Your TR Source
President Roosevelt thanks Postmaster General Cortelyou for the Daniel Webster letter. It will have a “place of honor” among his other historical letters.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-12-25
President Roosevelt responds to Representative Williams’s claim that he does not understand the South. Although Roosevelt is “greatly puzzled” by some difficulties he has encountered in the South, he has tried to treat the Southern States fairly. Roosevelt believes there are no issues with what he has done in the South but how he has been misrepresented in the South. The president is fine if people disagree with his policies, but he does not like when the facts are misrepresented. He mentions statements made by Alabama Senator John Tyler Morgan and Williams himself that were incorrect. Roosevelt does not appreciate the application of base motives to the president of the United States, and believes if the people of the South have been misled, it is because Southern leaders have misled them. Roosevelt also does not appreciate white men in the South trying to get their vote to count more than those in the North, and believes African American men should be judged by the same tests as “ignorant, vicious and shiftless whites.” Roosevelt closes by saying that what the South “really needs” is for her leaders to tell the truth.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-12-05
President Roosevelt regrets not being able to be present at the meeting in honor of the late Carl Schurz, and instead hopes to be able to express his appreciation for Schurz through Harry Rubens. Roosevelt praises Schurz as having upheld the policies of Abraham Lincoln and as having been a champion of civil service reform and sound money policy. He also holds Schurz’s biographies of Lincoln and Henry Clay in high regard, as well as his other writings.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-05-28
President Roosevelt asks Lyman Abbott about the enclosed materials, which were given to him by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge. Roosevelt notes that Lodge has many political enemies, but defends him as one of the best men in politics.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-02-23
President Roosevelt asks General Lee if he can obtain a handwritten letter or letter and image of General Robert E. Lee for his collection of items from prominent leaders.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-02-02
President Roosevelt sincerely thanks Justice Harlan for his kindness. He will frame the letters at once.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-01-13
Using Biblical parallels, George U. Young discusses the experiment of democratic government as a progressive expression of the minorities’ desires. He especially highlights the importance of having leaders who endeavor to stay on paths of “virtue and manliness.” He believes the Arizona Constitution is the most prominent expression of this experiment.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-04-14
Advance proof of an editorial by Julian LaRose Harris on the South’s political future, intended for publication in the March issue of Uncle Remus’s Home Magazine. Harris discusses the reasons why white southerners currently vote only for the Democratic Party, and why this has caused a stagnant political landscape that the Republican Party might exploit. Harris supports the disenfranchisement of African American citizens. However, he asserts that the focus on this disenfranchisement in the South has resulted in the diminishing influence of Southern Democrats over national Democratic Party policies and presidential nominations. He suggests that president-elect William H. Taft could encourage more bipartisan voting by white southerners if he heeds their political appointment suggestions and refuses to give federal appointments to African American candidates.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-02
President Roosevelt praises Justice John Marshall Harlan’s service as a justice of the Supreme Court. Roosevelt notes that Harlan is a Kentuckian, and he praises the patriotism of the citizens of Kentucky, who sided with the North during the Civil War. He notes that their position as a border state made it much more difficult to remain loyal to the Union than it was for those further north. Roosevelt closes by praising Harlan as embodying the qualities requisite for being a good citizen and statesman, and noting that Harlan’s strength of personality and quality of character stand as examples for all Americans.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-12-09
Theodore Roosevelt describes how the United States has always looked with particular interest at the isthmus connecting North and South America. He also describes the conflict that occurred in Cuba and the Philippines. The role of the military was gradually replaced by civil authorities.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-08-22
Eight stagecoaches stand in a procession, each jammed with passengers. Riding in the first coach, labeled “Republican Harmony Coach,” are Chester Alan Arthur, Roscoe Conkling, James Gillespie Blaine, John Alexander Logan, Ulysses S. Grant, J. D. Cameron, George William Curtis, John Sherman, John F. Miller(?) and an unidentified man. Riding in the second coach, labeled “Dem. Love Feast Coach” and “One Republican thrown in to please Mr. Dana,” are Charles A. Dana, Benjamin F. Butler, Edward Cooper, Rutherford B. Hayes, Franklin Edson, Samuel J. Tilden, John Kelly, and Hubert O. Thompson. Riding in the third coach, labeled “Heavy Hack,” are Cardinal John McCloskey, Robert Green Ingersoll, “Jacobs, Potter, Storrs,” Howard Crosby, Henry Ward Beecher, and Theodore Tilton. Riding in the fourth coach, labeled “Monopoly,” are William H. Vanderbilt, Russell Sage, Cyrus W. Field, Jay Gould, and a box labeled Henry Clay. Riding in the fifth coach, labeled “Thespis,” are Lester Wallack, Rose Coghlan, Marie Geistinger, “T.P., J.E. Pearson, Levy,” Dion Boucicault, Edward Harrigan, and Tony Hart. The sixth coach is labeled “Homeopathy”; the seventh coach is labeled “Allopathy”; and the eighth coach is labeled “The Bruiser.” The horses pulling this last coach wear boxing gloves. Caption: [If this takes, we will have another one next year.]
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1883-06-13
In response to Congressman Michael E. Driscoll’s request, Father Clune sends his address on President Lincoln to President Roosevelt. He apologizes that his remarks about Roosevelt’s address were not more polished but he had not known that they would be published. Clune admires Roosevelt for putting the interests of the Republic over “political sagacity,” just as Lincoln did.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-09-09