Handwritten, typed and carbon documents and letters, many addressed to William R. Day (Assistant Secretary of State May 3, 1897-April 27, 1898, Secretary of State April 28, 1898-September 16, 1898), some produced by him. One or more pages each.
Important archive of documents from William Day’s brief tenure as Assistant Secretary of State (in which he assumed most of the duties of the aged and ineffective Secretary John Sherman) and then Secretary of State, a period that saw the United States’ growing involvement in the ongoing rebellion in Cuba, culminating in the mysterious explosion that sank the battleship Maine and sent America to war with Spain. The archive has been in the possession of the Day family and descendants to this time. It presents prime source material revealing the march to war that was spurred on by the “yellow journalism” of William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. Among the highlights of the collection: Carbon typescript report to President McKinley of the situation in Cuba, June 22, 1897, 22 pages, unsigned, but containing “observations while in Cuba on the special mission which you did me the great honor to trust to my care.” Section headings include “Cause of the War”; “Social Conditions”; “Military Situation”; “Atrocities”; and “Political Possibilities.” * Typed letter signed by the U.S. Ambassador in Spain, Stewart Woodford, to President William McKinley, Jan. 28th, 1898: “…I have made the necessary preliminary arrangements for the negotiation of a commercial treaty between Spain, Cuba and the United States. I regard the successful and early consummation of this treaty as very important. It seems to me vital. Unless some accident shall occur, such a treaty should obtain for us the practical control of the Cuban markets… We have secured everything except the actual termination of hostilities in Cuba…” * Typescript “Insurgent Civil Administration,” 11 pages, regarding the insurrection in the Philippines both before and after the U.S. occupation, “…The problem of how to deal with Aguinaldo’s Government and troops will necessarily be accompanied with embarrassment and difficulty, and will require much tact and shill in its solution. The United States Government through its Naval Commander has to some extent made use of them for a distinct military purpose, viz: to harass and annoy the Spanish troops, to wear them out in the trenches, to blockade Manila on the land side, and to do as much damage as possible to the Spanish Government prior to the arrival of our troops…” Undated, but 1898. * “Instructions to Blockading Vessels and Cruisers” – Carbon typescript, 8, [3] pp., largely concerned with the legality and procedures. Undated, c.1898. * A typed translation of the so-called “De Lôme Letter” written by Enrique Dupuy de Lôme, the Spanish Minister of Cuba, to politician Don Jose Canalegas, which was stolen despite being under diplomatic protection. In it he referred to the President William McKinley as "weak and catering to the rabble and, besides, a low politician who desires to leave a door open to himself and to stand well with the jingos of his party." On February 9, 1898, the letter was published in William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal, rousing public animosity to Spain. The letter has a number of ms. corrections to the translation. Early 1898. * “Extracts Referring to the Maine from the Personal Letters of Judge Day to General [Fitzhugh] Lee” – typescript, 9 pp. Early 1898. And much much more.
Condition:
Varying amounts of wear, some documents and letters incomplete, occasional dampstaining but still quite legible, an important archive worthy of study.