Horatio Alger collector and biographer Ralph Gardner sent letters to influential people in the United States during the 1960s in order to find out if Alger's ideas had any effect on their thinking. Gardner sought quotes from these people to incorporate into his biography of Alger. This collection consists of the responses he received.
Property rights in the collection were transferred to Northern Illinois University Libraries. Literary rights are dedicated to the public, however any copyrights if stated in the materials will continue in force. The materials in this collection are available for research to qualified scholars as determined by the Northern Illinois University Libraries without restrictions.
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The materials in this collection provide documentation on what various important political, business, literary, and religious figures of the 1960s thought about Horatio Alger's "strive-and-succeed" theme. Contained in this collection are the responses to letters of inquiry from Alger aficionado Ralph Gardner. Letters in this collection range from 1962 to 1967.
Ralph Gardner worked forThe New York Times and later became the president of Ralph D. Gardner Advertising in New York. He later wroteHorato Alger or The American Hero Era and in researching and preparation for that biography, he contacted U.S. Senator Herbert H. Lehman, who had direct contact with Alger. Gardner later wrote noted political, business, literary, and religious leaders inquiring whether or not Alger's ideas influenced them.
Horatio Alger
Ralph Gardner
Herbert H. Lehman
Lyndon B. Johnson
Carl Sandburg