Ross, Edward Alsworth, 1866-1951

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-11-17

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Recipient

Ross, Edward Alsworth, 1866-1951

Language

English

President Roosevelt writes to Edward Allsworth Ross to say once again how much he appreciates Ross’s Sin and Society. He finds it relevant to some of the current political situations, such as the frenzy over racetrack betting in New York and support of the reactionary Representative Charles E. Littlefield in Maine.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-14

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt informs Edward Alsworth Ross that he had the pleasure of reading Ross’s book on social control thanks to Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., who said it was one of the strongest presentations on the subject. Roosevelt agrees and has decided to read everything else Ross has written. The president discusses some of the arguments in Ross’s works, concluding that Ross’s book is “wholesome” and that he hopes “its influence will be widespread.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-19

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt cannot accept Professor Ross’s speaking invitation as he is unable to undertake anything further at this time and is attempting to limit his speeches.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-02-15

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt appreciates receiving Professor Ross’s book and is in agreement with Ross’s views on Chinese and Asian exclusion. Roosevelt even quoted Ross in a speech.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-10-31

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt would like to speak with Professor Ross and will be able to meet him for lunch on September 15 at the Outlook offices.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-08-05

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt found Professor Ross’s article on China to be interesting and important. With France dying due to excessive limits on population and China because rational limits will not be set, Roosevelt favors a middle course. He does not recommend enormous families but believes that if the average American family does not have three or four children the “American blood would die out.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-07-11

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt argues that the American Sociological Society should not treat “vital subjects” in a detached and nonpartisan matter. There is no way to be nonpartisan between right and wrong, and these subjects should not be divorced from human interest. Intellectual leaders should handle issues “in space as we know it” and not in some future, ideal world.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-10-25

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt will meet Edward Alsworth Ross on the 31st and suggests he take a train from Philadelphia to Oyster Bay.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1914-12-12

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt is not able to accept Edward Alsworth Ross’s invitation. Roosevelt hopes Ross will visit so he can discuss his book with him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1914-11-19

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt thanks Edward Alsworth Ross for the letter, and looks forward to reading his speech.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-07

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt assures Edward Alsworth Ross that he would not misconstrue Ross’s motives in writing to him, but admits that he is not sure what to do regarding the school matter Ross mentioned. The Superintendent of Education is selected by a Board of Commissioners nominated by the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, and Roosevelt does not have any involvement in their appointment. He has previously suggested that the judges consult with educational professionals like Columbia University President Nicholas Murray Butler, and does not believe there is more he is able to do.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-06

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt has been reading Social Control on the recommendation of Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., and has enjoyed it so much that he felt compelled to write to Professor Ross to tell him. Roosevelt believes Ross’s book is a “serious work of permanent value.” He asks if Ross is familiar with Alexander Sutherland’s The Origin and Growth of the Moral Instinct, and recommends it as a good book if he has not.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-15

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt is amused by the presses misunderstanding of Edward Alsworth Ross’s article. He agrees with Ross that families should have less children for the betterment of society, however, the one or two-child ideal would result in the extinction of the middle class. Roosevelt believes that the “Harriman-Standard Oil interests” are doing everything they can to cause him conflict in the press.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04-08

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt thanks Professor Ross for what he has recently written about race suicide.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-11-02

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt responds to a request from Edward Alsworth Ross that he write the preface to Ross’s upcoming book. Roosevelt believes so much in Ross and his work that he has acquiesced, though he has put his remarks in the form of a letter. Roosevelt suggests that the intended title of the book is not dignified enough for such a serious work. (The book referred to is Sin and Society, published in November 1907.)

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-19

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt cannot accept Professor Ross’s speaking invitation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-02-15

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919