Title: DeWitt Clinton Poole Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1918-1952

Creator:

• Poole, DeWitt Clinton, 1885-1952

Call Number: U.S. Mss AB

Quantity: 3.4 c.f. (9 archives boxes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Papers of DeWitt Clinton Poole, a diplomat, lecturer, and educator who served in a number of diplomatic positions in the Soviet Union (1917-1922) and in Germany (1926-1930), who headed the Foreign Nationalities Branch of the Office of Strategic Services (1941-1945), and who was instrumental in the establishment of the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University (1930-1939). The majority of the collection consists of rough notes and reference material for three courses he taught at Princeton and Harvard: Conduct of Foreign Relations (Govt. 32), Freedom Through Balance of Power (Govt. 115), and International Politics (Govt. 18) and an unidentified course on the Russian Mission, 1917-1924. Also included are copies of speeches; subject files on American recognition of the Soviet Union in 1933 and other topics; and miscellaneous correspondence concerning diplomatic assignments in Russia and Germany, the establishment of the Princeton Diplomatic School, and the publication of an article on the balance of power in 1947. Prominent correspondents include Raoul Bertrand, Wilbur J. Carr, Joseph P. Cotton, Harold G. Dodds, Joseph C. Grew, William Hard, Frank S. Hopkins, Charles E. Hughes, Robert H. Jackson, John K. Jessup, Frederick Kuh, Robert Lansing, William P. Maddox, Harold Nicholson, William Church Osborn, Ralph Barton Perry, Earl S. Pomeroy, Andre Siegfried, Henry L. Stimson, Arthur H. Sulzberger, and Quincy Wright.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0000ab

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

DeWitt Clinton Poole was born in Vancouver, Washington, in 1885. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1906 and from George Washington University Diplomatic School in 1910. Thereafter he entered the American Foreign Service and held positions in Berlin, Paris, Moscow, and Archangel. In 1917 Poole was assigned to Moscow where he served as counsel officer. In January, 1918 he was sent to Rostov in order to establish an new consulate there to protect vital American interests. Later that year he was appointed counselor to Moscow and in 1919 promoted to chief in the Russian Division of the State Department. Poole served as an expert assistant to the American delegation during the Washington Arms Limitation Conference of 1921 and 1922. In 1927 he was appointed counselor of the embassy at Berlin.

Poole resigned from government service in 1930. Although offered a position as economic adviser to the State Department he chose instead to help establish the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, an institution created to better prepare individuals for the diplomatic service. Poole continued in this post for almost ten years, serving as lecturer and director. After his resignation in 1939 Poole returned to government service and worked as director of the Foreign Nationalities Branch of the Office of Strategic Services. In April 1945 he was appointed chairman of an advisory committee on training foreign service officers and associate public liaison of the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations Conference on International Organization at San Francisco. In July 1945 Poole was sent to Hoechst, Germany as special representative of the secretary of state and chief of the special mission for interrogation of German personnel. In the years following World War II he lectured at Harvard University, served in several organizations interested in European recovery, and published several articles. Poole died in 1952.

Although the Poole Papers contain only scattered, somewhat disappointing, references to his service in Russia during the Revolutionary period, there is relatively good documentation about his role in the development of diplomatic education and training at Princeton and his general ideas concerning the conduct of foreign policy. The papers are arranged as Correspondence, Speeches and Writings, and Subject Files.

The CORRESPONDENCE dates from the period 1918-1919 and 1928-1952. It contains some information regarding his work in Russia, as well as requests to the State Department for leaves of absence due to the illness of his wife. There is also an interesting 1918 summary of events in Vologda and a report on activities of the Berlin Embassy during 1927. This section includes many letters from colleagues after his 1930 resignation. A large part of this series concerns his educational work at Princeton including suggested organization of courses, goals to be accomplished by the school, and suggestions for faculty and guest lectures. (Material relating to lectures delivered by Poole as an instructor at Princeton are filed with the SPEECHES AND WRITINGS series). Later correspondence includes letters regarding his appointment as chief of the special mission to interrogate German personnel, as well as numerous thoughtful letters from editors and readers concerning a 1947 article he published in Life about the balance of power. (This article is not included in the SPEECHES AND WRITINGS series, however.) Also here are inquiries from researchers, together with Poole's replies (several of which discuss his work in the Soviet Union between 1917 and 1922) and references to his oral history interview at Columbia. (This interview which dealt with Poole's early career in Berlin and Russia is not included with the papers.) The 1944 material contains memoranda on conversations held in behalf of the OSS with the Reverend Stanislaus Orlemanski who had interviewed Stalin about relations between the Kremlin and the Vatican and about Stalin's plans for the formation of a new Polish government, as well as a copy of a lengthy report from D. Wilgress, the Canadian ambassador in Moscow. Notable within the 1951 correspondence is a memoranda Poole received concerning George F. Kennan's view on the OSS Foreign Nationality Branch.

