Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Sharp Williams
Subject(s): Alabama, Benton, Thomas Hart, 1782-1858, Carmack, Edward Ward, 1858-1908, Clay, Henry, 1777-1852, Czolgosz, Leon F., 1873-1901, Editorials, Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 1803-1882, Heflin, James Thomas, 1869-1951, Houston, Sam, 1793-1863, Jackson, Andrew, 1767-1845, Jones, Thomas Goode, 1844-1914, Kitchin, Claude, 1869-1923, Macaulay, Thomas Babington Macaulay, Baron, 1800-1859, Mississippi, Morgan, John Tyler, 1824-1907, Panama, Presidents--Public opinion, Race relations, Sectionalism (United States), Southern States, Speeches, addresses, etc., United States--Gulf States, United States, East, United States, West, Veterans
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President Roosevelt responds to Representative Williams’s claim that he does not understand the South. Although Roosevelt is “greatly puzzled” by some difficulties he has encountered in the South, he has tried to treat the Southern States fairly. Roosevelt believes there are no issues with what he has done in the South but how he has been misrepresented in the South. The president is fine if people disagree with his policies, but he does not like when the facts are misrepresented. He mentions statements made by Alabama Senator John Tyler Morgan and Williams himself that were incorrect. Roosevelt does not appreciate the application of base motives to the president of the United States, and believes if the people of the South have been misled, it is because Southern leaders have misled them. Roosevelt also does not appreciate white men in the South trying to get their vote to count more than those in the North, and believes African American men should be judged by the same tests as “ignorant, vicious and shiftless whites.” Roosevelt closes by saying that what the South “really needs” is for her leaders to tell the truth.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1904-12-05
Creator(s)
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919
Recipient
Williams, John Sharp, 1854-1932
Language
English
Period
U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)
Repository
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Page Count
11
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 Sharp Williams. [December 5, 1904]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o266476. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Sharp Williams. [5 Dec. 1904]. Multi-image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. March 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o266476.
APA:
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919., [1904, December 5]. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Sharp Williams.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o266476.
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. March 12, 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.
