William Edgar Borah Scrapbooks

William Edgar Borah Scrapbooks, 1903-1947

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Borah, William Edgar, 1865-1940
Title: William Edgar Borah Scrapbooks
Dates: 1903-1947 (inclusive)
19031947
Quantity: 5 cubic feet, (5 boxes; 102 folders)
Collection Number: MG 010
Summary: William Edgar Borah was a Republican Senator from Idaho, born in Fairfield, Illinois, June 29, 1865. This collection contains scrapbooks housing newspaper clippings, magazine articles, and some letters about Senator Borah; also photographs of Borah and recordings of four of his speeches.
Repository: University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives
Special Collections and Archives
University of Idaho Library
875 Perimeter Drive
MS 2350
Moscow, ID
83844-2350
Telephone: 2088850845
libspec@uidaho.edu
Access Restrictions: Collection is open for research.
Languages: English

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The 56 scrapbooks and 34 folders of mounted newspaper clippings which deal with the political career of William Borah span the years 1903 to 1947, with the bulk of the items from the years 1910-1939. The bound volumes contain, in addition to newspaper clippings and journal articles, some correspondence.

In addition to the clippings, there are photographs of Borah and audio recordings of four of his speeches.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

William Edgar Borah, Republican Senator from Idaho, was born in Fairfield, Illinois, June 29, 1865, the seventh of ten children born to William Nathan and Elizabeth (West) Borah. He was educated in the public schools near Fairfield and at Enfield College. He spent two years, 1885-1887, at the University of Kansas, but had to withdraw because of illness. He then studied law in the office of his brother-in-law and was admitted to the Kansas bar in 1890.

In 1891 he moved west and settled in Boise, Idaho, where he opened a law office. On April 21, 1895, he married Mary McConnell the daughter of Governor William J. McConnell.

He first became a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1903, but was defeated by Weldon Heyburn. He was elected in 1907 and served in that body until his death in 1940. In 1924 he became chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee; he also served on the Judiciary Committee. He was often mentioned as a presidential candidate, but not until 1936 did he actually enter any primaries; his defeat at the convention by Alf Landon was not unexpected.

William E. Borah died January 19, 1940, following a stroke.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

[Description of Item], William Edgar Borah Scrapbooks, MG 010, Special Collections and Archives, University of Idaho Library, Moscow, Idaho.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Clippings and Scrapbooks, 1903-1947Return to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
1	1-34	Mounted Clippings 578 items.	1906-1947
		Scrapbooks by Subject	1903-1939
Box	Folder
2	35	Politics - Miscellaneous 1 item	1906-1907
2	36-37	Politics - Campaign of 1904 2 items.	1904
2	38	Politics - Campaigns of 1904, 1906	1904, 1906
2	39	Politics	1905-1906
2	40	Haywood Trial	1907
2	41	Haywood Trial; Borah Trial for Fraud	1907
2	42	Borah Trial for Fraud	1907
2	43	Politics	1907
Oversized	44	Politics and Miscellaneous	1907-1908
2	45	Brownsville Affair	1908
Oversized	46	Taft-Sherman Campaign of 1908	1908
2	47	Politics and Miscellaneous	1908-1910
2	48	Public Land Laws and Public Land Policy	1908-1909
2	49-50	Politics - Direct Election of Senators	1910-1913
2	51	Personal Contains photo of Borah's birthplace.	1911-1912
Oversized	52	Convention and Campaign of 1912 Contains photo of Borah and President Taft.	1912
Oversized	53	Politics - Speculation on Borah for President	1912-1916
3	54	Memoranda Relative to Republican Policies and Party Action	1912-1916
3	55	Borah for President, Convention of 1916, Contemplated Retirement	1914-1917
3	56	Untitled	1922-1928
3	57	Untitled	1918-1928
3	58	Chairman Senate Foreign Relation Committee	1922-1928
3	59-61	Editorial comment on radio address of Senator Borah	July 23, 1932
4	62-63	Supreme Court Reorganization	1937
4	64	License Bill Monopoly	1937-1939
Oversized	65	Borah for President	1935-1936
		Scrapbooks by Date	1920-1939
Box	Folder
4	66-68	Scrapbooks 1-3	December 1920-June 1924
Oversized	69-90	Scrapbooks 4-25	July 1924-November 1939

Other MaterialReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
5	91	Lists of Items in Borah Family Gifts to the Library	1950-1966
5	92	Invitations	1914-1945
5	93	Date Book belonging to Mrs. Borah	1943
5	94	Bound volume entitled "Politics" containing handwritten notes by W.E. Borah
5	95	Photographs 12 items.
5	96	Aluminum phonodiscs of four of Borah's speeches	1938, 1939
5	97	Reel to Reel tape recordings of above speeches 4 items
5	98	The Biggest Steal in the World's History, compiled by Warren G. Davenport	1937
5	99	Printing block for William Edgar Borah Memorial Library bookplate
Oversized	100	Certificate of appreciation from the employees of the Chief Clerks Offices, Royal Hungarian Ministry of Justice	1931
	Box
Oversized	101	Wood plaque presented to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee re: Roosevelt's attempt to pack the court	1937?
	Folder
Box 5	102	Cassette tape recordings of Borah's speeches 2 cassettes

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Legislators

Archives West Finding Aid

Table of Contents