Claude Kitchin Papers, 1879-1923.

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Summary

Creator:
Kitchin, Claude, 1869-1923.
Abstract:

Claude Kitchin (24 March 1869-31 May 1923) was a Democrat from North Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1901-1923; chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee; and House majority leader for the Sixty-fourth and Sixty-fifth Congresses, 1915-1919.

The collection includes Kitchin's office files while he served as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and House majority leader, particularly concerning his interests in the tariff; revenue bills, including war bonds and income tax; military defense; and opposition to United States entry into World War I. Correspondence documents committee issues and policy, constituent concerns, and local and state politics. There are a few earlier papers, mostly concerning North Carolina Populist-Democratic politics, 1896-1898, the Democratic Party in North Carolina, and prominent national figures. Also included are speeches and petitions, House bills, copies of the Congressional Record, clippings, letters of sympathy at his death, and notes and correspondence about Kitchin by Professor Alex Matthews Arnett (1888-1945).

Extent:
30000 items (25.5 linear feet)
Language:
Materials in English
Library Catalog Link:
View UNC library catalog record for this item

Background

Biographical / historical:

Claude Kitchin (24 March 1869-31 May 1923), born in Scotland Neck, Halifax County, N.C., was a member of the Democratic party in the United States House of Representatives, 1901-1923; chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee; and House majority leader for the Sixty-fourth and Sixty-fifth Congresses, 1915-1919. His father, William Hodges Kitchin, was a United States Representative from North Carolina, 1880-1882, and his brother, William Walton Kitchin, was also a United States Representative from North Carolina, 1896-1908, and governor of the state, 1909-1913. Claude Kitchin graduated from Wake Forest College in 1888, where he studied law. He married Kate Mills and fathered nine children. He was admitted to the bar in 1890 and was interested in business, banking, and farming, as well as law and politics.

During his terms in Congress Kitchin focused on the tarrif, revenue bills, and funding the Unites States' efforts in World War I. He opposed the military preparedness measures of President Woodrow Wilson, and was one of fifty members of Congress to vote against declaring war on Germany in April 1917. Afterwards however, he threw himself into the war effort, arguing for an increase in taxes on excess corporate profits to fund the military, rather than selling Liberty Bonds and placing the financial burden of war on future generations. He suffered a stroke in 1920, but continued to serve in Congress until his death in 1923.

Scope and content:

The collection includes Kitchin's office files while he served as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and House majority leader, particularly concerning his interests in the tariff, revenue bills, military defense, and opposition to United States entry into World War I. Series 1 Correspondence and Other Papers, 1878-1936 and undated, documents committee issues and policy, constituent concerns, and local and state politics. There are a few earlier papers, mostly concerning North Carolina Populist-Democratic politics, 1896-1898, the Democratic Party in North Carolina, and prominent national figures. Also included are speeches and petitions, letters of sympathy at his death, and notes and correspondence about Kitchin by Professor Alex Matthews Arnett (1888-1945). Notable correspondents include William Jennings Bryan, Josephus Daniels, William Gibbs McAdoo, and Woodrow Wilson. Series 2 U.S. House of Representatives Bills, 1916-1920, includes proposed bills to change the income tax, to institute a war income tax and a tax on war profits on government contracts, and to authorize issue of additional bonds to fund war expenditures. Series 3 Congressional Record consists of selected issuesof the publication, 1913-1921. Series 4 Clippings, 1892-1925 and undated, includes articles, editorials, pictures, and political cartoons concerning Kitchin, his actions in Congress, and World War I.

Acquisition information:

Received from Mrs. Claude Kitchin and Claude Kitchin Jr., 1933 (Acc. 101916).

Processing information:

Processed by: SHC Staff

Encoded by: Noah Huffman, December 2007

Updated by: Amanda Loeb, October 2013; Nancy Kaiser, November 2020

Sensitive materials statement:

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Access and use

Restrictions to access:

No restrictions. Open for research.

Restrictions to use:

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

No usage restrictions.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], in the Claude Kitchin Papers, #406, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Location of this collection:
Louis Round Wilson Library
200 South Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27515
Contact:
(919) 962-3765
wilsonlibrary@unc.edu