Descriptive Summary
Smith, Justin Harvey, 1857-1930
Justin H. Smith Collection
1878-1929
7 linear ft.
33341297
Benson Latin American Collection,
General Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin
Transcriptions made by Smith of archival documents in the
preparation of his publications on the annexation of Texas and the
Mexican War, including excerpts from diplomatic correspondence and reports of political and military activities.
and [code "engspa" not found in ISO 639-2 list].
Biographical Note
Born 1857 in Boscawen, New Hampshire; died 1930 in Brooklyn, New York. Educated at Dartmouth (B.A. 1877; M.A. 1881) and Union Theological Seminary (1879-1881). Smith worked for Charles Scribner's Sons publishers 1881-1883 and Ginn & Co. 1883-1898 (becoming a partner in 1890); he was Professor of Modern History at Dartmouth 1899-1908. He resigned his professorship in 1908 to pursue historical research, and published
<emph render="italic">The Annexation of Texas </emph>
in 1911 and
<emph render="italic">The War with Mexico </emph>
in 1919. For the latter he received the Pulitzer Prize for 1920 and the first Loubat Prize in 1923. From 1917 to 1923 Smith was chairman of the Historical Manuscripts Commission of the American Historical Association.
Scope and Contents Note
Transcriptions accumulated by Smith in the preparation of his works on the annexation of Texas and the U.S.-Mexico war of 1846-1848, as well as notes for publications, teaching, and speeches; page proofs from
<emph render="italic">The War with Mexico; </emph>
correspondence; a diary; and assorted material.
Transcriptions are of documents in archives, libraries, and private holdings in the United States, Mexico, Spain, France, England, and Cuba. They include excerpts from the correspondence of U.S. ministers, consuls, and Spanish agents in Mexico (1825-1848); diplomatic correspondence with England and France on relations between Mexico and the U.S. (1830-1848); reports of U.S. agents and others in Texas (1836-1845); reports of U.S. military operations in Mexico, California and New Mexico (1846-1848); materials about political, social, economic, and military conditions in Mexico from 1844 to 1848; letters from Antonio López de Santa Anna relating to the U.S.-Mexico war; and diaries and memoirs of participants and others. A few items relate to Smith's 1903 work,
<emph render="italic">Arnold's march from Cambridge to Quebec, 1775-1776.</emph>
Correspondence dates from 1878 and 1897-1929 (bulk 1915-1929). Some letters pertain to the publication of Smith's works on Texas and Mexico; the rest concern various personal and professional matters. The diary dates from 1914-1920; although it consists of only 11 leaves, it contains entries relating to Smith's travels in pursuit of research, his progress in writing
<emph render="italic">The War with Mexico, </emph>
and his professional and social activities.
The date span covered by the information in the papers is 1825-1848; however, because the papers are comprised primarily of transcripts of archival holdings and of notes made by Smith, the papers physically date from 1878-1929.
Most materials are in English, with some items in Spanish.
Arrangement
Organized into five series:
- I. Transcripts.
- II. Notes.
- III.
Page proofs.
- IV. Correspondence.
- V. Diary and assorted
material.
.
Index Terms
Subjects (Persons)
Smith, Justin Harvey, 1857-1930--Archives.
Santa Anna, Antonio López de, 1794?-1876
Arnold, Benedict, 1741-1801
Subjects (Places)
Texas--History--Sources.
Mexico--Foreign relations--United States--1821-1861.
United States--Foreign relations--Mexico--To 1865.
Subjects (Topical)
Mexican War, 1846-1848
Canadian Invasion, 1775-1776
Acquisitions Information
The Justin H. Smith Collection was received by the Benson Latin American Collection from two sources. Twenty bound volumes of transcripts, as well as assorted other materials, were presented to UT by Galveston bookdealer, Michael M. Russell, in 1931. In 1980, the Antiquarian Society of Boston donated seven packages of note cards and one bound index.
Processing Information
The Justin H. Smith Collection was arranged into five series and described by staff members of the Benson Latin American Collection and of the Mexican Archives Project. The Mexican Archives Project staff completed the processing of the collection in April 1995.
Find aid initially prepared by the Mexican Archives Project, April 1995.
Preferred Citation
Justin H. Smith Collection, 1878-1929, Benson Latin American Collection, General Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin.
Alternate Form Available
The bulk of the materials are also available on microfilm in the Benson Latin American Collection.
Other Finding Aids
The following guide is available in the Benson Collection Rare Books Reference:
Castañeda, Carlos Eduardo, 1896-1958.
<emph render="italic">Guide to the Latin American Manuscripts in the University of Texas Library. </emph>
Cambridge, Mass.,
Harvard University Press,
1939.
