Bryan, William Jennings, 1860-1925

The President in the South

President Roosevelt’s determination to hire civil service workers based on merits rather than political motivation has alienated the party machine and lost him support in the South. In particular, Roosevelt’s focus on civil service reform has led to the removal of many unqualified party machine appointees, including many African American workers. These same actions, however, have won Roosevelt support elsewhere, and no one is likely to oppose him successfully for the Republican nomination for the presidency in 1904.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-12-18

Creator(s)

Knott, Richard Wilson, 1849-1917

Partial page of The Commercial Advertiser

Partial page of The Commercial Advertiser with articles relating to William Jennings Bryan’s candidacy, Cuban Reciprocity, Governor Taft purchasing the friars’ lands in the Philippine islands, a Bogota conspiracy, and gold imports.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-11-12

Creator(s)

Commercial advertiser

Letter from Fred W. Sargent to William Loeb

Fred W. Sargent responds to a letter from William Loeb regarding Major B. B. Ray. Sargent reports what he knows of Ray, but recommends that Loeb consult with E. E. Clark, who can better assess whether Ray could be of value to the administration in the coming campaign of 1904, especially with regards to influencing railway employees. For himself, Sargent believes the railway men will vote solidly for President Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-09-10

Creator(s)

Sargent, Fred W. (Fred Wesley), 1876-1940

Letter from Harrison Gray Otis to Theodore Roosevelt

Harrison Gray Otis writes to President Roosevelt about political issues of the 1904 election, the factions within the Democratic Party, and its growing power with the labor unions. He praises Roosevelt’s decision to require an open shop in the Government Printing Office following the Miller affair.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-07-28

Creator(s)

Otis, Harrison Gray, 1837-1917

About this time watch Mr. Hill

Now that President Roosevelt has been nominated as the Republican candidate for president, discussion of the likely Democratic presidential nominee has begun. The prospect of Grover Cleveland being nominated is unlikely, because popular sentiment opposes a third term presidency. William Jennings Bryan’s prospects are poor because “he has talked his head off.” David B. Hill seems the most likely candidate.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-06-01

Creator(s)

Unknown

Might makes right

The New York Sun asserts that the Republican nomination will go to President Roosevelt and that it has been his express intention to be elected to the presidency since he first took office following the assassination of President McKinley. The editorial describes Roosevelt as a politician who has disarmed all of his enemies by winning the public’s confidence, a feat he accomplished by “harrying the trusts,” “bringing wealth to its knees,” and putting organized labor “above the law and above the Constitution.” The editorial concludes by comparing Roosevelt to Germany’s William II and France’s Napoleon in his impact on the masses.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-04-22

Creator(s)

Unknown

Telegram from William Allen White to Theodore Roosevelt

William Allen White believes that the Wisconsin situation is a good opportunity for progressives to show that they will stand for good government regardless of political friendships or enmity. White intends to support John James Blaine and would like Theodore Roosevelt to make a speech in support.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912

Creator(s)

White, William Allen, 1868-1944

Why Roosevelt is strong

Newspaper article which portrays President Roosevelt as a “strong man” whose achievements could not have been matched by William Jennings Bryan.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-04-23

Creator(s)

Unknown

Letter from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt

Governor Taft discusses Filipino issues and politics. He discusses his decline of a place on the Supreme Court. He mentions the problem between the Roman Catholics and the Independent Filipino Catholic Church in regard to the ownership of church buildings. There is fear of a famine, so the government has bought some rice to support the people. Taft asks for a congressional appropriation of around $3 million for the purchase of cattle because of the loss of many cows. He is against the return of Apolinario Mabini, currently under arrest for insurrection. Taft discusses the possible appointment of Bowers with approval and President Roosevelt’s handling of the trusts. He fears the populists’ calls for destroying all trusts and moneyed interests, but sees the problem with the current setup.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-11-09

Creator(s)

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Norman E. Mack favors the ex-president on a platform of tariff for revenue only

