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Sumner Welles Papers | Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

Collection Overview

Title: Sumner Welles PapersAdd to your cart.

Primary Creator: Welles, Sumner

Extent: 113.14 Cubic Feet

Arrangement:

The Papers are divided into 14 series.

Prior to accession into the FDR Library, the collection was in the possession of Benjamin Welles, son of Sumner Welles. While in Benjamin Welles’ possession, the collection was arranged through the work of several scholars, as well as Benjamin Welles himself. This work resulted in the creation of several indexes. The scholars included Terry E. Nadeau of the Ford Foundation who did the basic organizing of the collection: removing it from storage containers, placing it in filing cabinets, and creating most of the card file, 1919-1943. The card file was completed by Mrs. Frank W. Graff, whose husband did extensive research in the papers during 1972-74. Mrs. Graff also developed the cross-filing system while assisting in the research of her husband and Mr. Benjamin Welles.

Researchers should note several filing inconsistencies in the Welles Papers. (1) Names beginning with de or d', such as D'Alessandro, were filed both under the letter D and the letter A. (2) Again, correspondence with an individual may be filed under the person's name or the institution. (3) Finally, in cases of Spanish double surnames, e.g. Maximino Avila Camacho, letters were filed under both names. Although efforts were made to regularize (1) and (3), researchers should check under both letters to be certain, and also consult the card file.

Abstract

The Sumner Welles Papers contain historical manuscript materials ranging in date from 1909 to 1959. The bulk relate to Welles' tenure as Assistant Secretary of State and Under Secretary of State, from 1933-1943. Materials include personal and official correspondence, speech and article files, scrapbooks, and documentation from other repositories gathered by family and scholars following Welles' death.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The Sumner Welles Papers contain approximately 113 cu. ft. of historical manuscript materials, ranging in date from 1909 to 1959, the bulk related to Welles' tenure as Assistant Secretary of State and Under Secretary of State, from 1933-1943. Materials include personal and official correspondence, speech and article files, scrapbooks, and documentation from Welles' work abroad. There is also a small subject index, and special card indexes for Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Major Correspondents, and a carded chronology of major events in the life of Sumner Welles. There is also information pertaining to his resignation in 1943. Box 91 contains some of these papers, including one folder with the title “Resignation Letters.”

Finally, there are copies of correspondence from various repositories which Mr. Benjamin Welles accumulated during the course of his research on his father's life. These are filed in chronological order at the end of the collection (Series 13).

Additional information may be found in the Barbara L. Gellman Collection. The Gellman collection consists of documents, notes, and other materials assembled by Irwin F. Gellman for his book Secret Affairs, Franklin Roosevelt, Cordell Hull, and Sumner Welles (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995).

Collection Historical Note

Benjamin Sumner Welles (October 14, 1892 – September 24, 1961) was a US diplomat and government official, who served in the presidential administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933 until 1943.

Born in New York City on October 14, 1892, he was the son of Benjamin Sumner Welles Jr. and Frances Wyeth Swan. Welles preferred to go by the name Sumner, as opposed to his given name of Benjamin.

Sumner attended Harvard College, in the study of economics, as well as Iberian literature and culture. After graduation in 1914, Sumner entered the US State Department in the Foreign Service, on the advice of family friend, Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Welles and Roosevelt families were connected through marriage and other acquaintances. Welles’ first assignment overseas was as the third secretary in the US Embassy in Tokyo, Japan.

On April 14, 1915, Welles married Esther Slater. They had two children: Benjamin (1916) and Arnold (1918).

Welles became a specialist in Latin American affairs, also becoming fluent in Spanish. In 1919, he served in an appointment in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 1921, Welles was appointed head of the Division of Latin American Affairs, by Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes. In March 1922, Welles resigned from the State Department over disagreement with the US Policy of using the military to protect business interests. In 1923, he returned at the request of Secretary Hughes, as special commissioner to the Dominican Republic.

Also in 1923, Welles’ wife, Esther, obtained a divorce from him on grounds of abandonment.

In 1924, President Coolidge appointed Welles mediator of a political dispute in Honduras, which resulted in a treaty. Welles then married Mathilde Scott Townsend on June 27, 1925. He was shortly thereafter dismissed by President Coolidge concerning Mathilde, who was recently divorced from the President’s friend, U.S. Senator Peter Gerry of Rhode Island.

