MHS News

41 Presidents and Counting: Presidential Letters at the MHS

The MHS announces the completion of a special new subject guide, "Presidential Letters at the Massachusetts Historical Society: An Overview," which brings together descriptions of all known letters written by American presidents found in the Society's manuscript and autograph collections. Already renowned for the thousands of letters of Presidents John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and Thomas Jefferson in its collections, the MHS also holds more than 3,500 letters written by all U.S. presidents through George H. W. Bush, which are now described in this guide. While the guide emphasizes letters written during each president's term of office, it includes an overview of letters written throughout the lifetime of each president. The Society's top three holdings by president (without the Adamses and Jefferson) are George Washington, James Monroe, and Theodore Roosevelt. One collection that is particularly rich in presidential manuscripts, the Edward Everett papers, contains correspondence from 14 presidents. Support for this project was generously provided by MHS Trustee L. Dennis Shapiro through the Arzak Foundation. Read a recent President's Day Beehive blog post or view the new subject guide.

Image: George Washington by Joseph Wright, 1784, completed by John Trumbull, 1786, commissioned by Thomas Jefferson