- MBRO 1 General Introduction, Alphabetical List of Correspondents, List of Items Microfilmed, and Correspondence, 1823-1842.
Among Brownson's correspondents for these early years are Isaac B. Peirce, George Ripley, William Ellery Channing, George Bancroft, Victor Cousin, Henry David Thoreau, Elizabeth P. Peabody, Anne C. Lynch, John C. Calhoun and John L. O'Sullivan. Items of special interest include Ripley's letter of Mar. 26, 1834, relative to the establishment of a ministry among the working classes of Boston, Bancroft's letter of July 9, 1837, assessing the political state of the country, Calhoun's letter of Dec. 30, 1839, relative to the election of Robert Hunter as Speaker of the House of Representatives and his letters of June 6 and Sept. 11, 1841, assessing Tyler's succession to the Presidency. Other items of special interest are Dixon H. Lewis' letters of June 8 and June 16, 1842, and Robert B. Rhett's letter, tentatively dated 1842, in regard to Brownson's support of Calhoun's candidacy for the Presidency, and correspondence with John L. O'Sullivan relative to the merger of Brownson's Boston Quarterly Review and O'Sullivan's United States Magazine and Democratic Review.
- MBRO 2 Correspondence, 1843-1849.
Included on this roll are a number of letters bearing upon such matters as Albert Brisbane's Brook Farm experiment, Brownson's break with the United States Magazine and Democratic Review, his inauguration and continuing publication of Brownson's Quarterly Review, his conversion to Roman Catholicism, the conversion of his close friend and frequent correspondent, Isaac T. Hecker, who subsequently founded the Congregation of St. Paul, his efforts to secure the conversion of others, and his efforts to defend Catholicism against the bigotry and attacks of its enemies. Other items of special interest include John C. Calhoun's letter of Feb. 1, 1844, commenting upon the evils of party machinery, William G. Ward's letter of April 7, 1847, relative to the controversy over Newman's theory of the "development" of Christian doctrine, and correspondence with James A. McMaster, editor of Freeman's Journal, which sheds considerable light upon their respective and divergent opinions as to the proper policies to be pursued by the Catholic press and Catholics in general.
- MBRO 3 Correspondence, 1850-1854.
The items on this roll reflect the continuing controversy over Newman's theory of Development, as well as the emergence of two additional areas of controversy among Catholics themselves, namely the furor created by (1) Brownson's championship of the papal power and (2) his criticism of the Irish in his articles on Native-Americanism. Other items of special interest include correspondence with Newman and Lord Acton relative to the offer to Brownson of a position as lecturer at the newly established Catholic University of Ireland, correspondence with A. Calderon de la Barca, the Spanish Minister in Washington, and his wife, Fanny, relative to the movement in the United States for the annexation of Cuba and the resulting filibustering enterprises against that island possession of Spain, correspondence with Father Isaac T. Hecker relative to their mutual work for the conversion of souls, and correspondence with Count Charles de Montalembert touching on both international and domestic French and American affairs. There are also drafts for Brownson's letter of Sept. 3, 1852, to Father John P. Roddan, editor of the Boston Pilot, setting forth Brownson s views on the approaching presidential election, and for his letter of Oct. 15-17, 1853, to John P. Healy explaining his objections to certain proposed amendments to the Constitution of Massachusetts. Finally, there are Robert J. S. Monteith's letter of Sept. 8, 1854, enclosing an essay by Monteith which purports to expose Russian subversive activities, and a letter of April 29, 1854, from Pope Pius IX blessing Brownson and his work.
- MBRO 4 Correspondence, 1855-1859.
The items on this roll reflect the continuing controversies over Native-Americanism, the Irish question and Brownson's views on the papal power, as well as the movement in 1855 of the seat of Brownson's Quarterly Review from Boston to New York City. Among the items of special interest are the continuing correspondence with Count Charles de Montalembert, the continuing correspondence with Father Isaac T. Hecker, drafts for Brownson's letter of Oct. 8, 1855, in answer to certain Know-Nothing allegations against the Catholic Church, and a letter of Mar. 10, 1857, from John Carroll Walsh of Maryland objecting to Brownson's published views on the slavery question.
- MBRO 5 Correspondence, 1860-1862.
