Asquith, H. H. (Herbert Henry), 1852-1928

President Roosevelt requests that Ambassador Reid explain to Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes that his African trip is a scientific expedition to collect specimens for the National Museum, not “a game butchering trip.” However, if given the opportunity, Roosevelt may collect some trophies. The invitation from the chancellor of Oxford, George Nathaniel Curzon, to present the Romanes lecture gives Roosevelt a genuine reason to visit England on his return from Africa. He details his travel itinerary, plans for appropriate formal attire, and people to call upon. Roosevelt is interested in what the Japanese minister for foreign affairs Jutarō Komura says and includes his letter to Japanese ambassador Kogoro Takahira and the reply. Reid’s full statement on the incidents of the Olympics pleases Roosevelt, who believes intense international matches inevitably result in misunderstandings.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-20

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt sends Warrington Dawson a copy of his book Fear God and Take Your Own Part. He is sorry that Dawson has been unwell. Belle Roosevelt, Kermit Roosevelt’s wife, has had typhoid. Roosevelt is busy but does not foresee much good coming from it since the country is “sound asleep” like England was two years ago.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1916-05-25

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt is glad Alfred Harmsworth Northcliffe liked his book. However, it is not an electioneering document. Indeed, he used it to “say every disagreeable truth.” He does not believe the Republicans intend to nominate him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1916-05-08

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Silas McBee understood the distinction Theodore Roosevelt was trying to make and Roosevelt is sending a copy of a letter he wrote to someone that wanted him to join the Anglo-American Alliance. Roosevelt believes Great Britain had to stand by the entente but that the majority of the Liberal cabinet would not have done so until they were forced to by public reaction against the German invasion of Belgium. Roosevelt requests to breakfast with McBee on February 6.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-01-22

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt thanks Henry Moskowitz for the H. H. Asquith quote and article from Dr. Shapiro. Roosevelt will not be able to help as he has many reforms that he has not been able to work with yet.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-11-22

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt found Ambassador White’s letter interesting. He wishes he could see George Otto Trevelyan, and says that he admires Prime Minister H. H. Asquith more than late Prime Minister Henry Campbell-Bannerman. Roosevelt has asked Congress for four battleships, because he knew he would not be able to get two unless he pushed for four. He believes White’s reading of the Kaiser-Tower-Hill case was accurate.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-04-27

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt is glad to see H. H. Asquith named the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He thanks Ambassador Reid for warning him that the Pilgrims’ Club are “notoriety hunters” and will instruct David Jayne Hill not to attend the dinner. He also notes that he has been approached by Irish societies who have asked him to oppose the arbitration treaty with Great Britain. He refused, citing George Washington’s admonition not to “give way to national antipathies.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-04-18

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Thanks to Wayne MacVeagh, President Roosevelt “was able to go through both the act and the decision.” Roosevelt is familiar with the idea of H. H. Asquith, Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, to introduce a graduated income tax and thinks it is amusing to see the “yells of fear and rage with which my proposition has been greeted.” Roosevelt plans to mention the possibility of an graduated income tax as well as a graduated inheritance tax in a message to Congress in the coming year.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-10

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Ambassador Reid explains two matters vital for President Roosevelt to know before he embarks on his African journey: English dress codes and the dangers of mosquito bites. Reid also hopes to continue his diplomatic service under President-Elect William H. Taft and also mentions that Chesterfield House may be available as a site for an embassy. In closing, Reid discusses reactions to recent speeches and congratulates Roosevelt on his “triumphant exit.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-23

Creator(s)

Reid, Whitelaw, 1837-1912

Senator Lodge discusses a number of topics regarding the late Secretary of State John Hay. Lodge bemoans the editing of a publication of Hay’s letters, claiming that Hay was “one of the best if not the best letter writer of his time,” but the publication does not do him justice. He reminisces on the many men of letters he has known in his life, and believes that Hay was the most “brilliant, humorous, sympathetic, [and] witty” among them. Lodge holds more criticism for Hay in his role as a secretary of state, discussing how Hay bungled multiple treaties, took credit for accomplishments that were not his own, and formed poor relations with the Senate. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-14

Creator(s)

Lodge, Henry Cabot, 1850-1924

President-elect Taft encloses a letter from Sir Harry Johnston about the dreadful conditions at the Hotel Imperial in Colón, and his own reply. He found Johnston’s decision to complain at length about his personal discomfort to another country’s head of state perplexing. Taft’s wife, Helen Herron Taft, did not share his “intense amusement” at Johnston’s “extremely English” tone. Taft also encloses the self-explanatory letter he wrote to President Jose Domingo de Obaldia of Panama after a call from Obaldia’s competitor, Ricardo Arias. Taft is disgusted by Representative Henry Thomas Rainey’s “diatribes” in the House of Representatives.

