Robert R. McCormick. Business correspondence

Arrangement completed prior to receiving collection from the McCormick Foundation.

The organization of topics in this finding aid generally follows the original filing system as set up by Colonel McCormick's secretaries: a single alphabetical arrangement of topics and names (names of persons, organizations, laws, and other entities).

Names of persons are inverted ("Roosevelt, Eleanor"; "Shroeder, R. W."). Names of organizations that begin with personal names are likewise inverted. ("Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Co." is listed as "Budd, Edward G., Manufacturing Co.".) In this filing arrangement, names beginning "Mc" are filed as if they begin "Mac".

The "General" sub-heading under many topics has in most cases been moved to be the first sub-heading under a category. The location of a few other items has been adjusted to correct the alphabetical sequence. The result of these relocations is that the order of items in the finding aid does not always precisely mirror the order of folders in individual boxes.

The categorization of topics present in this list was developed over time and by different people; it is not rigorous, and there are exceptions to any rule whose existance might appear to be implied by an inspection of a single part of the listing. Although many names and topics appear directly in the alphabetical list, others of a similar nature are subordinate to another topic or name. (For example, Colonel McCormick’s correspondence with Winston Churchill is listed under "Great Britain", but his correspondence with William Benton is listed under "Benton". "National Editorial Association" appears under its own name, but "National Association of Manufacturers" is listed under "Organizations." America's Civil War is listed directly as "Civil War", but the Revolutionary War is listed under "Wars.") A few topics appear both as independent entries, and subordinate to relevant topics. (For example, Harold L. Ickes appears both directly under "Ickes", and subordinately under "National Recovery Act (NRA)"; the list contains both "Labor organizations" and the subdivision "Labor" under "Organizations"; the list contains both "Chicago newspapers" and "Newspapers, Chicago".) Most newspapers are entered subordinately to the name of a place (city, state or country), but others are entered directly under their own names.

Many names appear under "United States" headings. For example, senators are filed alphabetically under "United States. Senate"; representatives under "United States. House of Representatives"; Navy and Army personnel under "United States. Departments of - Navy Department" and "United States. Departments of - War Department." Although some United States presidents are filed under their surname, others are listed under another term. (Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt are listed under their surnames, but Dwight D. Eisenhower is listed under "United States. Departments of - War Department - Eisenhower, Dwight D. (General)".)

A degree of hierarchical arrangement was introduced into the original alphabetical sequence when the Tribune Company Archive arrived at Northwestern University, to make the list easier to consult. This began with the grouping of entries by initial letter, but was extended to additional levels as appropriate. However, the terms used in the list as it was originally constructed have not been updated to follow more recent practice. (For example, the list uses "Negro" instead of "African American", and "Semite" instead of "Jews".) The names of married women are often (but not always) expressed in terms of the husband's name. (For example, the list uses "Blaine, Emmons (Mrs.)" instead of "Blaine, Anita McCormick".)

When looking for anything in this list, do not stop after a single attempt. If the term does not appear at its expected place in the alphabet, also check for the term as a subordinate to another term. Even if the term appears at its expected place in the alphabet, additional material on the same subject may also be entered subordinately to another term.