Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edward Sandford Martin

Subject(s): Elite (Social sciences)--Attitudes, Presidents--Recreation, Roosevelt family, Writing--Evaluation

President Roosevelt tells the writer Edward Sandford Martin that he and Mrs. Roosevelt were struck by a point in Sanford’s last article that it is a wise choice to select home life instead of some alternative. Roosevelt feels the life of the “Four Hundred,” the social elite in New York, is “flat as stale champagne.” He found their companionship intolerable and does not feel one can permanently live that way. Roosevelt closes by describing an “all-night’s expedition” with his cousins and sons.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1903-07-30

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Recipient

Martin, Edward Sandford, 1856-1939

Language

English

Period

U.S. President – 1st Term (September 1901-February 1905)

Repository

Harvard College Library

Page Count

2

Production Method

Typed

Record Type

Multi-image

Resource Type

Letter

Rights

Electronic copy sponsored by the Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University. For reproduction or publication permission, contact the Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Houghton Library. See the Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library Terms of Use for further copyright information.

Citation

Cite this Record

Chicago:

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edward Sandford Martin. [July 30, 1903]. Harvard College Library.
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o283451. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.

MLA:

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edward Sandford Martin. [30 Jul. 1903]. Multi-image.
Harvard College Library. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. January 29, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o283451.

APA:

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919., [1903, July 30]. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edward Sandford Martin.
Harvard College Library. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.
Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/digital-library/o283451.

Cite this Collection

Chicago:

Harvard College Library. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/harvard-college-library. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University.

MLA:

Harvard College Library. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. January 29, 2026. https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/harvard-college-library.

APA:

Harvard College Library. Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library. Dickinson State University. Retrieved from https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/collection/harvard-college-library.