Senator Albert Jeremiah Beveridge, 1862-1927
Class of 1885
Size: 7 dc, 4 flat boxes, 1 oversize volume; 7 l.f.
Restrictions: none
Accession: UM 92-52, D993.044
Provenance: Albert J. Beveridge
Processed by: Joan Stevens, Tiffany Booth, Tom Snider, Wes Wilson, March 1997
Biographical Sketch
United States Senate Years of Service: 1899-1911
Party: Republican
Albert Jeremiah Beveridge was born on a farm on the border of Adams and Highland counties, Ohio, October 6, 1862, the son of Thomas H. and Francis E. (Parkinson) Beveridge. Albert was the only child of this union, but there were seven children by Thomas’ first wife, Elizabeth. The Beveridge family moved to Illinois following the Civil War. After Thomas Beveridge’s business failed in 1874, Albert was forced to go to work to help support the family. He held a series of manual labor jobs including plowboy, railroad laborer, logger and teamster. Although Albert’s father, soured by his business failures, was not close to his son, Albert’s mother did much to encourage him. Mother and son remained close throughout her life.
At 15 Albert was able to attend Sullivan High School graduating in 1881. While his dreams of attending college were temporarily thwarted, a former employer, Edward Anderson, lent him fifty dollars for tuition. This loan combined with savings Beveridge accumulated the previous year, allowed him to enter Indiana Asbury University in the fall of 1881. While Beveridge entered the university very poor and had to work odd jobs in town to fund his education, his best source of income became prizes received for winning oratorical contests. His greatest success was winning the Interstate Oratorical Contest in the spring of his senior year. Beveridge had been indifferent to the Christian faith until his junior year when his friend, Samuel Brengle, later a top leader in the Salvation Army, won him over. He attended a revival at Locust Street Methodist Episcopal Church the next day and responded to the altar call.
He met his wife, Katherine Langsdale, while a student. She had entered Indiana Asbury’s academy in 1880, but did not attend the university. They married November 24, 1887. Katherine died June 18, 1900. Beveridge married Catherine Eddy of Chicago, August 7, 1907. They had two children, Albert J. and Abby Spencer.
Following graduation from DePauw University with a Ph.B. in 1885, and a year in land speculation in Kansas, Beveridge read law in the office of ex-Senator Joseph E. McDonald in Indianapolis and was admitted to the bar in 1887. He remained with the firm until he went into private practice. He made friendships with many Republican legislators and earned a reputation as a talented speaker. His break came when he won a case argued before the Indiana Supreme Court and then another argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1892. Beveridge turned down a request to run for state attorney general in 1893, but accepted a bid for U.S. Senator in 1898. He served two terms, 1899-1911, but failed in his run for a third.
While a senator he was involved in the writing and passage of several laws including his ground breaking meat inspection and child labor legislation. The meat inspection law was the direct result of Beveridge, having read Upton Sinclair’s book The Jungle, convincing President Roosevelt to take up the industry reform cause. It was the beginning of Beveridge’s leadership in the progressive movement of the Republican party. After service in the Senate, Beveridge served as chairman of the Progressive National Convention in Chicago in 1912.
He was the author of numerous publications, but is best known as the author of the definitive Life of John Marshall, 1916. His unfinished biography of Abraham Lincoln was later published and a portion of it in manuscript form is part of this collection. He received additional academic honors as follows: A.M., DePauw, 1888; LL.D., DePauw, 1902; University of Pennsylvania, 1920; Lafayette College, 1921; and Brown University, 1921. He died April 27, 1927 at his home in Indianapolis and was buried at Crown Hill Cemetery.
The Albert J. Beveridge papers are divided into four series. Series 1, scrapbooks most are
arranged chronologically. The scrapbooks are composed of clippings. Loose clippings are also included
with Series 1. Series 2, correspondence, 1881-1927 arranged chronologically. Series 3, writings, consists
of speeches, articles and pamphlets arranged chronologically. Series 4, general papers consists of four
subseries; 1a, biographical material, 1b, campaign material, 1c photographs and 1d ephemera.
