Skip to main content
Please contact the Booth Family Center for Special Collections for assistance with accessing these materials.

1942., 06/05/1942-07/27/1942

 File — Box: 2, Folder: 18.5
Identifier: 69325

Collection-level Scope and Content Note

From the Collection:

The Jean Edward Smith Papers are housed in 10 boxes and span 12.0 linear feet. Historian Jean Edward Smith amassed these materials for his full-length biography of Lucius D. Clay entitled "Lucius D. Clay: An America Life" (New York: Holt, 1990). Cooperating with his biographer on this project, Clay exchanged correspondence with Smith, recounted key events, agreed to take part in numerous oral history interviews, and provided access to key documents. The correspondence between Clay and Smith represents the highlight of this collection. The archive includes more than twenty original letters to Smith written and signed by Clay in reference to various episodes in Clay's career, along with numerous letters from Smith to Clay. A small number of original letters sent to Clay by notable individuals, such as Konrad Adenauer, Omar Bradley, James F. Byrnes, Douglas MacArthur, and Sam Rayburn, is also present. Smith's extensive research files contain materials of worth to diplomatic and military historians. Of note is a wealth of duplicated correspondence between Clay and both James F. Byrnes and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Some correspondence refers to Clay's involvement with war production during World War II, his role in the Bay of Pigs prisoners' ransom, and important events in his life. Some attention is given to the Berlin airlift. Smith's files also contain genealogical material on Clay, manuscripts of Smith's biography, thirty transcripts of Smith's interviews with Clay, more than twenty transcripts of Smith's interviews with other individuals, programs of special interest relating to Clay's career, newspaper and periodical clippings about Clay, and photographs of Clay. The Georgetown University Library, Special Collections Division holds other colletions relating to the diplomatic history of Germany. The James D. Mooney Papers provide documentation of Mooney's informal diplomatic contacts in 1939-40 with Adolph Hitler and the Nazi government. The George C. McGhee Papers chronicle the career of the an American ambassador who served in West Germany from 1963-1968. The bulk of the Lucius D. Clay Papers are housed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. Another group of his papers, dating from 1950 to 1978, are deposited at the Marshall Foundation in Lexington, Virginia. Jean Edward Smith's interviews with Clay are stored at both the Columbia University Library and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library.

SYNOPSIS: The Jean Edward Smith Papers are arranged into twenty (20) series as described below:

SERIES 1 - Correspondence from Lucius Clay to J.E. Smith. Contains over twenty letters sent by Clay to Smith, mostly referring to events and people in Clay's past. Placed into twenty-one folders. Arranged chronologically.

SERIES 2 - Correspondence from Lucius Clay to individuals. More than twenty letters from Clay to notable people, including James F. Byrnes, William H. Draper, Jr., Ferdinand Eberstadt, Sam Rayburn, and Brehon Somervell. Series consists of twenty-five folders. Arranged alphabetically by correspondent.

SERIES 3 - Correspondence from Lucius Clay - Chronological. Outgoing correspondence from Lucius Clay , dated 1940-1971, stored in seventeen folders, and arranged chronologically. Mostly photocopies.

SERIES 4 - Correspondence from Lucius Clay - Subject. Clay correspondence regarding the Bricker Amendment, Denison (Red River) Dam, and highways. Date span: 1941-1957. Arranged alphabetically by subject.

SERIES 5 - Correspondence to Lucius Clay from Individuals. Incoming correspondence to Lucius Clay from notable individuals, including Konrad Adenauer, Omar Bradley, James F. Byrnes, Douglas MacArthur, and Sam Rayburn. Arranged into eighteen folders alphabetically by correspondent.

SERIES 6 - Correspondence to Lucius Clay - Chronological. Incoming Clay correspondence, dated 1942-73, sorted into twenty-eight folders, and arranged chronologically. Mostly photocopies.

SERIES 7 - Correspondence to J.E. Smith from Individuals. Contains letters to Smith from notable individuals, mostly regarding setting up oral history interviews. Forty-seven folders. Arranged alphabetically by correspondent.

SERIES 8 - Correspondence to J.E. Smith - Chronological. Contains incoming correspondence to Jean Edward Smith regarding his research for his biography of Lucius Clay. Arranged chronologically.

SERIES 9 - Correspondence from J.E. Smith to Lucius Clay. Typed letter carbons from Smith to Clay regarding Smith's biographical research about Clay. Arranged chronologically.

SERIES 10 - Correspondence from J.E. Smith - Chronological. Outgoing correspondence from Smith seeking biographical information about Lucius Clay. Correspondents include past associates of Clay, libraries, and interviewees. Arranged chronologically.

