Nicholas Murray Butler speeches, 1882-1947

After clicking 'Submit Request', users will login with their UNI and password (Columbia affiliates) or their special collections account (external users). Appointments are required and will be arranged according to each individual repository's policy.


Series 2: Grouped Speeches

Series II is arranged chronologically by date ranges. Speeches are listed individually by title in the container list but are grouped in each folder according to date range.



Box 12 Folder 5 1882-1889


The Place of Comenius in the History of Education, 1882


The Effect of the War of 1812 Upon the Consolidation of the Union, 1887 July, 1812, 1887


Council of Education of the State of New Jersey: Report of the Standing Committee On Pedagogics, 1889 December 26, 1889


The Reform of the Undergraduate Course in the The School of Arts, 1890 October 11, 1890


Syllabus of Five Lectures on the Principles Of Education, 1892


School Men of the Hour, 1898 October, 1898


Philosophy IV--1898-99: British Philosophy From Locke to Herbert Spencer, 1898 October 1, 1898


Box 12 Folder 16 1899-1902


Syllabus of Four Lectures on the Co-Operation of Home and School,, 1899


Report of the Sub-Committee of the Committee on the Establishment of a National University, 1900 February 26, 1900


Status of Education at the Close of the Century: An Address Delivered Before the Department of Superintendence of the National Education Association at Chicago, 1900 February 27, 1900


Education in the United States, 1900 May, 1900


Six Tests Of an Educated Man, 1901 June 10, 1901


Syllabus for Education 2: Principles of Education, 1901 November 1, 1901


Some Pressing Problems, 1902


Shall There Be a Two Years College Course?, 1902 November, 1902


Box 12 Folder 17 1903-1909


The Length of the College Course and its Relation to the Professional Schools, 1903 July 7, 1903


Report of the President Butler to the Trustees of Columbia University, 1906 November 10, 1906


A New Method of Admission to College, 1909 April 24, 1909


The Call to Citizenship, 1909 April 6, 1909


Letter to the President Transmitting the Reply of the University Council to the Resolutions Adopted by the Trustees [on] May 4, 1908 1909 November 1, May 4, 1908, 1909


John Stewart Kennedy, 1909 January, 1909


Box 12 Folder 18 1911-1912


A Question of Academic Freedom Being the Official Correspondence Between Nicholas Murray Butler and J.E. Spingarn,, 1911


Why Should We Change Our Form of Government?, 1911 November 27, 1911


The Supreme Issue of 1912, 1912 April 10, 1912


What is Progress in Politics?, 1912 December 14, 1912


The Panama Canal Tolls Question, 1912 December 18, 1912



Box 13 Folder 1 1913-1915


Alexander Hamilton, 1913 January 11, 1913


The United States of Europe: An interview with Nicholas Murray Butler by Edward Marshall, 1914 October 18, 1914


Address by Nicholas Murray Butler at the Dinner in Honor of the Republican State Committee at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York, 1914 December 17, 1914


The New York Constitutional Convention of 1915, 1915 March 28, 1915


The United States as a World Power: an Interview with Nicholas Murray Butler by Edward Marshall, 1915 May 16, 1915


Karl Lamprecht: An Appreciation, 1916 November, 1916


Box 13 Folder 2 1916 April, 1916


Funeral of Nathan Oppenheim, 1916 April 12, 1916


The Building of the Nation, 1916 April 25, 1916


Box 13 Folder 3 1916 June, 1916


The Permanent Basis for a Liberal Education, 1916 June, 1916


The Voyage of Discovery, 1916 June, 1916


Republican National Convention Nominating Speech, 1916 June 9, 1916


The Political Issues of 1916 1916 July 21, 1916, 1916


Box 13 Folder 4 1916 August-1919 February, 1916


Nationality and Beyond, 1916 August 8, 1916


Is American Higher Education Improving?, 1917 June 21, 1917


Address at the Several Reception in Honor of the Royal Italian War Commission in New York, 1917 June 21-23, 1917


Constitutional Convention, 1917 August 23, 1917


Order, Liberty, Progress, 1917 October 19, 1917


Excerpts From the Writings and Addresses of President Butler on Academic Freedom, 1917 October 19, 1917


