Register of the Thomas St. John Gaffney papers

Finding aid prepared by Samira Bozorgi

Hoover Institution Library and Archives

434 Galvez Mall

Stanford University

Stanford, CA 94305-6003

hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu

URL: http://www.hoover.org/library-and-archives

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

Access

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.

Use

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

Acquisition Information

Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1942.

Preferred Citation

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

Alternate Forms Available

Available on microfilm (5 reels).

Biographical Note

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.

Arrangement

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

Related Materials

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

Microfilm Reel Content Guide

Downloadable PDF file of the Microfilm Reel Content Guide

Correspondence 1887-1941

Scope and Contents note

Consists of letters, invitations, and enclosures. Arranged alphabetically by last name.

reel 1

General 1890-1940

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 1

reel 1

Unidentified 1903-1934

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 2

reel 1

Bethmann-Hollweg, Theobald von 1917

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 3

reel 1

Barnes, Harry Elmer 1924-1933

Scope and Contents note

Box/Folder 1 : 4. Includes enclosed correspondence regarding William Dodd.

reel 1

Belgian Legation 1902

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 5

reel 1

Bigelow, Poultney 1930

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 6

reel 1

Boehm-Tettelbach, Hans W. 1931

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 7

reel 1

Borah, William E. 1928

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 8

reel 1

Bothmer, Felix von Reichsgraf 1931

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 9

reel 1

Cambon, Jules 1900-1903

Scope and Contents note

Box/Folder 1 : 9. See also Scrapbooks.

reel 1

Carter, Boake 1940

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 11

reel 1

Carter, Frederic 1887

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 12

reel 1

Chamberlain, Neville 1938

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 13

reel 1

Cohalan, Daniel F. 1931

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 14

reel 1

Copeland, Royal S. 1931

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 15

reel 1

Dieckhoff, Hans Heinrich 1938

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 16

reel 1

Draeger, Phil H.C. Hans 1931-1936

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 17

reel 1

Emerson, Edwin 1931

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 18

reel 1

Epp, Franz Ritter von 1935-1936

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 19

reel 1

Fein, Claus 1936

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 20

reel 1

Frick, Wilhelm 1933

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 21

reel 1

Gerard, James Watson 1915

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 22

reel 1

Gibbons, James, Cardinal 1915

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 23

reel 1

Hitler, Adolf 1931-1933

Scope and Contents note

Box/Folder 1 : 24. Includes responses from secretary of Wilhelm Bruckner.

reel 1

Hoover, Herbert 1928-1931

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 25

reel 1

Jagow, Kurt 1929

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 26

reel 1

Kasenkamp, Georg 1932

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 27

reel 1

Kiep, Otto Carl 1933

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 28

reel 1

Lössl, Edler von and Sigmund Ritter 1915

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 29

reel 1

McDonald, J. Ramsey 1929

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 30

reel 1

Papen, Franz von 1932

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 31

reel 1

Reichenau, Walther von 1929

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 32

reel 1

Rochambeau, René? de 1902

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 33

reel 1

Roddie, Stewart undated

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 34

reel 1

Rudi 1897-1898

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 35

reel 1

Russell, Charles 1903

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 36

reel 1

Russian Imperial embassy, Washington 1902

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 37

reel 1

St. Clair, C.M. 1934-1935

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 38

reel 1

Soden, G. 1925-1927

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 39

reel 1

South African Republic embassy, Brussels 1900

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 40

reel 1

Schnee, M. 1931

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 41

reel 1

Sell, Ulrich von 1933 1938

Scope and Contents note

Box/Folder 1 : 42. See also Scrapbooks--Kaiser Wilhelm II in exile.

reel 1

Shipstead, Henrik 1928-1929

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 43

reel 1

Sternburg, Hermann Speck von 1902-1908

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 44

reel 1

Stoddard, John L. 1915-1917

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 45

reel 1

Sullivan, Mark 1933

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 46

reel 1

Wegerer, Alfred von 1934

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 47

reel 1

William II 1929-1941

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 48

reel 1

Letters of gratitude for helping English and Americans in Munich 1915-1916

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 49

reel 1

Miscellaneous invitations 1891-1928

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 50

Speeches and Writings 1900-1933 undated

Scope and Contents note

Consists of typescript and handwritten drafts of writings, and some printed copies

Arrangement note

Arranged chronologically

reel 1

Untitled writings on misrepresentation of Germany in the foreign press, Vatican and Dresden Courts, Irish and Italian immigrants in the United States, and Kaiser Wilhelm II undated

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 51

reel 1

"American Intervention in Russia in 1918: The Lytton Report" undated

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 52

reel 1

"An Appeal to the Conscience of America, handwritten and typescript drafts undated

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 53-54

reel 1

"End of the Fantastic Reparation Claims of the Allies" undated

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 55

reel 1

"England's Guilt and England's Hypocrisy: An American Verdict" undated

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 56

reel 1

"The League of Nations and the Reconciliation of the Peoples," draft undated

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 57

reel 1

Letter to the editor, The Herald Tribune, handwritten draft undated

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 58

reel 1

Letter to the editor, The New York Sun undated

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 59

reel 1

"New York in Danger of Jewish Domination" undated

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 60

reel 1

"Notes and comments" undated

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 1 : 61

reel 2

"The Origin of the Guilt Clause of the Versailles Treaty the Responsibility of Secretary of State Lansing and James Brown Scott" undated

