Disarmament--International cooperation

British Foreign Secretary Grey updates President Roosevelt about James Bryce’s plans regarding his upcoming trip to Canada and the ongoing conversations about the best position to take at the International Peace Conference. Grey hopes the diplomatic debacle following Jamaican Governor James Alexander Swettenham’s refusal of American help after the Kingston Earthquake is blowing over, as well as the conflict between the Japanese Government and America regarding California. Grey thinks that King Léopold II of Belgium should relinquish control of the Congo, which he believes should pass to the Belgian Government.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-12

Creator(s)

Grey of Fallodon, Edward Grey, Viscount, 1862-1933

Ambassador Reid updates President Roosevelt about his diplomatic activities and assures him that he has been keeping Secretary of State Elihu Root in the loop. Reid suspects that the Russians and Germans are trying to get an American diplomat to make a statement regarding disarmament, so they can better position themselves at the upcoming Peace Conference.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-18

Creator(s)

Reid, Whitelaw, 1837-1912

Theodore Roosevelt shares with Dr. William Sturgis Bigelow the “frank disbelief” of Dr. Lyman Abbott over the contents of a letter written by President Charles Eliot of Harvard University. Roosevelt would like a copy of the letter to share with Abbott, who is incredulous that Eliot opposes war preparations by the United States “because the Allies [are] going to win anyhow.” He also requests that Bigelow read the respects to German-Americans that Roosevelt wrote for the next Metropolitan.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-03-13

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Andrew Carnegie has a “deep anxiety” about President Roosevelt’s plan to expand the number of ships in the Navy. This reversal of his original disarmament policy could harm relations with other naval powers, particularly Great Britain, which had been committed to reducing its naval arsenal over the past several years. While Carnegie dismisses the possibility of a war, he cautions that such an act will cause unnecessary tension, give Roosevelt the appearance of weakness and indecisiveness, and would bring unnecessary expenditures during a time of economic crisis. Carnegie instead urges Roosevelt to focus his energies on helping economic recovery.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-18

Creator(s)

Carnegie, Andrew, 1835-1919

Senator Estournelles de Constant of France thanks President Theodore Roosevelt for his letter which encouraged him “as the signal of a lighthouse above the fog.” Estournelles de Constant talks of the relationship between France and Germany and, in a postscript, reflects on the impact that the International Peace Conference at the Hague may have on arms limitation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-18

Creator(s)

Estournelles de Constant, Paul-Henri-Benjamin Balluet, baron d', 1852-1924

Senator Estournelles de Constant of France finds a letter from President Roosevelt to be “like the signal of a light-house above the fog” when compared to his communications with most European governments. He eagerly anticipates his meeting with Roosevelt in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, next spring. Estournelles de Constant notes the challenges of getting Germany and France to reconcile and predicts “brilliant failure” for the next conference of The Hague if arms limitation cannot be agreed upon.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-18

Creator(s)

Estournelles de Constant, Paul-Henri-Benjamin Balluet, baron d', 1852-1924

Ambassador Henry White reports to President Roosevelt on a week he spent with King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. White and Emmanuel discussed international disarmament, about which both were skeptical. They talked about Vatican relations with many nations, especially Italy and France, and of how the Jesuits were involved. White also describes hunting ibex and shares that the king offered to send Roosevelt some ibex heads.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-29

Creator(s)

White, Henry, 1850-1927

Serge Ricard studies the attitude of the United States government to arbitration and disarmament proposals put forward by the First and Second Hague Peace Conferences of 1899 and 1907. Ricard notes that the United States approved of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, but he stresses that the nation, especially under the administration of Theodore Roosevelt, did not pursue disarmament proposals. Ricard asserts that Roosevelt always favored preparedness over disarmament as the best means to avoid war, and he notes that the United States’ traditional policies of isolationism and non-interference in European affairs made it unlikely the country would embrace international bodies. Ricard notes that Secretary of State Elihu Root managed America’s participation in the Second Hague Peace Conference of 1907.

Six photographs and one illustration accompany the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2015