Series I. Correspondence, 1877-1942

The Schurman papers consist of correspondence, addresses, photographs, testimonials, diplomas, certificates, newspaper clippings, printed material, and records of the New York Constitutional Convention (1915). The material listed covers Schurman's career as a teacher, college president, and diplomat; the majority of the papers involve his role in national and foreign affairs. His views on American imperialism are reflected in letters to President McKinley, David Starr Jordan, David J. Hill, and John Hay. Schurman's later correspondence with Theodore Roosevelt, Charles F. Adams, Carl Schurz, Charles W. Eliot, and Sergio Osmena show his interest in the Philippine Islands and their eventual independence. His active interest in politics, the problems of peace and the League of Nations, and his diplomatic activities are discussed in correspondence with William Howard Taft, Charles Evans Hughes, Elihu Root, Henry Lane Wilson, Henry Cabot Lodge, James Wadsworth, Joseph Foraker, and Frank Kellogg, including comments on Gustav Stresemann, German politics, and the German economy. Includes addresses and other material on Germany, the Far East, and U.S. foreign policy after Schurman's retirement in 1930. Also personal and family correspondence including letters to Professor William John Alexander about his thoughts on religion and his stay at Heidelberg University; letters to his daughters, Helen and Barbara; and transcriptions and photocopies of other letters.

Items about Jacob Gould Schurman Day (February 8, 1986) at the University of Heidelberg include an typescript copy of an address by John R. Silber, President of Boston University. Also, a cassette copy of a recording of Schurman's speech given when he departed as ambassador from Germany.

Also included is a notebook of photographs and correspondence concerning Schurman Hall at the University of Heidelberg, dedicated in memory of Jacob Gould Schurman.

Silver box presented to Jacob Gould Schurman by the staff of the embassy in China on his appointment as Minister to Germany, donated by Richard W. Kehrt in loving memory of his wife Suzanne D. Schurman, granddaughter of Jacob Gould Schurman.