Collections : [Rare Book & Manuscript Library]

A collection of about 250 uncatalogued items consisting of correspondence with various Governors of the State of New Jersey, 1908-1936. Governors represented in the collection are Woodrow Wilson, John Franklin Fort, and Morgan F. Larson. The subject of the correspondence is extremely varied and is typical of the material crossing the desk of the average governor. Typical items are a letter from a local Woman's Christian Temperance Union chapter complaining about conditions at a local militia camp; a diplomat outraged at the treatment afforded a countryman at a local amusement park; a memorial erected to a Mexican aviator killed in the state; official transmittal of the Supreme Court decision in the Delaware River Basin Case involving New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; campaign contributions; and intra-party correspondence during the Wilson Gubernatorial administration. There is also a collection of three scrapbooks consisting of correspondence from contributors to the Wilson campaign chest, arranged by state and town of the correspondent. The collection offers insight into the grass roots appeal that Woodrow Wilson had for the poor and lower middle class American of the early 20th century. Also, a binder of newspaper clippings concerning Woodrow Wilson and his career, 1910-1912, that was compiled and presented to Wilson by Joseph Hayter of New Brunswick, N.J. on June 3, 1912.