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The facts about railroad rates

The facts about railroad rates

This book begins with a statement from President Roosevelt’s message to Congress on December 3, 1901, warning against legislation that would “interfere with the development and operation” of the railroads. Other introductory statements are from Samuel Spencer, calling for the prosecution and punishment of persons guilty of breaking the law but not indiscriminate public condemnation of all railroad officials; and from H. T. Newcomb, who gives background on the Esch-Townsend bill which gave the Interstate Commerce Commission the power to set railway rates. Newcomb states that the purpose of the book is to “demonstrate the gains that result to all producers and consumers from the free action of commercial forces in shipping and transportation, and the losses that result from unwise statutory restrictions.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-07-08

Wright’s Official History of the Spanish-American War

Wright’s Official History of the Spanish-American War

This exhaustively illustrated account of the Spanish-American war seeks to present the official history of the war according to the United States War Records Office. It encompasses the events leading up to the war, the war itself, as well as its resolution and aftermath. While it mentions the various engagements taking place during the war, most of the focus is on Cuba and the action of the United States Navy and Army in fighting Spanish forces there in support of Cuban rebels. It additionally includes general information on the theaters of war, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.

Collection

Smithsonian

Creation Date

1900

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

The Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal presents a 1905 booklet, Theodore Roosevelt, written by the French scholar Leon Bazalgette and translated by Roosevelt biographer Edmund Morris. Bazalgette composed the booklet as an “examination of the works of Theodore Roosevelt,” and he divides Roosevelt’s books into three categories: history, politics, and nature. Bazalgette examines numerous works in each category, and he explains how the books and writings reflect the thoughts and beliefs of Roosevelt. Bazalgette asserts that Roosevelt’s time in the West as a cowboy was the most important period of his life, and he admits that he likes Roosevelt’s writings from and about this period and place the best. Bazalgette quotes extensively from Roosevelt’s western trilogy, and he highlights passages Roosevelt wrote about bird songs.

The translation of the booklet is followed by a brief biography of Bazalgette written by Morris, along with a list of Roosevelt books cited by Bazalgette. Two text boxes at the conclusion of the work list the mission and vision statements of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) along with a listing of its social media platforms.

America and the World War

America and the World War

The Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal reprints the foreword and three chapters (two, five, and nine) from Theodore Roosevelt’s 1915 work America and the World War. In the foreword, Roosevelt expounds on the need for preparedness and criticizes President Woodrow Wilson for not bolstering the nation’s defenses. In chapter two, “The Belgian Tragedy,” Roosevelt states that neutral Belgium was a victim of German aggression, and he warns that failing to arm leads to such violations of a nation’s neutrality. Roosevelt invokes his famous maxim of “speak softly and carry a big stick,” and he makes several references to George Washington and Abraham Lincoln and their attitudes towards war and peace. Roosevelt says that international bodies and treaties that promote arbitration are worthless unless they are backed with the threat of force.

In chapter five, “How to Strive for World Peace,” Roosevelt stresses that nations either need to rely on themselves for their defense, or international bodies and treaties must have provisions so that violations of agreements and boundaries are punished by force. Roosevelt opens chapter nine, “Our Peacemaker, the Navy,” with a call to not extend a security guarantee to the Philippine Islands if the United States is committed to their independence. Roosevelt also argues that the navy needs to be used for offensive operations and not for coastal defense, and he excoriates the Wilson administration, especially Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, for not maintaining the readiness of the navy with regular training and maneuvers.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

“The Most Just and Proper Revolution”

“The Most Just and Proper Revolution”

In a chapter titled “A Most Just and Proper Revolution,” taken from the second volume of his biography of Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Rex, Edmund Morris details the machinations in Washington, D.C. and Panama that resulted in the revolution against Colombian rule on the Isthmus and the establishment of the independent nation of Panama. Morris describes the careful actions and words of administration figures like Roosevelt and Secretary of State John Hay, and he charts the movement of ships of the United States Navy sent in support of the insurrection. Morris adds to his Panama narrative interludes about the November 1903 elections in the United States, Roosevelt’s visit to Sagamore Hill, and his compilation of a reading list.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2001