A. Piatt Andrew papers, 1832-1950

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Summary

Creators:
Andrew, A. Piatt (Abram Piatt), 1873-1936
Abstract:
The A. Piatt Andrew papers provide a record of the life and work of a prominent American who achieved distinction in a number of fields in the first part of the 20th century. Andrew taught economics at Harvard before being appointed to government office, first as Director of the United States Mint and then as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. Leaving the Treasury Department, he then acted on his own initiative as the founder and director of the American Field Service, a volunteer ambulance corps that operated with the French army on the battlefields of Europe during World War I. Following service in the United States Army, Andrew was elected to Congress in 1921 and remained a representative from Massachusetts until his death in 1936. All phases of his career in public service are documented in the papers.
Extent:
49 manuscript boxes, 18 oversize boxes (40.4 Linear Feet)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], A. Piatt Andrew papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

The A. Piatt Andrew papers provide a record of the life and work of a prominent American who achieved distinction in a number of fields in the first part of the 20th century. Andrew taught economics at Harvard before being appointed to government office, first as Director of the United States Mint and then as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. Leaving the Treasury Department, he then acted on his own initiative as the founder and director of the American Field Service, a volunteer ambulance corps that operated with the French army on the battlefields of Europe during World War I. Following service in the United States Army, Andrew was elected to Congress in 1921 and remained a representative from Massachusetts until his death in 1936. All phases of his career in public service are documented in the papers.

The Correspondence series in the papers reflects the wide compass of Andrew's professional and personal relationships. There are exchanges of letters with important political figures-among these, Henry Cabot Lodge, Calvin Coolidge, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, and Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt-as well as academics such as the philosopher William James and the economist Frank William Taussig. There is extensive correspondence with Boston socialite and art collector Isabella Stuart Gardner, and with Andrew's friend and fellow American Field Service volunteer, Henry Davis Sleeper. The series also includes a large quantity of correspondence with members of Andrew's family, including his sister, Helen Andrew Patch, and parents, Abram P. and Helen M. Andrew. These span the time from Andrew's early years as a student in private schools until his later career as a politician, and provide insight into family life and education in this period. They also chart the social progress of a banker's son from Indiana who became part of New England's cultural and political establishment.

The Speeches and Writings series contains a considerable number of articles and addresses concerning banking and currency issues, as well as many speeches made during the course of his political career. These include numerous campaign speeches, often to Republican audiences, and many talks to veterans at American Legion meetings and Memorial Day gatherings.

For the most part, the remainder of the collection is organized chronologically, according to the various stages of Andrew's public career. The Treasury Department file series is comprised of materials pertaining to Andrew's service as Director of the United States Mint and as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. The Political campaign file series contains correspondence and other documents relating to Andrew's first, unsuccessful campaign for Congress. The American Field Service file series contains correspondence and other documents relating to Andrew's time as head of the volunteer ambulance corps in France. It also includes materials from the American Field Service's postwar activities in providing scholarships for American and French students.

The large Congressional file series has an extensive amount of routine correspondence, organized chronologically, as well as a subject file encompassing Andrew's major legislative concerns during his time in Congress. These include the issue of Allied war debts after World War I, especially as they pertained to France, whose debt burden Andrew, a confirmed Francophile, sought to ease, and Prohibition, whose repeal was a goal that Andrew endorsed. The fishing industry, of great importance to Andrew's constituents, and immigration are other topics covered in the subject file.

Additionally, the papers contain separate materials pertaining to the Andrew family without reference to A. Piatt Andrew. The Andrew family materials series includes correspondence relating to A. Piatt Andrew's grandfather, Abram Piatt Andrew, Jr., and his father, Abram Piatt Andrew III. There is also correspondence relating to his sister, Helen Andrew Patch, as well as documents pertaining to her involvement in civil defense efforts during World War II and her activities on behalf of the Wendell Willkie presidential campaign in 1940.

There are a large number of scrapbooks in the Oversize materials series. These contain clippings that detail Andrew's experiences in the Treasury Department, his time in France with the American Field Service, and his subsequent Congressional career.

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
1873
Born, La Porte, Indiana
1893
Bachelor of Arts, Princeton College
1900
Doctor of Philosophy, Harvard University
1900-1909
Instructor and assistant professor of economics, Harvard University
1909-1910
Director, United States Mint
1910-1912
Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury
1914-1917
Organizes and directs the American Field Service, a volunteer ambulance corps serving in France
1917
Commissioned as major, United States Army
1917
Awarded the Légion d'Honneur and Croix de Guerre by the French government
1918
Promoted to lieutenant colonel, United States Army
1921-1936
Member, United States House of Representatives
1936
Died
Acquisition information:
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 2006.
Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], A. Piatt Andrew papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
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