Brinkley, Douglas

Advertisement for the book Inside the Equal Access to Justice Act by Lowell E. Baier, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, an environmental lawyer, and a champion of preserving the Elkhorn Ranch site in North Dakota. The advertisement contains a brief description of the book, six endorsements from a variety of figures prominent in the conservation movement, and ordering information.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2015

Creator(s)

Rowman and Littlefield, Inc.

Duane G. Jundt finds flaws and strengths in two books that chronicle Theodore Roosevelt’s time in the Dakota Badlands. Jundt notes that Michael F. Blake’s The Cowboy President: The American West and the Making of Theodore Roosevelt lacks historical objectivity and contains numerous factual errors while Christopher Knowlton’s Cattle Kingdom: The Hidden History of the Cowboy West places Roosevelt and his ranching experience in the wider context of the American West. Jundt highlights both books’ treatment of Owen Wister’s 1902 novel The Virginian. Jundt also examines certain aspects of these books against works by other Roosevelt biographers, and he asserts that both books emphasize the importance of Roosevelt’s time in Dakota to developing his conservation conscience.

The front cover illustrations for both works under review and a postcard of a cattle branding scene accompany the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2020

Report on the results of a poll taken by the C-SPAN television network of presidential historians and C-SPAN viewers. The report highlights the rankings accorded Theodore Roosevelt–ranked fourth by historians and third by viewers–and it traces the evolution of Roosevelt’s reputation through the decades from its low point in the 1930s. The report also discusses the rankings of other presidents and highlights some of the historians who participated, in particular those who are associated with the study of Roosevelt. The report includes a listing of the top ten presidents in both the historians and viewers polls, and it includes a list of most of the presidential historians involved in the study.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2000

Creator(s)

Unknown

John A. Gable provides a pointed criticism of the PBS documentary Crucible of Empire: The Spanish-American War by highlighting topics that the film does not discuss. Gable stresses that the film ignores the potential consequences to the Philippines if the United States had withdrawn after the war, and he notes that it also does not consider the weakness of the Cuban and Philippine governments in their infancy as independent nations. Gable admires the contributions of the many “talking head” historians, and he reserves a great deal of praise for the film’s use of period music.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1999

Creator(s)

Gable, John A.

John A. Gable reviews three of the five books found in the “Book Reviews” section. Gable praises Edward Renehan’s The Lion’s Pride: Theodore Roosevelt and His Family in Peace and War with its emphasis on the fate of the Roosevelt family during World War I, and he summarizes Sherwin Gluck’s study of how Oyster Bay, New York, became home to the summer White House during the Roosevelt administration with offices located above a grocery store. In reviewing Douglas Brinkley’s American Heritage History of the United States, Gable highlights Brinkley’s coverage of Theodore Roosevelt, especially his views on conservation. The section also promotes the publication of a new edition of the Theodore Roosevelt Association’s collection of Roosevelt’s speeches, The Man in the Arena, and a Modern Library version of The Naval War of 1812, both of which feature introductions by Gable.

An advertisement for Blocklyn Books of Oyster Bay, New York, appears on the last page of the section.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1999

Duane G. Jundt reviews two large format picture books, a biography, and a special issue of Cobblestone magazine, all devoted to the topic of Theodore Roosevelt. Jundt finds that the illustrations outshine the text in both To Dare Mighty Things: The Life of Theodore Roosevelt and in The Camping Trip That Changed America: Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir, and Our National Parks. Jundt finds fault with some of the works for assigning heroic qualities to all of Roosevelt’s actions, but he notes that the works do reflect changes in historiography with their emphasis on Roosevelt’s commitment to conservation. He closes the review by sharing that all of the works under consideration highlight Roosevelt’s role as a father. 

