I. Correspondence to and from the IRL.
Dates
- Creation: 1893-1921
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material.
Extent
12.4 linear feet (17 volumes and 25 boxes)Arrangement
Organized into the following series:
- A. Correspondence
- B. Circular letters
Physical Location
Harvard Depository and onsite
General note
Correspondence ca. 1893-1921, primarily to and from Prescott F. Hall as Secretary of the Immigration Restriction League, and also to and from other IRL members. A large amount of the correspondence consists of replies to form letters, or "circulars," sent out by the IRL to gauge public opinion and solicit support. These replies range from short notes stating support, to long letters detailing the respondents' views on immigration. Correspondents include presidents of many prominent colleges and universities, as well as public figures such as Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Theodore Roosevelt, Alexander Graham Bell, Louis Brandeis, and Madison Grant. Also includes "on-the-road" updates by James Prescott, which are mainly updates on proceedings in Washington, D.C.
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.
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