Your TR Source
James Bryce thanks Civil Service Commissioner Roosevelt for sending him a copy of The Winning of the West. He is enjoying the book very much. Bryce understands that Roosevelt has been busy with the Democrats.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1891-02-28
Harvard President Charles William Eliot tells President Roosevelt that he likes Massachusetts Senator Winthrop Murray Crane, and is glad that Roosevelt trusts him and takes his advice. Eliot will always be glad to listen to Secretary of War William H. Taft speak on any political theme, but believes that the Philippines are no longer of the highest importance, having been supplanted by the tariff, civil service, and labor unions. He criticizes the Democratic party for not having a common conviction regarding these subjects.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-21
Richard Henry Dana writes to Civil Service Commissioner Cooley to defend President Roosevelt’s record on civil service reform. He asks Cooley to send the details of Roosevelt’s reforms so that he can use the facts in an editorial he is preparing.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-03
Richard Henry Dana sends President Roosevelt a copy of a reply Dana wrote to Civil Service Commissioner Alford Warriner Cooley. Dana has written an article for the Boston Transcript which should appear soon. Dana is “indignant to see the facts so perverted as they have been by some of your opponents.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-03
Albert V. De Roode, assistant secretary of the National Civil Service Reform League, informs Civil Service Commissioner Cooley that Carl Schurz believes Judge Alton B. Parker “would strongly support civil service reform in his letter of acceptance.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-08-10
Charles Bonaparte wrote to Episcopalian Bishop William Lawrence about the concerns expressed by people about giving Senator Henry Cabot Lodge an honorary degree from Harvard.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-05-09
Chronology of the daily life of Theodore Roosevelt between January 1879 to December 1883. Notable events include Theodore Roosevelt’s engagement and marriage to Alice Hathaway Lee, his appointment to the New York State Legislature, and his first visit and buffalo hunt in North Dakota.
Theodore Roosevelt Association
1985
Eleven topics vie for attention in the “Reviews” section, including six book review essays, three of which are written by John A. Gable. Harry N. Lembeck revisits Jacob A. Riis’s 1904 biography Theodore Roosevelt the Citizen and finds it especially valuable for learning about Theodore Roosevelt’s tenure as Police Commissioner of New York City. Jeremy M. Murphy says that Eric Rauchway’s Murdering McKinley goes against the prevailing trend that sees Roosevelt’s progressivism as genuine, and he disputes Rauchway’s conclusions about the fate of the Socialist Party in the United States. Gable notes that James Chace’s 1912 makes no use of primary sources, but he recommends it “as a good place to start on the election of 1912.”
In his review of Daniel J. Philippon’s Conserving Words, Edward Renehan focuses on Roosevelt, his writings about hunting and ranching in Dakota, and his founding of the Boone & Crockett Club. Gable notes that John P. Avlon identifies Roosevelt as a model centrist in his Independent Nation, and he says that Richard D. White’s Roosevelt the Reformer provides a biography of Roosevelt during his years as a Civil Service Commissioner. The section also has an excerpt from the writings of Douglas Brinkley, notes the passing of Edward Wagenknecht, author of The Seven Worlds of Theodore Roosevelt, and announces that the 2004 meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) will be held in Portland, Oregon. An article on the vice presidential candidates in the election of 1904 and two letters to the TRA praising its journal close out the section.
Photographs of Roosevelt and Avlon appear in the section along with a text box with a quote from Roosevelt about the 1904 campaign.
Don Arp describes the University of Nebraska’s decision to recruit Theodore Roosevelt to become its chancellor in 1891. Arp notes that Roosevelt was seen as a good fit for the Nebraska post because of his affinity for the West and his work as a historian. Arp details Roosevelt’s immersion in his work as a United States Civil Service Commissioner, and he notes that at the time of the Nebraska offer, Roosevelt was increasingly distracted by the troubles surrounding his brother Elliot Roosevelt. A portrait of Roosevelt by Johann Waldemar de Rehling Quistgaard accompanies the text.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
2005
Elliot H. Goodwin and Samuel H. Ordway, Secretary and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Civil Service Reform Association, respectively, write to the members of the organization to urge them to write to New York Governor John A. Dix and ask him to not approve the resolutions from the State Civil Service Commission. The Commission, as previously appointed by Dix, was made up of people hostile towards the civil service law, and their recommendations, Goodwin and Ordway suggest, would perpetuate the spoils system, rather than improving the situation.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-03-22
President Roosevelt holds a “Civil Service Reform” paper as he stands on a platform. Behind him a man holds a “U.S. Postmaster General” axe and is about to decapitate a woman labeled “post distribution.” She leans on “Delaware,” and her hands are tied by “objectionable and obnoxious” rope. Meanwhile, John Edward Charles O’Sullivan Addicks—”the gas man”—holds a “spoils” basket, preparing to collect the postmistress’s head.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-09-11
The Indiana Civil Service Reform Association offers a brief history in the development of rules limiting the public political activities that federal office-holders are able to participate in. Several presidents have made declarations on this subject, including President Roosevelt who, while Civil Service Commissioner, commented on drawing a distinction between public servants within the classified service and those outside the classified service. While the association acknowledges these statements, it believes that political activity by office-holders is an abuse and should be reduced further.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02
An “independent Republican newspaper” describes New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes as a man guided by service to the people. He gets results from the “boss controlled” legislature without patronage or bargaining, and he takes a stand for what he believes is right. Governor Hughes does not have popular appeal, nor is he interested in power for himself, but he remains dutiful to the role that was forced on him.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09
The Delaware Republican Platform endorses Theodore Roosevelt’s approach to national and foreign affairs, his opposition to corruption, and every high value that he represents. Delegates are instructed to use all honorable means to bring about his nomination for president.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-04-21
Commissioner Roosevelt is very busy and describes his reform work with the New York Police Department. Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt does not enjoy living in New York City and one of the Roosevelt children is ill with diphtheria.
1896-03-15
Partial fifth draft of a letter with handwritten edits. President Roosevelt formally accepts the Republican presidential nomination. He then reviews several campaign issues and the achievements of his administration.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-08-27
Fifth draft of a letter with handwritten edits. President Roosevelt formally accepts the Republican presidential nomination. He then reviews several campaign issues and the achievements of his administration.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-09-12
Second draft of a letter with handwritten edits. President Roosevelt formally accepts the Republican presidential nomination. He then reviews several campaign issues and the achievements of his first administration.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-09-12
The sixth draft of a news release with handwritten edits. President Roosevelt formally accepts the Republican presidential nomination. He then reviews several campaign issues and the achievements of his administration, especially focusing on tariffs, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. He also attacks his opponents for their contrary views, especially in regard to downsizing the military and increasing public spending.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-09-12
Newspaper article reviewing President Roosevelt’s article entitled, “Reform Through Social Work: Some Forces That Tell for Decency in New York City.” Roosevelt praises philanthropy and the work of F. Norton Goddard.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-10-29