urn:taro:utexas.cah.01051 A Guide to the Morris Sheppard Papers, 1894-1953 Original EAD encoding by Evan Hocker according to TARO 2 EAD 2002 Editing Instructions. August 2008 Finding aid written in English. Descriptive Summary Sheppard, Morris Morris Sheppard Papers 1894-1953 Materials are written in English. 14 ft. Dolph Briscoe Center for American History,The University of Texas at Austin The Morris Sheppard Papers reflect Sheppard's contributions as a U.S. Congressman and Senator, as well as his literary efforts. Biographical Note

Morris Sheppard was born May 28, 1875, in Wheatsville, Texas. He received his AB degree from the University of Texas in 1895 and his LLB in 1897. He also earned LLB degrees at Yale and Southern Methodist University, before beginning his law practice in Pittsburgh and Texarkana.

In 1902 Sheppard was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives to fill the space left vacant by his father’s death. He served until 1913 when he became a U.S. Senator, a post he would hold until his own death in 1941.

Among his notable legislative achievements, Sheppard introduced the law that would become the Eighteenth Amendment, outlawing intoxicating beverages and ushering in the era of prohibition. He also assisted Andrew J. Volstead in writing the prohibition enforcement law. Sheppard served as chairman of the expenditures committee for the Department of Agriculture and in 1932 became chair of the military affairs committee. Among his other committee assignments were commerce, irrigation and reclamation, appropriations, and manufactures.

Scope and Contents

The Morris Sheppard Papers reflect his contributions to national politics as well as his literary efforts. Included are political speeches written by Sheppard on a wide range of topics, as well as a large collection of speeches devoted to the Woodmen of the World Life Insurance Association.

Another large component of the papers consists of material relating to Sheppard’s work What Shakespeare Says About It: Comments of Shakespeare on Over Four Thousand Subjects. This includes typescripts, manuscript notes, typeset proofs, and galley proofs. The manuscript was created in the 1930s and published posthumously in 1953. The edited typescript includes a 25-page introductory biography of Sheppard condensed from the biography written by his daughter, Lucile Sheppard Keyes.

Access Restrictions

Unrestricted access.

Preferred Citation

Morris Sheppard Papers, 1894-1953, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

