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Title: Thomas St. John Gaffney papers
Date (inclusive): 1887-1941
Collection Number: XX227
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
3 manuscript boxes, 2 oversize boxes
(3.0 Linear Feet)
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).
Creator:
William, German Emperor, II, 1859-1941
Creator:
Gaffney, T. St. John (Thomas St. John), 1864-1945
Creator:
Cambon, Jules, 1845-1935
Creator:
Sternburg, Hermann Speck von, Freiherr, 1852-1908
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
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.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1942.
[Identification of item], Thomas St. John Gaffney papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Available on microfilm (5 reels).
| 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 |
Scope and Content of Collection
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.
The collection is organized into 4 series: Correspondence, Speeches and Writings, Clippings and Collected materials, and Scrapbooks
Sir Roger Casement Papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Diplomats -- United States
World War, 1914-1918 -- Reparations
Jews
World War, 1914-1918 -- Causes
Germany -- Foreign relations -- United States
Great Britain -- Foreign relations
Ireland -- History -- 20th century
United States -- Foreign relations -- Germany
United States. Department of State