Telegram from Theodore Roosevelt to Robert J. Gamble
President Roosevelt hopes that Senator Robert J. Gamble will be present for the battleship vote tomorrow.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1908-04-26
Your TR Source
Battleships
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry White
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
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frank P. Flint
President Roosevelt praises Senator Flint for taking a stand in the battleship fight. He asks Flint to give his regards to Senators Smoot and Sutherland as well.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1908-04-28
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Robert Jackson Gamble
President Roosevelt applauds Senator Gamble for his stance on the battleship bill.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1908-04-28
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frederick Moore
President Roosevelt thanks Frederick Moore for his letter and believes that the Congressmen fighting in favor of the four battleships represented the interests of the people. He is glad they were able to secure immediate construction of two battleships.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1908-04-28
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Alden Smith
President Roosevelt congratulates Senator Smith on his work on the battleship bill.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1908-04-28
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to George Sutherland
President Roosevelt congratulates Senator Sutherland and Senator Reed Smoot on their work on the battleship bill. He also encloses a letter from C. Hart Merriam and asks if he can help getting the bill he suggests through.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1908-04-28
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Elihu Root
President Roosevelt believes that the enclosures from German ambassador Hermann Speck von Sternburg prove that the United States would be unwise to not to make preparations for a potential war in the Pacific with Japan. The documents, which he is sending to Secretary of State Root, show that Japan believes it could gain naval supremacy in the event of war.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1908-04-17
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Francis E. Warren
President Roosevelt informs Senator Warren that if the Navy is granted permission to build four new battleships, one will be named after Wyoming. Roosevelt would like Warren to amend the law to remove four monitors from the list of ships that will be named after the states.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1908-04-18
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Kermit Roosevelt
President Roosevelt updates Kermit Roosevelt on the family and sends another poem from Philip Roosevelt. He laments Congress’s failure to give him four new battleships and feels that “unpatriotic” Congressional leaders are prioritizing their own interests over those of the country. Roosevelt states that although he does not think the United States will go to war with Japan, naval supremacy is necessary to deter any Japanese attack or invasion of the West Coast.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1908-04-19
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Cabot Lodge
President Roosevelt sends Senator Lodge a letter from Secretary of the Navy Victor H. Metcalf regarding battleships and congressional action. As the letter indicates, the present bill in Congress does not provide for an increase of the Navy and does not allow for two battleships and ten torpedo boats to be constructed due to a lack of appropriation.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1908-04-22
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Joseph Gurney Cannon
President Roosevelt asks Speaker of the House Cannon if it would be possible for Congress to discuss the Pearl Harbor matter in conjunction with the naval bill. Roosevelt says that the United States should have three or four battleships, and that Hawaii should be fortified with a dock constructed there as well. Roosevelt has been having a difficult time on Cannon’s behalf in connection with the tariff commission, so he hopes that Cannon will look favorably upon this request.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1908-03-23
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Joseph Gurney Cannon
President Roosevelt tells Speaker of the House Cannon that it is not possible or wise for him to put everything that he feels on paper. Roosevelt nevertheless says that he is not acting with an eye to an emergency that may occur in the next couple years, but rather one that may arise in the next decade or two. He believes that the current legislative session should do everything possible to fortify Hawaii and provide for the construction of four battleships.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1908-02-29
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Victor Howard Metcalf
President Roosevelt returns the reports Secretary of the Navy Metcalf had sent him on the possibility of the battleship fleet remaining in the Pacific Ocean. Before he gives an answer, Roosevelt wants a report on the possibility of the fleet visiting Australia. He does not think the ships should remain in the Pacific, but should be brought back home.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1908-02-29
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Elihu Root
President Roosevelt asks Secretary of State Root to review an enclosed memorandum from William Sowden Sims on the topic of Brazilian battleships. It looks as though the battleships may not go to Brazil, and Roosevelt wants to make sure that if that is the case they do not go to Japan.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1908-02-15
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Leonard Eckstein Opdycke
President Roosevelt appreciates a letter to the editor Leonard Eckstein Opdycke wrote to The Spectator defending Roosevelt’s decision not to run for a third term. The president is happy to hear the Opdycke children have both recovered from their recent illnesses and enjoys the battleship drawing made by Archibald B. Roosevelt and Opdycke’s son Leonard.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1907-11-25
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Sowden Sims
President Roosevelt was eagerly anticipating Commander Sims’s report and is very pleased. Roosevelt inquires about Sims’s thoughts on the effectiveness of the eight-inch guns tested, and says he will make a strong bid for big-gun battleships in his coming address. Roosevelt also asks if there are any additional points he should try to cover in his message.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1907-10-23
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte
President Roosevelt explains the poor conditions of the construction of several battleships as well as several navy practices that should be assimilated to that of the army’s equivalent. He was impressed by the officers and the food aboard ship, and also has some ideas on how to better the lives of the crew after their service is over.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1906-11-28
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Archibald B. Roosevelt
President Roosevelt wishes his son Archibald B. Roosevelt could be with him on the boat as they have had three days of perfect weather. He describes the ships and the crew, including two guns onboard called “Teddy” and “The Big Stick”, which Archie had told him about previously. The captain of the ship held a dinner with Roosevelt and his wife Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt, and he was impressed by everything.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1906-11-14
Telegram from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte
President Roosevelt is pleased with the U. S. S. Louisiana both with the crew and the type of ship. However, he has some suggestions for improvement including types of guns and the coal arrangements.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1906-11-12