Norman Edward Mack, Democratic committeeman from New York, proposes Grover Cleveland as the Democratic presidential candidate with a platform of tariff for revenue only. Mack believes that Cleveland can win New York against President Roosevelt and that William Jennings Bryan would support a nominated Cleveland.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-05-13

Creator(s)

Unknown

Letter from John Byrne to Francis C. Travers

John Byrne opposes the socialism of David B. Hill’s policies just as he opposed the socialism of William Jennings Bryan’s policies in 1896 and 1900. He cannot support anyone who supports Bryan and he feels that the Democratic Party has fallen low to accept Hill’s policies as part of its platform. Byrne urges Francis C. Travers to oppose such men for the sake of the country.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-10-29

Creator(s)

Byrne, John, 1842-1905

Letter from Joseph Bucklin Bishop to Theodore Roosevelt

Although he finds it difficult, Joseph Bucklin Bishop is on the side of the operators in the Anthracite Coal Strike and is firmly against the lawlessness of the strikers.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-10-13

Creator(s)

Bishop, Joseph Bucklin, 1847-1928

Bryan fiercely attacks Cleveland

In the most recent Commoner, William Jennings Bryan provides the history of the Democratic reorganization movement and portrays Grover Cleveland as the primary disruption in the party.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-05-13

Creator(s)

Unknown

Cleveland third-term developments

The writer considers the probability of Grover Cleveland being nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate. They dismiss William Jennings Bryan, and argue that it is unlikely that the Democratic Convention will endorse Cleveland. The writer also makes a comparison between Cleveland’s current position and the situation faced by Ulysses Grant at the 1880 Republic National Convention.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-05-13

Creator(s)

Unknown

He is impossible

Newspaper article dismissing Grover Cleveland’s potential nomination as the Democratic presidential candidate as “impossible and absurd.” The party organization is against Cleveland and supports William Jennings Bryan.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-05-13

Creator(s)

Unknown

Letter from Joseph Bucklin Bishop to Theodore Roosevelt

Joseph Bucklin Bishop encloses several newspaper articles and congratulates President Roosevelt on his political positioning against Senator Platt and William Jennings Bryan. He supports George B. Cortelyou’s appointment as Secretary for the new Department of Commerce and Labor.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-09-15

Creator(s)

Bishop, Joseph Bucklin, 1847-1928

Letter from William S. Cowles to Theodore Roosevelt

William S. Cowles sends President Roosevelt a statement for his use. He comments on the upcoming tour that Secretary of the Navy William H. Moody is taking with members of Congress, including members of the Committee on Naval Affairs. He hopes Moody will not become seasick. Cowles comments that he is worried about his wife Anna, the President’s sister, who has been ill for some time. He also reports on the progress of renovations at the White House.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-08-07

Creator(s)

Cowles, Wm. S. (William Sheffield), 1846-1923

Letter from Donald McDonald Dickinson to George B. Cortelyou

Donald McDonald Dickinson offers his opinion on the prospects for President Roosevelt’s administration and the attacks being made on him. Although popular sentiment is with Roosevelt, the organization is likely to oppose him in strength at the next election, and the time to begin preparing for that fight is now. The Booker T. Washington incident and his speech at Arlington hurt him. If Roosevelt could make some statement this fall about his desire to find a solution for the negro problem, it might assuage those in the South who were offended. Dickinson also urges that Abram S. Hewitt and others with large investment interests be made advisers to the president.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-07-11

Creator(s)

Dickinson, Donald McDonald, 1846-1917

Bryan proclaimis his loyalty

Newspaper article that interprets a recent statement from William Jennings Bryan to the effect that Bryan would follow the party line if Grover Cleveland was nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-05-13

Creator(s)

Unknown

Cleveland as a possibility

Newspaper article suggesting that the support for Grover Cleveland’s nomination as the Democratic presidential candidate is actually a movement to familiarize Democrats with a candidate from the Cleveland section of the party. Cleveland’s nomination would alienate William Jennings Bryan’s supporters and lose the presidential election. However, it might allow the “old guard” to regain control of the party.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-05-13

Creator(s)

Unknown