George Otto Trevelyan briefly tells President Roosevelt of some recent hunting he has done, and hopes that Roosevelt is able to visit when he is in Great Britain. Trevelyan’s son, Charles Philips Trevelyan, has told him about a recent dinner in honor of Prime Minister H. H. Asquith, which Trevelyan then relates to Roosevelt. There is a great deal of tension between the House of Lords and the Liberal Party of Great Britain, which controlled the House of Commons, but Trevelyan believes that Asquith will help the Liberal Party advance their reform agenda.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-15

Creator(s)

Trevelyan, George Otto, 1838-1928

Ambassador Reid updates President Roosevelt on a number of personal, social, and official matters. In particular, Reid focuses on the fallout of a controversial interview given by Emperor William II of Germany to the British press. The interview has been suppressed in Germany and caused domestic issues for William, but may improve relations with the English. Reid discusses plans to reform the House of Lords, and a shooting outing he hosted where his son Ogden Mills Reid related stories about the presidential campaign in the United States. Reid also intends to give a dinner for Frantz Bille, the retiring Danish minister. Reid writes that everyone was on “pins and needles” waiting for information about foot and mouth disease.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-24

Creator(s)

Reid, Whitelaw, 1837-1912

Ambassador Reid has discussed President Roosevelt’s upcoming trip to Africa with Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, and reports that the issue regarding permits to enter game reserves has been resolved. The licenses will be taken care of. Crewe-Milnes assured Reid that Roosevelt’s needs will be taken care of, but that the British government understands that he does not want a fuss. Reid also discusses a number of domestic political issues in England, as well as the state of international affairs in Europe. He thinks that in spite of rumors in the British press about southwestern Europe, a war is unlikely. Reid encloses a caricature of Roosevelt that he thinks he will find amusing.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-03

Creator(s)

Reid, Whitelaw, 1837-1912

British Ambassador Bryce thanks President Roosevelt for sharing Ambassador William Woodville Rockhill’s letter regarding the Dali Lama. As permitted, he shared it with Foreign Secretary Earl Grey, Secretary of India John Morley, and Prime Minister H. H. Asquith. Bryce includes Grey’s and Morley’s responses. The Atlantic Fleet’s reception in Australia delights Bryce. In a postscript, Bryce shares in Roosevelt’s grief over the death of Ambassador Herman Speck von Sternburg.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-29

Creator(s)

Bryce, James Bryce, Viscount, 1838-1922

Ambassador Reid informs President Roosevelt he has heard from Sirdar F. R. Wingate, who is gathering information for Roosevelt regarding his African trip. Believing it will amuse Roosevelt, Reid shares “the queer transmutations” that the third modus vivendi on the Newfoundland fisheries underwent. Roosevelt’s perplexity about journalist Edward Dicey amuses Reid, who shares the same opinion of him. Reid details the seeming ill-luck of British statesmen and their families. Ogden Mills Reid, Reid’s son, plans to return to the United States to participate in the presidential election.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-22

Creator(s)

Reid, Whitelaw, 1837-1912

Ambassador Bryce thanks President Roosevelt for sharing Ambassador William Woodville Rockhill’s interesting and insightful letter about the Dalai Lama. He sent it to British Foreign Secretary Edward Grey, suggesting Prime Minister H. H. Asquith and Secretary of State of India John Morely see it in confidentiality and is certain they will do so. Bryce sends a letter and a memorandum forwarded from Hesketh Bell, the Commissioner of Uganda. He has spoken with both Edward North Buxton and Colonial Secretary Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, who will eagerly do all he can to aid Roosevelt in his Africa trip. Bryce and his wife, Elizabeth Marion Ashton Bryce, will return to America in late September.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-17

Creator(s)

Bryce, James Bryce, Viscount, 1838-1922

Whitelaw Reid updates President Roosevelt on diplomatic affairs in London. Reid has spoken with several British authorities regarding Roosevelt’s upcoming African safari. The Japanese Ambassador to Great Britain, Jutarō Komura, met with Reid at a luncheon given for members of the Olympic committee and emphasized that he and the Japanese Emperor recognized the United States as a friend. The Chinese Ambassador held a dinner and expressed friendly regard toward the United States. Reid provides a detailed description of two controversial Olympic races in London: in the 400 meter race, an American was disqualified for breaking the rules, and in the marathon, the Italian winner was disqualified in favor of an American. Reid notes that the American athletes, while somewhat justified in their frustrations, were seen by the British press as ill-mannered. Finally, Reid says he doubts that Roosevelt can make private visits to Paris and London on his way back from Africa without giving offense to government officials who would expect a state visit.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-11

Creator(s)

Reid, Whitelaw, 1837-1912

Ambassador Reid writes President Roosevelt about a number of issues, both political and social. He adds more information about Lord Edward Marjoribanks Tweedmouth’s mental breakdown and discusses the man who will replace him. Reid also relays an indignant letter he got from Clarise S. Ramsay, an American who wrongly felt she should have been invited to a royal ball. Roosevelt’s plan to go on a safari in Africa after leaving office is, Reid thinks, a very good one, and Roosevelt should not need to worry about receiving proper treatment and courtesies from British officials there. On a personal note, Reid thanks Roosevelt for his kind wishes at the news of his daughter Jean’s engagement to John H. Ward. He discusses his future son-in-law and the couple’s plans following their marriage.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-06-04

Creator(s)

Reid, Whitelaw, 1837-1912

Ambassador Reid updates President Roosevelt on a number of matters happening in England, including the nervous breakdown of Lord Edward Marjoribanks Tweedmouth, whose recent trouble relating to a letter from German Emperor William II was only the latest in a long string of misfortunes. He also offers insight into the English interest in the American Presidential election, and explains that he has told questioners that he believes Roosevelt will answer the call if his party ultimately nominates him against his wishes. Reid also discusses the lack of a profitable liberal newspaper in England.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-06-01

Creator(s)

Reid, Whitelaw, 1837-1912