Over the next seven years, Welles turned to writing a history of the Dominican Republic, Naboth’s Vineyard: The Dominican Republic, 1844-1924 (1928). He also served as an unofficial advisor to the Dominican Republic’s President, Horacio Vásquez.

In 1932, Welles assisted the Roosevelt presidential campaign on issues of foreign policy. The following year, President Roosevelt appointed Welles Assistant Secretary of State for Latin American Affairs. Within weeks however, he would be appointed special envoy to Cuba, to help resolve political unrest there.

In 1937, Welles was appointed Under Secretary of State by Roosevelt. As Under Secretary, Welles would become a trusted advisor of the President on foreign affairs. He developed a rivalry with Secretary of State Cordell Hull, which led to conflict within the department, as Roosevelt tended to favor both men. Welles led the U.S. delegation to the Pan American Conference in September, 1939. He would visit Europe in early 1940, to assess conditions there and to present U.S. peacemaking proposals to the war’s combatants. During his time as Under Secretary, Welles opposed the adjustment of immigration quotas to allow more Jews to escape from Germany in the late 1930s.

On July 23, 1940, while in the role of Acting Secretary of State, Welles publicly condemned the Soviet Union’s annexation of the Baltic States. Known as the “Welles Declaration,” it refused US recognition of Soviet control there.

In September, 1940, Welles accompanied FDR to Alabama for the funeral of House Speaker William B. Bankhead. On the return journey by train, while intoxicated, Welles solicited sex from two male African American porters. Reports of the incident were leaked to former US Ambassador to France, William Bullitt. Bullitt, who disliked Welles, and who sided with Hull in his rivalry with Welles, met with President Roosevelt to persuade Welles’ removal. Roosevelt felt the story was a libel campaign, and refused. Bullitt then reached out to Vice President Henry A. Wallace and Secretary Hull. Hull moved to dismiss Welles, and Bullitt next leaked the information to U.S. Senator Owen Brewster, a Roosevelt opponent. Brewster threatened a Senate inquiry. Now on the edge of a scandal, Roosevelt accepted Welles’ resignation on September 30, 1943.

After his resignation, Welles returned to speak for international causes, such as the formation of what would become the United Nations, an end to colonialism, and the establishment of Israel.

In 1944, he authored the book A Time for Decision (Harper & Brothers, 1944), in which he advocated the realignment of Germany’s borders, and the relocation of ethnic Germans, as well as the political division of Germany into 3 separate states. He also advocated for a European customs union, and the transfer of populations in Europe to align closer to international boundaries.

Welles also served as a commentator of international affairs, working with ABC Radio to provide radio commentary of the San Francisco Conference of the United Nations, in April, 1945.

He authored We Need Not Fail (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1948) which advocated a two state solution for Palestine and the establishment of the State of Israel, within an economic union. He received praise for his support of the establishment of Israel.

On December 7, 1948, Welles appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee. He was questioned on concerns of Soviet espionage in the State Department over the Alger Hiss Case. Later that month he suffered a heart attack. He continued to be both directly and indirectly effected by the investigations into Communist activity in the Federal Government by US Senator Joseph McCarthy, for several years. His wife, Mathilde, died of peritonitis in 1949 while on vacation in Switzerland with Welles.

Welles married a third time, this time to Harriette Appleton Post, a childhood friend, on January 8, 1952.

Welles died on September 24, 1961, at age 68, in Bernardsville, New Jersey. He is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery, in Washington, D.C.

Administrative Information

Repository: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

Access Restrictions: None

Use Restrictions: The writings of Franklin D. Roosevelt within this collection are in the public domain. The official writings of United States government officials within this collection are in the public domain. The writings of Eleanor Roosevelt within this collection are subject to Mrs. Roosevelt's literary estate. All other materials are subject to the United States Copyright law, 17 U.S.C. 101, et seq. Copyright in the unpublished writings of Sumner Welles was donated to the United States Government

Acquisition Source: Benjamin Welles

Acquisition Method:

The Sumner Welles Papers arrived at the Roosevelt Library in July 1995 and were processed by the archives staff and opened in the spring of 1996.