The Struggle for Democracy, 1917 November 23, 1917


1918 February 16, 1918

(In Yiddish)


A League of Nations, 1918 July 27, 1918


A Governed World, 1918 August, 1918


Letter "To Each Columbia Man in Service", 1918 November, 1918


American Opinion and the Problems of Peace: An Interview Given to Edward Marshall by Nicholas Murray Butler, 1919 January, 1919


Theodore Roosevelt: A Minute Presented to the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York, 1919 February, 1919, February


Box 13 Folder 5 1919 April-1919 December, 1919


Letter in Reply to the Rector of the University of Upsala, Sweden, 1919 April 15, 1919


The High Cost of Living: Its Probable Causes and Remedies, 1919 July 12, 1919


Industrial Peace, 1919 September 3, 1919


Is the United States Worth Saving?, 1919 September 15, 1919


Nicholas Murray Butler and The Educational Review from The School Bulletin, Syracuse, NY, 1919 December, 1919


Notes and News, Educational Review, 1919 December, 1919


Box 13 Folder 6 1920 December-1921 November, 1920


A National Budget and Efficient Administration, 1920 January 12, 1920


Problems Confronting the Carnegie Endowment for International peace: Statements by Elihu Root and Nicholas Murray Butler


Making Liberal Men and Women: Public Criticism of Present-Day Education; The New Paganism; The University, Politics and Religion

(Reprinted from the annual Report of the President, November 7, 1920)


The Building of Columbia and its Next Problems, 1921 February 15, 1921


Discussions: The Closing Door, 1921 October 20, 1921


Introduction to Professor Jefferson B. Fletcher's Symbolism in Dante's Divine Comedy, 1921 November 1, 1921


Box 13 Folder 7 1921 November-1923 March, 1921


The Presidency of Columbia, 1921 November 3, 1921


The Changing Foundation of Government, 1921 December 10, 1921


Address by Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler and Mr. Whitney Warren, 1922 April 4, 1922


The Nation and the States Versus the Nation Without the States, 1922 November 24, 1922


Building the American Nation, 1923


The Nation and the States Versus the Nation without the States, 1923 January, 1923


A Rational Immigration Policy, 1923 February, 1923


Law and Lawlessness, 1923 March, 1923



Box 14 Folder 1 1923 April-1924 June, 1923


American Policy and the International Court of Justice, 1923 April, 1923


Les Fondateurs des États-Unis, 1924 October-December, 1924


Discours de N. Nicholas Murray Butler, 1923 July, 1923


La Mission de l'Universite Moderne, 1923 July 17, 1923


The Development of the International Mind, 1923 September 17, 1923


Socialism Versus Capitalism, 1923 October, 1923


The People's Constitution, 1923 September 17, 1923


Socialism Versus Capitalism, 1923 October, 1923


The Faith of a Liberal, 1923 November 9, 1923


Sir Esme William Howard, 1924 April 9, 1924


Dr. Butler on Prohibition, 1924 June 4, 1924


Box 14 Folder 2 1924 October-1927, 1924


The Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University Medical Center, 1924 October 10, 1924


Practicable Steps Toward Peace, 1925 April 20, 1925


Courage, 1925 June 3, 1925


Discours de Reception a l'Academie des Sciences Morales et Politiques, 1925 June 27, 1925


Quelques Tendances Nouvelles de l'Esprit Public aux Estats-Unis, 1925 June 29, 1925


Allocution Prononcee au Diner Offert Par la Dotation Carnegie, 1925 July 2, 1925


The Legacy of the Great War, 1925 August 7, 1925


The True Meaning and The Results of Prohibition, 1925 January 10, 1925


Lotus Club Dinner Given to the Honorable Andrew W. Mellon, 1926 February 6, 1926


Pohjalikkust, 1926 March, 1926


The New York State Referendum: An Oportunity for True Friends of Temperance, 1926 April 9, 1926


Proceedings of the Opening Meeting of the Sixth International Congress of Philosophy, 1926 September 13, 1926


Stand Columbia, Alma Mater, 1926 October 6, 1926


The Presiding Officer, 1927


Box 14 Folder 3 1927 January-May, 1927


The Annual Meeting of the League of Nations Non-partisan Association, 1927 January 10, 1927


