Constitutional amendments

The Washington industrial insurance law held constitutional

The New York Law Journal reports the Supreme Court of Washington has decided the Industrial Insurance Law is constitutional and enforceable. The law is similar to the case in New York which held the Workmen’s Compensation Act to be unconstitutional. The part of the article quoting the Washington court’s opinion which alludes to the New York court’s decision has been highlighted. The rest of the newspaper page reports on court notices and wanted ads.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-11-09

There are twenty-three of them

There are twenty-three constitutional amendments up for vote at the October 10, 1911 California state special election.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-09-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Richard Henry Dana

If Theodore Roosevelt had known about Richard Henry Dana writing to The Outlook, Roosevelt would have done his best to have Dana’s writing published. Roosevelt believes the Eleventh Amendment was “merely a construction of the Constitution.”

Collection

Massachusetts Historical Society

Creation Date

1912-03-01

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Cabot Lodge and Anna Cabot Mills Davis Lodge

Theodore Roosevelt writes to Henry Cabot Lodge and his wife, Nannie, in pencil, because he is far out in the African wilderness. Roosevelt discusses Lodge’s response to the tariff question and shares his own thoughts on the constitutional amendment about the income tax. Roosevelt agrees with William Loeb and Lodge on the mayoralty issue. On his trip, Roosevelt has gained a passion for William Shakespeare’s plays, news that will be of interest to Nannie. Roosevelt shares the highlights of his big game hunting in Africa, as well as other books he has been reading.

Collection

Massachusetts Historical Society

Creation Date

1909-09-10

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Orville Hitchcock Platt

President Roosevelt has consulted Attorney General Knox and asked that the law, or a constitutional amendment, be passed. As soon as Senator Platt can come to Washington, D.C., Roosevelt would like to see if he and Knox can “devise such a law.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-11-15

Who’d ever have thought we’d go fishing to-gether?

Two figures stand above the “senatorial pool” armed with fishing equipment. Theodore Roosevelt holds a large pole with a can labeled “bait amendments” by his side. Next to him, holding a pitchfork with a net strung in it, is the figure of Benjamin Tillman, a democratic senator from South Carolina. In the pool are a number of creatures, including a frog labeled “statehood bill,” a fish labeled “Santo Domingo,” a crocodile labeled “Philippine tariff bill,” and a large turtle with the head of a steam locomotive labeled “the railroad rate bill.” Roosevelt’s fishing pole has hooked under the lip of this turtle’s shell.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1906-02-25

Address of President Roosevelt at Cincinnati, Ohio (delivered copy)

In this economic policy speech at the Cincinnati Music Hall, President Roosevelt begins by joking about how he messed up the opening music by requesting “Garryowen,” which the band apparently did not know how to play. Roosevelt argues that the trusts are a natural result of the prosperity brought by the Industrial Revolution and that we cannot pride ourselves on progress and prosperity while denouncing the men who made this possible. He compares the present situation to flood control; just as one can control the Mississippi River’s flooding but not prevent it, so too America cannot end corporations but can study and regulate them so that they can “subserve the public good.” Roosevelt urges calm, informed evolution on the issue of trusts, not rancorous revolution and asserts that the public’s objection to any corporation should be based on its conduct, not its size or wealth. He advocates for free trade, noting that the lifting of tariffs for trust-made goods would hurt smaller producers and wage workers more than the trusts. Since most trusts conduct interstate commerce, he recommends federal oversight, calling for legislative solutions and perhaps a constitutional amendment. He reminds the crowd that, as part of the executive branch, he is limited in his ability to stop the trusts alone. Roosevelt encourages the crowd not to “be made timid or daunted by the size of the problem” and concludes with the assertion that “all men, rich and poor alike, shall obey the law alike and receive its protection alike.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-09-20

Address of President Roosevelt at Cincinnati, Ohio (prepared copy)

