Manuscript Resources on Politics

Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874, Letter, 1854 Mar. 22. 2 items. Location: Misc.:S. U.S. senator from Massachusetts. Letter discusses uncertainty and angry mood in Congress over passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill and expresses Sumner's concern that northern representation be as strong as possible. Included is a typewritten transcription of the letter. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 2526.

Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874, Letters, 1856, 1861. 2 items. Location: Misc.:S. U.S. senator from Massachusetts. Letters discuss advance of anti-slavery sentiments in the United States; the necessity of dealing with slavery as a political issue; and the attitudes of Great Britain and France toward political events in the United States. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 2667.

Sumner, William Graham. Papers, 1876. 2 items. Location: Misc.:S. A correspondent in New Orleans writes Sumner lamenting the end of Reconstruction in Louisiana with the collapse of republican institutions and the poor condition of African-American sugar plantation workers (Nov. 17, 1876). Stephen Whitney writes Sumner from Woodland Plantation inviting him to visit to see a sugar plantation in operation (Nov. 18, 1876). Mss. 3858.

Swartwout, John. Letter, 1806 April 5. 1 item. Location: Misc.:S. Colonel of New York and political supporter of Aaron Burr. Letter from Swartwout to Ebenezer Foote referring to the business of his mercantile firm and to the Burr conspiracy. The letter was written prior to the arrest of Swartwout's brother Samuel in New Orleans because of his association with Burr. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 1580.

Swayne, Wager. Letter, 1872 April 19. 1 item. Location: Misc.:S. Attorney of Toledo, Ohio. Letter to the President of the United States recommends for employment T. W. Conway, a former U.S. army chaplain involved in African American education in Reconstruction Louisiana. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 2899.

Sylvest, Murphy John, 1893-1980. Papers, 1929-1972, undated. 23 items. Location: T:88. Educator, helped introduce articles of impeachment against Huey P. Long. Collection includes biographical and genealogical information on the Sylvest family, recollections of events, individuals, family reunions, and references to Sylvest's career as an educator and his relationship with Huey Long. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3727.

Taliaferro, James and family. Papers, 1787-1934 (bulk 1867-1872). 892 items. Location: C:15-17, 98:T, OS:T. Judge and delegate to the Louisiana Secession Convention, associate justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, newspaper publisher, and Catahoula Parish planter. Papers of Taliaferro and his father, Zachariah. Papers reflect Taliaferro's interest and activity in Louisiana politics; the economic, social, and political conditions in the state during Reconstruction; and his father's legal and business interests. Notable figures mentioned include Joseph Walker, W. P. Kellogg, J. Madison Wells, General W. S. Hancoch, and J. R. G. Pitkin. Earliest papers consist of court documents from Virginia. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 1001, 1047, 1565.

Taliaferro, James G., Letters, 1852-1876. 2 microfilm reels. Location: MSS.MF:T. Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, planter, judge, Secession Convention delegate, associate justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, and newspaper publisher. Letters discuss Taliaferro's involvement with the Secession Convention; politics during the Civil War (1865); Louisiana Supreme Court (1866-1874); Louisiana politics (1861-1874); Mississippi River flood of 1874; fires, cholera, and economic conditions in New Orleans; the visit of the Emperor of Brazil to New Orleans (1876), and plantation operations. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 1562.

Taliaferro, Zachariah and James G. Papers,1814-1829, 1867. 45 items. Location: A:57. Owner of a sawmill in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana. Business receipts and legal documents of Zachariah Taliaferro and personal letters to his son, James, from Oliver Stout, classmate at Transylvania University, Lexington, Va., and a Mount Sterling, Ky., physician. Correspondence discusses literature, metaphysics, national politics, contagious disease, and local events. Official statement of registered voters in Louisiana (1867). For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 237.

Taylor, Cecil G., 1909- interviewee, Oral history interview. 12 sound cassettes (14 hours), Transcript (590 p.). LSU French professor, assistant to the president, dean of arts and sciences, and chancellor. In a series of 8 interviews, Taylor describes his career as a French professor and administrator at LSU. He describes his family background, his education at the University of North Carolina, and his French language studies and Cajun French. He also describes Baton Rouge beginning in the 1930s, Huey Long and Louisiana politics, and the desegregation of education in Louisiana. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 4700.0071.