Your TR Source
Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt assures F. V. Greene that he will do what he can for Holden. He wishes he could see Greene to discuss affairs, especially Eastern matters between the Turks and Greeks, which he has been following with great interest. Roosevelt is also interested in the foreign affairs of the United States concerning Hawaii and Cuba.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1897-05-03
Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt shares with President McKinley his belief that a battleship should only be sent to the Mediterranean if they intend to make a demonstration of force, in which case three or four armored vessels should be sent. He discusses each of the armored cruisers and battleships that could be sent, their current status, and whether they are suitable.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1897-04-26
President Roosevelt responds to a request from Senator Lodge that he comment on an article about Egypt written by Charles Francis Adams. Roosevelt observes that Adams was apparently not aware of many of the issues related to holding colonies before traveling to Egypt. Comparing the British occupation and control of Egypt and India with the relationship of the United States to Cuba, Puerto Rico, and particularly the Philippines, Roosevelt asserts that the goal of the United States must be to administer the islands for the good of the natives with an eye towards eventual self-government (whereas this has not always seemed to be the goal of the British). Roosevelt also quotes a letter from General Leonard Wood regarding the condition of British colonies and the topic of Chinese labor. Roosevelt believes that the United States has acted much more benevolently towards its island holdings than the British have towards their colonies, and praises the efforts that the United States has made in reducing corruption and increasing the effectiveness of the governments of these dependencies.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-04-30
Second Assistant Secretary of State Adee informs William Loeb that, following the request of First Assistant Secretary of State Robert Bacon, he has telegraphed Minister to Cuba Edwin V. Morgan that President Roosevelt feels he should return to his post. Adee asks whether he should tell Morgan to visit Roosevelt at Oyster Bay on his return journey.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-1909
President McKinley writes to accept the Republican Party’s nomination for President and accepts the platform. He discusses his desire to uphold the gold standard and refutes the opinions of those who support the silver standard. He also comments on international affairs, including the territorial government in Alaska and Hawaii, war loans from the Spanish American War, neutrality policies in the Boer War, law and order in Cuba, and holdings in Puerto Rico and the Philippines. He also comments on domestic issues including civil service reform, the volume of United States currency, and domestic shipping. Finally, McKinley comments on insurrection and peace treaties in the Philippines, asserting his desire for peace and that no person be “deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1900-09-10
Bernard Shandon Rodey is staying in Alaska for another winter as he needs the money. He recently attended New Mexico’s first state convention and was almost nominated for Congress. Except for a few nominees like George Curry, the Republican ticket is not ideal. Rodey comments on the sugar fraud case and asks if Roosevelt looked at his Puerto Rico Federal Reports volumes.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-10-30
Benjamin F. Havens expresses to Theodore Roosevelt his support for Roosevelt’s stance against President William H. Taft’s treaty, praising him as a true American and commending his backbone in defending national rights.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-09-09
Maurice Francis Egan updates Theodore Roosevelt on some of the happenings in Europe, including a conversation he had with Gonzalo de Quesada regarding the state of politics in Cuba. Egan is somewhat puzzled at why several South American nations, including Argentina, Brazil, and Cuba, have suddenly sent diplomats to Denmark.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-08-23
Neil McLean explains to Theodore Roosevelt why he is now in Cuba. While there, he heard of someone who lived on a reservation and sold duty-free clothes for the benefit of the enlisted men. He and his friend, George E. Cox, plan to do the same and make more money than remaining a serviceman. McLean asks Theodore Roosevelt for help obtaining a permit from a government authority to build and live on the reservation. He sends a photograph of Roosevelt Road.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-08-20
Commissioner of Pensions Davenport informs Theodore Roosevelt that Charles Buckley (Buckholdt) will not receive an increase in pension as the primary cause of his medical disability is not related to his military service.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-04-17
Leon J. Canova sends Theodore Roosevelt an illustrated pamphlet on Cuba published by the Department of Agriculture, which he had a hand in the creation of as Chief of the Bureau of Information. He hopes that, as Roosevelt has been in Cuba, he will find the pamphlet interesting.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-02-28
William E. Goozee writes of his positive opinion of the movement to ensure universal peace, and asks Theodore Roosevelt to lend his support to the movement. He suggests one step to take in this effort would be to speak against the current effort to fortify the Panama Canal, and instead declare it as neutral ground.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-02-28
Howell calls Theodore Roosevelt’s attention to John Kenneth Turner’s article “Barbarous Mexico,” describing the “most horrible conditions of slavery” in the “so called Republic.” He argues that if the United States was morally right to interfere on behalf of the oppressed Cubans, there is a greater imperative to intercede in Mexico.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-01-21
Reverend Stuhlmüller claims he was appointed Ambassador to Cuba by Theodore Roosevelt in 1907. He would like Roosevelt’s attention when Roosevelt returns from Africa.
It is unlikely that Stuhlmüller was named Ambassador to Cuba. Newspaper articles state that in 1907 he was declared to be of unsound mind. Further, in 1907 the United States did not have an ambassador in Cuba because the island was under military occupation by the United States from 1906-1909, with Americans leading a provisional government.
Archbishop Aversa, Apostolic Delegate to Cuba and Puerto Rico, thanks President Roosevelt for his personal kindness and the support of the United States government toward his mission.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-03-02
Captain Frank Ross McCoy thanks President Roosevelt for giving him a share of the credit for improving the army’s horsemanship standards. McCoy wishes that he could have joined Roosevelt on his ride to Warrenton, which he feels set an excellent example for lazy officers. Although McCoy envies Roosevelt’s current aide, Captain Archibald Willingham Butt, he is glad to have implemented real improvements to the cavalry during his own tenure in the position. McCoy hopes that, before March 4, Roosevelt can suggest to the committee revising the Field Service Regulations that the organization and training of army pack trains be improved. Packing for cavalry is becoming a “lost art.” McCoy also shares his plans for Presidents’ Day.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-02-02
Harry Johnston thanks President Roosevelt for facilitating a warm reception when he visited the Panama Canal construction site, where he met president-elect William H. Taft. Johnston then wrote a letter to Taft on his return to Colòn about the city’s appalling hotel and infrastructure. He now worries that this was inappropriate. If Taft is angry, he asks Roosevelt to “placate his wrath.” Johnston also wonders why Roosevelt is going hunting in Africa instead of somewhere in South America, Central America, or the Antilles. He shares his address in England, and hopes that United States Minister to Haiti H. W. Furniss will retain his position in the new administration.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-02-03
Reverend Sole thanks President Roosevelt for his unexpected graciousness when Father Ketcham introduced them last October. He requests permission to repeat Roosevelt’s words from their meeting, and summarizes the points Roosevelt made about the treatment of Catholics. He was particularly heartened by Roosevelt’s antagonism towards the anti-Catholic American Protective Society. Sole assures Roosevelt that in the future, Catholics will be grateful for his policy decisions on “Catholic rights” issues.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-02-04
Major General Barry encloses to Frank Maximilian Steinhart a copy of the letter previously discussed.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-20
President-Elect Taft advises President Roosevelt to veto the bill in response to Congress’s refusal to put the Census Bureau under the Civil Service Act. Taft believes that vetoing it will help to put an end to the “pernicious spoils system.” Taft reports that Representative Joseph R. Foraker claims Taft and Roosevelt have taken money from an emergency fund unlawfully and has requested that they make their expenditures public. Taft details the expenditures he has made over the past four years from the fund, most of which covered his travel expenses. Taft reasons it may not be in the best interest of the public to reveal all of the expenditures, but recognizes that failure to do so would “create such a row.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-13