A Dangerous Derelict, League of Nations News, 1927 January 10, 1927


League of Nations Non-Partisan Association Dinner, 1927 January 10, 1927


Dr. Butler Predicts Coolidge Won't Run; Prohibition, Main Issue, The Republican, 1927 February 8, 1927


Luncheon of the Bond Club of New York, 1927 March 1, 1927


The Roosevelt Club Borah-Butler Debate, 1927 April 8, 1927


Briand Proposes Eternal Peace with US, 1927 April 25, 1927


What price Enforcement?: Address delivered to the Southern Maryland Society, 1927 May 5, 1927


Draft Treaty of Permanent Peace between the United States of America and….Prefatory Statement, 1927 May 31, 1927


Box 14 Folder 4 1927 June-July, 1927


The Coupon Bulletin of the Bond Club of New York, 1927 July, 1927


Enthusiasm, 1927 June 1, 1927


Box 14 Folder 5 1928


Lawlessness and the Law, 1928


Engineering Schools, 1928


To Repeal the Eighteenth Amendment, 1928 June 12, 1928


Honorable Chauncey M. Depew, 1928 April 12, 1928


The Constitution One Hundred and Forty Years After, 1928 March 4, 1928


Politics of Principle, 1928 January 24, 1928


Box 14 Folder 6 1928 August-October, 1928


Two Chief Issues of 1928 Limitation of Naval Armament & The Eighteenth Amendment, 1928 August 20, 1928, 1928


A Distinguished American Speaks His Mind, 1928 August 21, 1928


Forces That are Making History, 1928 September 2, 1928


True Versus False Internationalism, 1928 October, 1928


The Pact of Paris, 1928 October 1, 1928


A Program of Peace, 1928 October 1, 1928


Box 14 Folder 7 1928 December-1929 January, 1928


The Packer Alumna, 1928 December, 1928


Manners, 1929


The Name Columbia, 1929


The Academic Career, 1929


Higher Lawlessness, 1929


Les Forces Qui Créent L'Histoire, Extrait de L'Esprit International, 1929 January 1, 1929


L'Esprit International, The International Mind, 1929 January 1, 1929


Box 14 Folder 8 1929 April-October, 1929


Renunciation of War As an Instrument of International Policy, 1929 April 2, 1929


The New Outlook, 1929 October 18, 1929


The University and Civilization, 1929 October 20, 1929

(from theNew York Herald-Tribune)



Box 15 Folder 1 1929 December-1930 April, 1929


Dedication of New York's New Psychiatric Institute and Hospital, 1929 December 3, 1929


El Uno y los Mas y Otros Ensayos (tr: "'The One and the Many and Other Essays" translated by Jorge Roa),, 1930


Must Science Go the Way of the Classics?, 1930


The Wider University, 1930


University and City, 1930


Production and Distribution in Education, 1930


Gen. Smuts Visits America, The Guidon, 1930 February, 1930


Outline of the Address at the University of Rome, 1930 March 31, 1930


International Relations in the Congressional Record, 1930 April 20, 1930


Box 15 Folder 2 1930 April-December, 1930


Imponderables, Nord Und Sud and La Nueva Democracia, 1930 April 30, 1930


Speeches at a Diner In Honor of Nicholas Murray Butler, 1930 May 15, 1930


The Report of the Indian Statutory Commission, 1930 May 30, 1930


Weltprobmeme und offentlicje Meinung: Die Funamente des Friedens, Das Neue Europa, 1930 June 8, 1930


Dr. Butler's Case Against Prohibition: The Primary Question in our policy has to do with Government and Not With Liquor" by S.J. Woolf, The New York Times, 1930 August 31, 1930


Report of the President of Columbia University for 1930, 1930 December 27, 1930


Box 15 Folder 3 1931


Dr. Butler Asks for the Answer, 1931


L'Esprit International (The International Mind), 1931 January 1, 1931


L'Individu et La Collectivité, Extrait de L'Esprit International, 1931 January 1, 1931


The Pilgrims: Proceedings Annual Meeting of Members, 1931 January 28, 1931


Box 15 Folder 4 1931 April, 1931


Division of Intercourse and Education, 1931 April 6, 1931


Box 15 Folder 5 1931 May-September, 1931


Address by Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler at the Cornerstone Laying of James M. Green Hall, Trenton State Teachers College, 1931 May 9, 1931


When Philosophers Are Rulers, and Rulers Philosophers Year Book of the American Institute in Prague, 1931


Physical Education in Columbia College, 1931 September 1, 1931


Box 15 Folder 6 1931 November-1932 February, 1931


Brander Matthews: An Appreciation, 1931 November 12, 1931


En un Mundo Cambiante; En un Mundo Plan; Enanos y Gigantes; El Paro Forzoso,, 1932


The Pilgrims: Proceedings Annual Meeting of Members, 1932 January 27, 1932


The Christian Way Out, 1932 February 11, 1932


Across The Busy Years, The Republican, 1932 February 13, 1932


Box 15 Folder 7 1932 February-March, 1932


Centenary of Washington: America's First President, 1932 February 21, 1932


In Honor of Gerhart Hauptmann, 1932 February 28, 1932


Division of Intercourse and Education: Annual Report of the Director for the Year, 1932 March 1, 1932


The Challenge of Disarmament, What Will Nations Do?, 1932 March 31, 1932



Box 16 Folder 1 1932 April-July, 1932


American Public Opinion and International Affairs, 1932 July 6, 1932


So Says Nicholas Murray Butler, 1932 April 22, 1932


War Debts and the World Crisis, 1932 July 7, 1932


Speeches at the Dinner to Celebrate the Bicentenary of the Birth of George Washington, 1932 July 12, 1932


Statement on the Lausanne Reparations Settlement and what it means to the United States, 1932 September, 1932


Homo Sum, 1932 July 27, 1932


Abstract of an Address Before the Republican Organization Club on the Ninth Assembly, The Republican, 1932 April 4, 1932


American Public Opinion and International Affairs, International Affairs, 1932 September, 1932


La vie Politique and Internationale, France -- Etats-Unis, 1932 October, 1932


Box 16 Folder 2 1932 September-October, 1932


Outline of Plan for State Liquor Traffic Control Following Repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment, 1932 September 1, 1932


La Crise Mondiale et les Etats-Unis, L'Esprit International, 1932 October 1, 1932


Box 16 Folder 3 1932 November-1933 January, 1932


Colossal Debts and Heavy Taxes, 1932 November 16, 1932


David Jayne Hill, 1932 November 10, 1932


Report of the President of Columbia University for 1932, 1932 December 24, 1932


Appraising Technocracy, The Woman Republican, 1933 January 28, 1933


Box 16 Folder 4 1933 June-1934 February, 1933


Address at the Commencement Exercises, School of Nursing, Presbyterian Hospital, The Quarterly Magazine, 1933 June 1, 1933


Character, Conduct, Confidence, and Credit, The Challenge, 1933 June 6, 1933


Fifteen Years After, 1933 November 11, 1933


The Child Labor Amendment: Dr. Butler Calls on Organizations and Individuals to Act Promptly to Secure its Defeat, 1933 December 28, 1933


El Desarrollo del Espiritu Internacional, 1934


Where Does Lehrfreifeit Begin?, from the Report of the President of Columbia University,, 1934


Passing of Religious Knowledge, reprinted from the Report of the President,, 1934


Forgotten Fundamentals, Reprinted from the Report of the President,, 1934


Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of Members, 1934 January 24, 1934


President Eliot's Personality, 1934 February, 1934


Box 16 Folder 5 1934 April-September, 1934


The High Cost of Government, The Phi Chi Quarterly, 1934 March, 1934


President Butler of Columbia Sends This Message, The Big Parade, 1934 June, 1934


The World Crisis, Lecture Recorder and Meeting Reporter, 1934 July 3, 1934


Notes and Comment, 1934 September, 1934


Les Attaques Contre le Liberalisme, L'esprit International, 1934 September 2, 1934


The Attack on Liberalism, The Liberal Magazine, 1934 October, 1934



Box 17 Folder 1 1934 November-1935 June, 1934


Message Commemorating the One-Hundredth Anniversary of the Founding of The St. James Church, 1934 November 4, 1934


Speeches at a Dinner in Honor of John Buchan, 1934 December 12, 1934


Forward or Backward?, Vital Speeches, 1935 January 10, 1935


Address by the President, Annual Meeting of Members, The Pilgrims, 1935 January 23, 1935


