Spring Rice, Cecil, Sir, 1859-1918

Letter from Cecil Spring Rice to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt

Cecil Spring Rice thanks Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt for her letter and gives personal updates on his life. He wishes he could bring his wife to see Roosevelt, but she is in London and is expecting a baby soon. Spring Rice wishes he could be with her, but is doing his duty in St. Petersburg. He comments on the state of politics in Russia, particularly between Sergei Witte and Pyotr Durnovo. The Emperor believes the army is loyal to him, but Spring Rice believes that the situation will not last very long and that a revolution will come sooner or later. He mentions the San Francisco earthquake, commenting on how well the military responded and how quickly the city is likely to be rebuilt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-04-25

Letter from Cecil Spring Rice to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt

Cecil Spring Rice thanks Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt for a book of poems and describes his work in St. Petersburg and the state of Russia at the time.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-04

Letter from Cecil Spring Rice to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt

Cecil Spring Rice provides Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt with a detailed synopsis of the ongoing turmoil in Russia, including student demonstrations, labor strikes, and violent police reprisals. Spring Rice believes Roosevelt has seen accounts of the “inconceivable brutality” of the attacks on students and Jews, and that the “accounts are not exaggerated.” He believes the army is the only organized force left in Russia but wonders how long it will last. Spring Rice believes that no one either trusts or likes Sergei Vitte or his government and due to all the uncertainty “the forces of anarchy flourish.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-11-27

Letter from Cecil Spring Rice to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt

Cecil Spring Rice is sending some Russian illustrated storybooks and will send the translations later. He tells one of the stories, and he wants President Roosevelt’s reaction to a story about a wolf. Spring Rice is writing from St. Petersburg where he is an English diplomat. He describes the guns from Peter and Paul Fortress booming the day before, to warn people living underground to get out because of a storm and the Neva River flooding.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-11-25

Letter from Cecil Spring Rice to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt

Cecil Spring Rice describes in absorbing detail the latest events in Russia, including the General Strike, Count Witte’s negotiations with Emperor Nicholas II, and the public unrest. Spring Rice also describes how Grand Duke Nicolas planned to use Witte as a shield between the people and the throne because Witte was hated by the reactionaries and expendable. Also narrated are the actions of Dmitri Trepov and the strikers.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-11-01

Letter from Cecil Spring Rice to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt

Cecil Spring Rice discusses the international repercussions of the Anglo-Japanese Treaty, including government reactions to it, and how the Treaty was received in the press. Spring Rice discusses how the Treaty might affect the formation of a continental coalition, and how carefully European power and relationships are balanced.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-10-15

Letter from Cecil Spring Rice to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt

Cecil Spring Rice discusses the Portsmouth Treaty, England and France reaching an agreement about Morocco, and Count Sergei Witte being offered the post of Prime Minister and the challenges he faces in attempting to govern Russia. Spring Rice also speculates about a Russo-German alliance, if Russian can get a loan, and the expansion of the Russian Empire into Finland.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-10-10

Letter from Cecil Spring Rice to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt

Cecil Spring Rice details, in confidence, the events leading up to the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth, including his information that Sergei Vitte had been ordered to find a pretext to break off negotiations, and he did not. Spring Rice discusses Vitte’s reaction to the Anglo-Japanese Alliance. He also discusses the careful balancing act that is Anglo-French-German relations, and how a Russian alliance with some of the parties could destabilize the whole.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-10-05

Letter from Cecil Spring Rice to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt

Cecil Spring Rice explains the events leading up to the peace negotiations between Japan and Russia, and how Lamsdorf manipulated who was chosen to negotiate for Russia. Spring Rice discusses Europe’s subsequent reactions and the trouble of European alliances that appear to exclude some nations, with France, Germany, and England being the main axes, and Russia being the troublesome pivot-point.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-09-26

Letter from Cecil Spring Rice to Theodore Roosevelt

President Roosevelt’s letter was received and Lord Lansdowne’s reply is enclosed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-08-07

Letter from Cecil Spring Rice to Theodore Roosevelt

Cecil Spring Rice relays a speech the Marquess of Lansdowne gave before the English government. Lansdowne urged the English government to use its influence to help bring peace to the conflict between Russia and Japan. Rice discusses the issues influencing the actions of Russia and Japan, including the history and balance of power in Europe.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-07-11

