Baker, Ray Stannard, 1870-1946

Michelle A. Krowl of the Library of Congress presents twenty items from the library’s Theodore Roosevelt Collection. The material, consisting of twelve letters, four other documents, three political cartoons, and a campaign poster, encompass the years 1884 to 1934. Twelve of the documents were penned by Roosevelt, and Krowl provides context and background for each item while including quotes from the document in her description. The twenty items are preceded by a short introductory essay by Krowl which includes two photographs of the Library of Congress.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2021

President Roosevelt asks Will N. Harben to lunch with him at the White House so he can explain why Harben cannot make his letter public. Roosevelt hates to say no, especially as he believes in the message of Harben’s book.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-24

A large group of politicians and journalists appear as knights on a crusade against graft and corruption. Many carry large pens like a lance. Periodicals mentioned are “Colliers, Harper’s Weekly, Life, Puck, [and] McClure’s” Magazine. Caption: Marching embattled ‘gainst the Saracens of Graft.

comments and context

Comments and Context

This cartoon by Carl Hassmann, which resembles a poster, could indeed be a historian’s guide to the leading crusading Muckrakers of the day (circa 1906, the high-water mark of reform before the Progressive Era and certainly in journalism and books). The double-page cartoon is a panegyric to the movement, a paean to the personalities.

President Roosevelt defends General Leonard Wood and his promotion to Senator Platt. In his letter he restates Wood’s merits and exceptional record under President William McKinley and prior. Roosevelt also encloses a letter from Ray Stannard Baker.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-11-28

Theodore Roosevelt will be pleased to read Senator Lodge’s speech on the referendum and initiative but he hopes that Lodge does not treat these measures as “supremely important.” Roosevelt believes that these measures can be beneficial but also harmful, and that they have been falsely portrayed by their advocates as a “panacea for everything.” Gilson Gardner and Ray Stannard Baker have just visited Roosevelt on behalf of the La Follette campaign and requested that he publicly announce that he would refuse the presidential nomination if offered. Roosevelt does not want the nomination but refused to make a statement. He and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt will soon be celebrating their silver wedding anniversary and an article by Kermit Roosevelt will be appearing in Scribner’s Magazine.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-12-13

Theodore Roosevelt felt uncomfortable by that action. He hopes James Rudolph Garfield will explain to the leaders of the Senator Robert La Follette supporters and men like Gilson Gardner and Ray Stannard Baker that none of his friends had anything to do with starting the sudden expression in his favor. It was also not a move against La Follette.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-11-24

Theodore Roosevelt is disappointed with an American Magazine article that praised James Gordon Bennett. According to Roosevelt, “Bennett represents more brazenly and shamelessly the forces of evil in the United States.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-04-28

President Roosevelt acknowledges Lyman Abbott’s note and says that letters he wrote to Lincoln Steffens and Ray Stannard Baker “express good Outlook sentiments.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-06-05

President Roosevelt hopes that McClure’s will publish Secretary of the Navy Bonaparte’s article on Roosevelt’s labor views, though he has written Ray Stannard Baker explaining that his views should be clear based on his actions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-30

Theodore Roosevelt would like Commissioner of Labor Wright’s investigator to see John H. Murphy in Colorado. Roosevelt wants to know the facts of what is happening there. He would like to know if the Western Federation of Miners has encouraged crime in the past or if employers have committed violence and the role of vigilantes.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-13

President Roosevelt thanks Philip Battell Stewart for the letter and says he received one from Springer on the same subject. Roosevelt is receiving conflicting reports on the situation and heard Edward Oliver Wolcott’s side from Ray Stannard Baker.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-12-15

President Roosevelt was shocked by the Outlook article and let them know how it “astounded and grieved” him. Roosevelt thought he sent the statement about General Wood’s service to Dr. Lyman Abbott. Louise Wood should not write the Outlook but Ray Stannard Baker could send a letter describing the Runcie incident.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-12-11

President Roosevelt relates the recent events of the bitter fight over the confirmation of General Wood’s promotion.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-12-01

President Roosevelt encloses a copy of a letter from Ray Stannard Baker that proves there was no connection between General Wood and the Runcie article.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-11-26

President Roosevelt sends the letter from Ray Stannard Baker and asks it to be shown to other Senators.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-11-25

On behalf of American Magazine, Ida M. Tarbell requests permission for Arnold Genthe to photograph Theodore Roosevelt for an article on the presidential candidates.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-04-10

William Allen White discusses opinions on his latest book. White also discusses future plans to assist with American Magazine in New York.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-29

John Graham Brooks reports to Commissioner of Labor Wright about the labor dispute in Colorado. He discusses the history of conflict between labor unions and employers going back nearly ten years. Brooks describes the conflict from both the workers’ and employers’ perspectives. Brooks recommends that the government let it be known that he has investigated the dispute, but thinks there is little else that can be done to fix the situation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-07-04

Joe F. Decker provides a comprehensive bibliography of the various accounts of Theodore Roosevelt’s attempt to form a volunteer division during World War I. Decker begins with Roosevelt’s own first account in 1917 and concludes with John Milton Cooper’s version in The Warrior and the Priest of 1983. Decker examines books, book chapters, and articles on the subject, and finds that the story still has not been “dealt with satisfactorily.” Decker points out the biases and the shortcomings of some of the authors, and notes that many of the accounts strongly favor either Roosevelt or his antagonist President Woodrow Wilson.

A full page-photograph of Roosevelt and General Leonard Wood accompanies the article. A photograph of Harrison Engle and Sidney D. Kirkpatrick who directed documentary films on Roosevelt is featured, along with three photographs of Roosevelt from newsreel footage used in the film The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt.

A listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association as well as the members of its executive, finance, and Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace committees is on page two of the article.

James Kimble Vardaman takes issue with Ray Stannard Baker’s recent article on “The Negro in Politics” in American Magazine. Baker “pretends” to quote Vardaman, Benjamin R. Tillman, Jeff Davis, and Hoke Smith, but has not correctly quoted anything they have said. Based on a conversation he had with Baker when he was governor, Vardaman believes that “the stupid little scribbler” is not interested in finding out the truth, but in “giving the educated negro’s side of the question.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-30