Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Curtis Guild
Subject(s): Armenia (Republic), Congo (Democratic Republic), Human rights, Human rights advocacy, International relations, Intervention (International law), Public opinion, American, Russia, South Africa, Turkey
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President Roosevelt chides Governor Guild for being involved with a petition that recently came to Roosevelt’s desk on behalf of Africans in the Congo Free State. Roosevelt receives hundreds of such petitions on a variety of topics based on whatever the current social cause is. If he had absolute power, and the United States were “prepared to embark on a long career of disinterested violence on behalf of all sufferers outside its limits,” then Roosevelt would gladly intervene, but as it stands he does not have any authority to intervene in any of the cases presented to him. Moreover, as the United States would not actually go to war in any of the cases, Roosevelt feels that the government should not “put itself into the ridiculous position of making a fuss which it does not intend to back up.”
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1906-04-02
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 Curtis Guild. [April 2, 1906]. Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o266675. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
MLA:
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Curtis Guild. [2 Apr. 1906]. Multi-image.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. January 12, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o266675.
APA:
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919., [1906, April 2]. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Curtis Guild.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division. Library of Congress Manuscript Division.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o266675.
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 12, 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.