The correspondence on this roll reflects Brownson's increasing concern with political affairs both at home and abroad, as well as an increasing degree of acrimony in the controversies evoked by Brownson's positions on such issues as the temporal sovereignty of the Pope, the plight of Catholic education, the abolition of slavery, and the preservation of the Union. Illustrative of the letters of criticism are Bishop William Henry Elder's letters of Dec. 18, 1860, and July 26, 1861. Brownson's attitude toward adverse clerical, episcopal and journalistic criticism is indicated in his drafts for letters of Oct. 20, 1860, Dec. 29, 1860, and May 2, 1862. Among the many other items of special interest are correspondence with Father Jeremiah W. Cummings pertaining to the denunciation to Rome of some of Brownson's controversial views, the continuing correspondence with Count Charles de Montalembert, correspondence with Charles Sumner, especially Sumner's letter of July 20, 1862, indicating that Sumner had informed President Lincoln of Brownson's opinions, and, finally, James A. Hamilton's letter of Sept. 27, 1862, revealing that Hamilton had conveyed to Lincoln a suggestion that he issue a second Emancipation Proclamation.
- MBRO 6 Correspondence, 1863-1870.
The items on this roll demonstrate Brownson's continuing concern over the domestic conflict and his devotion to the Union. Among the items of special interest in this regard are the correspondence with Charles Sumner, the correspondence with Edwin M. Stanton, the correspondence with Congressman William D. Kelley, the correspondence with the historian, George Bancroft, and, finally, Brownson's drafts for letters to the editors of such newspapers as the New York Tribune, and the New York Times. The efforts of certain Radical Republicans to block Lincoln's reelection are mirrored in letters of Feb. 27, March 4 and March 12, 1864, from James W. White soliciting Brownson's support for the endeavor. His actual support for the candidacy of John C. Frémont in 1864 is reflected in Frémont's letters of Mar. 29 and April 11. Shedding light upon Brownson's activities after he ceased publishing his own Review at the end of 1864 are correspondence with Father Edward Sorin, C.S.C., relative to articles for the Ave Maria, correspondence with Lawrence Kehoe, Father Isaac T. Hecker and Father Augustine F. Hewit relative to articles for the Catholic World, and correspondence with the Sadliers relative to articles for the New York Tablet.
- MBRO 7 Correspondence, 1871-1876.
Items of primary interest on this roll include correspondence with Father Isaac T. Hecker and Father Augustine F. Hewit relative to Brownson's continuing contributions to the Catholic World and his eventual deteimination, chafing as he was under their editorial policies, to cease those contributions, and letters expressing delight over the announcement of his plans to revive his own Review in 1873 as well as letters expressing regret over his decision to discontinue it once again at the end of 1875. The roll ends with a clipping from a Detroit newspaper of April 18, 1876 announcing Brownson's death in that city on April 17.
- MBRO 8-9 Series : Collected Material 1838-1894
- MBRO 8 Undated Correspondence, Clippings, Portrait, and Scrapbook of Army Letters of Captain Edward P. Brownson.
The undated correspondence, to be founcf on this roll, consists of ninety-five incoming letters as well as a number of undated drafts and fragments of drafts for outgoing letters written by Brownson. Five letters containing neither dates nor signatures are placed after the letters whose authors are known. One particularly interesting item is a letter from Elizabeth P. Peabody giving summaries of two sermons delivered by Brownson. The clippings consist of (1) a scrapbook of clippings about Brownson ranging from 1838 to 1857 and including clippings of a number of letters written by Brownson to the editors of various newspapers, (2) seven miscellaneous clippings ranging from 1839 to 1894 and including one from the American Catholic Historical Researches for April 1894 which reprints a letter written by Brownson to the editor of The Liberator in 1838 disavowing that he was "an open and avowed infidel," and setting forth his views on corporation monopolies and on slavery, (3) magnaprints of clippings from the New York Daily Times and the New York Times ranging from 1854 to 1867 and consisting of editorials and news items about Brownson as well as letters to the editor from Brownson, and (4) clippings of two letters written by Francis E. McMahon in 1965 discussing the present-day significance and importance of Brownson. These clippings are followed by a folder containing a photograph of a portrait of Brownson done in 1863 by George P.A. Healy and a very brief account of Brownson's life and the history of the portrait itself. The final item is a Scrapbook of the Army Letters of Captain Edward P. Brownson. The letters themselves, most of which are addressed to his sister, Sarah, range from June 16, 1862, to Aug. 20, 1864, and, in addition to discussing family matters, contain numerous and lengthy accounts of Edward's wartime experiences as well as candid appraisals of the officers with whom he worked and under whom he served. Among the final items in the scrapbook are several items relating to Edward's death in action. Both the roll and the scrapbook end with a letter from Edward to Mrs. John C. Frémont. It should be noted particularly that neither the letters of which there are clippings nor the letters in the scrapbook are included among those listed in the alphabetical list of correspondents.
