Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Walter Camp
Subject(s): Books and reading, College sports, Eliot, Charles William, 1834-1926, Exercise, Football, Hamlin, Charles S. (Charles Sumner), 1861-1938, Harvard University, Hoar, Sherman, 1860-1898, Lodge, Henry Cabot, 1850-1924, Procter, John Robert, 1844-1903, Storer, B. (Bellamy), 1847-1922, Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930
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Civil Service Commissioner Roosevelt believes that all Americans owe a debt to Walter Camp for his championing of athletics and exercise, which Roosevelt believes is necessary as America develops a larger population of sedentary classes. Roosevelt particularly approves of football, and is disdainful of people like Harvard University President Charles William Eliot who wish to ban it because of the injuries it can cause. Roosevelt discusses injuries he has sustained during various sports and exercises, and says that while he approves of altering football’s rules so that it is less dangerous, he would rather have it be dangerous than not have it at all. Many prominent politicians in Washington, D.C., were involved in sports during their college years, and Roosevelt draws a link between having a sound body and a sound mind.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1895-03-11
Creator(s)
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919
Recipient
Language
English
Period
Civil Service Commissioner (1889-April 1895)
Repository
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Page Count
2
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 Walter Camp. [March 11, 1895]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o265787. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Walter Camp. [11 Mar. 1895]. Multi-image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. December 15, 2025. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o265787.
APA:
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919., [1895, March 11]. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Walter Camp.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o265787.
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. December 15, 2025. 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.