SPEECHES AND WRITINGS primarily consist of material relating to several courses that Poole taught at Princeton and Harvard: Conduct of Foreign Relations (Govt. 32), Freedom Through Balance of Power (Govt. 115), and International Politics (Govt. 18). Also included are materials for a third presentation (the Russian Mission, 1917-1924); because this is not identified by a course number the purpose of this group of folders is unknown. This series is arranged alphabetically by course or lecture title. Unfortunately, the collection does not contain transcripts of the actual lectures Poole delivered, although the files, which are arranged by original lecture number, contain extensive reference materials which shaped Poole's understanding and handwritten notes. (The latter vary in their usefulness.) Also included are notes, outlines, and a rough draft for an undated book entitled “Democracy and Foreign Affairs.” Two folders of speeches delivered during his career include one paper entitled “The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia,” a 1933 address on the issue of U.S. recognition of the Soviet Union (which Poole strongly favored), notes concerning his interrogation of Germany personnel after World War II (an unpleasant experience, he said), and numerous addresses on topics related to foreign affairs.

The alphabetically-arranged SUBJECT FILES contain material on miscellaneous topics of interest to Poole such as local government in the United States, the cause of war, trade promotion, and the United Nations, as well as a large number of student papers. One notable folder entitled “Soviet Recognition” includes material relating to the issue of diplomatic recognition of the Soviet Union in 1933. This file contains the American Foundation's confidential survey of the opinions of over 500 prominent Americans on that issue.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Mrs. DeWitt Poole, Princeton, New Jersey, 1954.

