Your TR Source
Harrison C. Babbitt uses Christian ideals to advocate for socialist reform and urges President Roosevelt to read The Truth About Socialism by Allan L. Benson.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-04-28
Silas McBee encloses a letter from the Executive Committee of the Laymen’s Missionary Movement of the United States and Canada. McBee asks President Roosevelt if he would write a reference letter for the Movement that McBee could use in England. The French Ambassador told McBee about the conversation President Roosevelt had with the ambassador about the Peace Congress. The ambassador begged McBee to tell Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau what McBee had told Roosevelt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-05-11
Frederic Cook Morehouse, editor of The Living Church, is upset over an article in the Boston Traveler. Morehouse wishes to know if the incident was correctly reported. Such reports harm both the Episcopal Church and the Christian religion in general and generally prove to be false when investigated.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-07-05
Patrick Ford asks William Loeb to please thank President Roosevelt for the confidence that he has placed in him. Ford also praises a recent letter by Roosevelt in which Roosevelt pledged to treat Catholics the same way he would wish for a Catholic president to treat Protestants.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-09-09
Robert Bolt examines Theodore Roosevelt’s religious life and details some of Roosevelt’s beliefs by quoting extensively from his writings. Bolt contends that Roosevelt believed in a Christianity that emphasized service and works over dogma, rules, and regulations. He asserts that Roosevelt looked to the Bible, especially the King James version, for guidance, and that Roosevelt felt that people should attend a church. Bolt argues that Roosevelt believed that morality was necessary to the functioning of a republic, and he felt that the nation’s foreign policy should emphasize achieving justice and righteousness over maintaining peace.
A photograph of Roosevelt in a dynamic speaking pose appears on the last page of the article.
H. C. G. Moule thanks Annie Augusta King Cole for her letter and the photograph he sent. He also thanks her for the book from Charles Kingsley’s library she sent him. He hopes she is well and can come visit.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-10-14
President Roosevelt speaks on the importance of the Christian church being “the church of the plain people,” and praises W. S. Rainsford for his work in helping make this a reality. Rainsford has had a long and fruitful career within the church, and Roosevelt regrets his retirement.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-04-07
A. J. S. Bourdeau, on behalf of Protestant Magazine, sends Theodore Roosevelt bound copies of Protestant Magazine. Bourdeau puts forth that the magazine aims to deal only with principles not individuals, and the work additionally aims to promote “primitive Christianity.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-06-20
President Roosevelt addresses representatives of the Methodist Church gathered in Carnegie Hall on the bicentennial of John Wesley’s birth. He opens by noting that it is in the United States that the Methodist Church has grown the most, starting from about the time of the Revolutionary War. The Methodist Church has also played “a peculiar and prominent part in the pioneer growth” of the country, particularly in westward expansion. Methodist preachers and ministers served as a moral guide for the frontiersmen and women to help them conquer both the “forces of spiritual evil” and the hostile terrain of the frontier. Roosevelt urges the church of the present day to show the same spirit of courage and determination as these earlier pioneers in order to advance humanity, kindliness, and brotherhood within the nation.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-02-26
President Roosevelt addresses representatives of the Methodist Church gathered in Carnegie Hall on the bicentennial of John Wesley’s birth. He opens by noting that it is in the United States that the Methodist Church has grown the most, starting from about the time of the Revolutionary War. The Methodist Church has also played “a peculiar and prominent part in the pioneer growth” of the country, particularly in westward expansion. Methodist preachers and ministers served as a moral guide for the frontiersmen and women to help them conquer both the “forces of spiritual evil” and the hostile terrain of the frontier. Roosevelt urges the church of the present day to show the same spirit of courage and determination as these earlier pioneers in order to advance humanity, kindliness, and brotherhood within the nation. This is a press copy of his speech with edits marked in pencil.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-02-26
President Roosevelt addresses representatives of the Methodist Church gathered in Carnegie Hall on the bicentennial of John Wesley’s birth. He opens by noting that it is in the United States that the Methodist Church has grown the most, starting from about the time of the Revolutionary War. The Methodist Church has also played “a peculiar and prominent part in the pioneer growth” of the country, particularly in westward expansion. Methodist preachers and ministers served as a moral guide for the frontiersmen and women to help them conquer both the “forces of spiritual evil” and the hostile terrain of the frontier. Roosevelt urges the church of the present day to show the same spirit of courage and determination as these earlier pioneers in order to advance humanity, kindliness, and brotherhood within the nation. This is a press copy of his speech.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-02-26
President Roosevelt praises former President William McKinley for leading the nation through several crises with virtue. Roosevelt compares McKinley to Presidents Washington, Lincoln, Grant, Jefferson, and Jackson, all of whom Roosevelt notes have left long-standing legacies in the American memory. Roosevelt traces McKinley’s service to the United States from his commission in the Union Army during the Civil War, through his time in Congress and governorship of Ohio, before becoming President of the United States. McKinley helped the country move through a period of financial depression, as well as the Spanish-American War and the subsequent issues arising from having claimed new island territories. Roosevelt closes by noting that McKinley’s assassination shocked the nation, but that he died “in the golden fullness of his triumph,” and that his example lives on.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-01-27
President Roosevelt praises former President William McKinley for leading the nation through several crises with virtue. Roosevelt compares McKinley to Presidents Washington, Lincoln, Grant, Jefferson, and Jackson, all of whom Roosevelt notes have left long-standing legacies in the American memory. Roosevelt traces McKinley’s service to the United States from his commission in the Union Army during the Civil War, through his time in Congress and governorship of Ohio, before becoming President of the United States. McKinley helped the country move through a period of financial depression, as well as the Spanish-American War and the subsequent issues arising from having claimed new island territories. Roosevelt closes by noting that McKinley’s assassination shocked the nation, but that he died “in the golden fullness of his triumph,” and that his example lives on for the nation. This is a press copy of the speech.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-01-27
A mermaid labeled “Presidency” swims in water with a clear view of the fish that are attracted to her. Depicted are David Davis, Grover Cleveland, Joseph E. McDonald, Benjamin F. Butler, Robert Todd Lincoln, John Sherman, Sereno Payne, Chester A. Arthur, William T. Sherman, John Kelly, Samuel J. Tilden, Allen G. Thurman, Abram S. Hewitt, Roswell P. Flower, John Logan, Thomas Bayard, James G. Blaine, Ulysses S. Grant, Roscoe Conkling, Samuel J. Randall, and Winfield Scott Hancock.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1884-03-12
In this essay, Theodore Roosevelt urges the reader to attend church, arguing that church attendance is vital to the vigor and life of a community. “[A] churchless community, a community where men have abandoned and scoff at or ignore their religious needs, is a community on the rapid down grade.” Roosevelt also exhorts the church to work for “for the practical betterment of mankind.” Even if the sermon is not good, he notes, the churchgoer will benefit from being part of a community dedicated to the good of others and being in a position to work for the good of those in need.
Unknown
James Francis Smith writes to President Roosevelt in receipt of his letter and those of Bishop McFaul, Father James T. Reilly, and Father O’Mahoney. Smith discusses grievances reported by Catholic officials about poor relations between the Catholic Church and Philippine government. Referencing the Spanish-American War and American colonization in the Philippines, Smith discusses the Cavite uprising of 1872, the Pact of Biac Na Bato, and Filipino blood pacts inspired by European secret societies.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-10-24
Lyman Abbott affirms his support for Christianity and the work of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. However, he believes that the hostility between the friars and Filipinos is impossible to overcome. He sees no advantage for the church retaining the friars in the Philippines.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-02-10