Matt W. Ransom (1826-1904) was a lawyer; planter; state official; Confederate general; Redeemer; Democratic United States senator from North Carolina, 1872-1895; and United States minister to Mexico, 1895-1897. The collection includes materials, chiefly post-Civil War, relating to Matt W. Ransom. Correspondence, chiefly 1868-1904, relates to the political, economic, and racial aspects of Reconstruction in North Carolina, particularly the railroad industry machinations of George William Swepson; to Ransom's plantations in northeastern North Carolina, particularly in regard to cotton marketing and labor; to national and state party politics, 1868-1904; and to Ransom's diplomatic service in Mexico. Much of the collection consists of Ransom's papers as a senator, including correspondence with politicians and constituents covering most of the major issues of the time: race relations; federal actions affecting southern agriculture and industry, including the tariff, the debate over silver-backed currency, and agrarian unrest; women's suffrage; and many others. Correspondents include Susan B. Anthony, Sallie Clay Bennett, Grover Cleveland, Sallie Southall Cotten, F. M. Simmons, George William Swepson, Zebulon B. Vance, Garland H. White, and H. G. Williams. Also included are papers relating to a variety of family and business concerns. Material on Ransom's Civil War career and the first three years of Reconstruction is relatively slight, and there is no material related to his pre-war political career.
