Gable, John A.

Dr. John Allen Gable, Executive Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, offers an address at Richland College giving an overview of the five phases he sees in the historiography of Theodore Roosevelt. Moving from the early hero-worship of Roosevelt in the years after his death, Gable sees historical opinion vary between critical perspectives of Roosevelt and more favorable representations, frequently moving in conjunction with the issues of the era the author is writing in. The most contemporary era, Gable believes, is a revival of Roosevelt’s reputation and scholarship. Further developments in the field of Roosevelt studies, Gable believes, will come from a stronger holistic understanding of the various facets of Roosevelt’s personality. Throughout his address Gable relies on a number of instances from Roosevelt’s life to illustrate his points, including the Venezuela Crisis, the Storer Controversy, and the 1912 Assassination Attempt.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association

Creation Date

1981

Creator(s)

Gable, John A.

Dr. John Allen Gable, Executive Director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, offers an address at Richland College giving an overview of the five phases he sees in the historiography of Theodore Roosevelt. Moving from the early hero-worship of Roosevelt in the years after his death, Gable sees historical opinion vary between critical perspectives of Roosevelt and more favorable representations, frequently moving in conjunction with the issues of the era the author is writing in. The most contemporary era, Gable believes, is a revival of Roosevelt’s reputation and scholarship. Further developments in the field of Roosevelt studies, Gable believes, will come from a stronger holistic understanding of the various facets of Roosevelt’s personality. Throughout his address Gable relies on a number of instances from Roosevelt’s life to illustrate his points, including the Venezuela Crisis, the Storer Controversy, and the 1912 Assassination Attempt.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association

Creation Date

1981

Creator(s)

Gable, John A.

John A. Gable provides a pointed criticism of the PBS documentary Crucible of Empire: The Spanish-American War by highlighting topics that the film does not discuss. Gable stresses that the film ignores the potential consequences to the Philippines if the United States had withdrawn after the war, and he notes that it also does not consider the weakness of the Cuban and Philippine governments in their infancy as independent nations. Gable admires the contributions of the many “talking head” historians, and he reserves a great deal of praise for the film’s use of period music.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1999

Creator(s)

Gable, John A.

John A. Gable provides a brief history of the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal, “the highest honor given by the Theodore Roosevelt Association.” Gable highlights some of the past winners, notes the various locations where the medal ceremony has been conducted, and details the design of the medal by James Earle Fraser. A photograph of Doris Albert Budner and President George Bush accompanies the article as does a text box providing contact information for the Theodore Roosevelt Association.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1999

Creator(s)

Gable, John A.

John A. Gable provides a brief biography of Barbara Bush, recipient of the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal in 1998, in which he highlights her support of literacy programs and her own achievements as a writer. Gable compares Bush to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt as a First Lady. A photograph of Bush appears at the center of the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1998-10-31

Creator(s)

Gable, John A.

John A. Gable provides a brief history of the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal, “the highest honor given by the Theodore Roosevelt Association.” Gable highlights some of the past winners, notes the various locations where the medal ceremony has been conducted, and details the design of the medal by James Earle Fraser. A drawing of one side of the medal accompanies the text. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2007

Creator(s)

Gable, John A.

John A. Gable provides a brief history of the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal, “the highest honor given by the Theodore Roosevelt Association.” Gable highlights some of the past winners, notes the various locations where the medal ceremony has been conducted, and details the design of the medal by James Earle Fraser. A drawing of one side of the medal accompanies the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2004

Creator(s)

Gable, John A.

In an article that originally appeared in the New York Sun, John A. Gable reviews two volumes of Theodore Roosevelt’s writings published by the Library of America. Gable asserts that The Rough Riders is a classic combat memoir, and he admits that Roosevelt’s An Autobiography disappoints in its coverage of Roosevelt’s presidency. Gable expresses frustration with the volume of Letters and Speeches because it contains only items that have been previously published while so many interesting Roosevelt letters remain unpublished and unknown. In addition to the reprinted review essay, the section features a text box labeled “What TR Wrote” in which Gable lists the various editions of Roosevelt’s works that are still in print.

The covers of both volumes from the Library of America appear at the center of the review, and a photograph of Gable with Jonathan Roosevelt appears at the section’s conclusion.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2004-11-23

John A. Gable reviews the second volume of Edmund Morris’s biography of Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Rex. Gable notes the literary character of the work, and he argues that Henry F. Pringle’s biography of Roosevelt is still read not because of its judgments, but because it is well written. Gable also compares Morris’s book to those of Lewis L. Gould and William Henry Harbaugh, and he quotes from several reviews of Theodore Rex in leading newspapers and magazines. Gable singles out the critical review of Christine Stansell, and he rebuffs some of her arguments by quoting from a response he wrote to her review. Gable concludes his essay by noting that many reviewers found parallels between the events of September 11, 2001 and the assassination of President William McKinley in September 1901. 

A photograph of Roosevelt, two of Morris, and a text box advertising a CD-ROM published by the Theodore Roosevelt Association appear in the review.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

John A. Gable critiques a book and an article that have been cited to undermine the case for awarding Theodore Roosevelt the Medal of Honor. Gable considers Teddy Roosevelt at San Juan: The Making of a President by Harold Samuels and Peggy Samuels and an article by military historian Mitchell A. Yockelson. Gable argues that the panel considering the merits of Roosevelt’s case should consider these works so that they can see the weakness of the argument against awarding Roosevelt the medal. Gable highlights some of the deficiencies in each of these works and refers to the Samuels’s book as “a blatant hatchet job.” 

