Cooper, John Milton

Nicole E. Goldstein recounts the activities undertaken and speeches given at the fiftieth anniversary celebration of the dedication of the Theodore Roosevelt memorial on Theodore Roosevelt Island on October 29, 2017. Goldstein lists the numerous events, highlighting the efforts of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA), the Friends of Theodore Roosevelt Island, and the President of the D.C. Chapter of the Children of the American Revolution, Thomas Misiano, who designed discovery kits for visitors to the island to educate them about Roosevelt. Goldstein also summarizes her speech as well as those of Alexcy Romero of the National Park Service, historians John Milton Cooper and Clay Jenkinson, and Tweed Roosevelt. Goldstein concludes her report by touting Roosevelt’s conservation record and giving a brief history of Theodore Roosevelt Island.

Ten color photographs supplement the report.

Allen W. Williams provides a brief history of the Spectacle Club, an organization in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which holds an annual dinner in honor of Theodore Roosevelt. Williams notes some of the past speakers, describes the ceremonies at the dinner, and says that the group is seeking to become a chapter of the Theodore Roosevelt Association. The article includes four photographs from the club’s most recent dinner, a photograph of its venue, and the club’s logo. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2007

David H. Burton reviews Artists of Power: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Their Enduring Impact on U.S. Foreign Policy. Burton notes the contributions of eight historians to the work, and he stresses that although Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson are often seen at odds, the two presidents both wanted to see the establishment of some kind of international organization to secure global peace after World War I. Burton acknowledges that Roosevelt and Wilson had major impacts on American diplomacy and security and that their policies led to a larger role for the United States in global affairs.

A photograph of Roosevelt with his right hand resting on a large globe illustrates the review.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Report on the joint history conference, “The Big Stick and the Square Deal: The Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt,” and annual meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) held in Buffalo, New York, in October 2002. The report has three parts: a report on the conference and meeting; a full-page of thirteen photographs showing speakers, attendees, and dignitaries; and a full-page listing of patrons, supporters, and sponsors of the weekend’s events. The report highlights the conferring of the TRA’s Bertha B. Rose Award and its Distinguished Service Medal. The Rose Award was given to three members of Congress who helped secure Theodore Roosevelt’s Medal of Honor while the Distinguished Service Medal was given to the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt. 

 

An additional photograph on the first page of the report shows eleven of the conference speakers.

Twelve books compete for space and attention in this crowded edition of the “Book Reviews” section which includes four feature reviews, two brief children’s book reviews, and notices about six other titles. Matthew Glover counters some of the assertions made by Louis Auchincloss in his Theodore Roosevelt by citing the work of historian John Milton Cooper. John A. Gable provides profiles of Alice Roosevelt Longworth and Eleanor Roosevelt, the subjects of Linda Donn’s The Roosevelt Cousins, and he notes the outsize influence that Theodore Roosevelt had on the extended Roosevelt clan. An anonymous review of Theodore Roosevelt, the U.S. Navy, and the Spanish-American War lists the nine chapters that resulted from a conference of the same name, and it notes some of the authors’ ties to the Theodore Roosevelt Association. 

 

Gable identifies four themes found in the ten essays that make up European Perceptions of the Spanish-American War of 1898, including most European nations’ hostility to the United States in the conflict, and he emphasizes the role played by the Roosevelt Study Center in fostering the emergence of a cohort of European scholars of American history. Two books aimed at children are reviewed in the “Kids Corner” section, and “Other New Books” highlights six titles published in 2001-2002, including new paperback editions of the Roosevelt biographies written by Edmund Morris and his wife Sylvia Jukes Morris. 

This edition of the “News & Notes” section provides brief notices of three books, all of which have some content related to Theodore Roosevelt. The section also promotes the website, upcoming annual meetings, and publications of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA). It also lists the roster of historians and biographers scheduled to speak at a symposium marking the centennial of Roosevelt’s presidency scheduled for September 2001, and it includes a text box listing the officers of the TRA. Two photographs of the Medals of Honor awarded to Roosevelt and his son, Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, supplement the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2001

Advertisement for the book Theodore Roosevelt: Many-Sided American. The advertisement highlights quotations from Edmund Morris and John Milton Cooper, and it discusses the organization and features of the book, such as its illustrations. The work is offered at a discount to members of the Theodore Roosevelt Association. An illustration of Theodore Roosevelt appears at the top left of the ad.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1993

Four books are featured in this edition of the “Books” section with a lengthy book review essay, a brief review, and two notices that act as endorsements for the respective works. In “Serge Ricard on Theodore Roosevelt’s Foreign Policy,” William N. Tilchin examines Ricard’s Theodore Roosevelt: Principles and Practice of a Foreign Policy. Tilchin notes that Ricard’s work is free of much of the ideological baggage that marked his previous work on Roosevelt’s diplomacy, and he carefully lays out the organization of the book, highlighting the main points of each part. Tilchin notes the policies and actions for which Ricard praises Roosevelt, such as his preparation of the United States Navy for war while Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and he also criticizes Ricard for some of his assertions. Tilchin concludes that Ricard’s work “is among the most ambitious and important books ever written on Roosevelt’s foreign policy.”