A stereoscope card showing Roosevelt speaking, the front covers of Who Was Theodore Roosevelt? and Cobblestone magazine, and the logo of the Theodore Roosevelt Association populate the essay.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2014

The Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) announces the passing of the journal’s designer, James H. Stroud, and it also notes that its President, Tweed Roosevelt, will be teaching a nine week course on Theodore Roosevelt. The TRA also notes that its 2014 annual meeting will be held in New York City. A text box lists the President and Executive Directors of the TRA, along with those responsible for assembling its journal, guidelines for submitting manuscripts, and information regarding the governance of the TRA.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2013

Creator(s)

Theodore Roosevelt Association

Report on the 2011 annual meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) held in Medora and Dickinson, North Dakota. The report highlights the various venues for the meeting including Dickinson State University, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and Medora, and it notes the winners of three awards conferred by the TRA. Thirty-eight photographs comprise most of the report, including twenty-six of the various guests, dignitaries, and speakers as well as twelve photographs of the North Dakota Badlands.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2012

Creator(s)

Theodore Roosevelt Association

Mark W.T. Harvey begins his review of Douglas Brinkley’s The Wilderness Warrior by noting that it is a very large book with much to say, but Harvey asserts that in his zeal to convey the story of Theodore Roosevelt as a conservation crusader, Brinkley tries to cover too much, provides too many details, and overwhelms the reader with his accumulation of facts and anecdotes. Harvey also argues that this barrage of knowledge comes at the expense of analysis and interpretation, and he believes that Brinkley lets his enthusiasm for his subject overtake the need for a critical perspective. Harvey contends that Brinkley does not adequately explore what terms like conservation, preservation, and wilderness meant in Roosevelt’s time and how Roosevelt acted to fulfill the meaning of these designations. Although he faults Brinkley for making Roosevelt too much of “a conservation hero,” Harvey concludes his review with praise for Brinkley for raising the profile of Roosevelt as an unrestrained lover of nature and a bold leader in the fight to conserve the nation’s natural resources.

The front cover illustration of The Wilderness Warrior, one of Roosevelt’s bird lists, two photographs of the Elkhorn Ranch, and seven photographs of Roosevelt accompany the essay.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2011

Michele Bryant recalls the 2010 annual meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) in Seattle, Washington. Bryant provides brief notices about each of the six speakers and their topics, and she notes the tour of Seattle and sites visited by the TRA members, including the Space Needle and the Museum of Flight. Bryant also acknowledges the winners of the Bertha B. Rose Award, the USS Theodore Roosevelt Junior Officer Leadership Award, and the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal. Thirty-five photographs of various guests, dignitaries, and speakers supplement the text. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2011

Creator(s)

Bryant, Michele

Art Koch reveals the subject and context of the ninth “TR-era image” which shows Colonel Theodore Roosevelt shaking hands with members of his Rough Riders cavalry regiment at its mustering out of service on September 13, 1898. Frederic Remington’s bronze sculpture of “The Bronco-Buster” can be seen on a table near Roosevelt. The tenth TR-era image is a stereoscope view of a wrecked ship.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1898-09-13

Creator(s)

Koch, Art

Harry N. Lembeck provides a report on the 2009 annual meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) held in Tampa, Florida. Lembeck notes the business meeting, including the election of officers, and he highlights the seven speakers at the meeting, providing a brief synopsis of each of their addresses. Lembeck also notes the conferring of the Bertha B. Rose Award and the USS Theodore Roosevelt Junior Officer Award. Thirty-seven photographs taken by Art Koch of the speakers, guests, and members of the TRA leadership accompany the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2010

Creator(s)

Lembeck, Harry N.; Koch, Art

The “Book Review” section features two works that examine aspects of Theodore Roosevelt’s outdoor life. Michael L. Manson finds that the third edition of R.L. Wilson’s Theodore Roosevelt: Hunter-Conservationist deals mostly with Roosevelt’s use of, fondness for, and collection of firearms. Manson praises contributions to the work by Lowell E. Baier and John Milius, and he finds the book beautiful with its many photographs and illustrations. Becoming Teddy Roosevelt highlights the friendship between Roosevelt and William Wingate Sewall who would mentor, tutor, and guide a young Roosevelt in the woods of Maine and who would try his hand as a cowboy on Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch.

