Arthur Willert papers

The Arthur Willert Papers are an important source for documenting the history of Anglo-American relations during the two decades immediately prior to and following World War I. Willert's dispatches to the editors of the London Times and letters to friends provide an informed assessment of a variety of subjects and personalities relating to Anglo-American relations and America's entry into World War I. The papers merit attention not only for the insight they provide for a vital period in Anglo-American relations, but also because Willert himself emerges as a figure of interest whose activities as a reporter and propagandist played a part in determining the course of Anglo-American relations.

The papers are arranged in three series: I. Correspondence; II. Writings; III. Personal and Memorabilia.

CORRESPONDENCE is divided into three sections: General Correspondence, Mrs. Arthur Willert's Correspondence, and Northcliffe Mission Correspondence. General Correspondence contains the major portion of Willert's correspondence. Correspondents of note in General Correspondence include: D.D. Brahm, Times Foreign Editor, 1912-1914 (23 to AW/ 29 from); Geoffrey Dawson, Times Editor, 1911-1919 (121 to AW/ 158 from); Cecil A. Spring-Rice, British Ambassador to the U.S., 1912-1918 (10 to AW); Wickham Steed, Times Foreign Editor, 1914-1919 (28 to AW/ 42 from); William Wiseman, British Foreign Office Chief Intelligence Officer in U.S., 1917 (7 to AW/ 12 from).

The matters discussed in Willert's correspondence with the London Times staff (Brahm, Dawson, Steed) related primarily to Anglo-American relations and U.S. domestic politics. Subjects include: President Wilson's personality and political ability; U.S. policy towards Mexico; U.S. intervention in World War I; the Northcliffe Mission; U.S. labor, coal, and transport problems; the Balfour Mission; German propaganda in the U.S.; the Lusitania's sinking; German war intrigues; and British propaganda.

Subjects discussed in Willert's correspondence with Spring-Rice and Wiseman include: Wilson's Mexico policy; Willert's role as a propagandist; Anglo-American relations; the London Naval Conference. An interesting letter from Willert to Lady Astor (1914) discusses President Wilson's physical condition.

Mrs. Arthur Willert's Correspondence contains letters which are primarily social in nature. These include forty-five letters from Eleanor Roosevelt (1932-1955) and sixty letters from Arthur Willert (1918-1950).

The Northcliffe Mission (British war mission to the U.S., 1917) Correspondence consists of approximately seventy dispatches sent between the Mission and the British Foreign Office between July and December, 1917. The subjects of the dispatches relate primarily to the acquisition of war material and Anglo-American relations. Appendix I is a detailed list of the correspondents and people mentioned in the Northcliffe Mission Correspondence.

Series II, WRITINGS, includes clippings of articles Willert wrote while serving as Washington correspondent of the London Times (1910-1920); reprints of his magazine articles, book reviews, and lectures; notebooks and appointment books. The most interesting materials in this series are his memoranda and notes written in his capacity as a Times correspondent and Foreign Office press officer. Important subjects include: British propaganda in the U.S., 1914; an account of a conversation between Spring-Rice and Robert Lansing on Anglo-American relations, 1915; President Wilson, 1917; the Democratic Convention, 1920; the Washington Conference, 1921; the Lausanne Conference, 1932; the Geneva Disarmament Conference, 1932; and conversations with Franklin Roosevelt, 1936, 1939.

Series III, PERSONAL AND MEMORABILIA, consists primarily of souvenir materials: credentials, menus, invitations, and a set of The Intimate Papers of Colonel House with notes in Willert's handwriting.

The Arthur Willert Papers were received by Yale University in 1974, the result of a bequest by Sir Arthur Willert.