SERIES 11 - Correspondence from J.E. Smith - Subject. Contains outgoingcorrespondence from Smith about various subjects. Correspondents include librarians, archivists, and publishers. Arranged alphabetically by subject.

SERIES 12 - Miscellaneous Correspondence. Consists of photocopied correspondence dated 1938-70 relating to the career of Lucius D. Clay. Correspondents include James F. Byrnes, Henry L. Stimson, Herbert Hoover, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Arranged chronologically.

SERIES 13 - Lucius D. Clay Documents. Contains documents relating to the career of Lucius D. Clay, including his army efficiency reports, a few speeches, and some awards. Arranged chronologically.

SERIES 14 - Clay Family Documents. Contains Lucius D. Clay genealogical material. Of note: Senator Alexander Stephens Clay correspondence (photocopies) and Clay family bibliographical information. Arranged in rough chronological order.

SERIES 15 - J.E. Smith Manuscripts - Contains typed, edited manuscripts of Jean Edward Smith's biography "Lucius D. Clay: An American Life." Arranged by draft and then chronologically by chapter. Also includes several manuscript essays by Smith and handwritten notes by him.

SERIES 16 - Interview Transcripts. Consists of ninety folders holding typed interview transcripts of oral history interviews conducted by Jean Edward Smith. Over thirty interviews of Lucius D. Clay are present, along with dozens of others with key individuals who knew Clay, such as Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., Robert Lovett, John J. McCloy, and Robert Murphy. Arranged alphabetically by interviewee.

SERIES 17 - Printer Matter. Contains printed matter relating to the career of Lucius D. Clay. Includes several programs honoring Clay, in addition to newspaper and periodical clippings dating from 1930-87. Programs appear first. Periodical clippings appear second, arranged chronologically.

SERIES 18 - Photographs. Contains sixty-one photographs of Lucius Clay. Notably, Clay appears in photos with Robert D. Murphy, Robert L. Patterson, Walter Kerr, Thomas E. Dewey, Richard M. Nixon, Dean Acheson, Harry Truman, and Henry Kissinger. Many of the Clay photos date to the period between 1945 and 1949 when Clay was posted in Germany. Also contains many non-Clay photos, mostly of his wife Marjorie McKeown Clay. Clay photos appear first in the series. Non-Clay photos appear second.

SERIES 19: Audio Cassettes. Consists of twenty-six audio cassettes of interviews conducted by Jean Edward Smith for his biography on Lucius D. Clay. Arranged alphabetically by interviewee.

SERIES 20: Oversized. Contains oversized materials among the papers of Jean Edward Smith, including a few photographs of Lucius D. Clay and a few muniments.

ABBREVIATIONS: ALS - Autograph Letter Signed AM - Autograph Manuscript TD - Typed Document TDS - Typed Document Signed TEL - Telegram TL - Typed Letter TLS - Typed Letter Signed TM - Typed Manuscript TMS - Typed manuscript Signed Mss - Manuscript

Dates

  • 06/05/1942-07/27/1942

Collection-level Access Restrictions

Most manuscripts collections at the Georgetown University Booth Family Center for Special Collections are open to researchers; however, restrictions may apply to some collections. Collections stored off site require a minimum of three days for retrieval. For use of all manuscripts collections, researchers are advised to contact the Booth Family Center for Special Collections in advance of any visit.

Extent

From the Collection: 12 Linear Feet (10 boxes)

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Shelf Location

18/05/06

Container Summary

1 typed memo (photocopy) dated 6/5/1942 from Lucius D. Clay to the Chief of Engineers regarding a gasoline pipe line for Bolero. 1 typed memo (photocopy) dated 7/23/1942 from Clay to the Chief of Staff regarding the final report of General Henry Aurand with respect to Lend-Lease. 1 typed memo (photocopy) dated 7/27/1942 from Brehon Somervell to Lucius D. Clay regarding General Aurand's final report of 7/23.

Subjects and Associated Physical Materials

BOLERO - REFERENCE (1942): Xerox

AURAND, HENRY - REFERENCE (1942): Xerox

LEND-LEASE - REFERENCE (1942): Xerox

SOMERVELL, BREHON B. - CORRESPONDENCE TO CLAY, LUCIUS D. (1942): Xerox

CLAY, LUCIUS D. - CORRESPONDENCE FROM SOMERVELL, BREHON (1942): Xerox

Repository Details

Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository

Contact:
Lauinger Library, 5th Floor
37th and O Streets, N.W.
Washington DC 20057