Your TR Source
William E. Dodd asked his publisher to send Theodore Roosevelt a copy of his new book Statesmen of the Old South. He hopes Theodore Roosevelt will find it interesting and agree with his work.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-09-16
Dodd, William E. (William Edward), 1869-1940
Benjamin M. Blackburn writes an editorial for The Constitution thanking President Roosevelt for his order to place the name of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, back onto the Cabin John Bridge. Blackburn praises Roosevelt’s act as chivalrous and just, deserving the appreciation of “every Confederate camp, the acclaim of every Southern woman and the plaudits of all the children of the South.” Blackburn admits being a one of Roosevelt’s biggest critics, refusing to attend his visit to Atlanta three years prior, but now praises him as a great man who, with this act, as withdrawn all criticisms and “offensive works” he said of Davis in the past.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-02-27
Blackburn, Benjamin M. (Benjamin Milner), 1857-1950
Newspaper article presenting official reports from the American Civil War that refute statements make by Bishop Keiley. In a recent speech, Keiley attacked President Roosevelt for comparing Jefferson Davis to Benedict Arnold and claimed that General Miles chained Davis to the floor of his prison.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-05-04
Newspaper article quoting Senator Money on his objection to quarantines. Money also takes issue with President Roosevelt for calling Confederate soldiers anarchists, and for the president’s support of African Americans, concluding that Roosevelt, “hates the South and Southern people.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-11-09
Theodore Roosevelt tells Frederick Palmer that he is “sick at heart about Wilson and therefore the American people.” He compares the current situation to what might have happened during the Civil War if Abraham Lincoln had been too proud to fight, but he believes that even then, someone would have roused the northerners in the end. Roosevelt believes he has done everything he can to rouse the American people, and he informs Palmer that he has the beginnings of a Division already planned.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1915-08-28
Theodore Roosevelt is interested by the clippings about Abraham Lincoln that John F. McClain sent him.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-11-29
President Roosevelt tells Andrew Dickson White that he has asked the Superintendent of Public Buildings and Grounds Chas. S. Bromwell to put in an inscription on a statue of former president Andrew Jackson. Roosevelt expresses agreement with White’s views on the erasure of names as political parties gain and lose power.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-02-27
President Roosevelt directs Secretary of War Wright to restore the inscription of Jefferson Davis’s name as Secretary of War to the Cabin John Bridge. It should be made public next Monday.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-02-16
President Roosevelt responds to a letter from Nicholas Murray Butler that had criticized Roosevelt’s recent message to Congress. Roosevelt was not surprised by the letter, as Butler had been moving away from Roosevelt’s policies for the past year or two. While Roosevelt’s message did upset some people, he says that his real supporters have strongly supported it, and that he has received many letters to that effect. Roosevelt believes that he has done the right thing in speaking out against corruption in politics and business.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02-06
President Roosevelt tells William E. Dodd that he has been very interested in Dodd’s book, Life of Jefferson Davis. Roosevelt asks if there is a chance of Dodd coming to Washington, D.C., sometime so that they can discuss some of the points Dodd raised.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-01-25
President Roosevelt describes his trip to Panama and Puerto Rico. He comments on the uniqueness of Panama and the canal project. He praises William Crawford Gorgas’s work regarding the health of the Americans working on the canal. Black workers from Jamaica have not been as healthy, and Roosevelt feels as though they may need to get Chinese laborers as Jamaican Governor James Alexander Swettenham has been disagreeable to work with. He describes the trip and some reading he has done, saying about John Milton, “What a radical republican, and what a stanch partisan, and what an intense protestant the fine old fellow was!” He plans to read more Greek and Roman literature.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-23
President Roosevelt defends a statement he made about Jefferson Davis eighteen or twenty years ago, in which he compared Davis with General Benedict Arnold. Roosevelt believes Davis a traitor because he intrigued for secession, and therefore the destruction of the republic, in support of slavery. Unlike Arnold, Davis received office for his treachery. Roosevelt also sends Colonel George Harvey a copy of Rough Riders to clear any confusion about Roosevelt’s participation on a specific day during the Spanish-American War.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-09-19
President Roosevelt rejects the argument that Panama declaring independence from Colombia is a similar situation to the secession of Southern states before the American Civil War. Roosevelt believes that Colombia acted in bad faith during the treaty negotiations and ratification. As such, the United States owes nothing to Colombia “in law or in morals.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-11-30
Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt greatly admires William P. Trent’s book and appreciates that it is dedicated to him. Roosevelt is converted to Trent’s views on Thomas Jefferson and Jefferson Davis, even though he does not entirely accept them. His main objection to Jefferson is “his utter inefficiency as an executive officer in the face of a foreign foe.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1897-04-20
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-01-06
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919
2025-07-31
Margaret Howell Davis Hayes thanks President Roosevelt for his speech in Vicksburg in which he offered praise of Hayes’s father, Jefferson Davis. Hayes thinks Roosevelt is a man of rare courage and says he has her admiration. Her father had fond memories of Roosevelt’s mother and uncle, and recognized Roosevelt’s leadership qualities even in his college days.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-10-26
Edited draft of a paper describing President Roosevelt’s views of the Civil War when he was the New York Governor.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-05-11
Corinne Stocker Horton reminds President Roosevelt of their conversation regarding Roosevelt’s opinion of Jefferson Davis as expressed in his biography of Thomas H. Benton. She asks if she can publish those remarks in the Atlanta Constitution. Clarke Howell wishes to use the remarks to write an editorial in response to attacks from Davis’ friends and family.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-05-11
Chronology of the daily life of Theodore Roosevelt from January 1884 to December 1891. Notable events include the deaths of Alice Lee Roosevelt and Martha Bulloch Roosevelt, Roosevelt’s time on his ranch, the completion of Sagamore Hill, Roosevelt’s engagement and marriage to Edith Kermit Carow, Theodore “Ted” Roosevelt’s birth, the “Great-Dieup” of cattle in North Dakota, and the founding of the Boone and Crockett Club.
Theodore Roosevelt Association
1985
Moore, Robert J. (Robert John), 1956-; Theodore Roosevelt Association
Justice Norcross outlines the history of Nevada, starting with Secretary of War Charles A. Dana’s account of President Abraham Lincoln’s fight to make it a state so that it could support a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery. Norcross goes on to describe the rich mineral resources of the state, its contributions to the country, and the current troubles it faces, especially regarding transportation and railroad rates.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-11