Chamberlain, Joseph, 1836-1914

United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom Reid gives President Roosevelt an update on international politics in Europe, especially events in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Russia. He assures the President that the London Morning Post has a good opinion of him, and proposes a solution to the problem of one of its correspondents writing unfairly on the Roosevelt administration.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04-17

Creator(s)

Reid, Whitelaw, 1837-1912

American diplomat Henry White updates President Roosevelt on efforts to have British diplomat Cecil Spring Rice visit Roosevelt to discuss policy on the “far east.” Spring Rice, who had recently met with King Edward VII, will visit Roosevelt but stay with historian Henry Adams instead of at the White House. White also discusses meeting with Rear Admiral French Ensor Chadwick, who hopes to receive command of a new squadron. White also notes anti-Semitic attitudes in Austria and Italy towards Jewish diplomats.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-01-13

Creator(s)

White, Henry, 1850-1927

President Roosevelt skates in the shape of “statesmanship” while Uncle Sam, John Bull, and three British politicians look on: Joseph Chamberlain, Leader of the House of Lords Henry Charles Keith Petty-FitzMaurice Lansdowne, and Prime Minister Arthur James Balfour. Caption: (“If any other feeling is mingled with our admiration of the President’s clear thinking and straight-forward utterance of thought, it is a feeling of regret that these ideas have not animated all our own statesmen.”—London Post.)

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-25

Creator(s)

Lambdin, Victor Ralph, 1876-1963

Joseph Chamberlain holds a pair of shears labeled “Protection” and is about to trim the mane labeled “Free Trade” of the British Lion.

comments and context

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1903-07-08

President Roosevelt disagrees with several statements Secretary of State John Hay wrote. While Hay was one of the most “delightful characters” Roosevelt had ever met, he found Hay lacking leadership qualities as a Secretary of State. Roosevelt provides Senator Lodge with his view of the Alaska Boundary dispute in 1903. He includes copies of the letters Roosevelt wrote to Judge Oliver Wendell Holmes and Henry White to show to British Secretary of State for the Colonies James Chamberlain and Prime Minister James Arthur Balfour. Roosevelt explains why certain appointments were made following the death of President William McKinley and details for why Hay was not consulted on matters concerning the Russo-Japanese War and the acquisition of Panama.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-01-28

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt agrees with Ambassador White that it is natural for people to treat their current situations as a permanent condition, as exemplified by Americans regarding the current financial crisis as if it will last forever while ignoring similar crises they have already overcome. Roosevelt agrees that a central bank would be a useful tool to combat future financial crises, but worries about the corrupting power a position in the bank could have. White’s suggestion for an international conference to discuss preventative measures is similarly agreeable although Roosevelt believes Americans are still too insular to appreciate the interconnected nature of modern global finance.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-27

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt provides his thoughts on the Alaskan boundary dispute and generally favors the claims of the United States. Roosevelt concedes that the British have a few small points of argument.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-07-25

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Sir Cecil Spring Rice writes a friendly letter to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt on a variety of topics. He understands what is happening, and says there is a similar movement in England. Spring Rice talks about the effects of an increased tariff at the end of the Boer War, and how it affected the national character of England. Common people suffered while businesses took advantage of things, similar to the situation in America. He believes that President Roosevelt may have greater moral force to provide an example of how to live once he leaves office, as his authority will be within his own character and not the office then. Spring Rice has been skiing recently, and has enjoyed his time and the people he has met. He wishes he could visit the United States, but does not think he will be able to soon.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-16

Creator(s)

Spring Rice, Cecil, Sir, 1859-1918

Ambassador White summarizes a series of informal meetings he had with several European bankers and politicians regarding establishing a central bank in the United States, the effect of the Panic of 1907 on European investors’ confidence in American markets, and avenues of international cooperation to prevent or mitigate future financial crises. White recounts general support for a central bank in the U.S. among the European financial community and expresses his own support for holding an international conference to examine transnational approaches towards financial crises.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-18

Creator(s)