Letter to Mr. Madison, The Arbitrator, 1935 February 21, 1935


Dotation Carnegie pour la Paix Internationale Conference reunie a Chatham House, A Londres, 1935 April 5, 1935


That Miscalled Child Labor Amendment, 1935 April 5, 1935


Academie Française Discours de M. Nicholas Murray Butler delegue de l'academie des arts Et des letteres à la Ceremonie du Troisième Centenaire de l'Academie Française Au Palais du Louvre Salle Des Coriatides, 1935 June 18, 1935


Box 17 Folder 2 1935 October-November, 1935


Is Thomas Jefferson the Forgotten Man?, 1935 September 1, 1935


L'Etat contre l'individu, 1935 October 1, 1935


Government, Liberty, and the Economic War, 1935 November 9, 1935


Box 17 Folder 3 1935 November, 1935


Andrew Carnegie, Benefactor, International Conciliation, 1935 November 24, 1935


The United States of Europe The Hungarian Quarterly, 1936


Box 17 Folder 4 1936 January-May, 1936


Across the Busy Years: Fourteen Republican Conventions, I. Garfield, Blaine, Harrison, McKinley, Scribner's, 1936 January, 1936


Across the Busy Years: Fourteen Republican Conventions, II. The Era of T.R. and the Bull Moose Eruption, 1936 February, 1936


Across the Busy Years, III: Behind the scenes in 1916 1936 March, 1916, 1936


Across the Busy Years: Fourteen Republican Conventions, IV. Conventions of 1920-1932 1936, 1920-1932, 1936


Across the Busy Years V: Our American West, 1936


Across the Busy Years VI: Things Seen and Heard in Politics, 1936


On Alumni Giving, The Cornellian Council Bulletin, 1936 May, 1936


Box 17 Folder 5 1937 January-1938 October, 1937


The Decline and Fall of Morals, The Lecture Recorder, 1936 June 2, 1936


Letter in Re: Child Labor Sent to Governors of nineteen States, 1937 January 16, 1937


Reorganization of Federal Judiciary, 1937 April 19, 1937


Talks to Students, 1938


Forum on World Peace Through World Trade, Messages and Address Delivered, 1938 February 7, 1938


Address by the President, Annual Meeting of Members, The Pilgrims, 1938 January 26, 1938


Culture and Common Sense, The Book Buyer, 1938 February, 1938


Columbia University in the City of New York: A World Center of Scholarship and Service, 1938 February 25, 1938


Work to be Done, 1938 May 6, 1938


Foreward to Friedrich Paulsen's Autobiography, 1938 September 1, 1938


Box 17 Folder 6 1938 November-December, 1938


Address of the President at the Proceeding of the Installation of Edwin Sharp Burdell, The Sixth Director of the Cooper Union, 1938 November 3, 1938


Fifty-First Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America Held at New York, New York… Address of Welcome by Nicholas Murray Butler, 1938 December 28, 1938



Box 18 Folder 1 1939 January-July, 1939


The Problem of War, 1939


An Abstract of the Address of President Nicholas Murray Butler at the Semi-centennial Celebration of the American Mathematical Society, 1939 January, 1939


The President's Dinner, University Club, 1939 January 20, 1939


International Cooperation: The Only Path to Peace, Legion D'Honneur Magazine, 1939 July, 1939


Box 18 Folder 2 Toward a Federal World, Religious Digest, 1939 November, 1939


An Answer to Senator W.E. Borah by Henry L. Stimson and Nicholas Murray Butler, 1939 September 15, 1939


The Place of the University in 1940 1939 September 27, 1940, 1939


Unidad de las Americas, 1940


Box 18 Folder 3 1940


Isolation is the Enemy of Civilization, 1940


John. H. Finley, 1940


Letter, Cross Channel, 1940 February, 1940


Our United States in this Backward-Moving World, 1940 September 1, 1940


An Unsolved Problem: The Government of Dependencies, 1940 December 23, 1940


Forward, 1943 March 1, 1943


The College in a City University, undated


Manifold Personality, undated


The Educational Significance of the Medical Center


Box 18 Folder 4 1939-1940


Christmas Greetings