Letter from Cecil Spring Rice to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt

Cecil Spring Rice writes to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt on the general state of affairs in Europe, Russia, and the Far East. He discusses the unrest in Russia, where he is acting as British ambassador, which has allowed the Germans to come into greater conflict with the French. The balance of power has been upset, with Germany doing “pretty much what she pleases, unless she is ashamed.” Also of interest is the condition of the Russo-Japanese war, where although the Russians outnumber the Japanese, there is a serious issue of morale. He hopes to hear news from Oyster Bay soon.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-04-26

Letter from Cecil Spring Rice to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt

Cecil Spring Rice shares matters of foreign affairs regarding Russia, Japan, Germany, and other countries with First Lady Edith Roosevelt. Issues regarding the resolution of the Russo-Japanese War and terms for peace – as well as the situation within Russia, which Spring Rice says borders on anarchy – make up the bulk of the letter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-29

Letter from Cecil Spring Rice to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt

Cecil Spring Rice updates Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt on the declining political and social situation in Russia. Although revolution seems to be in the air, Czar Nicholas seems impervious to demands for reform and determined to maintain the autocracy. Crowds are being shot down in the streets, including women and children; trains are being robbed of munitions; and a complete breakdown of order appears imminent. Spring Rice also describes Great Britain’s stance toward Russia, Japan, and America, particularly King Edward VII’s admiration for President Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-13

Letter from Cecil Spring Rice to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt

Cecil Spring Rice enjoyed seeing Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt and the rest of her family during a recent visit. Spring Rice thinks President Roosevelt looked very good, and looks forward to seeing him act on a larger stage in the world. He tells Edith to pass along to the President that he heard about a Japanese warship that will soon be raised from where it is currently sunk. He provides news about naval battles occurring in the Russo-Japanese war. In one battle he describes, Spring Rice says the Russians would have had the victory, but the Japanese got a lucky shot and demoralized the Russian troops.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-02-15

Letter from Cecil Spring Rice to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt

Cecil Spring Rice writes from his diplomatic posting in St. Petersburg, Russia. Russians are not happy with the Russo-Japanese War and are wary of foreigners, especially English and Americans. He sees Russia and Germany growing closer but doubts that they will ever reach an alliance. Spring Rice reflects on Russia’s relationships with the other great powers and sees Russia’s future as in the East. He suggests that Germany will end up allying with the victor of the Russo-Japanese War.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-05-25

Letter from Cecil Spring Rice to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt

Cecil Spring Rice discusses the status of the Russo-Japanese war. He expresses sorrow concerning news of President Roosevelt’s ailing aunt, Elizabeth Norris Emlen Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-02-11

Letter from Cecil Spring Rice to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt

Cecil Spring Rice announces to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt that he has become engaged to be married. He also writes about the situation in Russia, sharing his opinion of the United States ambassador to Russia. He discusses opinions in Russia regarding President Roosevelt and about the possibility of war. While the idea of war is unpopular because the common people do not understand what the fight is about, Spring Rice thinks the people would bear a war regardless of any disasters. The Emperor seems to be above both law and morality.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-01-20

Letter from Cecil Spring Rice to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt

Chargé d’Affaires of Britain Spring Rice details to First Lady Roosevelt the economic and political climate in Russia. While Spring Rice sees no immediate stirrings of revolution there, he hints that revolution may still be in Russia’s future because of the unsustainable, poor economic conditions in the rural areas and the dearth of strong, reform-minded leadership within the government. While Spring Rice sees Russia’s Interior Minister, Vi︠a︡cheslav Konstantinovich Pleve, as a capable leader, Pleve opposes reform, and though S. I︠U︡. Vitte, the chairman of the Committee of Ministers is “a strong man, too, and might be a reformer,” Emperor Nicholas II strongly dislikes him. Spring Rice also perceives Russia’s slights of other nations and its aversion to making treaties as hindrances to its government. Additionally, Spring Rice tells Roosevelt of a Russian folk story he has recently translated into English.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-12-09

Letter from Cecil Spring Rice to Theodore Roosevelt

Cecil Spring Rice will soon be in the Sudan and tells a Sudanese ghost story for the benefit of Ted.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-01-11