The section features five brief excerpts from Theodore Roosevelt: Many-Sided American and six excerpts from Nathan Miller’s biography Theodore Roosevelt: A Life. “Books” closes with an anonymous review of Matinecock Light, a history of the Oyster Bay, New York, Masonic Lodge which counted Roosevelt as one of its members. An illustration and a photograph of Roosevelt appear in the section.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

John A. Gable reviews Nathan Miller’s Theodore Roosevelt: A Life and claims that it “replaces all previous popular, general-audience biographies of TR.” Gable places Miller’s work in the context of the many other biographies of Theodore Roosevelt, such as those of Henry F. Pringle and William Henry Harbaugh, and he asserts that there is still a need for a multi-volume treatment of Roosevelt. The “Books” section also details the contents of Theodore Roosevelt: Many-Sided American, a collection of forty-two essays originally delivered at an April 1990 conference at Hofstra University. The “Book Notes” section highlights the work of Roosevelt scholars Douglas Brinkley, David G. McCullough, and Edmund Morris, and takes special note of two works on the Teddy Bear.

A photograph of Miller appears on the first page of the section.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Two books undergo scrutiny in this edition of the “Book Reviews” section while ten others are mentioned in a “Book Notes” subsection that lists recently released or reissued titles. Elizabeth E. Roosevelt reviews Richard H. Collin’s Theodore Roosevelt’s Caribbean and gives a brief overview of each of the work’s four sections, praising the book for its portraits of key players involved in the various diplomatic tussles of the Roosevelt administration in the Caribbean basin. The review is followed by seven excerpts from Collin’s book, ranging from a single sentence to short paragraphs. Donald F. Kirkpatrick reviews Ralph H. Lutts’s The Nature Fakers which chronicles Theodore Roosevelt’s fight with William J. Long and other nature writers who attributed human traits to animals.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1991

William N. Tilchin surveys the major works on President Theodore Roosevelt’s foreign policy from 1956 to 1986, looking at nine books and one article. Tilchin provides detailed reviews of eight of the books, and highlights the discussion of diplomacy in the ninth. In doing so, Tilchin addresses the historiography of Roosevelt and his foreign policy, and he demonstrates how Roosevelt’s reputation as a diplomat grew from the low point it reached with Henry F. Pringle’s biography of 1931. Tilchin touches on the major international crises and issues of Roosevelt’s presidency, including the Philippine American War, the creation of the Panama Canal, and the voyage of the Great White Fleet. The essay is supported by 183 endnotes and includes a listing of publications about Roosevelt’s diplomacy not addressed in the text.

The article also contains three text boxes: one lists the leadership of the Theodore Roosevelt Association; another, “About the Author,” notes Tilchin’s work as a teacher and historian; and a third says that this issue of the journal “is dedicated to the people of the State of North Dakota.” A portrait of Roosevelt and a photograph of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt with elements of her air wing illustrate the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Joyce M. Bisso opens this edition of “News and Notes” with a report on the effort to gather library books from the greater Oyster Bay, New York, area to build a library for the sailors aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt. The task fell to students from Oyster Bay High School and local public libraries. Bisso quotes the two sailors from the ship, Petty Officer Timothy L. Blackstone and Senior Chief Edward J. Tessier, who came to Oyster Bay to collect the books and other materials gathered by the community. The article also reprints a letter from Captain Paul W. Parcells, Commanding Officer of USS Theodore Roosevelt, to William Davison Johnston, the President of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA). A photograph of students examining books; one of Blackstone and Tessier; and another of the two sailors with Oyster Bay High School students appear in the article. 

 

The section also contains a report on the natural history research grants awarded from the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund by the American Museum of Natural History in New York City for 1986. The report notes the members of the TRA who serve on the awards committee, lists the winner of the largest award, Mark L. McKnight, and it provides a history of the involvement of Theodore Roosevelt and his father with the museum. A chart listing the number of award applications, the number of awards, and the value of the grants from 1961 to 1986 appears in this section.

 

Report on a number of activities and ceremonies in and around Buffalo, New York, October 25 -27, 1985, to mark Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday and to highlight his presence in the Buffalo area. The report details the proceedings of a symposium on Roosevelt at Canisius College, listing the presenters and their topics as well as the other guest speakers. It also touches on the dedication of a plaque at a museum and a sign at an intersection to Roosevelt as well as the birthday dinner held in his honor. A photograph of four members of the leadership of the Theodore Roosevelt Association in Buffalo appears in the report.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1986

Joe F. Decker provides a comprehensive bibliography of the various accounts of Theodore Roosevelt’s attempt to form a volunteer division during World War I. Decker begins with Roosevelt’s own first account in 1917 and concludes with John Milton Cooper’s version in The Warrior and the Priest of 1983. Decker examines books, book chapters, and articles on the subject, and finds that the story still has not been “dealt with satisfactorily.” Decker points out the biases and the shortcomings of some of the authors, and notes that many of the accounts strongly favor either Roosevelt or his antagonist President Woodrow Wilson.

A full page-photograph of Roosevelt and General Leonard Wood accompanies the article. A photograph of Harrison Engle and Sidney D. Kirkpatrick who directed documentary films on Roosevelt is featured, along with three photographs of Roosevelt from newsreel footage used in the film The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt.

A listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association as well as the members of its executive, finance, and Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace committees is on page two of the article.

Kenneth D. Crews reviews John Milton Cooper’s dual biography The Warrior and the Priest: Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt. Crews highlights Wilson’s leadership of Princeton University, disagrees with Cooper’s emphasis on the year 1907 as pivotal for both presidents, and looks at their differing philosophies in the 1912 campaign. Crews also believes that Cooper’s characterization of Roosevelt as a warrior and Wilson as a priest is problematic, but he concludes that the book “is essential and excellent reading.”

The review features an excerpt from the book highlighted in bold, italicized text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal