Chase, Salmon P. (Salmon Portland), 1808-1873

Lieutenant Governor Guild of Massachusetts delivers a speech at an event commemorating President Ulysses S. Grant in Des Moines, Iowa. Guild reminds Iowans of their special connection to Grant, as Iowa regiments were key in his first great victory of the American Civil War, the Battle of Fort Donelson. Guild points out how Grant’s administration saw the beginnings of a lot of contemporary issues, like the fight between the gold and silver standard, the corruption of machine politics, and the ills of the spoils system. Guild does, however, defend Grant against his harshest critics, stating that Grant did punish many of the instigators of scandals like Credit Mobilier and the Whiskey ring, and that Grant’s idea to annex the Dominican Republic seems less extreme in light of recent South American upheavals.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-04-27

Creator(s)

Guild, Curtis, 1860-1915

President Roosevelt tells William B. Weeden his opinions and critiques of a book written by Weeden that he is reading on his trip to Panama. He compares the situations of Abraham Lincoln to his own, concluding that he has “bigger men than Lincoln had in his cabinet-men who have the great qualities of Seward, Chase and Stanton, without their great defects.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-11-12

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt seeks confirmation from Commissioner of Pensions Warner that Ethel Chase Sprague Donaldson’s pension is processed with haste, as he has high regard for her and her late husband, Rough Rider and army surgeon, Frank Donaldson. Although Roosevelt respects the Donaldson’s service to their country during the war, he particularly notes that Mrs. Donaldson’s grandfather is Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury to President Abraham Lincoln.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-06

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt brings a pension case to the attention of Commissioner of Pensions Warner, and vouches for the applicant.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-25

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt tells James Ford Rhodes he has just finished reading his fifth volume, which has tied in well with Roosevelt’s other readings of Thomas Babington Macaulay’s History and Abraham Lincoln’s letters and speeches. Although the president agrees with Rhodes that the right is not all on one side and the wrong is not all on the other in quarrels, Roosevelt thinks the American Civil War is the exception, as he believes “the right was exclusively with the Union people.” Roosevelt talks about his plans to build up the Navy to avoid war, believing the Panama Canal will help. Finally, he discusses problems he has been having with the tariff and Southern states. He disagrees with Rhodes that the South is not trying to reinstate slavery, as there is peonage in three states right now. Roosevelt closes by mentioning how his opponents helped him during the election campaign.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-11-29

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919