Your TR Source
Elizabeth Hamilton Muncie thanks Frank Harper for his response and assures him that The Four Epochs of Life is intended to help people rather than make money. She would like to send Harper a copy for Roosevelt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-09-21
Felix J. Billiarde encloses a copy of “Citizen in the Making” as he knows Theodore Roosevelt is interested in civic duty.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-09-19
Theodore Roosevelt asks William Emlen Roosevelt to accept his resignation as director of the Broadway Improvement Company. He requests that Theodore Roosevelt Jr. be elected in his place.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-05-08
Theodore Roosevelt wishes he and John Lawrence Sullivan could work together in some way for the good of the nation. Roosevelt hopes Sullivan will visit him when he is in New York.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1915-07-07
H. D. W. English thanks Theodore Roosevelt for his encouraging letter. He was considering stepping down from the Pittsburgh Civic Commission because of enemies’ attempts to reduce financial support and hinder the commission’s work. English describes the challenges to civic life Pittsburgh is experiencing in the face of industrial growth, including poor housing conditions and overwork. However, he says that thanks to Roosevelt and others’ advice and kind words, he will remain in his Civic Commission position to keep on fighting.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-10-17
George R. Brown of the Little Rock Board of Trade informs Theodore Roosevelt that their 1911 annual report, which includes Roosevelt’s portrait as a tribute, is being sent separately. He also expresses appreciation for Dr. Wiley. Printed on the the reverse of the letter is a list of members of the Board of Trade State Reciprocal Department of Arkansas.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-09-08
Frank W. Pearsall posits that if organizing a Young Men’s Christian Association in Oyster Bay is unwise, there are other ways to ensure the local boys grow up to be good citizens. He submits a list of proposals to Theodore Roosevelt on the matter, including collaborating with the schools and churches.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-08-25
Susan F. Stone discusses local efforts to preserve the riverfront of Muscatine, Iowa, as Theodore Roosevelt urged in his speech at St. Paul, Minnesota. Despite the civic outcry, the railroads plan to build a switchyard. Stone asks Roosevelt who to contact in the federal courts if the local efforts fail.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-08-09
Louis Starr encloses a copy of an article he believes will interest Theodore Roosevelt. He also expresses admiration for Roosevelt’s achievements, especially those pertaining to the improvements of laws and the courts.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-07-17
As President of the Flushing Association, William B. Parsons invites Theodore Roosevelt to speak at an upcoming dinner of the organization. Parsons sends Roosevelt the organization’s yearbook, and gives some details about the organization. Some of Roosevelt’s ancestors were involved with the early history of Flushing, and Parsons thinks Roosevelt may enjoy meeting the descendants of some of the men who knew his ancestors.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-07-06
James L. Wells discusses the changing landscape of America and argues that the people need more of the spirit of Abraham Lincoln.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-06-19
Reverend Harty invites Theodore Roosevelt to address the people of Hannibal, Missouri, on the topic of civic righteousness.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-02-16
In this article, published in Ladies Home Journal, June 1917, Theodore Roosevelt compares the constitutions put forth during the French Revolution to the constitution developed by the founding fathers of the United States of America. Roosevelt observes that the American constitution succeeded because it did not attempt too much and because the men who wrote it also put it into practice, and they possessed both education and practical knowledge of government. He argues that “the vital element in the success of any plan for social, civic, or political or industrial betterment is the actual application of it in practice, the testing of it by work and by results.” He decries the many programs for social uplift which are written about in pamphlets and other publications but never put into practice. At the end of the article, he asserts that the same principles apply in achieving individual success. That is, one should profit by the advice of others, testing it by putting it into practice.
1917
Wilson L. Gill would like to send President Roosevelt literature on his “school city” method of education.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-09-30
Josephine Shaw Lowell praises a recent speech by Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt, but is distraught at the thought that he might leave his office to accept a government position in Washington, D.C. She urges him, if he is able to, to remain in New York and continue the work of improving the city’s government.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1897-04-06