Thomas St. John Gaffney papers, 1887-1941

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Summary

Creators:
William, German Emperor, II, 1859-1941, Gaffney, T. St. John (Thomas St. John), 1864-1945, Cambon, Jules, 1845-1935, and Sternburg, Hermann Speck von, Freiherr, 1852-1908
Abstract:
Correspondence, writings, and printed matter, relating to international relations, the World War I war guilt question, reparations, Irish independence, American domestic politics and foreign policy, and Jews. Includes correspondence with Kaiser Wilhelm II in exile, Baron Hermann Speck von Sternberg (German ambassador to the United States), and Jules Cambon (French ambassador to Germany). Also available on microfilm (5 reels).
Extent:
3 manuscript boxes, 2 oversize boxes, 1 envelope (3.0 Linear Feet)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Thomas St. John Gaffney papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains materials largely pertaining to the war guilt question after WWI, reparations, Irish independence, American domestic politics and foreign policy, Jews, and the activities of Kaiser Wilhelm II in exile. After his forced resignation in 1915, Gaffney returned to Germany a number of times and continued his interactions with German officials and other diplomats. Although Gaffney's relationship with Sir Roger Casement was one of the motivating factors for his resignation, the collection contains little on the Irish nationalist.

Gaffney's Correspondence provides the most information into the breadth of his political interests and activities from before his appointment as consul general to after the publication of his memoir Breaking the Silence. Of particular note in this series is a letter to Herbert Hoover in 1929 regarding war guilt and reparations, punctuated with a handwritten note by Kaiser Wilhelm II.

The Scrapbooks series contains correspondence, clippings, and photographs compiled by Gaffney documenting his relationship with Kaiser Wilhelm II in exile in Doorn. Loose items filed within the scrapbook pages were left in place.

The biographical materials in the Clippings and Collected materials series are comprised of articles by and about Gaffney printed in American and German newspapers. Among the collected materials filed by subject in this series are German propaganda flyers from WWI published by the Fichte-Bunde and distributed in the United States.

Gaffney's Speeches and Writings focus mostly on his interpretations of the War Guilt Clause in the Treaty of Versailles and its implications on Germany and German-Americans. The researcher should be aware that some writings are under the pen name Arthur Fleming. Additional writings are filed by subject in the Clippings and Collected materials series.

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
1864
Born, Limerick, Ireland
1882
Came to the United States
1889
Admitted to the New York Bar
1897
President, Patriotic League of America
Circa 1900
Co-author with Joseph Smith, American in the Orient: The United States, Russia, and France and the Anglo-Japanese Treaty
1902
Named Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by French President émile Loubet
1905
Conferred by King Leopold of Belgium with the officer's cross of the order of Leopold II
1905-1913
Consul General for Dresden, appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt
1913-1915
Consul General for Munich, appointed by President Woodrow Wilson
1915 November
Forced to resign after making partisan statements in support of Germany
1930
Author, Breaking the Silence: England, Ireland, Wilson and the War
1945
Died
Acquisition information:
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 1942.
Arrangement:

The collection is organized into 4 series: Correspondence, Speeches and Writings, Clippings and Collected materials, and Scrapbooks

Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection may not be used without permission of the Archivist. Microfilm access available. Materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Thomas St. John Gaffney papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
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