A photograph of Gable with Tweed Roosevelt and two photographs of the Roosevelt Rough Rider equestrian statue in Portland, Oregon, supplement the letter. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

John A. Gable examines the influence that Theodore Roosevelt’s service as a Rough Rider in the Spanish-American War had on the rest of his career. Gable argues that Roosevelt’s service was vital to his election as Governor of New York and as Vice President. He also contends that it made Roosevelt a more effective and convincing Commander-in-Chief as President, but Gable also believes that the power of the Rough Rider image overshadowed Roosevelt’s considerable talents as a writer and intellectual. Gable concludes by asserting that Roosevelt’s record as a Rough Rider made him the last member of a “Heroic Line” in American history stretching back to the Revolutionary War. 

A photograph of Roosevelt in his Rough Rider uniform appears in the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

John A. Gable reviews the made-for-television movie Rough Riders by quoting extensively from three other reviews found in New York City area newspapers. Gable provides three paragraphs excerpted from the review of Bill Bleyer in Newsday, much of which focuses on the historical errors found in the film, and he balances this with excerpts from a positive review also found in Newsday. Gable does not reveal his opinion about the movie. A photograph of the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site appears in the review. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1997

Creator(s)

Gable, John A.

In a speech at the annual meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA), John A. Gable presents the case for awarding the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal to author David G. McCullough. Gable cites McCullough’s six books, his work in documentary television, and his support of historic preservation. Two photographs of McCullough supplement the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1996-10-26

Creator(s)

Gable, John A.

John A. Gable reports that Theodore Roosevelt’s favorite hymn to sing in church was most likely “How Firm a Foundation, Ye Saints of the Lord.” Gable quotes a letter in which Roosevelt cites the hymn as one of his favorites, and he also quotes from William Allen White’s autobiography in which White recounts Roosevelt singing the hymn at a church service in Emporia, Kansas. Gable also notes the singing of the hymn at Christ Church in Oyster Bay, New York. 

The article includes the verses to “How Firm a Foundation, Ye Saints of the Lord” as well as two photographs of a lectern that Roosevelt donated to Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg, Virginia. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

John A. Gable discusses the discovery of three photographs that show Theodore Roosevelt and his cousin Franklin D. Roosevelt together. Gable also provides context for the photographs, discovered by the author Geoffrey C. Ward, in detailing the libel case brought against Theodore Roosevelt by William Barnes. The three photographs show the two Roosevelts on their way to court in Syracuse, New York, on May 4, 1915. Two of the photographs appear in the article. The photograph on the back cover of this issue, and referenced in the article, shows Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt onboard a ship with Theodore Roosevelt upon his return to the United States from his African safari in 1910.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1990

Creator(s)

Gable, John A.

John H. G. Pell, former President of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) died on October 13, 1987. In this brief obituary, John A. Gable provides a biographical sketch and highlights Pell’s involvement in the leadership of many New York historical organizations.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1988

Creator(s)

Gable, John A.

John A. Gable provides a brief biography of Theodore Roosevelt’s uncle Robert Barnwell Roosevelt. Roosevelt grew up near his uncle, who lived in an adjoining brownstone to Roosevelt’s childhood home. Like his nephew later became, Robert Barnwell Roosevelt “was a conservationist, author, politician, sportsman, authority on wildlife, and political reformer.” In spite of the many similarities, however, he was also a Democrat and “was known for leading what was called a ‘Bohemian’ life-style.” The biography provides an overview of his career and highlights his work and publications on behalf of fishing and fish conservation. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1988

Creator(s)

Gable, John A.

John A. Gable reviews two works in the “Book Reviews” section. Gable praises James B. Reckner’s history of the Great White Fleet and notes that the work favors the military and technological aspects of the cruise, and he emphasizes that the cruise served as an important test for the navy in many respects. Gable also favors Louis Auchincloss’s The Vanderbilt Era: Profiles of a Gilded Age which looks at how the fortune of the Vanderbilt family helped shape American art and architecture in a quest to create an “American Renaissance.”

Two photographs appear in the section: one of Reckner and one of the USS Theodore Roosevelt underway in the Mediterranean Sea with other ships of her battle group and planes from her air wing.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1989

In this excerpt from his foreword to the second edition of the Theodore Roosevelt Cyclopedia, John A. Gable characterizes Theodore Roosevelt as both traditionalist and progressive–wishing to preserve American and Judeo-Christian values, while also working to implement modern reforms to face new conditions and challenges.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

Unknown

Creator(s)

Gable, John A.

John A. Gable recounts the life and work of Jessica E. Kraft who worked as a secretary for Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt and was the first Curator of Sagamore Hill. Gable highlights Kraft’s thirty-four years of service to the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) and notes the many roles and positions she held in the association. Gable also examines her volunteer work in the Oyster Bay, New York community, and the article contains the citation read on the occasion of her winning the Bertha B. Rose Award from the TRA in 1983.

Six photographs of Kraft, four of which show her with others, appear in the article as does an illustration of both sides of the TRA medallion.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1987