White, Henry, 1850-1927

Ambassador Reid provides President Roosevelt with a variety of pieces of information regarding the status of English politics. Douglas Robinson and Corinne Roosevelt Robinson met with many different members of the royal family. Reid recounts a scandal regarding Prime Minister Campbell-Bannerman, who nine months after his wife died, was engaged to her caretaker. Regardless, Campbell-Bannerman has surprised most in Parliament at his effectiveness as a leader. Reid is disappointed that Robert Bond and the Liberal Party agreed to govern the colony of Newfoundland. The U. S. government is not pleased with this agreement, and many of the other premiers disagree with the Liberal Party’s policy. In particular, Alfred Deakin, the premier of Australia, is an outspoken opponent to this policy. Additionally, many of the colonies want preference in the British markets, and may sacrifice free trade agreements to achieve this status. Next, H. H. Asquith proposed an income tax for Great Britain that will introduce a new, objectionable system of old age pensions. R. B. Haldane proposed a permanent standing army in the British colonies. Augustine Burrill’s proposed Irish Council Bill is becoming unpopular and he does not have many successes as a politician. Overall, the Liberal Party is disappointed by Campbell-Bannerman’s performance.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-05-24

Creator(s)

Reid, Whitelaw, 1837-1912

Cecil Spring Rice updates Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt on the declining political and social situation in Russia. Although revolution seems to be in the air, Czar Nicholas seems impervious to demands for reform and determined to maintain the autocracy. Crowds are being shot down in the streets, including women and children; trains are being robbed of munitions; and a complete breakdown of order appears imminent. Spring Rice also describes Great Britain’s stance toward Russia, Japan, and America, particularly King Edward VII’s admiration for President Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-13

Creator(s)

Spring Rice, Cecil, Sir, 1859-1918

The government of the Independent State of the Congo responds to a dispatch from Lord Henry Petty-FitzMaurice Lansdowne regarding developments in the Congo. It details a decree outlining the rights, responsibility, and duties of a committee of inquiry being established in the Congo, and outlines the government’s role in managing the committee.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-09-05

Creator(s)

Government of the Independent State of the Congo

Ambassador White discusses Sir Cecil Spring Rice’s plans to travel to the United States and the issues related to the trip. He also shares information and various updates with President Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-01-13

Creator(s)

White, Henry, 1850-1927

Frederick Courteney Selous tells Montagu White that he has heard from Theodore Roosevelt and that Roosevelt is asking about the Second Boer War, though he feels he cannot take any public position on the issue. Selous does not believe that anything short of an independent republic for the Boers will lead to a lasting peace. Selous argues that the annexation of Dutch territories could lead to the loss of all South Africa.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1900-02-20

Creator(s)

Selous, Frederick Courteney, 1851-1917

James Jeffrey Roche encloses a report of a meeting in Providence, Rhode Island, and several clippings from The Pilot in a letter to President Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-03-14

Creator(s)

Roche, James Jeffrey, 1847-1908

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt updates Robert Harry Munro Ferguson on the health of Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt and Ted Roosevelt. Roosevelt will see Ferguson while he is in New York. He describes his most recent “Sunday scramble” with the children.

Collection

Arizona Historical Society

Creation Date

1898-01-22

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Grover Cleveland and British Prime Minister Robert Cecil, Lord Salisbury, are dressed as Native Americans, smoking peace pipes filled with “Common Sense Tobacco.” Sitting with Cleveland, also dressed as natives, are Richard Olney, Robert R. Hitt, Charles A. Boutelle, Nelson Dingley, George Frisbie Hoar, William E. Chandler, John T. Morgan, and Henry Cabot Lodge. Sitting with Salisbury are Joseph Chamberlain, Arthur James Balfour, George Joachim Goschen, and the Duke of Devonshire, Spencer Compton Cavendish. In the foreground is a hatchet in a hole, to be buried, possibly over the Venezuela boundary dispute.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1896-01-22

Creator(s)

Taylor, Charles Jay, 1855-1929

Governor Roosevelt has firmly decided he will not accept the Vice Presidency. He is corresponding with Frederick Courtenay Selous, a big game hunter from South Africa, about the Second Boer War.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1900-02-05

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

George B. Curtiss recommends that Roosevelt’s presidential campaign support the central issue of protectionism.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-01-08

Creator(s)

Curtiss, George B. (George Boughton), 1852-1920

Arthur Hamilton Lee thanks President Roosevelt for writing concerning his appointment as Civil Lord of the Admiralty for the Royal Navy. Lee discusses the resolution of the Alaskan boundary dispute, Joseph Chamberlain and the Tariff Reform movement, recently appointed Ambassador H. Mortimer Durand, and protectionism.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-11-22

Creator(s)

Lee of Fareham, Viscount (Arthur Hamilton Lee), 1868-1947