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 1

reel 2

"Wilsonism Dominant in Chicago" undated

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 2

reel 2

"The Alleged European Coalition, Against the United States During the Spanish-American War," printed copy 1900

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 3

reel 2

"The Anglo-Japanese Treaty: A Last Work on Pauncefote--His American Champions Utterly Routed--British Duplicity During the Spanish War," printed copy 1900

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 4

reel 2

Letter to the editor, New York World 1915 August 24

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 5

reel 2

Reports from Munich as consul general 1915

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 6

reel 2

"The Alleged Potsdam War Crown Council of July 5, 1914, Sweeping Repudiation of the Myth By the Kaiser" after 1915

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 7

reel 2

"Morgenthau's Potsdam War Council Exposed as a Fake in the 'Suddeutsche Monatshefte'" circa 1918

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 8

reel 2

"'Terrorism' in Our Own Ranks, Instances of Unexampled Brutality Practiced on American Doughboys During and After the War by Martinets Who Criticize Conditions in German Labor Camps," Deutsche Zeitung after 1919

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 9

reel 2

"The German Americans During the World War," speech at the Concord Society of America 1926 November 28

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 10

reel 2

Letter to the editor, The Commonweal 1928 August 6

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 11

reel 2

Letter to the editor, Herald Tribune, "Reparations and the War Guilt Problem" 1929 April 26

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 12

reel 2

"The Kaiser Repudiates the Potsdam Conference 'Legend,'" Current History 1930 February

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 13

reel 2

"War Guilt Commission," Current History 1930 March

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 14

reel 2

Letter to the editor, North American Review 1932 August 1

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 15

reel 2

"Immigration and the Crime Wave," The Commonweal 1932 September 28

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 16

reel 2

Writings published in American Monthly 1932-1933

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 17

reel 2

"The Siberian Adventure of Woodrow Wilson, More About the Red Cross," American Monthly 1933 January

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 18

reel 2

Letter to the editor, Evening Post 1933 April 8

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 19

reel 2

"An Open Letter," Observer's Post 1933 May 1

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 20

reel 2

Letter to the editor, The Herald Tribune 1933 June 4

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 21

reel 2

Quotations and notes undated

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 22

Clippings and Collected Materials 1897-1940

Scope and Contents note

Consists of clippings from newspapers and journals, writings, and correspondence

Arrangement note

Arranged alphabetically by subject

reel 2

Africa 1929

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 23

reel 2

Atrocities and war conduct 1917-1940

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 24-25

reel 2

Belgium 1928

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 26

Biographical

reel 2

Undated

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 27

reel 2

1897-1905

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 28

reel 2

1911-1915

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 29

reel 2

1916-1919

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 30

reel 2

1920-1924

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 31

reel 2

1925-1929

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 32

reel 2

1930-1932

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 33

reel 2

1933

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 34

reel 2

1934-1936

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 35

reel 2

1939

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 36

reel 2

Barnes, Harry Elmer 1933

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 37

reel 2

Canada 1918 undated

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 38

reel 2

Church 1915-1936

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 39

reel 2

England 1914-1940

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 2 : 40-41

reel 3

France 1917-1933

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 1-2

reel 3

German-Americans 1934

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 3

reel 3

German propaganda 1925-1926 undated

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 4-5

reel 3

Germany 1914-1933

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 6

reel 3

Hitler, Adolf 1933-1940

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 7

reel 3

Ireland undated

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 8

reel 3

"Jewish question" 1931-1933

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 9-10

reel 3

League of Nations 1919-1930

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 11

reel 3

Lloyd George, David undated

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 12

reel 3

Neutrality 1918

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 13

reel 3

Poems undated

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 14

reel 3

"Propaganda and lies" 1914-1925

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 15

reel 3

Reparations undated

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 16

reel 3

Russia 1931

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 17

reel 3

Shipstead, Henrik 1928-1929

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 18

Treaties

reel 3

General 1918-1927

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 19

reel 3

Revision 1930-1933

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 20

reel 3

Versailles 1921-1931

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 21

reel 3

United States and war 1918-1931

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 22

reel 3

War guilt 1926-1931

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 23-24

reel 3

Wile, Frederic William 1928

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 25

reel 3

Wilson, Woodrow 1916-1932

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 26

reel 3

Miscellany 1914 undated

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 3 : 27

Scrapbooks 1893-1940

Scope and Contents note

Contains clippings, correspondence, invitations, menus, postcards, and photographs. Arranged by topic or form.

reel 4

Correspondence and invitations (2 scrapbooks) 1893-1902

Scope and Contents note

Box/Folder 4 : 1-4

reel 4

Personal and biographical clippings 1899-1905

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 4 : 5

reel 4

Kaiser Wilhelm II in exile (A) 1927-1939

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 4 : 6-7

reel 5

Kaiser Wilhelm II in exile (B) 1927-1937

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 5 : 1-3

reel 5

Breaking the Silence reviews and related correspondence 1931-1940

Scope and Contents

Box/Folder 5 : 4-5