Johnston, Harry, 1858-1927

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1913-02-05

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Recipient

Johnston, Harry, 1858-1927

Language

English

President Roosevelt looks forward to the rest of the books from Harry Johnston, and he asks that Johnston visit him when visiting Washington, D.C., so they can discuss mutual interests.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-21

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Despite having just written to Harry Johnston, President Roosevelt finds his letter interesting and writes again. He is delighted Johnston is visiting America in the fall and invites him to stay at the White House. Like Johnston, Roosevelt “loathe[s] mere sentimentalism…but I abhor scoundrelism, iniquity, injustice in all its forms, even more.” Concerning African Americans, Roosevelt wants the truth and “how to expound and apply” it “in the interests of practical statesmanship.” Roosevelt is amused that Johnston similarly prefers simplified spelling.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-18

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt is interested in the book on the Congo Free State that Harry Johnston has sent, and shares his thoughts about missionaries and their work with “savages.” Roosevelt’s upcoming safari is in support of the National Museum of Natural History, and as such he will do all he can to prevent the needless slaughter of animals on the trip.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-14

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt did not receive Harry Johnston’s letter until after he sailed, and Roosevelt is very sorry for having missed him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1914-11-17

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt reports that President-elect William H. Taft was not angry about Harry Johnston’s letter. The breakwater that Johnston spoke of will soon be started and they will have to “just disregard the Panamans’ susceptibilities.” Roosevelt chose not to take his “wanderjahr” in Central America and the Caribbean, as he wants to stay out of politics right after he leaves office and not appear to look like an American envoy appearing in different countries.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-15

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt looks forward to receiving Sir Harry Johnston’s book about the comparison of Black people in the West Indies, southern United States, and “with what he is at home”. Roosevelt is sending a picture and map and wired Colonel George W. Goethals at once about arrangements for Johnston’s trip to the Isthmus of Panama.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-01-28

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt tells Harry Johnston that he does not believe that the United States will intervene in Haiti, although he thinks that it ought to. Roosevelt does not like to act unless he can get the support of the American population behind him. In many cases in Central America and the Antilles, it either took a long time for the population to embrace interference or they never became interested. Roosevelt would have liked the United States to act in Venezuela, Central America, and Haiti, but says that people are “not merely blind, but often malevolently blind, to what goes on.” Roosevelt is pleased that Johnston’s impressions of New York are going to be published, and hopes that his thoughts on the Southern United States are likewise published.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-04

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt will read the notes and return them to Harry Johnston on Saturday. In a handwritten postscript, Roosevelt says that the notes “are the best things of the kind that have ever been written.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-09

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt encloses letters of introduction for Harry Johnston. While Roosevelt cannot write to Haitians and Santo Domingans, he can write to the American Ministers there; they may be able to assist Johnston.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-27

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt is glad that Harry Johnston can join him, and is particularly interested in hearing what Johnston says about Liberia. Roosevelt is interested that Johnston finds white Americans a more interesting study subject than Black Americans.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-29

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt tells Harry Johnston that he might see “exceedingly odd” information about Roosevelt in the papers in the next ten days. Roosevelt wants to know when Johnston can have dinner with him. He would like to discuss a lot of things with Johnston, from reformed spelling to the status of Black people to biological nomenclature to his books and several African countries he has visited.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-24

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt invites Harry Johnston to dine with him on November 14, when four or five men who have hunted in Africa will also be dining with him. He hopes that W. Cameron Forbes, Vice-Governor of the Philippines and a grandson of Ralph Waldo Emerson, will also be there.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-25

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt was very interested in Harry Johnston’s letter, and hopes that he can visit the United States while Roosevelt is still president. Roosevelt has a slight disagreement with Johnston, saying that there is no objection to a reasonable amount of hunting, and believing that conservation can be best done through the efforts of sportsmen. More than hunting, however, Roosevelt wishes to hear from Johnston about the “many complex problems, which we mean when we speak of the Negro question.” Roosevelt would like to hear about Johnston’s observations of Liberia, and touches on conditions in Haiti and South Africa as well. He says that he knows of no one better to assess the treatment and condition of African Americans in the United States than Johnston. Roosevelt says that, “on the one hand I very firmly believe in granting to Negroes and to all other races the largest amount of self-government which they can exercise,” but he also thinks that some races are not yet ready for full self-government. He looks forward to reading Johnston’s book on the Congo.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-11

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President-elect Taft was sorry to hear about Harry Johnston’s unpleasant stay in Colón, and he addresses Johnston’s grievances in detail. The natural geography of the Colón harbor would make the kind of breakwater Johnston suggests both difficult and expensive to construct, but the board of engineers does plan to address the matter. The weather conditions that stranded Johnston in Colón were unusual, so travelers rarely have to stay at the Hotel Imperial. Although Taft agrees that the hotel is “dreadful,” it will probably be impossible to open the government’s hotels in Colón to ordinary travelers. These government hotels anger local hotel owners who must compete with them for customers. The Hotel Tivoli in Panama City is an exceptional case. Colón’s water supply has already improved greatly, but a filtration system is currently being added. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-06

Creator(s)

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930