Diplomacy

Caspar Whitney, editor of Outing magazine, tells President Roosevelt that he believes special envoy to Venezuela Herbert Wolcott Bowen to be innocent of accusations of slandering Assistant Secretary of State Francis B. Loomis in the newspapers. The scandal involved Bowen blaming Loomis for misrepresenting or compromising American commitments to defend the administration of Cipriano Castro from European intervention. Whitney warns Roosevelt against believing “the Asphalt people,” i.e. the oil interests, in the matter. Whitney also requests that Roosevelt contribute to the Outing magazine a book, article, or papers on deer or bear hunting. Whitney claims his magazine is the only one to preach Roosevelt’s doctrine regarding outdoorsmanship.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-05-23

Ambassador Sternburg asks President Roosevelt if he would talk to Ambassador Spring Rice. Spring Rice is convinced that there is a secret deal in place between Germany and Russia in advance of the Hague conference.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-05-25

Mr. Balfour would like France to grant Germany a sphere of interest in Morocco. Probably through the influence of Britain, Germany has been given to understand by France that the matter will be settled in the manner discussed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-05-29

Relating to the proposed visit of His Britannic Majesty’s Second Cruiser Squadron, under the command of Rear Admiral, Prince Louis of Battenberg, to the ports of New York and Annapolis, next October, and their reception by President Roosevelt, Acting Secretary of State Loomis encloses a copy of a statement showing the names, rank and seniority of Prince Louis of Battenberg’s staff and of the Captains of the several ships under his command.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-05-12

Assistant Secretary of State Loomis writes to William Loeb that Señor Don Luis Pastor wishes to visit and honor President Roosevelt and would like to know the best time to meet with Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-05-13

William H. Taft informs the president that he has enclosed another letter which may be of interest to him. It is a letter from Lloyd Griscom, Minister to Japan.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-04-25

Secretary of War Taft writes to President Roosevelt about the events that will later be called the Moroccan Crisis (1904-1906), which worsened German relations with France and England. At the request of Roosevelt, Taft met separately with the German and British Ambassadors to try to deescalate tensions so that a misunderstanding would not lead to increased hostility. Taft writes also of the Loomis-Bowen affair and of a Japanese minister who spoke of negotiating a peace for the Russo-Japanese War.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-04-26

Granville Fortescue thanks President Roosevelt for taking him on a vacation in Texas and tells the President that Japan is investigating the Panama Canal Zone.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-04-28

Secretary of War Taft forwards a message from Japanese Foreign Minister Jutaro Komura thanking President Roosevelt for working to find peace in the Japanese Russian conflict. The Japanese await the president’s return to Washington to contribute to a peace plan. Taft tells Roosevelt that Ambassador Kogoro Takahira seems to believe the Japanese government was being too cautious in their messaging regarding their wish to end the war, about the result of the Battle of Port Arthur, and about Roosevelt’s influence on the peace party. Taft also met with British Ambassador H. Mortimer Durand after Durand spoke to Lord Lansdowne, regarding British and French reaction after the First Moroccan Crisis. Taft also spoke to Durand about his conversation with German Ambassador Hermann Speck von Sternburg.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-05-02

Cecil Spring Rice shares matters of foreign affairs regarding Russia, Japan, Germany, and other countries with First Lady Edith Roosevelt. Issues regarding the resolution of the Russo-Japanese War and terms for peace – as well as the situation within Russia, which Spring Rice says borders on anarchy – make up the bulk of the letter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-29

Ambassador Meyer writes to President Roosevelt regarding his dinner meeting with English Ambassador Egerton and Egerton’s words about the Russian loan. Meyer then mentions his discussion with the King who anticipates Meyer’s move to Saint Petersburg, Russia. The King foresees Russian conflict over China, shares his bad experience involving his tampered letters in Russia, and describes a case in Saint Petersburg involving an Italian Embassy official being bribed by someone seeking to crack the telegraph code.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-02-14

Secretary of State Hay informs President Roosevelt that he approves of Second Assistant Secretary of State Alvey A. Adee’s telegrams to the diplomatic staff in China and he has scheduled a meeting with the Russian ambassador.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-24

W. H. Ellis reports that shortly after his arrival in Addis Ababa he delivered the treaty and President Roosevelt’s letter to Emperor Menelik II. The treaty was well received; Ellis reports that Menelik II informed him that he would soon have a receipt for the same.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-06

Charles William Eliot writes to President Roosevelt about whose wording should be used in a speech about America’s involvement in the Philippines.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-06-16

Nicholas Murray Butler encloses a letter on Japanese affairs for President Roosevelt and Secretary of State John Hay to look over. The letter is from an American lawyer residing in Japan.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-05-03

While President Roosevelt regretted Japan’s rejection of the Hague as the location of peace negotiations between Japan and Russia, he has notified Russia that the location will be Washington, D.C. He advises Japan to not demand an answer from Russia regarding the negotiating powers of their plenipotentiaries, as Russia used the same language Roosevelt did which was already vetted by Japan. Even if Russia does not give its representatives full negotiating power, it would not give Japan grounds to refuse to meet.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-06-15

This agreement between the United States, as represented by Indian Agent Lawrence Taliaferro, and the Wahpaakootah, Susseton, and Upper Medawakanton tribes of Sioux Indians cedes control of territory between the Missouri River and the state of Missouri from the various tribes to the United States. In return, the tribes will receive five hundred and fifty dollars worth of goods.

Collection

White Horse Hill

Creation Date

1836-11-30

Creator(s)

Taliaferro, Lawrence, 1790-1871; Wahpakoota Band of Dakota or Sioux Tribe; Sisseton Band of Sioux Indians; Upper Mdewakanton Tribe of Sioux Indians

This treaty between the United States, as represented by Commissioner of Indian Affairs Lea and Governor Ramsey of Minnesota, and the Sisseton and Wahpeton Bands of Sioux, cedes native control of a substantial portion of territory in Iowa and Minnesota in exchange for a payment of $1,665,000, to be paid out over several decades, and which will be put toward several purposes, which the treaty enumerates. The Native American bands further agree to remove themselves to reservations designated for them by the United States government.

Collection

White Horse Hill

Creation Date

1851-07-23

Creator(s)

Sisseton Band of Sioux Indians; Wahpeton Band of Sioux Indians; Lea, Luke, 1879-1945; Ramsey, Alexander, 1815-1903

In a letter to George Otto Trevelyan, President Roosevelt expresses his consternation at having to spend so much time considering patronage jobs for political allies, and he marvels at President Abraham Lincoln’s ability to do so during the Civil War. Roosevelt also comments on the war between Russia and Japan, and he confides that he is frustrated by his inability to influence matters in either Russia or Turkey for embattled ethnic groups in each nation.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1905-05-13

President Roosevelt confides to Senator Lodge that due to the poor health of former Secretary of State John Hay, Roosevelt had to act as his own Secretary of State. Roosevelt also confesses that he had doubts about Hay’s judgment on matters such as dealing with Kaiser William II of Germany. Roosevelt states that he is pleased that Elihu Root accepted his offer to replace Hay, and he provides insight on negotiations with France and Germany regarding the crisis in Morocco.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1905-07-11