The Edward A. Ross Papers were acquired in several installments from the Ross family and from the Sociology Department and the Archives of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 1954 the Ross family, through Lester Ward Ross, son of Edward A. Ross, donated fifteen boxes of correspondence and other papers all pre-dating 1921. Five years later, the Sociology Department and its Chairman, W.H. Sewell, conveyed twelve cartons containing correspondence and manuscripts of speeches and articles, and six scrapbooks. Between 1971 and 1981 another son, Gilbert Ross, made several small donations consisting of family letters, photos, a diary relating to Ross's 1932 trip to Tahiti, and other papers. Finally, in 1981 the University Archives transferred custody to the Historical Society of ten boxes of Ross papers. This varied collection included miscellaneous correspondence; syllabi, exams, and other course materials; files regarding the American Committee for the Defense of Leon Trotsky, and the Ross Memorial Association; a few book manuscripts; and several travel diaries. The origin of the papers received from the University Archives is uncertain, although it is possible that they were sent to the Archives by the Sociology Department.
The 1954 and 1959 acquisitions and the material received from Gilbert Ross in 1971 had been organized separately as they were received. In 1982 each of these components plus the papers transferred from the University Archives and the additional materials received from Gilbert Ross were reorganized and interfiled into a single comprehensive collection.
All of this material is available both in paper form and on microfilm. It was microfilmed in 1982 in a publication project sponsored by the National Historical Records and Publications Commission and most of the narrative above and below is drawn from the published guide to that microfilm publication. The publication project addressed papers of Wisconsin Progressives, individuals who were connected with the University of Wisconsin or the Wisconsin state government and were intellectual leaders of the Progressive era. Other editions in the series are the Richard T. Ely Papers, Charles R. Van Hise Papers, Charles McCarthy Papers, and John R. Commons Papers. All of these individuals had leading roles in the ideological changes which led to the demise of Social Darwinism, the abandonment of laissez faire economics, the democratization of the electoral process, and the assumption by government of a positive role in furthering the cause of reform. Moreover, several of them had a direct hand in the design and implementation of major Progressive era reforms.
