Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Nicholas Murray Butler
Subject(s): Dinners and dining, Entertaining, Lincoln Day addresses, Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865, Mississippi--Indianola, Page, Thomas Nelson, 1853-1922, Postal service, Race relations, Southern States
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President Roosevelt invites Columbia University President Nicholas Murray Butler to have dinner with him and stay the night at the White House. Roosevelt remarks that there is little hope for unintelligent Southerners if intelligent ones like Thomas Nelson Page have such views about the removal of the Indianola, Mississippi, post office and other actions. Roosevelt feels that he “would have been unfit to sit in the chair of Abraham Lincoln had [he] acted otherwise,” and informs Butler he will be anything but apologetic in his Lincoln Day address.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1904-12-20
Creator(s)
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919
Recipient
Butler, Nicholas Murray, 1862-1947
Language
English
Period
U.S. President – 1st Term (September 1901-February 1905)
Repository
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Page Count
1
Production Method
Record Type
Image
Resource Type
Rights
These images are presented through a cooperative effort between the Library of Congress and Dickinson State University. No known restrictions on publication.
Citation
Cite this Record
Chicago:
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Nicholas Murray Butler. [December 20, 1904]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o190492. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Nicholas Murray Butler. [20 Dec. 1904]. Image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. February 6, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o190492.
APA:
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919., [1904, December 20]. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Nicholas Murray Butler.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o190492.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. February 6, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division.
APA:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division.