The section features illustrations of both books’ covers along with an advertisement from The Chocolate Lady of Oyster Bay, New York.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2010

William N. Tilchin provides an introduction to former Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal editor John A. Gable’s last major public address of October 23, 2004. Tilchin notes that Gable’s speech called for a comprehensive study of Theodore Roosevelt and conservation and that Douglas Brinkley has met that need with his 2009 book The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America. The journal reprints Gable’s address in its handwritten version with Gable’s final edits added by Tilchin.

In the speech, Gable asserts that Theodore Roosevelt’s record as a conservationist and an environmentalist has not been adequately explored by historians and biographers, and he notes the work of Tweed Roosevelt in trying to correct this shortcoming. Gable also argues that Roosevelt, a man of many seeming contradictions, was both a use-conservationist and a preservationist when it came to natural resources, and he quotes Theodore Roosevelt and cites examples from his record as president to bolster his argument. 

Four photographs of Gable supplement the text. Gable’s address first appeared in volume 26, number 3, 2005 issue of the journal.

The Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) announces that its 2009 annual meeting will be held in Tampa, Florida, and that its symposium will address the topic of the Spanish-American War. The announcement lists the eight scheduled speakers and highlights a tour of Tampa. The reverse of the announcement features a registration form which lists the costs for various levels of participation in the weekend activities. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2009

Creator(s)

Theodore Roosevelt Association

The Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) announces that this issue features the publication of a newly discovered letter from Theodore Roosevelt to George Otto Trevelyan from the collection of Gregory A. Wynn, and it also states that its annual meeting for 2009 will be held in Tampa, Florida, with Stacey A. Cordery and Douglas Brinkley as featured speakers. The section includes a text box listing the executive leadership of the TRA, along with those responsible for assembling its journal, and guidelines for submitting manuscripts. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2009

Creator(s)

Theodore Roosevelt Association

Eleven topics vie for attention in the “Reviews” section, including six book review essays, three of which are written by John A. Gable. Harry N. Lembeck revisits Jacob A. Riis’s 1904 biography Theodore Roosevelt the Citizen and finds it especially valuable for learning about Theodore Roosevelt’s tenure as Police Commissioner of New York City. Jeremy M. Murphy says that Eric Rauchway’s Murdering McKinley goes against the prevailing trend that sees Roosevelt’s progressivism as genuine, and he disputes Rauchway’s conclusions about the fate of the Socialist Party in the United States. Gable notes that James Chace’s 1912 makes no use of primary sources, but he recommends it “as a good place to start on the election of 1912.”

In his review of Daniel J. Philippon’s Conserving Words, Edward Renehan focuses on Roosevelt, his writings about hunting and ranching in Dakota, and his founding of the Boone & Crockett Club. Gable notes that John P. Avlon identifies Roosevelt as a model centrist in his Independent Nation, and he says that Richard D. White’s Roosevelt the Reformer provides a biography of Roosevelt during his years as a Civil Service Commissioner. The section also has an excerpt from the writings of Douglas Brinkley, notes the passing of Edward Wagenknecht, author of The Seven Worlds of Theodore Roosevelt, and announces that the 2004 meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) will be held in Portland, Oregon. An article on the vice presidential candidates in the election of 1904 and two letters to the TRA praising its journal close out the section.

Photographs of Roosevelt and Avlon appear in the section along with a text box with a quote from Roosevelt about the 1904 campaign.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

The Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) announces that it will take a field trip to Pine Knot, Virginia, to tour Theodore Roosevelt’s rustic retreat and listen to presentations by three speakers on the topic of Roosevelt and conservation as part of its 2005 annual meeting activities. A small photograph of the cabin supplements the announcement.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2005

Creator(s)

Unknown

Tim Glas describes the activities and field trips planned for the annual meeting and dinner of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) in Washington, D.C., in October 2005. Glas highlights trips to Theodore Roosevelt Island, Grace Reformed Church, and Pine Knot in Virginia. He offers notes on the Mayflower Hotel and on the winners of the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal. The logo for the meeting appears at the bottom center of the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2005

Creator(s)

Glas, Tim

Announcement that John A. Gable and William Henry Harbaugh will both be awarded the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal posthumously at the 2005 annual dinner of the Theodore Roosevelt Association. The announcement lists the medal presenters, the honorary chairs for the event, and the menu.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2005

Creator(s)

Unknown