Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Upton Sinclair
Subject(s): Books and reading, Capitalists and financiers, Employees, Gorky, Maksim, 1868-1936, Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 1809-1894, Letters, Social problems, Socialism, Tolstoy, Leo, graf, 1828-1910, Wyckoff, Walter A. (Walter Augustus), 1865-1908, Zola, Émile, 1840-1902
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President Roosevelt disagrees with the contents of a letter that a preacher sent to Upton Sinclair in which he compared him to Leo Tolstoy, Émile Zola, and Maksim Gorky. Roosevelt believes that if the type of socialism advocated in Sinclair’s book were implemented, one of the first efforts made would be to eliminate starvation. He sites a work by Walter A. Wyckoff in which Wyckoff traveled the country doing physical labor and found that in many cases, it is possible to quickly gain a position with steady work that allowed him to save. He agrees with Sinclair that radical action must be taken to end the “arrogant and selfish greed” of capitalists. However, he thinks that it is more important to develop the hearts and minds of the working class.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1906-03-15
Creator(s)
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919
Recipient
Language
English
Period
U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)
Repository
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Page Count
3
Production Method
Record Type
Multi-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 Upton Sinclair. [March 15, 1906]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o194936. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Upton Sinclair. [15 Mar. 1906]. Multi-image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. January 9, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o194936.
APA:
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919., [1906, March 15]. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Upton Sinclair.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o194936.
Cite this Collection
Chicago:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. 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. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. January 9, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division.
APA:
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/library-of-congress-manuscript-division.