Series and Container List
1. Series, Transcripts of documents dated 1825-1848
2.5 linear feet.
1
Volume I
Notes and documents relative to Arnold's march from Cambridge to Quebec, 1775-1776.
9 folders.
1
Volume II
Correspondence of American ministers in Mexico, 1825-1829.
8 folders.
1
Volume III
Correspondence of American ministers in Mexico, 1829-1844.
6 folders.
2
Volume IV
Consular letters relative to conditions in Mexico, the Texas Question and California, 1833-1847.
4 folders.
2
Volume V
Correspondence and reports of American agents and others in Texas, 1836-1845.
14 folders.
2
Volume VI
Correspondence of American ministers in Mexico, 1845-1848.
6 folders.
3
Volume VII
Diplomatic correspondence with England and France on relations between Mexico and the U.S., 1830-1848.
3 folders.
3
Volume VIII
Diplomatic correspondence of Spanish agents/Letters of Santa Anna
Diplomatic correspondence of Spanish agents in Mexico on conditions of the country and progress of the war with the U.S. (5 folders) /Official letters of General Antonio López de Santa Anna relating to the war between the U.S. and Mexico (1 folder).
3
Volume IX
American military operations in Mexico, 1846-1848.
9 folders.
3
Volume X
American military operations in Mexico, 1846-1848.
11 folders.
4
Volume XI
Military operations in Mexico / Advance from Point Isabel and Matamoros to northern states.
4 folders.
4
Volume XII
Military operations in Mexico / Advance from Tampico and Veracruz to Mexico City.
4 folders.
4
Volume XIII
Military operations in New Mexico and California, 1846-1848.
8 folders.
5
Volume XIV
Diaries, recollections and memoirs of the War with Mexico, pt. 1.
15 folders.
5
Volume XV
Diaries, recollections and memoirs of the War with Mexico, pt. 2.
6 folders.
5
Volume XVI
Diaries, recollections and memoirs of the War with Mexico, pt. 3.
11 folders.
6
Volume XVII
Political, social, economic, and military conditions in Mexico, 1844-1848, pt. 1.
2 folders.
6
Volume XVIII
Political, social, economic, and military conditions in Mexico, 1844-1848, pt. 2.
2 folders.
6
Volume XIX
Political, social, economic, and military conditions in Mexico, 1844-1848, pt. 3.
6 folders.
6
Volume XX
Miscellaneous papers concerning the Mexican War.
12 folders.
7
Duplicate notes/ Drafts/Retypes
“Duplicate notes, G220” = W #9 Drafts of
<emph render="italic">The War with Mexico,</emph>
preface and Ch. I; W #9 (2); W #4 (2); W #4; W #8 Retypes. Notes on Monterey chapter of
<emph render="italic">The War with Mexico.</emph>
8
Notes: Teaching notes; notes on readings; notes for The War with Mexico; assorted notes)
9
Notes: Guerra 1846-1847
10
Notes: Guerra 1847-1848 and 1855; Letters with Causa de Arista; Santa Anna letters
10
Index
2. Series, Notes and drafts
10
Notes and drafts,
3.5 feet
3. Series, Page proofs of
<emph render="italic">The War with Mexico</emph>
11
Page proofs of The War with Mexico
2.5 inches.
4. Series, Correspondence.
12
[ordm] Letterbook, 1878.
12
Letter book (trip to Europe) Mar. 30, 1878-Aug. 31, 1878
12
[ordm] Correspondence, 1897-1929
6 folders.
12
Correspondence, April 20, 1897-Dec. 6, 1917
12
Correspondence, May 2, 1918-Nov. 11, 1918
12
Correspondence, May 10, 1919-July 11, 1919
12
Correspondence, June 1, 1920-Sept. 22, 1927
12
Correspondence, May 4, 1928-Sept. 5, 1928
12
Correspondence, May 31, 1929-Sept. 3, 1929
12
5. Series, Diary (1914-1920) and assorted material.
12
Diary, January 1, 1914-June, 1920
12
Literary notes, August 26, 1886-
12
Literary notes, Dec. 5, 1886-
12
Literary notes, undated
12
Notes on India
12
Documents relating to Crisanto Rodriguez, 1898-1899
12
Massachusetts Historical Society. Proceedings, Dec. 1916-Jan. 1917
12
Assorted materials
12
Assorted materials
12
Portland [Maine?] advertising flyer of undertaker Edward Holman
Oversized
Map of Monterey, Sept. 1846
Oversized
Music “Aires Nacionales Mexicanos”