Call Number:

MC214

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers

Extent:

4 boxes

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Roland S. Morris Papers, Box and Folder Number; Public Policy Papers, Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1855-1988 (inclusive) and 1915-1929 (bulk)

Creator:

Morris, Roland S. (Roland Sletor), 1874-1945

Form:

Correspondence. and Diaries.

Abstract:

Roland S. (Sletor) Morris was a leader of the Democratic Party in Pennsylvania and was the ambassador to Japan from 1917-1921. The Roland S. Morris Papers consist of correspondence, diaries, writings, and other materials that document Morris's family life, political involvement in the Democratic Party, and his position as the U.S. Ambassador to Japan from 1917-1921.

Roland S. (Sletor) Morris was a leader of the Democratic Party in Pennsylvania and was the ambassador to Japan from 1917-1921. Morris was born in Olympia, Washington on March 11, 1874 to Thomas Burnside Morris and Sarah Arndt Sletor. Morris attended the Lawrenceville School before entering Princeton University in September 1892. He graduated in June 1896, and went to the University of Pennsylvania Law School from 1896-1899, graduating cum laude. After receiving his law degree, Morris practiced law in Philadelphia at the firm of Duane, Morris and Heckscher. Morris was also politically active; he was the Chairman of the Democratic State Finance Committee in 1908 and from 1913-1916; additionally, he was a delegate or delegate at large to the Democratic National Convention in 1904, 1908, 1912, 1920, and 1928. President Woodrow Wilson appointed him as Ambassador to Japan from 1917-1921, and sent him on a special mission to Siberia from 1918-1919. Morris was a professor of international law at the University of Pennsylvania beginning in 1924, the Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association, President of the American Philosophical Society, a trustee of both Princeton University and Temple University, and a Regent of the Smithsonian Institute.

Morris married Augusta Shippen West in Philadelphia on April 20, 1903 and they had two children, Sarah Arndt Morris and Edward Shippen Morris. He died in Philadelphia on November 23, 1945.

Roland S. (Sletor) Morris was a leader of the Democratic Party in Pennsylvania and was the ambassador to Japan from 1917-1921. Morris was born in Olympia, Washington on March 11, 1874 to Thomas Burnside Morris and Sarah Arndt Sletor. Morris attended the Lawrenceville School before entering Princeton University in September 1892. He graduated in June 1896, and went to the University of Pennsylvania Law School from 1896-1899, graduating cum laude. After receiving his law degree, Morris practiced law in Philadelphia at the firm of Duane, Morris and Heckscher. Morris was also politically active; he was the Chairman of the Democratic State Finance Committee in 1908 and from 1913-1916; additionally, he was a delegate or delegate at large to the Democratic National Convention in 1904, 1908, 1912, 1920, and 1928. President Woodrow Wilson appointed him as Ambassador to Japan from 1917-1921, and sent him on a special mission to Siberia from 1918-1919. Morris was a professor of international law at the University of Pennsylvania beginning in 1924, the Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association, President of the American Philosophical Society, a trustee of both Princeton University and Temple University, and a Regent of the Smithsonian Institute.

Morris married Augusta Shippen West in Philadelphia on April 20, 1903 and they had two children, Sarah Arndt Morris and Edward Shippen Morris. He died in Philadelphia on November 23, 1945.

The Roland S. Morris Papers consist of correspondence, diaries, writings, and other materials that document Morris's family life, political involvement in the Democratic Party, and his position as the U.S. Ambassador to Japan from 1917-1921. The collection includes correspondence between Morris and his family, particularly his wife, Augusta Shippen West, as well as official incoming correspondence during Morris's ambassadorship and correspondence from Woodrow Wilson and Edith Bolling Wilson to Morris. Diaries and journals include travel accounts from Morris and his wife, along with a description of Morris's mission to Siberia in 1919 written by Frank C. MacDonald, an assistant at the Japanese embassy. The Writings section of the Morris Papers includes published and unpublished works relating to Japan and diplomacy. Biographical material includes information on the Morris family, particularly Morris's marriage to Augusta Shippen West in 1903.

The Roland S. Morris Papers are organized into the following categories: Correspondence, Diaries and Journals, Writings (Of Morris and Others) and Biographical Materials. Within these sections the folders are arranged alphbetically except the Diaries and Journals, which are arranged chronologically.