- MBRO 9 Material from Other Collections.
The material on this roll consists of items or copies of items from twenty-four other collections. The major portion of these are letters written by Brownson. The roll begins with seventy-five letters from Brownson to his son, Henry, covering the period from 1860 to 1875. These are quite revealing as Brownson frequently consulted Henry on various topics. They are followed by photostats of letters in the possession of the Odiorne family, a family descended from Brownson through his daughter, Sarah. These letters range from Aug. 24, 1832, to Nov. 15, 1881, and deal largely, although not exclusively, with family matters. Two interesting items are letters from Jefferson Davis, one of July 30, 1880, to B. H. Hill, and another of Nov. 15, 1881, to Judge Tenney, Brownson's son-in-law. There follows material from the New York Archdiocesan Archives; material, consisting of photostats of letters ranging from Nov. 28, 1842 to Jan. 31, 1872 to Fathers Isaac T. Hecker and Augustine F. Hewit as well as to Lawrence Kehoe, from the Paulist Archives; and magnaprints of photostats from the Archives of the Sacred Congregation de Propaganda Fide covering the period from 1859 to 1861 and concerning the denunciation to Rome of certain of Brownson's opinions. Additional items from other collections include letters or copies of letters to Count Charles de Montalembert, Victor Cousin, George Bancroft, Richard Simpson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charles Sumner, President Martin Van Buren, William H. Seward, James A. McMaster, William L. Mackenzie, and James and Mary Anne Sadlier of the New York Tablet. It should be noted that the letters to be found on this roll have not been included among those listed in the alphabetical list of correspondents.
MBRO 10-19 Series : Drafts 1838-1875
- MBRO 10 Bound Items; and Drafts, 1838-1843.
The first group of items on this roll consists of a number of bound manuscripts of various essays, lectures and sermons by Brownson, most of which were apparently never published. AIso includcd among these bound items are a Notebook of Reflections (1822-1825?), Vol. 2 of the Mail Book for the Philanthropist, which Brownson edited in 1831 and 1832, and a Notebook of Clippings from the Boston Reformer during the brief period in 1836 when Brownson was its editor. The second group of items consists of drafts for essays published by Brownson in the period from 1838 to 1843. These, as well as the drafts to be found on succeeding rolls, are, in most cases, incomplete. They have been arranged chronologically according to the date of publication. Where a particular article has been published in several parts, the drafts for that article have been placed together under the date of the first publication.
- MBRO 11 Drafts, 1844 - Jan. 1848.
The longest item on this roll, covering over 650 pages, consists of various drafts for Brownson's "Admonitions to Protestants" which was published in his Quarterly Review for January, April and July 1848.
- MBRO 12 Drafts, April 1848 - Jan. 1854.
- MBRO 13 Drafts, Jan. 1854 - Oct. 1854.
- MBRO 14 Drafts, Oct. 1854 - April 1860.
- MBRO 15 Drafts, July 1860 - Aug. 1869.
- MBRO 16 Drafts, Sept. 1869 - July 1875 ; and Unplaced Drafts with Titles Supplied by Brownson, A-K.
This roll concludes the drafts for articles, publication of which has been found. The next series of items consists of drafts, the publication of which has not been found. Some of these have titles supplied by Brownson himself. These have been grouped together and arranged alphabetically. Others have been grouped together and arranged alphabetically according to subject matter by the editors of this microfilm publication. Some of these drafts may be for articles published in the New York Tablet in the late 1860s and early 1870s, but as these articles were unsigned and have not been included in Brownson's Works, edited by Henry F. Brownson, it has not been possible to trace them down within a reasonable time and with reasonable effort. On this particular roll are to be found the first part of the drafts with titles supplied by Brownson, covering the alphabet from A through K. Of special interest are one hundred pages for an intended but never published book entitled Essays on the Papacy and the Supremacy of the Spiritual Order, and thirty-seven pages for a complete article entitled "The Infallibility of the Church."
- MBRO 17 Unplaced Drafts with Titles Supplied by Brownson, L-W; and Unplaced Drafts Arranged According to Subject Headings, A-G.
Significant items among the drafts bearing titles given them by Brownson are forty-three pages for an article entitled "The Orange Riot of the 12th" and apparently written in 1871, thirty-nine pages for an unpublished book entitled Popular Objections to the Church, and thirty-four pages for an article on "Positivism."
