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African Americans--Legal status, laws, etc.

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Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Wyndham Robertson Meredith

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Wyndham Robertson Meredith

President Roosevelt does not think it is advisable for him to write the letter that Wyndham Robertson Meredith requests. Secretary of War Luke E. Wright is speaking for him on the matter. Roosevelt would say at anywhere and at any time that as long as election laws are constitutionally enforced without discrimination as to color, southern representation in Congress will not be cut down.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-27

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to the Department of Justice

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to the Department of Justice

President Roosevelt forwards documents from the Interstate Commerce Commission indicating that the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway Company is not providing equal accommodations for white and “colored” first class passengers. Various state laws, including in Alabama, indicate that if there are separate accommodations, they should be equal. He suggests that the Justice Department enforce the order from the Commission by injunction proceedings.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-04-02

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Booker T. Washington

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Booker T. Washington

President Roosevelt encloses communication between himself and Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte regarding the Nashville and Chattanooga Railway for Booker T. Washington. Roosevelt has largely adopted the changes that Washington suggested, with a few exceptions. Roosevelt also notes that now all of the men he and Washington discussed when he first became President have been placed in office. He thanks and congratulates Washington on behalf of the people for recommending men of such high character. He hopes to see Washington on April 7 or 8.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-04-02

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from William Augustus Patton to William Loeb

Letter from William Augustus Patton to William Loeb

William Augustus Patton has investigated the complaint by Charles H. Lee, and sends William Loeb copies of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s reports. Patton believes that Loeb’s instructions were fully carried out by railroad employees, and that Lee’s reports of the journey are misleading and untrue. He assures Loeb that the railroad is happy to provide services for the President.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-12

Creator(s)

Patton, William Augustus, 1849-1927

Letter from William H. Fleming to Theodore Roosevelt

Letter from William H. Fleming to Theodore Roosevelt

William H. Fleming writes to President Roosevelt about the possible disfranchisement of African American voters in Georgia. Fleming believes it would be a disaster if Hoke Smith, who advocates such disfranchisement, was nominated at the Democratic Convention. He is even more concerned about the conduct of Representative Thomas W. Hardwick, who has been decrying the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution and publicly renouncing his allegiance to those parts of the Constitution. Fleming thinks that the question should be raised in the House of Representatives, whether a member is violating their oath of office by refusing to uphold these amendments. Such an inquiry would force Hardwick to either retract his statements or be removed from office.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-17

Creator(s)

Fleming, William H. (William Henry), 1856-1944

Letter to Interstate Commerce Commission

Letter to Interstate Commerce Commission

The author of this letter has received complaints from several southern people of color that they are not receiving the accommodations they are entitled to during travel on the railroads. The Interstate Commerce Commission has previously ruled that there is nothing in the laws of states that prohibits separate accommodations so long as they are exactly equal, but the complaints frequently state that these separate cars are frequently dirtier, lacking amenities, and are more difficult to access. The author asks the commission to investigate these claims and make the necessary changes to ensure equal treatment. Appended pages at the end suggest adding a paragraph to the letter pointing out that while the commission has worked to make sure there is no discrimination in the transportation of freight, it should be even more careful in preventing discrimination in the transportation of passengers.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-25

Creator(s)

Unknown

Shall the solid south be shattered?

Shall the solid south be shattered?

Advance proof of an editorial by Julian LaRose Harris on the South’s political future, intended for publication in the March issue of Uncle Remus’s Home Magazine. Harris discusses the reasons why white southerners currently vote only for the Democratic Party, and why this has caused a stagnant political landscape that the Republican Party might exploit. Harris supports the disenfranchisement of African American citizens. However, he asserts that the focus on this disenfranchisement in the South has resulted in the diminishing influence of Southern Democrats over national Democratic Party policies and presidential nominations. He suggests that president-elect William H. Taft could encourage more bipartisan voting by white southerners if he heeds their political appointment suggestions and refuses to give federal appointments to African American candidates.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02

Creator(s)

Harris, Julian LaRose, 1874-1963

The innocents

The innocents

African American men stand in a group. One, standing at center, is wearing a hat labeled “Judge Whitewashed,” and the others are wearing hats labeled “Whitewasher No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, No. 6, No. 7, and Whitewasher No. 8.” They are standing in front of a cabin labeled “Capitol at Albany.” The eight whitewashers gesture toward the central figure. Caption: “He hain’t seen nuffin o’ yer chickens – he’s as innercent as we is!”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1882-06-07

Creator(s)

Opper, Frederick Burr, 1857-1937