Box   1 Folder   1-7	Series: Correspondence, 1918-1919, 1928-1952
	Series: Speeches and Writings	⇧
Box   1 Folder   8	Committee of Imperial Defence, Note cards, undated
	Conduct of Foreign Relations (Govt. 32)
Box   1 Folder   9	Outline
Box   1 Folder   10	Introduction: diplomacy and war
Box   1 Folder   11	Family of nations
Box   1 Folder   12	Diplomatic missions
Box   1 Folder   13-14	Diplomatic functions
Box   1 Folder   15-16	International organization
Box   1 Folder   17	Diplomacy under dictatorships
Box   1 Folder   18	Soviet Russia: New Instrumentalities
Box   2 Folder   1	Soviet Russia: Continuity of foreign policy
Box   2 Folder   2	Technology, Democracy, morals
Box   2 Folder   3	New diplomacy and old
Box   2 Folder   4	Problems of administration: Foreign Office administration
Box   2 Folder   5	Personnel
Box   2 Folder   6	Intelligence
Box   2 Folder   7	Role of the chief of state
Box   2 Folder   8	Coordination with the armed forces
Box   2 Folder   9	Executive and legislature in parliamentary government
Box   2 Folder   10-11	Under congressional government in U.S.
Box   2 Folder   12	Secret and open diplomacy
Box   2 Folder   13	Dissemination of information at home
Box   2 Folder   14-15	Dissemination of information abroad
Box   2 Folder   16	Foreign policy takes forms
Box   2 Folder   17	Press and radio as guides and pressures
Box   2 Folder   18	Pressure groups and individuals
Box   2 Folder   19	Domestic politics: Elections
Box   2 Folder   20	How decisions are reached
Box   2 Folder   21	Public opinion on foreign policy
Box   2 Folder   22	New methods of testing public opinion
Box   2 Folder   23	Public opinion in dictatorships and democracies
Box   3 Folder   1	Miscellaneous material and notes
Box   3 Folder   2	Democracy and dictatorship, undated
	Democracy and Foreign Affairs
Box   3 Folder   3	Rough draft
	Constitutions
Box   3 Folder   4	General
Box   3 Folder   5	British
Box   3 Folder   6	France
Box   3 Folder   7	Germany
Box   3 Folder   8	Scandinavia
Box   3 Folder   9	Spain
Box   3 Folder   10	United States
Box   3 Folder   11	Crystallization and enforcement of public opinion
Box   3 Folder   12	Diplomacy, Handwritten draft
	Foreign policies
Box   3 Folder   13	France
Box   3 Folder   14	Italy
Box   3 Folder   15	Northern Africa
Box   3 Folder   16	Soviet Union
Box   3 Folder   17	Public opinion
Box   4 Folder   1	Diplomacy and Personal Experiences, 1938
	Freedom Through Balance of Power (Govt. 115)
Box   4 Folder   2	Outline
	Balance of power at home
Box   4 Folder   3	In the family
Box   4 Folder   4	Balance of power as a political idea
Box   4 Folder   5	Sherman Anti-Trust Act
Box   4 Folder   6	U.S. Constitution
Box   4 Folder   7	Freedom
Box   4 Folder   8	Connection between freedom and power
Box   4 Folder   9	Freedom and self expression in the state
Box   4 Folder   10	Balance of power as the basis for individual freedom
Box   4 Folder   11	International balance of power
Box   4 Folder   12	National state as a person
Box   4 Folder   13	Empire, federation, and hegemony
Box   4 Folder   14	Theory
Box   4 Folder   15	Complex and simple balances; some maneuvers
Box   4 Folder   16	Experience in Europe
Box   4 Folder   17	Renaissance Italy
Box   4 Folder   18	Hapsburg-Bourbon balance of power
Box   4 Folder   19	Treaties of Utrecht and Vienna
Box   4 Folder   20	What empire brought
Box   4 Folder   21	Woodrow Wilson and balance of power
Box   4 Folder   22	American experience
Box   4 Folder   23	Treaty of Versailles
Box   4 Folder   24	Miscellaneous notes
	Community of nations
Box   4 Folder   25	Physical community, the tightening frame
Box   4 Folder   26	Community of outlook, the broken frame
Box   5 Folder   1	Strategic community; economic community
Box   5 Folder   2	Constitutional community
Box   5 Folder   3	Balance of power in federations
Box   5 Folder   4	Complex balance in the Swiss Confederation
Box   5 Folder   5	British Empire
	Federation of the World
Box   5 Folder   6	League of Nations: belated but useful
Box   5 Folder   7	Ending of the European order: , 1919-1939
Box   5 Folder   8	United Nations: two boxers clinched
	Outlook for freedom and peace
Box   5 Folder   9	American traditions
Box   5 Folder   10	Hindrances to a new balance of power
Box   5 Folder   11	Leadership of the United States
Box   5 Folder   12	Clippings
Box   5 Folder   13-14	Miscellaneous material
	International Politics (Govt. 18)
Box   5 Folder   15	Outline of course
Box   5 Folder   16	Land distribution
Box   5 Folder   17	Population
Box   5 Folder   18	Industrialization
Box   5 Folder   19	Colonies and imperialism
Box   5 Folder   20	Psychosomatic politics
Box   6 Folder   1-4	Community vs. the individual
Box   6 Folder   5	Communications and the press
Box   6 Folder   6	National sovereignty in an era in transition
Box   6 Folder   7	Science, the new Prometheus
Box   6 Folder   8	Nationalism in the nineteenth century
Box   6 Folder   9	Strategic ties
Box   6 Folder   10	Scarcity to plenty
Box   6 Folder   11	Effect of aviation and atomic weapons
Box   6 Folder   12-13	League of Nations
Box   6 Folder   14	United Nations
Box   6 Folder   15	International administrative unions
Box   6 Folder   16	World justice and the Nuremberg trials
Box   6 Folder   17	The American past
Box   6 Folder   18	Historic aims of American foreign policy
Box   6 Folder   19	Physical community and outlook
Box   6 Folder   20	Problems of power and freedom
Box   7 Folder   1	Miscellaneous material
Box   7 Folder   2	Internationalism lecture, 1938
Box   7 Folder   3-5	Miscellaneous speeches, 1929-1948
Box   7 Folder   6	Problems in US-USSR relations (Govt 141)
Box   7 Folder   7	Revolutions, undated
Box   7 Folder   8	Russia (Lecture before ROTC class), 1935
	Russian Mission, 1917-1924
Box   7 Folder   9	Outline
Box   7 Folder   10	Arrival
Box   7 Folder   11	Who were the Bolsheviks?
Box   7 Folder   12	American embassy, 1917
Box   7 Folder   13	Sisson documents
Box   7 Folder   14	Trip to the south
Box   7 Folder   15	Second trip to the south
Box   7 Folder   16	Moscow, 1918
Box   7 Folder   17	Political agent in Moscow
Box   7 Folder   18	Business with the Bolsheviks
Box   7 Folder   19	Czechoslovakia
Box   7 Folder   20	Intervention
Box   7 Folder   21	Mirbach assassination
Box   7 Folder   22	Archangel landing
Box   7 Folder   23	German-Bolshevik alliance
Box   7 Folder   24	First mass terror
Box   7 Folder   25	Exit
Box   7 Folder   26	Archangel
Box   7 Folder   27	Problem of Russia, 1919
Box   7 Folder   28	Russian division at home
Box   7 Folder   29-30	Russian division abroad
Box   7 Folder   31	Washington Arms Conference
Box   7 Folder   32	Finis
Box   7 Folder   33-37	Miscellaneous material
	Series: Subject Files	⇧
Box   8 Folder   1	Back to the fundamentals, undated
Box   8 Folder   2	Conference on the public and international affairs, 1930-1931
Box   8 Folder   3	Local government
Box   8 Folder   4	Miscellany
Box   8 Folder   5	National Policy Committee, 1931
Box   8 Folder   6	Political Power in the USSR by Julian Towser, Memo, 1949
Box   8 Folder   7	Prestige, 1932, 1937, undated
Box   8 Folder   8	Recent Revelations of European Diplomacy, 1930
Box   8 Folder   9	Soviet recognition, 1933
Box   8 Folder   10-12	Student term papers
Box   9 Folder   1-2	Student term papers, continued
Box   9 Folder   3	Trade promotion, 1933-1936
Box   9 Folder   4-5	United Nations, 1946-1947, undated
Box   9 Folder   6	War, Causes and cures, undated