- MBRO 18 Unplaced Drafts Arranged According to Subject Headings, H-R.
- MBRO 19 Unplaced Drafts Arranged According to Subject Headings, S-W; Printed Items; and Manuscripts of Contributors.
The magnaprints of two printed items to be found on this roll, "A Discourse on the Wants of the Times," May 29, 1836, and "Oration before the Democracy of Worcester and Vicinity," July 4, 1840, have been filmed because of their comparative rarity. The final series of items on this roll and in the Collection consists of a number of manuscripts or portions of manuscripts of contributors. These have becn sorted into two groups. The first of these includes all those for which the author is known. These have been arranged alphabetically according to the author's last name and include, among others, manuscripts by Albert Brisbane, Father Jeremiah W. Cummings, Dr. Levi Silliman Ives, Archbishop Francis Patrick Kenrick of Baltimore, J. Monroe, Jr., Father Charles C. Pise, and George W. Thompson. The second grouping consists of manuscripts, the authors of which are unknown. These have been arranged alphabetically according to their titles.
PBRO Orestes Augustus Brownson: Printed Material
- PBRO 1 - Boston Quarterly Review, 1838-1842 .
- PBRO 2 - United States Magazine and Democratic Review: New Series Volume XIII. New York: Langley, 1843 .
- PBRO 3 - Brownson's Quarterly Review, 1844-1875 .
Two sets.
- PBRO 4 - Brownson's Quarterly Review General Index. Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame, 1881 .
- PBRO 5 - Works of Orestes A. Brownson / collected and arranged by Henry F. Brownson, 1882-1887 .
Twenty volumes.
- PBRO 6 - Essays and Reviews chiefly on Theology, Politics and Socialism / by O.A. Brownson. New York: Sadlier, 1887 .
- PBRO 7 - Uncle Jack and His Nephew: Conversations of an Old Fogy with a Young American / by O.A. Brownson. Detroit: H.F. Brownson, 1888 .
- PBRO 8 - Brownson's Views: Literary, Scientific and Political Views of Orestes A. Brownson selected from his works by Henry F. Brownson. New York, Cincinnati and Chicago: Benziger Brothers, 1893 .
- PBRO 9 - Faith and Science: How Revelation Agrees with Reason, and Assists It / by Henry F. Brownson. Detroit: H.F. Brownson, 1895 .
- PBRO 10 - Equality and Democracy: A Lecture by Henry F. Brownson. Detroit: H.F.Brownson Publisher, 1897 .
- PBRO 11 - Brownson's Early Life: From 1803-1844 / by Henry F. Brownson. Detroit: H.F. Brownson, 1898 .
- PBRO 12 - Brownson's Middle Life: From 1845-1855 / by Henry F. Brownson. Detroit: H.F. Brownson, 1899 .
- PBRO 13 - Brownson's Latter Life: From 1856-1876 / by Henry F. Brownson. Detroit: H.F. Brownson, 1900 .
- PBRO 14 - Donahoe's Magazine, Volume I, Number 4, October 1903 .
With a lead article on "Brownson's Quest for Truth from Congregationalist to Catholic" by Henry Morgan.
- PBRO 15 - Learn of Me: First Lessons in Catechism / by Josephine Van Dyke Brownson. Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor Press, 1922 .
- PBRO 16 - Four Independents / by Daniel Sargent. New York, Sheed & Ward, Inc., 1935 .
- PBRO 17 - The Influence of Orestes Augustus Brownson / by Sister Mary Rose Gertrude Whalen, CSC. South Bend: Chimes Press, 1936 .
With a letter from the author to Professor Smithberger of Notre Dame's English Department, 2 October 1936, concerning prospects of publishing with Sheed & Ward.
- PBRO 18 - Orestes A. Brownson: A Pilgrim's Progress / by Arthur M.Schlesinger, Jr. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1939 .
- PBRO 19 - Josephine Van Dyke Brownson, Aluma / by Monica Weadock Porter. New York: Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart, 1948 .
- PBRO 20 - The Transcendentalists, An Anthology / by Perry Miller. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1950 .
- PBRO 21 - The Conservative Mind / by Russell Kirk. Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, 1953 .
- PBRO 22 - Orestes A, Brownson's Road to Catholicism / by Per Sveino. New York: Humanities Press, 1970 .
With handwritten notes probably made by Thomas R. Ryan, CPPS.