Manuscript Resources on Politics

Weeks, David. Family Papers, 1782-1957 (bulk 1830-1870). 10,106 items, 15 vols. Location: 70, J:6, X:76, Mss. Mf.:W . The Weeks and related Conrad, Moore, and Gibson families were planters of New Iberia, Louisiana, and other areas in south Louisiana. Papers document the sugar plantation economy; cotton planting; slaves and free African American laborers; railroad building; state and national politics; education; and the Civil War and Reconstruction. Includes early papers of Charles N. Conrad, U.S. senator; political correspondence of John Moore, U.S. congressman; and a microfilmed inventory of The Shadows in New Iberia. Available on microfilm 5322: University Publications of America Records of Ante-bellum Southern Plantations from the Revolution to the Civil War, Series I, Part 6, Reels 1-20. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 528, 605.

Weiss, Seymour. Papers, 1927-1972 (bulk 1930-1960). 11.25 linear ft. Location: 30:38-42, OS:W, Vault:36. Manager and owner of the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans. Weiss was a confidant of Louisiana Governor and U.S. Senator Huey P. Long, who made the hotel his headquarters. The bulk of the collection consists of circulars announcing speeches and the political positions of Long and other Louisiana politicians. Also present are political cartoons by 'Trist' [Trist Wood] and various campaign items. The collection includes letters of Huey P. Long related to issues of concern to Louisiana citizens and sheet music for 'Every Man a King,' 'Follow Long,' and several other songs, with words by Long. Mss. 4165.

Weld Company correspondence, 1833-1851. 96 items. Location: E:62. Commission merchants of Boston, Massachusetts. Correspondence with New Orleans commission and forwarding merchants. Subjects include the controversy following the Compromise of 1850, New Orleans business conditions, the cotton trade, and the death of President William Henry Harrison. Papers also include scattered shipping records. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 1194, 1206, 1220, 1232, 1256, 1289.

Welles, Gideon, 1802-1878. Manuscript, circa 1878. 1 v. Location: Misc.:W. U.S. Secretary of the Navy during the Civil War. Manuscript of an article by Gideon Welles, apparently intended for publication. In the article Welles strenuously disagrees with Wickham Hoffman, who had argued that General Benjamin Butler had a prominent role in the planning and execution of the capture of New Orleans by federal troops in 1862. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3001.

Wells, James Madison, 1808-1899. Papers, circa 1864-1869, 1886-1900. 1 v. [on microfilm]. Location: Lieutenant governor and governor of Louisiana (1864-1867). Records of the Court of Claims of the United States pertain to suits filed by James Madison Wells concerning Wells' charges that U.S. forces under the command of General Nathaniel P. Banks illegally confiscated his property and livestock in Rapides Parish during the Red River Expedition of 1864. Records consist of court memos, rulings, dockets, judicial motions, testimonies, and letters associated with congressional cases no. 435, no. 2524, and 10,271, which. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 806, 1219.

Wenner, H. C. Letter, 1846 September 9. 1 item. Location: Misc:W. Letter written by Wenner responding to a request to state his views on slavery. He found slavery, particularly American slavery, an abhorrence, and felt it should be abolished in the District of Columbia. The letter continues with whether Congress possessed the constitutional power to do this should the union of free and slave states continue. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3666.

West Florida Rebellion Papers, 1810, 1816, 1845. 15 items, 1 mf reel. Location: C:18, Mss.Mf:S., Vault MRDF 6, Vault:1. Documents pertaining to the West Florida Rebellion contain reports of the convention in Baton Rouge; reports to representatives of the people of West Florida; and orders and reports by Colonel Philomen Thomas to the inhabitants of West Florida. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 721.

West, J. R. (Joseph Rodman), b. 1822. Deed, 1871 Mar. 17. 1 deed. Location: Misc. This deed records the purchase of property in Washington, D.C., by Joseph R. West shortly after commencing his term as U.S. Senator for Louisiana. For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 4346.

West, J. R. (Joseph Rodman), b. 1822. Letters, 1873, 1876. 2 letters. Location: Misc. Joseph Rodman West served as deputy United States marshal, auditor for customs (1867-1871), and U.S. Senator as a Republican (1871-1877). Joseph Rodman West in Washington, D.C., engages in routine correspondence. Mss. 4130.

Western Voice circular, 1968. 2 items. Location: E:Imprints. Weekly tabloid which claimed to uphold fundamentalism, pre-millenarianism, and the second coming of Christ. Circular entitled 'Ten Million White People to be Driven From Their Homes to Make Room for Black Communist Soviet,' printed in the Western Voice. Includes a clipping from the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate (1968). For further information, see online catalog. Mss. 3052.