In the script for an economic policy speech to be delivered at the Cincinnati Music Hall before many captains of industry, President Roosevelt argues that the trusts are a natural result of the prosperity brought by the Industrial Revolution and that we cannot pride ourselves on progress while denouncing the men whose “commanding business ability” made it possible. He uses the example of how one can control the Mississippi River’s flooding but not prevent it; therefore, America cannot end corporations but can and must study and regulate them. Roosevelt urges calm, informed evolution on the issue of trusts, not rancorous revolution. Labeling the “demagogic denunciation of wealth” to be unwholesome and even dangerous, he asserts that the public’s objection to any corporation should be based on its conduct, not its size or wealth. Roosevelt opposes lifting tariffs for trust-made goods, as that would hurt smaller producers and wage workers more than the trusts. Since most trusts conduct interstate commerce, Roosevelt recommends federal oversight, calling for legislative solutions and perhaps a constitutional amendment. He reminds the crowd that, as part of the executive branch, he is limited in his ability to stop the trusts alone.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-09-20

Speech of the President at the Auditorium, Chattanooga, Tennessee

At the opening session of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen convention, President Roosevelt praises railroad workers as possessing the necessary qualities of soldiers, including obedience, initiative, and the rugged, manly virtues that Roosevelt feels are threatened by modern luxuries. He argues that organized labor is wonderful, but only if it encourages individual improvement while working for the group, and he feels that the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen have historically exemplified this virtue. Roosevelt warns that the prosperity of modern progress also gives rise to new challenges. He insists that, just as certain soldierly qualities remain constant despite changes in arms or military tactics, laws and constitutions may change but the need for good citizens of honesty, courage, and common sense will always be necessary. Having just visited the Chickamauga and Chattanooga battlefields, Roosevelt also praises the unified American spirit shared by men and women across the country, including immigrants.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-09-08

Bottled politics

Print shows two old men, one of whom may be Uncle Sam holding a glass, sitting at a table in a saloon, on which is a large bottle of alcohol labeled “Regulated Ohio Brand.” On a shelf behind them are other bottles of alcohol and a notice that states “Ohio Cordials & Refreshments on Hand”, there is also a large container of “Ice”, and on the wall, a sign that states “Regulate Liquor Traffic by License and Tax Laws.” The man sitting opposite of Uncle Sam is reaching for the bottle to refill his glass; he is holding a paper with the headline “Prohibitory Amendment Defeated.” An old temperance woman, wearing the plumed hat of Blaine Republicans and shaking her fist, is visible through an open door. Caption: Not too much – just enough – pass the bottle!

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1883-10-17

Polly’s chance to get some nice crackers

A well-dressed man labeled “Plutocracy,” wearing a top hat, holds a parrot labeled “State Legislature” on his right hand. He is trying to get the parrot to repeat a phrase after him, and he promises it “some nice crackers” in return for correctly learning to repeat the phrase. Caption: “We don’t want an Income-Tax Amendment! Say it, Polly! We don’t want an Income-Tax Amendment! Say it, Polly! Amendment! Amendment! We don’t want it!”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1909-08-18

Speech of Gov. Roosevelt at St. Louis, Monday night, Oct. 9, 1900

In this speech draft with handwritten corrections, Governor Roosevelt campaigns against William Jennings Bryan and his policies. Bryan’s prophecies regarding the need for free silver have not come true and the country has prospered. Roosevelt advocates national action to combat the complex problems of trusts. He points out the plight of African Americans and that Bryan seems more concerned with the rights of the “bandits” in the Philippines. Roosevelt does not want the United States to shirk its duty in the Philippines and believes that liberty will come to the islands under the American flag.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1900-10-09

Negroes issue their protest

African American delegates who were excluded from the Alabama Republican State Convention issue an open letter “To the Republicans of Alabama,” protesting that their exclusion violates both the state and federal constitutions and deserves the “severest condemnation.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-09