Detailed Description of the Papers Inventory 3N187 Speeches and addresses: 3N187 Agriculture, 1935 3N187 Business and economic policies, 1923-1940 and undated 3N187 Commerce and shipping, 1922-1939 and undated 3N187 Congressional career, 1936 3N187 Democratic Party, 1924-1934 and undated 3N187 Education, 1927 and undated 3N187 Fraternal and service organizations, 1919-1928 3N188 Fraternal and service organizations, 1931-1940 and undated 3N188 Military affairs, 1922-1939 and undated 3N188 New Deal, Franklin Roosevelt, and Sam Rayburn, 1934-1941 and undated 3N188 Prohibition, 1930-1935 and undated 3N188 Religion and religious beliefs, 1930-1934 and undated 3N188 Southern patriotism, 1897 and undated 3N188 Women’s Suffrage Amendment, 1918 3N188 Remarks about Morris Sheppard, 1936-1941 and undated 3N189 Printed Material: 3N189 Hearings and Reports of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds of the House of Representatives, 1st Session, 62nd Congress, embossed with Sheppard’s name, 1911 3N189 Report of the Mississippi Valley Committee of the Public Works Administration, annotated by Sheppard, 1934 3N189 “We Still Need a Bill of Rights,” by Raymond L. Wise, reprint from The Nation, March 11, 1939 3N189 “The Twenty-third Amendment,” by Raymond L. Wise, undated 3N189 Literary Productions: 3N189 Galley proofs: What Shakespeare Says About It, undated 3N190 Typescript (edited): What Shakespeare Says About It, compiled by Morris Sheppard 3N191 Typescript (carbon copy): What Shakespeare Says About It 3N192 Typescript (carbon copy): What Shakespeare Says About It 3N193 Typescript (carbon copy): What Shakespeare Says About It 3N194 Typescript (carbon copy): What Shakespeare Says About It 3N195 Typescript (carbon copy): What Shakespeare Says About It 3N195 Typescript proofs: What Shakespeare Says About It 3N196 Monograph: On the Southwest 2G193 Political Correspondence: 2G193 Letter to Gov. O.M. Roberts (copy), 1894 2G193 Letters written, 1912-1940 2G194 Letters received, 1912-1936 2G195 Letters received, 1936-1942 2G196 Speeches and addresses 2G196 Business, industry, and economic policies, 1910-1940 and undated 2G196 Campaign speeches, 1913-1940 and undated 2G196 The New Deal, 1934-1940 and undated 2G196 Commerce and shipping, 1905-1940 and undated 2G196 Land and home ownership, 1915-1939 2G196 The Townsend Plan, undated 2G196 Maternal and Infancy Act, 1926-1930 2G196 Federal Credit Union System, 1934 2G196 Immigration and prostitution, undated 2G196 Anti-lynching, undated 2G196 Irrigation and reclamation, 1914 and undated 2G197 World War I, 1929 and undated 2G197 Foreign relations, 1919-1924 2G197 Military affairs, 1935-1941 and undated 2G197 Prohibition, 1914-1941 and undated 2G197 Federal Corrupt Practices Act, 1912-1937 2G197 U.S. Judiciary and the U.S. Constitution, 1937 and undated 2G197 Religion and religious beliefs, 1896-1934 and undated 2G198 Democratic Party, 1928-1937 and undated 2G198 Patriotism, 1897-1926 and undated 2G198 American flag, undated 2G198 Tributes and dedications, 1911-1939 and undated 2G198 Speeches by others, 1926-1940 and undated 2G198 Notes and data for political activities, 1920-1940 and undated 2G198 Campaign material: vote counts, expenditures, and itinerary, 1930-1936 and undated 2G199 Voting records and index, 1913-1915, 1930-1934 2G199 Acts and bills, 1919-1940 and undated 2G199 Proposals, amendments, and resolutions, 1935-1939 and undated 2G199 Cases, decisions, and opinions, 1870-1937 and undated 2G199 Reports, 1934-1940 2G199 Newsclippings and statements to the press, 1900-1936 and undated 2G200 Printed material, 1914-1940 and undated 2G200 Lecture notes, at the University of Texas, ca. 1896 2G200 Personal receipts, 1930-1940 and undated 2G200 Biographical material, undated 2G200 Radio script and interview, 1939-1941 and undated 3K149 Literary productions, undated 3K149 Shakespeare index, A – K 3K150 Shakespeare index, L – Z 3K151 Shakespeare index: list of terms, preliminary index, and index key 3L467 Scrapbooks 3L467 Scrapbook 4, 1902-1903 3L468 Scrapbook 5, 1902-1903 3L468 Scrapbook 9, 1906-1910 3L468 Scrapbook 12, 1911-1912 3L469 Scrapbook 10, 1906-1908 3L469 Scrapbook 13, 1911-1914 3L470 Scrapbook 21, 1920-1927 3L470 Scrapbook 24, 1927-1929 3L470 Scrapbook 25, 1927-1929 3L471 Scrapbook 26, 1929-1931 3L471 Scrapbook 28, 1933 3L496 Scrapbook 3, 1899-1905 3L498 Scrapbook 1, 1888-1903 3L499 Scrapbook 2, 1849-1902 3L500 Scrapbook 6, 1903-1906 3L501 Scrapbook 7, 1904-1906 3L502 Scrapbook 8, 1906-1910 3L503 Scrapbook 11, 1908-1911 3L504 Scrapbook 14, 1912-1920 3L505 Scrapbook 16, 1914-1916 3L506 Scrapbook 15, 1914-1917 3L507 Scrapbook 18, 1916-1919 3M1 Scrapbook 17, 1916-1917 3M2 Scrapbook 19, 1919-1922 3M3 Scrapbook 20, 1919-1923 3M4 Scrapbook 22, 1922-1924 3M5 Scrapbook 27, 1930-1935 3M14 Scrapbook 33, 1938-1939 3M15 Scrapbook 29, 1935-1941 4L391 Scrapbook 23, 1924 4L392 Scrapbook 30, 1935-1936 4L393 Scrapbook 31, 1936-1937 4L394 Scrapbook 32, 1938-1939 3S1 Photographs 3S2 Photographs OD1301 Broadside: “Record of Morris Sheppard in the United States Senate,” 1915