John Gilman Foster Papers

The John Gilman Foster Papers include the following material relating to Canadian American relations: correspondence with the Department of State, senators, and other government officials regarding the reciprocity negotiations and the election campaign of 1910-1911, correspondence on the issue of whether the United States should give the Consul General full diplomatic power on a par with a ministerial post, scattered letters from Mackenzie King including some of his early philosophy on industrialism and society, and later advocacy of upgrading the U.S. Consul as well as Canadian representatives in Washington, general reports to the Secretary of State on the state of politics, Parliament, and other developments in the Dominion, and two letters on the state of Canadian munitions holdings during World War I. The greater part of the collection, however, includes correspondence relating to family matters, correspondence, bills and receipts relating to the management of trust estates, especially the Elizabeth E. Baxter Estate, banking, and other business in Vermont, correspondence and reports documenting Foster's activities in the stock market, and a considerable amount of correspondence with a brother, Stephen Foster, relating to Canadian-American affairs and other business concerns of the Chicago firm of Butler, Lamb, Foster and Pope of which Stephen was a partner. Types of material include correspondence, reports, ceremonial speeches and speeches before various ethnic and cultural groups, newspaper clippings and travel memorabilia documenting Foster's trip abroad in 1928. The papers have been arranged by year and alphabetically by correspondent within each year. Speeches and newspaper clippings have been collected at the end because many of them were undated. A list of notable correspondents has been appended to the inventory.