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Joseph Bucklin Bishop

Theodore Roosevelt writes to Joseph Bucklin Bishop to discuss President William H. Taft, President-elect Woodrow Wilson, and the Democratic Party’s attempt to amend the Constitution to limit presidential terms.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1913-02-10

Left out of campaign book

Several Republican leaders believe that an article about Judge Alton B. Parker published in the Evening Post was “needlessly unkind.” Included is a reprint of the article discussed and several other articles from the Post about Parker.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-18

Speech by William H. Moody

Attorney General Moody discusses new state constitutions passed in some southern states designed to keep African Americans from having the right to vote. Moody declares that under the Fifteenth Amendment these new laws are unconstitutional. He calls for change so that African Americans are treated equally under the law.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-07-05

Justice versus prejudice

President Roosevelt stands with his right hand on the left shoulder of an African American man, probably Booker T. Washington but not identified, and his left hand on a paper labeled “15th Amendment.” Behind them is a statue labeled “Lincoln – With Malice Toward None With Charity Toward All,” showing Abraham Lincoln standing at the top with freed African American slaves. Caption: President Roosevelt–Lincoln emancipated you, the people gave you citizenship and I’ll protect your rights.

Comments and Context

The controversy that clearly inspired this cartoon by Keppler was the famous Indianola, Mississippi, post office matter. In the weeks preceding this cartoon’s publication, Minnie Cox, the black postmistress of Indianola (having been appointed by President Harrison and again by President McKinley), was forced from her office by white Democrats of her town under threats including lynching. President Roosevelt exercised his prerogative as president and ordered her reinstated, and the post office closed until she returned to her post. Residents were obliged to travel 30 miles to transact postal business. Roosevelt had offended Southern whites by inviting Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House shortly after his assuming office. President Cleveland had invited the pioneer crusader for Black rights, Frederick Douglass, to the Executive Mansion amid even greater outcries, perhaps because Mrs. Douglass was white. It is interesting that Keppler here shows Roosevelt assuring a man (likely an unlabeled Booker T. Washington) and not Postmistress Minnie Cox herself.  There is no record of a public outreach to Booker T. Washington during this affair; however, he had become a political adviser publicly identified with Roosevelt, to whom he often turned for matters of policies and patronage.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Inevitable

Columbia stands on a globe labeled “United States,” holding a balance scale labeled “Constitutional Amendment” on which rests a large sword labeled “Centralized Government.”

Comments and Context

Beginning around this time in American national politics, traditional voices in the mainstream occasionally advocated, at least in theory, the benefits of centralization and regulation. Of course Theodore Roosevelt himself did, advocating the first measures of the regulatory state that peaked around 1906 with legislation and gained traction after 1910, the insurgent and Progressive movements. There was no one impetus, but the seemingly intractable challenge of the trusts might, to some, be solved by a corresponding consolidation of governmental power. Also, political and economic theorists among academics frequently urged centralization of the federal government. Countries in Europe, especially Germany, experimented with Socialism, with apparent success. When magazines like Puck (conservative Democrat, largely) and Judge (conservative Republican) argued occasionally for centralization and, for instance, municipal ownership of utilities, it seems surprising today. It was surprising then, but reform was in the air. It is also a matter of speculation about whether the voices of opinion, and leaders like Roosevelt, might be proud of the ideas they planted, or see centralization as a Frankenstein monster after the subsequent century.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Joseph M. Dixon

Theodore Roosevelt supports the popular election of United States senators. However, he does not want the federal government’s power over the elections diminished.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-05-09

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Edgar Borah

President Roosevelt recommends that Senator Borah meet with Senator Root to get Root’s opinion on the Honduras loan. He also invites Borah to lunch at Oyster Bay, New York. In a postscript, Roosevelt encourages Borah to support the amendment allowing for the popular election of United States senators only if the mode of election is changed and the federal government is prevented from controlling the elections.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-05-09