The collection was donated by Mr. Benjamin Welles.

Related Materials: The Papers of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt; Franklin D. Roosevelt: Papers pertaining to Family, Business and Personal Affairs; Franklin D. Roosevelt: Papers as Assistant Secretary of the Navy; and Franklin D. Roosevelt: Papers as President of the United States, 1933 -1945; also the papers of Adolf A. Berle, Francis P. Corrigan, Herbert C. Pell, Isador Lubin, Rexford G. Tugwell, Lowell Mellet, Samuel I. Rosenman, David Gray and Henry Wallace; Louis Fischer Papers, 1938-1948; Barbara F. Gellman Papers, 1940-1991; Sumner Welles: FDR’s Global Strategist (Benjamin Welles, St. Martin’s Press, 1997); Secret Affairs: Franklin Roosevelt, Cordell Hull, and Sumner Welles (Irwin F. Gellman, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995).

Box and Folder Listing


Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Personal Business, 1909-1950],
[Series 2: Office Correspondence, 1920-1943],
[Series 3: Personal Correspondence, 1943-1950],
[Series 4: Major Correspondents, 1925-1950],
[Series 5: Welles Mission, January-April 1940],
[Series 6: State Department Posts, 1920-1932],
[Series 7: Europe Files, 1933-1943],
[Series 8: Latin America Files, 1933-1943],
[Series 9: Postwar Foreign Policy Files, 1940-1943],
[Series 10: Speeches and Articles Files, 1928-1951],
[Series 11: Appointment Diaries, 1934-1943],
[Series 12: Scrapbooks],
[Series 13: Copies of Sumner Welles Documents, 1915-1943],
[Series 14: Additional Subject Indexes],
[All]


Series 10: Speeches and Articles Files, 1928-1951Add to your cart.

Arranged in chronological order. Includes drafts of Welles' books as well as manuscripts sent to him for review by other authors and copies of documents from other collections such as the Moffat Diary, Ciano Diary, and Nuremberg Trials.

(Boxes 194-211)


Box 194Add to your cart.

Washington Democratic Meeting, 1928Add to your cart.

Campaign Speech, 1928Add to your cart.

Pan American Situation, December 25, 1928Add to your cart.

University of Virginia, August 17, 1929Add to your cart.

Latin American Relations, October 6, 1932Add to your cart.

Monroe Doctrine, April 15, 1933Add to your cart.

Speeches, 1934Add to your cart.

Speeches, 1935Add to your cart.

Speeches, 1936Add to your cart.

Speeches, 1937Add to your cart.

Speeches, 1938Add to your cart.

Speeches, 1939Add to your cart.

Speeches, 1939Add to your cart.

Speeches, 1940Add to your cart.

Speeches, 1940Add to your cart.

Box 195Add to your cart.

Speeches, 1940Add to your cart.

Speeches, 1941Add to your cart.

Speeches Draft, December 8, 1941Add to your cart.

Speeches, January-February 1942Add to your cart.

Speeches, May 1942Add to your cart.

Speeches, June 1942Add to your cart.

Speeches, October-December 1942Add to your cart.

Speeches, Unidentified, 1942Add to your cart.

Speeches, January 1943Add to your cart.

Box 196Add to your cart.

Speeches, February-March 1943Add to your cart.

Speeches, April 1943Add to your cart.

Speeches, July 1943Add to your cart.

Speeches, October 16, 1943Add to your cart.

Speeches, October 28, 1943Add to your cart.

Speeches, May 18, 1944Add to your cart.

Speeches, May 28, 1944Add to your cart.

New School for Social Research, May 29, 1944Add to your cart.

Lafayette College, Easton, PA, June 24, 1944Add to your cart.

United Nations Council, October 4, 1944Add to your cart.

Americas Foundation, October 12, 1944Add to your cart.

Book & Authors' Lunch, October 17, 1944Add to your cart.

Speech, October 24, 1944Add to your cart.

Box 197Add to your cart.

Armistice Day, November 12, 1944Add to your cart.

Academy of Political Science, November 15, 1944Add to your cart.

Council on World Affairs, November 20, 1944Add to your cart.

St. Louis Win the Peace Forum, November 21, 1944Add to your cart.

New School for Social Research, November 27, 1944Add to your cart.

