P U Correspondence Series. 1849-1940, bulk 1890-1899.

ArchivalResource

Tillman, Benjamin R. (Benjamin Ryan), 1847-1918. P U Correspondence Series. 1849-1940, bulk 1890-1899.

P U Correspondence Series. 1849-1940, bulk 1890-1899.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/25920319

The P.U. series consists of primarily incoming correspondence from the period 1890-1899. Within this period there are major gaps, with no correspondence from 1891 and little for 1892 and 1893. This series also includes a few early documents and some items spanning Tillman's later career in the U.S. Senate. The series includes correspondence with state and national political leaders, family members, and a wide variety of individuals seeking to influence Tillman or obtain favors from him. Among the subjects of the correspondence are populism and agrarian radicalism, efforts to inflate the currency, race relations, Clemson and Winthrop Colleges, the South Carolina Dispensary system for the regulation of the sale of alcohol, the Spanish-American War, and Tillman's campaigns to be elected governor of South Carolina, U.S. Senator, and President of the United States. There is approximately two cubic feet of correspondence related to the national reaction to Tillman's January 29, 1896 speech, "Bi-Metalism or Industrial Slavery." Prominent correspondents include: E.B. Craighead, President of Clemson College; W.H. Ellerbe, Governor of South Carolina; David Johnson, President of Winthrop College; J.L. McLaurin, U.S. Senator; Tillman's wife, Sally Stark Tillman, and sons Ben and Henry; Richard W. Simpson, Clemson College Trustee; and Stonewall Thompson, Clemson College professor. There are a variety of items at the end of the series including fragments of letters, petitions, and other items. These files include copies and drafts of some of Tillman's speeches, a 1865 affidavit stating that Tillman was unfit to serve in the Confederate Army, material related to Tillman's participation in the Hamburg, South Carolina riot of 1876, minutes of the Clemson College Board of Trustees, January 5, 1912, reports from department heads at Winthrop College, 1913 and 1915, and a variety of printed material such as advertisements, government documents, and speeches. There are processors' notes for part of this series up to 1896. Additional material was added to the series after these notes were taken.

7.15 cubic ft.

Clemson University Libraries, Robert Muldrow Cooper Library