Charles Seymour, American and foreign politicians, and newspaper and political journalists.

• Frank Lyon Polk papers, 1883-1942 (inclusive), 1915-1921 (bulk)
  • Call Number: MS 656
  • Extent: 28 linear ft. (63 boxes, 5 folios)
  • Summary: The papers consist of correspondence, letterbooks, documents, diaries, subject files and other materials documenting the personal life and professional career of Frank Lyon Polk. The bulk of the material relates to Polk's Department of State service and includes correspondence with political figures, letterpress copybooks (1915-1917), and diaries (1915-1920). Materials relating to the American Commission to Negotiate Peace and the League of Nations are also included.