Lewis Harvie Blair papers, 1897-1914

Summary Information

Abstract

Manuscripts of businessman and Southern political writer Lewis Harvie Blair.

At a Glance

Arrangement

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in 1 series.

• Series I: Lewis Harvie Blair Documents, 1897-1914

Description

Summary

Collection contains manuscript and typescript drafts of Lewis Harvie Blair's political work as well as a manuscript of his autobiography. There is also a draft of a letter to Oswald Garrison Villard referring to The Prosperity of the South.

• Series I: Lewis Harvie Blair Documents, 1897-1914

Using the Collection

Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Restrictions on Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

This collection has no restrictions.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Lewis Harvie Blair Papers; Box and Folder; Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

2011.2012.M072: Source of acquisition--Franklin Gilliam Rare Books. Method of acquisition--Purchase; Date of acquisition--01/26/2012.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Papers processed Carrie Hintz 02/24/2012.

Finding aid written Carrie Hintz 02/27/2012.

Revision Description

2012-02-28 xml document instance created by Carrie Hintz

2019-05-20 EAD was imported spring 2019 as part of the ArchivesSpace Phase II migration.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form

Subject

History / Biographical Note

Biographical Note

Businessman, writer, and political thinker Lewis Harvie Blair was born in 1834 in Richmond, Virginia to Sarah Ann Eyre Heron and John G. Blair. The Blair family was an old and prominent Richmond family involved in numerous business and philanthropic concerns in the city. Blair's father was a well-known financier, and his father a respected reverend.

Blair remained in Richmond until he was seventeen, when his father's death prompted him to joint the United States military. He spent four years in the service, first as a merchant marine and then as an engineer in the Great Lakes lighthouse service based in Detroit, Michigan. In 1860 Blair returned to Virginia to try to establish a career in business. His early career ventures were cut short by the breakout of the American Civil War.

In 1862 Lewis Harvie Blair joined the Confederate army as a private. He remained an active member of the army throughout the duration of the Civil War, returning to Richmond after the close of the conflict. He began his career in the wholesale grocery business, and eventually grew to include manufacturing and selling dry goods, notably shoes. He also ran a successful real estate business.

Blair became increasingly interested in politics and political theory, and in 1886 began publishing books and articles on current affairs and political themes. His first book, Unwise Laws: a Consideration of the Operations of a Protective Tariff Upon Industry, Commerce, and Society, was a laissez-faire economics text. This was quickly followed up by a series of articles he published in the New York Independent, and later collected and published as a book entitled The Prosperity of the South Dependent on the Elevation of the Negro which called for the civil equality of all men and asserted that the South could not prosper unless it fostered racial equality. Later in life he distanced himself from these views and repudiated much of his writing on racial equality.

Blair's writing included not only a number of published texts, but other unpublished works including revisions of his previous work, articles, and an autobiography.

Blair was married twice, first to Alice Tayles Harrison, and then to Mattie Ruffin Field. He had seven children with his first wife, and four with his second. He died in Richmond, Virginia in 1916.