Freedom House, November 28, 1944Add to your cart.

League of Nations Association, New York, February 1, 1945Add to your cart.

American Jewish Committee, February 4, 1945Add to your cart.

Pan American League, Miami, February 22, 1945Add to your cart.

American Association for the United Nations, March 2, 1945Add to your cart.

New York Times Hall, April 11, 1945Add to your cart.

Hadassah, New York Chapter, April 15, 1945Add to your cart.

Columbia University, April 17, 1945Add to your cart.

Institute of International Education, April 19, 1945Add to your cart.

Milton Academy, May 9, 1945Add to your cart.

Phi Beta Kappa, Boston, June 27, 1945Add to your cart.

Box 198Add to your cart.

Freedom House Award, New York, October 7, 1945Add to your cart.

Willkie Memorial Building & Meeting, October 8, 1945-October 12, 1945Add to your cart.

American Christian Palestine Committee, May 14, 1946Add to your cart.

Pan American Association, May 24, 1946Add to your cart.

Inter-American Press Association, October 2, 1946Add to your cart.

Dubuque University Address, October 16, 1946Add to your cart.

Dafoe Memorial Lecture, October 18, 1946; October 21, 1946; October 23, 1946Add to your cart.

Committee on World Affairs, Cleveland, January 10, 1947Add to your cart.

Miami University, February 10, 1947Add to your cart.

Phillips Academy, May 16, 1947Add to your cart.

American Jewish Congress, Boston, May 19, 1947Add to your cart.

The Nation Associates, New York, October 13, 1947Add to your cart.

United Nations Association of Maryland, December 5, 1947Add to your cart.

American Association for the United Nations, December 17, 1947Add to your cart.

United Nations Association of Maryland, May 6, 1948Add to your cart.

Radio Broadcast to Italy, May 21, 1948Add to your cart.

Emergency Conference on Palestine, May 26, 1948Add to your cart.

Television-"Author Meets Critic", August 1, 1948Add to your cart.

Inauguration, Radio Station WCFM, October 10, 1948Add to your cart.

Introduction to Thornug book on (empty)Add to your cart.

Box 199Add to your cart.

American Jewish Congress, New York, November 17, 1948Add to your cart.

Zionist Organization of America, November 29, 1948Add to your cart.

Foreign Policy Assn./AAUN, Pittsburg, December 2, 1948Add to your cart.

Council on World Affairs, Cleveland, December 3, 1948Add to your cart.

Rochester Inst. Of Internatl. Affairs, December 11, 1948Add to your cart.

Milwaukee Town Hall, October 23, 1950Add to your cart.

Herald Tribune Broadcasts, 1944Add to your cart.

Herald Tribune Broadcasts, 1944Add to your cart.

Herald Tribune Broadcasts, 1945Add to your cart.

Herald Tribune Broadcasts, 1945Add to your cart.

Box 200Add to your cart.

Herald Tribune Broadcasts, 1946Add to your cart.

Herald Tribune Broadcasts, 1946Add to your cart.

Herald Tribune Broadcasts, 1947Add to your cart.

Herald Tribune Broadcasts, 1947Add to your cart.

Herald Tribune Broadcasts, 1948Add to your cart.

Herald Tribune Broadcasts, 1948Add to your cart.

American Broadcasting Series, May-June 1945Add to your cart.

American Broadcasting Series, May-June 1945Add to your cart.

Box 201Add to your cart.

Broadcasts Waltham Watch Company, 1944-1945Add to your cart.

Broadcasts, 1944-1945Add to your cart.

Broadcasts Blue Network, 1945Add to your cart.

Broadcasting, 1945Add to your cart.

Broadcasts WJW Enterprises, 1946Add to your cart.

Broadcasts WJW Enterprises, 1946Add to your cart.

Box 202Add to your cart.

Broadcasts WJW Enterprises, 1946Add to your cart.

Broadcasts, 1947Add to your cart.

Broadcasts, 1947Add to your cart.

Naboth's Vineyard: Correspondence, 1926-1928Add to your cart.

Naboth's Vineyard: Correspondence, 1928Add to your cart.

Naboth's Vineyard: Correspondence, 1928-1932Add to your cart.

Naboth's Vineyard: Letters Concerning, 1927-1936Add to your cart.

