Characters and characteristics

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Ormsby McHarg

President Roosevelt has met with New Mexico Territory Governor George Curry and shares his findings with Assistant Attorney General McHarg. Roosevelt says Curry can be trusted absolutely, and that he will aid McHarg in any possible way in his investigation of political and judicial corruption in New Mexico. Roosevelt warns McHarg that Curry’s predecessor, Herbert J. Hagerman, and his associates will do everything possible to turn him against Curry. In a postscript, Roosevelt sends a report from Bernard Shandon Rodey regarding Hagerman’s father, James John Hagerman, and his alleged corrupt practices. Roosevelt asks McHarg to visit him after his preliminary investigation of the situation but before he “probes…to the bottom.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-31

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Allen White

President Roosevelt shares his thoughts regarding the upcoming presidential election and the land fraud case against Idaho Senator William Edgar Borah with William Allen White. Roosevelt outlines his personal reasons for supporting Secretary of War William H. Taft for president as well as the political considerations necessary to secure his nomination. In the case of Borah, Roosevelt would like White to come to Oyster Bay to discuss the matter with him and Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte; Roosevelt thinks it would look bad for Borah to come himself, and asks White to bring Borah’s lawyers on August 9.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-30

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Report of Frederick M. Tate

Secret Service Agent Tate records comments made by Julia Connor about her former neighbor Lulu Grover. Grover claimed to have known President Roosevelt when he was ranching near Medora, North Dakota, and left her cats to Roosevelt after committing suicide.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-15

Creator(s)

Tate, Frederick M. (Frederick Miles), 1878-1947

Letter from Louisa Lee Schuyler to Theodore Roosevelt

Louisa Lee Schuyler sends President Roosevelt a copy of a sermon by Reverend George W. Stone at her Unitarian church in Redlands, California, in which Stone spoke about Roosevelt’s character as the “dominant power” in his career.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-01-10

Creator(s)

Schuyler, Louisa Lee

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Justin Allen

Theodore Roosevelt wrote to Walter E. Myer as Henry Justin Allen suggested. Roosevelt explains that the truth about Harvey Washington Wiley is that while Wiley was once useful, later he became conceited and unwilling to share credit.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-08-03

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Secretary of Theodore Roosevelt to G. Edwin Sawyer

On behalf of Theodore Roosevelt, his secretary reports to G. Edwin Sawyer that while he only slightly knows Frank H. Higgins, he believes that he has an excellent character, and comes from a very good family.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-06-19

Creator(s)

Secretary of Theodore Roosevelt

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Thomas Goode Jones

Theodore Roosevelt inquires after Judge Thomas Goode Jones’s son, Gordon H. Jones. While Roosevelt heard that he had “slipped once,” he had recently made good, and expresses his admiration for a man who makes an effort to redeem himself.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-06-12

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Edgar Borah

Theodore Roosevelt appreciated Senator Borah’s letter. He doesn’t personally mind the letter he got from Judson C. Welliver, but is sorry to see his “hysteria and untruthfulness,” and that he is becoming a person who “subordinates principles to practical achievement.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1910-08-12

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Cabot Lodge

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

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to George W. Goethals

President Roosevelt sends George W. Goethals, Chairman of the Isthmian Canal Commission, a letter from former Rough Rider Walter S. Cash whom Roosevelt heartily endorses. Roosevelt wonders if there is a job that Goethals might know of where Cash could be given a trial.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-26

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Kermit Roosevelt

President Roosevelt agrees with Kermit Roosevelt about the book Martin Chuzzlewit, and criticizes Charles Dickens’s character and inability to see the positive traits of America and Americans, which led to such great men as Abraham Lincoln. He concedes, however, that some of the negative characteristics that Dickens’s characters portray do persist in some Americans, including Senator Benjamin R. Tillman, William Randolph Hearst, and John D. Rockefeller. Roosevelt enjoyed a recent visit from Kermit’s older brother, Theodore Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-29

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry B. F. Macfarland

President Roosevelt tells Henry B. F. Macfarland that he will unfortunately not be able to attend the meeting honoring the memory of Father Denis J. Stafford. Roosevelt comments on the good work that Stafford did during his life, and that he illustrated a strong religious fervor combined with a broad tolerance of different individual beliefs.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-06

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Kermit Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt writes to his son Kermit Roosevelt about some of the events in the campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. Secretary of State William H. Taft’s campaign seems to be going well, but Roosevelt says that rumors that he is trying to dictate Taft’s nomination are false. People who are hostile to Roosevelt seem typically to promote Charles Evan Hughes. Roosevelt says that Hughes is a fairly good man, but that Taft is much better. He closes the letter by remarking that it is currently the height of the social season, and that he is looking forward to the barrage of formal social engagements ending.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-01-27

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frank S. Butterworth

President Roosevelt tells Frank S. Butterworth that he did not promise that he would not make any change to the position of Collector of Internal Revenue in Connecticut, but that if Butterworth’s description of Robert O. Eaton’s character was accurate, then Roosevelt would not appoint him and would leave W. Frank Kinney in the position. Roosevelt has since received character references from several people attesting to Eaton’s good character.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-01-23

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Algernon Edward Sartoris

President Roosevelt regrets to inform Algernon Edward Sartoris that he is unable to appoint Sartoris as he had discussed. Secretary of State Elihu Root has made complaints against the appointment, stemming from Root’s investigation into Sartoris’s resignation from the army and his personal conduct. Roosevelt is not willing to disregard Root’s protests in this matter, since Sartoris would serve under Root.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-24

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Joseph Bucklin Bishop

President Roosevelt thinks Joseph Bucklin Bishop has accurately assessed the character of Austen G. Fox when he called him a “skate.” Roosevelt thinks the clipping Bishop sent is interesting.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-20

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to S. S. McClure

President Roosevelt has heard that S. S. McClure and Henry Beach Needham are discussing Needham joining McClure’s Magazine as an editor, and offers his own opinion that Needham would render excellent service. Roosevelt has interacted with Needham frequently during the present session of Congress, and attests to his work ethic and character.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-18

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to James Burton Reynolds

President Roosevelt was pleased and amused by Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Reynolds’s letter. He comments that the one thing that makes him uncomfortable about Jaques is that “he seems to contemplate such very far-reaching and radical action” that Roosevelt is not sure how useful he will be in achieving the more moderate goals they are currently aiming at.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-13

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Theodore Roosevelt

President Roosevelt was interested in his son Theodore Roosevelt’s commentary about Charles Dickens in a recent letter he wrote to his mother, Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt. He comments that “Dickens’ characters are really to a great extent personified attributes rather than individuals,” and offers several examples of the memorable examples Dickens created. Roosevelt provides a brief update on the progress of legislation, where he has been successful in passing a rate bill, but anticipates a fierce fight over the Panama canal bill. He has been too busy to get much exercise, but has occasionally been able to go horseback riding and play tennis.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-20

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Kermit Roosevelt

President Roosevelt tells his son Kermit Roosevelt that he is sorry about the decision Kermit came to, but that there is no more to say about it. He agrees with everything that Kermit’s mother, Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt, wrote to him. Roosevelt promises to get his son a tutor, and asks if he has any preference in this regard. He reminds Kermit that the most important thing is for Kermit “to show both before and after entering college not merely power of mental concentration but that stoutness of moral fiber.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-04-25

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919