Series 1: Scrapbooks
DC 2129 #1 1881-1889
#2 Oct., Nov. 1898
#3 Dec. 1898-Jan. 1899
DC 2130 #4 Jan. 1899-Sept. 1899
DC 2131 #5 Nov. 1899-1901
#6 1900-1902
DC 2132 #7 1901-1902
#8 1900-1903
DC 2133 #9 1900-1904 speeches
#13 1910
DC 2134 #10 1904
#14 1914 campaign
#15 1914 campaign
#16 1916 Collier's
DC 2135 #11 1905-1908
EX LRG VOL #12 1910
ON SHELF
DC 2136 #17 1922
#18 1927 death
DC 2137
Series 1: Clippings
loose pages from scrapbook #12
n.d.
1896, 1898
1899 DePauw Palladium
1900
1900 Editorials
1901
1902
1902 (loose clippings)
1904
1906
1907
1909
1910
1910 Campaign speeches
1923
1927 Death 1927
1935-
Series 2: Correspondence
1895-1922 (6 letters, scattered years)
Series 3: Writings
1a. Speeches
n.d.
1885
1892
1898
1900, 1902
1903
1904
1906
1907 (oversize drawer 6, item #72)
DC 2138
Series 3: Writings (cont.)
1a. Speeches
1907, 1909
1908
1908 September
1910
1910
1910
1910
1912
DC 2138
Series 3: Writings (cont.)
1a. Speeches
1914
1919, 1920
1920
1920
1920
1920
1920, 1921
1921
1921
1921
1921, 1922
1922
1922
1923
1923
1923
1925
1926
1926
1927
1b. Speeches given in U.S. Senate
1900
1905 (3 copies: 1 handwritten; 2 printed, one deluxe
copy inscribed "To Catherine From Albert
April 3rd 1907--history's most notable day."
1907
1907
1907, 1908
1909
1910, 1911
1911
DC 2139
Series 3: Writings (cont.)
1c. Articles, pamphlets and other writings
"The Courts and the People", 1923
Tracts for Today No.2
John Marshall book publicity
Lincoln biography, draft of chapter 2
(on desk of AJB April 27, 1927)
"Philander Chase Knox American Lawyer
Patriot, Statesman"
DC 2139, cont.
Series 3: Writings (cont.)
1c.
"Unused Uses of a Vacation"
1st, 2nd, 3rd (?) drafts
final draft 1910 - never published
Series 4: General Papers
Articles about AJB Biographical material
Committee on Privileges and Elections
January 9, 1911
October 26, 1912
"Congressional Record"
Feb. 5, 1908
May 11, 1909
May 25, 1909
June 24, 1909
June 10, 1910
Feb. 24, 1911
Ephemera
Honors, memorials, tributes
Photographs (3 photographs in DC 2133)
Political materials
Unidentified notes
See Also:
Beveridge signature in pencil in Slavery in the South Vindicated Whitcomb collection
Carhart, Joseph - material for reference to Beveridge
Greencastle Herald - Oct. 12, 1909; LaFollette sees Beveridge
Oct. 22, 1909; Beveridge gives advice
Murlin dc for a 7 page paper by W.W. Sweet entitled, "Albert J. Beveridge, Historian"
Murlin collection - letters from Beveridge and Murlin's reply
DC 111, folder 5-Jan, 29, 1925; Jan. 31, 1925; May 12, 1925
Longden collection - letters to and from Beveridge, Jan. 31, 1925; Feb 6, 1925; Jan. 30, 1925
Hughes collection - September 15, 1905 letter
Tilden, Richard Arnold - "The Senatorial Career of Albert Jeremiah Beveridge", 1928 Microfilm #140
Jesse Weik - DC 1504 November 18, 1910 letter
Ritter DC November 24, 1926
"Beveridge Research"in folder in Oxnam file 1930-31
Articles by Herold T. Ross
"Beveridge the Debater", The Forensic, 1931 pp. 89-90
"The Education of an Orator" Quarterly Journal, 1932 pp.70-82
"Beveridge! Orator of Nationalism" The Forensic, 1933
"Oratorical Career of Albert J. Beveridge", Archives of Speech, September 1936 69 pp.
"Albert J. Beveridge" History and Criticism of American Public
Address, McGraw-Hill, 1943, Chapter 32 pp. 919-941
"Albert J. Beveridge at DePauw", 1935 typed manuscript and
microfilm #140
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