Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917

Attorney General Moody requests William Loeb’s opinion regarding a proposal to promote Mr. Lloyd to the Assistant District Attorney position vacated by Henry C. Platt in New York. In the proposal, Lloyd’s former position is eliminated and the salary distributed among the other employees in the office. Moody also asks if William Michael Byrne, who wished to take Platt’s position, would accept a lesser job in the district attorney’s office.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-07-05

Creator(s)

Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917

Attorney General Moody discusses new state constitutions passed in some southern states designed to keep African Americans from having the right to vote. Moody declares that under the Fifteenth Amendment these new laws are unconstitutional. He calls for change so that African Americans are treated equally under the law.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-07-05

Creator(s)

Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917

Attorney General Moody sends President Roosevelt the account he requested of the conference Moody had with Senators Benjamin R. Tillman and Joseph W. Bailey. Moody recounts the circumstances leading to the conference, and the discussions he had with Roosevelt prior to the conference regarding an amendment to the Hepburn bill and the ability of Congress to limit the ability of courts to issue interlocutory injunctions. Moody told the two senators Roosevelt’s thoughts on the matter and found them to be largely in agreement, leading to the creation of a draft amendment. This amendment had some difficulty in the Senate, and Moody told Tillman and Bailey that it may be difficult for an amendment that the executive branch had a hand in crafting to pass, and suggested that they collaborate with Senator William B. Allison on the creation of a new amendment.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-14

Creator(s)

Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917

Attorney General Moody confirms that Representative Hepburn’s actions in the amendment to the Interstate Commerce Law is in line with President Roosevelt’s desires, and gives a detailed reasoning for his conclusion. In a typed addendum, Roosevelt agrees with Moody’s conclusions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-02-18

Supreme Court Justice Moody has read the letter and article from William Allen White that President Roosevelt forwarded to him, and offers his thoughts on the matter. Moody writes on the power of the courts to declare laws unconstitutional. This power has to be exercised with caution as, contrary to prior doctrine, the courts are not infallible. While there are checks on the power of the legislative and executive branches, if the Supreme Court exceeds its authority there is little recourse to correct the errors. Moody discusses recent examples where the Supreme Court made explicit that its duty is not to comment on the justice or wisdom of pieces of legislation, but to enforce the law as it is written and determine how laws interact with the Constitution and other laws.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-03

Creator(s)

Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917

Supreme Court Associate Justice William H. Moody has examined President Roosevelt’s letter with care. Moody finds the statement about McGraw’s conduct to be as he remembers, but thinks it would be best to say McGraw’s habits and reputation were very poor and his appointment would have caused a scandal. Moody remembers that in the case of the William C. Bristol matter, he felt the benefit of the doubt was deserved. Moody is grateful for Roosevelt’s trouble in the matter, and asks for a copy of the letter when sent.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-30

Creator(s)

Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917

Attorney General Moody encloses a draft of the announcement appointing trustees for the Nobel Peace Prize, which follows President Roosevelt’s instructions and includes Secretary of War Taft’s suggestion. Moody has added stipulations for the use of income since Roosevelt’s draft was silent on that aspect and thought Roosevelt might wish to take into account Secretary of Agriculture Wilson’s suggestion.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-07

Creator(s)

Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917

William H. Moody responds to allegations made by Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock that in matters regarding certain land cases, Wyoming Attorney General Timothy F. Burke and other Department of Justice officials have acted inappropriately and therefore should be removed from office. Moody disputes this and says that the claims Hitchcock has made are too vague and broad, without naming specific people aside from Burke. While Moody acknowledges that it would be impossible to keep up to date with the details of every legal case in the country, he is certain that he would be aware if anything untoward was happening regarding land cases. He will have Burke’s case investigated, though he hopes that specific charges will be filed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-08

Creator(s)

Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917

Attorney General William H. Moody formally resigns from his Cabinet post and expresses his gratitude to President Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-15

Creator(s)

Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917

Attorney General Moody reports that charges have been filed against B. F. Oneal, United States Marshall for the western district of Louisiana. Moody recommends that he be removed from office.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-02

Creator(s)

Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917

Attorney General Moody emphasizes to William Loeb that he must be in Washington on September 28 to meet with President Roosevelt, as he needs to leave for Massachusetts shortly after to prepare for a convention. Moody writes as a postscript that he will take up the matter of U.S. Marshal Vivian J. Fagin at once.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-17

Creator(s)

Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917

Attorney General Moody writes President Roosevelt regarding the case against U.S. Marshal Vivian J. Fagin. Fagin had initially submitted his resignation as marshal due to baseless charges that may have been levied against him, but then rescinded his resignation. Officials allowed Fagin to do so. Now, however, charges have been brought and an investigation by the Civil Service Commission is underway. The evidence seems to prove the charges. Moody will wait to take action until after he has met with Secretary of War William H. Taft, unless Roosevelt instructs otherwise.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-14

Creator(s)

Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917

Attorney General Moody has read the correspondence with Norman Hapgood and returned it to William Loeb. Moody retains the correspondence with Judge Jones so that he may examine Jones’ views critically, as he feels Jones’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment is wrong. Moody hopes President Roosevelt will not commit in his message to legislation which will ultimately be pronounced unconstitutional. Moody also asks Roosevelt when he feels it will be most appropriate to make a public announcement about Moody’s departure from the Cabinet.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-27

Creator(s)

Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917

Attorney General Moody received Secretary of War Taft’s letter forwarding one from Governor Edward Wallis Hoch regarding the appointment of Judge J. T. Dickerson to the District Court. Moody thinks President Roosevelt will not take this matter up until at or before statehood is consummated. Moody further offers Taft a few considerations regarding the appointment of a judge to the United States Supreme Court to fill Judge Henry Billings Brown’s vacancy.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-27

Creator(s)

Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917

Attorney General William H. Moody suggests that President Roosevelt might consider commuting the sentence of George E. Lorenz, a man who served as a witness for the government in the case against August W. Machen, Samuel A. Groff, and Diller B. Groff.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-21

Creator(s)

Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917

Attorney General Moody has decided to interrupt his trip in order to meet with Boies Penrose on an important matter. Moody will report back to President Roosevelt about the conference.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-08

Creator(s)

Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917

The Republican State Committee strongly desires Attorney General Moody to serve as a chairman of the Committee of Resolutions on October 5 at the Republican State Convention. Moody would like to know if President Roosevelt has any objections.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-17

Creator(s)

Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917

William H. Moody writes to William Loeb regarding the dismissal of Augustus H. Price, who is serving as one of North Carolina’s Assistant United States Attorneys. Moody encloses documentation that shows Albert L. Coble was approved by President Roosevelt to take Price’s position.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-21

Creator(s)

Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917

William H. Moody encloses the report of Assistant Attorney General Robb regarding an indictment returned against William Haywood and Charles Moyer for the murder of former Governor Steunenberg and a subsequent trial in Idaho.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-21

Creator(s)

Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917

Attorney General Moody writes to President Roosevelt with suggested changes to Roosevelt’s letter to Garfield. He makes four suggestions for changing the language of the letter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-25

Creator(s)

Moody, William H. (William Henry), 1853-1917