Naboth's Vineyard: Review ClippingsAdd to your cart.

Naboth's Vineyard: Reviewed by Angel MoralesAdd to your cart.

Naboth's Vineyard: Reviewed by Angel MoralesAdd to your cart.

Box 203Add to your cart.

Naboth's Vineyard: Spanish TranslationAdd to your cart.

Naboth's Vineyard: DraftAdd to your cart.

Naboth's Vineyard: Draft Materials (1)Add to your cart.

Naboth's Vineyard: Draft Materials (2)Add to your cart.

Naboth's Vineyard: Draft Materials (3)Add to your cart.

Where Are We Heading?Add to your cart.

Where Are We Heading?Add to your cart.

Box 204Add to your cart.

Time For Decision (entire box)Add to your cart.

Box 205Add to your cart.

Time For Decision: Draft MaterialsAdd to your cart.

Seven Decisions (1)Add to your cart.

Seven Decisions (2)Add to your cart.

Seven Decisions (3)Add to your cart.

Seven Decisions (4)Add to your cart.

Seven Decisions (5)Add to your cart.

Box 206Add to your cart.

Seven Decisions (6)Add to your cart.

Civic and National Personality, c., 1916Add to your cart.

Europe Report: Italy I (drafts), 1940Add to your cart.

Europe Report: Italy II (drafts), 1940Add to your cart.

Europe Report: Germany (drafts), 1940Add to your cart.

Europe Report: France (drafts), 1940Add to your cart.

Europe Report: England (drafts), 1940Add to your cart.

Speech MaterialsAdd to your cart.

Box 207Add to your cart.

Langer, W.L. & S.E. Gleason: Correspondence, 1947-1950Add to your cart.

Langer & Gleason: Chapters I-IVAdd to your cart.

Langer & Gleason: Chapters V-IXAdd to your cart.

Langer & Gleason: Chapters X-XIVAdd to your cart.

Langer & Gleason: Chapters XIV-XVIAdd to your cart.

Langer & Gleason: Chapters XVII-XXIIAdd to your cart.

Box 208Add to your cart.

Uruguay (drafts)Add to your cart.

Uruguay/Bolivia (drafts)Add to your cart.

Guerrant, E.O. Roosevelt's Good Neighbor Policy (gallery proofs)Add to your cart.

Orico, Oavaldo. Men of America (carbon)Add to your cart.

Schwebel, S.M. The Secretary General of the United NationsAdd to your cart.

Box 209Add to your cart.

Sturzo, Dom L. Italy and the Incoming WorldAdd to your cart.

Mondadori Documents (1)Add to your cart.

Mondadori Documents (2)Add to your cart.

Nurnberg Documents (1)Add to your cart.

Nurnberg Documents (2)Add to your cart.

Box 210Add to your cart.

Ciano Diary, January-July 1939Add to your cart.

Ciano Diary, August-December 1939Add to your cart.

Ciano Diary, 1940Add to your cart.

Ciano Diary, 1941Add to your cart.

Ciano Diary, 1942-February 1943Add to your cart.

Moffat Diary, 1927-1931Add to your cart.

Moffat Diary, 1932Add to your cart.

Box 211Add to your cart.

Moffat Diary, 1933Add to your cart.

Moffat Diary, 1934-1935Add to your cart.

Moffat Diary, 1937-1938Add to your cart.

Moffat Diary, 1939Add to your cart.

Moffat Diary, 1940-1941Add to your cart.

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Personal Business, 1909-1950],
[Series 2: Office Correspondence, 1920-1943],
[Series 3: Personal Correspondence, 1943-1950],
[Series 4: Major Correspondents, 1925-1950],
[Series 5: Welles Mission, January-April 1940],
[Series 6: State Department Posts, 1920-1932],
[Series 7: Europe Files, 1933-1943],
[Series 8: Latin America Files, 1933-1943],
[Series 9: Postwar Foreign Policy Files, 1940-1943],
[Series 10: Speeches and Articles Files, 1928-1951],
[Series 11: Appointment Diaries, 1934-1943],
[Series 12: Scrapbooks],
[Series 13: Copies of Sumner Welles Documents, 1915-1943],
[Series 14: Additional Subject Indexes],
[All]