University
of Florida Archives
Carleton, William G. (William Graves),
1903-1982.
Papers, 1918-1982 (bulk
1928-1982)
6.6 linear ft. (14
boxes, 1 microfilm reel, and 7 volumes).
The collection is divided
into three series: MS7a,
Correspondence files, 1928-1982; MS7b, Speeches,
lectures, and writings,1943-1980; and MS7c, Clippings
and scrapbooks, 1918-1979.
William Graves Carleton,
Professor of History and Political Science, is remembered as one of the
University of Florida's most colorful lecturers and productive scholars.
Known affectionately to his students as "Wild Bill", Carleton was a dynamic
speaker in the classroom and widely sought for speaking engagements.
As a scholar, his major fields of study were American politics and culture
and international relations. He authored The Revolution in American
Foreign Policy (1954), Technology and Humanism (1970), and
hundreds of articles and book reviews.
Carleton was born in
Evansville, Indiana, and came to the University of Florida as a student
in 1924. In 1925 he returned to Indiana and attended the University
of Indiana where he received his B. A. (1926) and an M. A (1934).
At Indiana he studied history under William O. Lynch with whom he continued
to correspond. He came back to Florida in 1926 as a law student and
instructor in history and political science. He was also a lecturer
in the General Extension Division. He attained his Juris Doctor from
the College of Law in 1931. His early years in Indiana and
at the University of Florida are recollected in his memoir, Free Lancing
Through the Century.
From 1940 to 1957,
he was chairman of the Department of Social Sciences in the General (later
University) College. Carleton was the principal architect of the
American Institutions (C-1) curriculum and his classes in C-1 were often
attended by up to 600 students. Carleton retired from the faculty
in 1962. He was a close friend of Manning Dauer and C. Vann Woodward.
Correspondence with the latter, who began his academic career at Florida
in the 1930s, spans the years from 1940 to 1971.
In addition to scholarly
and classroom activities, Carleton was also active in Democratic Party
politics and was an outspoken supporter of New Deal liberalism. During
the1928 presidential election, Carleton was a stump speaker for Al Smith.
His activities in support of Smith are also detailed in Free Lancing Through
the Century. He was active in the 1932 and 1936 elections
as well. His interest and concerns in domestic politics are
documented in the correspondence with Claude Pepper. Also of interest
in this regard are the correspondence files for Raymond Robins of Chinsegut
Hill, (William) Earl Faircloth, George Smathers, John B. Orr, Leroy Collins,
and Phil Locke.
Carleton was keenly
interested in international politics. In the years prior to World
War II, Carleton made numerous speeches in favor of American neutrality
and opposed Roosevelt's alliance with England. His views on international
relations before the war are documented in the correspondence with Joseph
P. Kennedy, Charles A. Beard, and the America First Committee.
(See also Pepper, Woodward, and Robins correspondence.) After Pearl
Harbor, Carleton abandoned his isolationist position and became an
enthusiast for world government and the United Nations Movement.
Carleton worked with the Peace Aims Committee of the Rotary Club
and delivered speeches before Win the Peace Meetings in Jacksonville and
Tampa where he first outlined his internationalist position. (See
the files entitled "Rotary Club of Tampa--Peace Aims Committee", "Paul
Smith", "Southern Council on International Relations", "United Nations
Committee of Asheville", and "Carolina Institutes of International Relations"
for his work in support of world federalism.) In post-war years,
Carleton was often critical of American foreign conduct.
Of singular interest
in matters related to American conduct in world affairs are letters from
Claude A. Hawley on U. S. involvement in World War II, a letter from Agnes
Smedley on U.S. policy in China, descriptions of combat and life in Korea
in the letters of Jack Lamb, and first-hand accounts by Jason Finkle describing
an attempted coup against Ngo Dinh Diem in 1961 and Finkle's criticism
of U.S. support for the Diem regime.