Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Graham Brooks
Subject(s): African American postmasters, Books and reading, Brown, William Garrott, 1868-1913, Bryan, William Jennings, 1860-1925, Buckner, Simon Bolivar, 1823-1914, Capers, John G., 1866-1919, Cleveland, Grover, 1837-1908, Cox, Minnie M. Geddings, 1869-1933, Ex-presidents, Gage, Lyman J. (Lyman Judson), 1836-1927, Hanna, Marcus Alonzo, 1837-1904, Harrison, Benjamin, 1833-1901, Local officials and employees--Selection and appointment, London, Jack, 1876-1916, Longino, Andrew H. (Andrew Houston), 1854-1942, McKinley, William, 1843-1901, Mississippi, Mississippi--Indianola, Olivier, Sydney Haldane Olivier, Baron, 1859-1943, Palmer, John M. (John McAuley), 1817-1900, Parker, Alton B. (Alton Brooks), 1852-1926, Patronage, Political--U.S. states, Postmasters--Selection and appointment, Racism, Root, Elihu, 1845-1937, Russell, Charles Edward, 1860-1941, Ryan, Thomas Fortune, 1851-1928, Smith, Charles Emory, 1842-1908, South Carolina, Southern States, Steffens, Lincoln, 1866-1936, Stone, Alfred Holt, 1870-1955, Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930, Truthfulness and falsehood, Washington, Booker T., 1856-1915, Whitney, William C. (William Collins), 1841-1904, Wilson, Edgar S., 1858-1935
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President Roosevelt outlines and refutes the falsehoods in Alfred Holt Stone’s Studies in the American Race Problem. He tells John Graham Brooks that he judges a work’s reliability by seeing what it says about a subject he is familiar with, and then deciding if he can trust it on things that he does not know as much about. He explains that Stone is spreading falsehoods about the so-called “referee” system in the Southern states, especially Mississippi. Roosevelt points out that the practice was common with presidents before him, and that it is necessary in areas where the Republican party does not have a strong enough presence to provide good appointees to positions. He also discusses his handling of the case of African American postmistress Minnie M. Geddings Cox, who was forced by an angry mob to resign her position and leave town.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1908-11-13
Creator(s)
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919
Recipient
Brooks, John Graham, 1846-1938
Language
English
Period
U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)
Repository
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Page Count
9
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 John Graham Brooks. [November 13, 1908]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o205170. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Graham Brooks. [13 Nov. 1908]. Multi-image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. February 27, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o205170.
APA:
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919., [1908, November 13]. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Graham Brooks.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o205170.
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 27, 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.
