Dominican Republic

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John St. Loe Strachey

President Roosevelt thanks John St. Loe Strachey for remembering the upcoming wedding of his daughter Alice to Congressman Nicholas Longworth. Roosevelt is pleased with Longworth and hopes that he will have a successful career in politics. He reflects at length about politics in both Great Britain and the United States. In particular, Roosevelt discusses the function and manner of the United States Senate, and envies that a labor man is in Great Britain’s Cabinet.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-02-12

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Lincoln Steffens

President Roosevelt takes issue with some criticisms that Lincoln Steffens has made of his efforts to get Congress to ratify the Santo Domingo treaty. He points out that several Democrats are opposing the treaty merely to be obstructionist, rather than because of an honest difference of opinion. In contrast, Roosevelt believes that there is more room for honest differences in opinion in the railroad rate bill. Steffens’s idea that Roosevelt should refuse to make any concessions and to let the voters decide who is correct in the next election is flawed. Roosevelt cites evidence of voters supporting men who are on two sides of the same issue.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-02-05

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to David S. Barry

President Roosevelt thanks Davis S. Barry for writing the editorial. He agrees with Barry’s assessment that the people accusing him of trying to coerce southern Senators to vote for the Santo Domingo treaty would be accusing him of courting southern votes if he were running for re-election. In reality, Roosevelt had announced his trip through the South before the Santo Domingo treaty was created, and it had nothing to do with politics.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-09-27

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to J. Adam Bede

President Roosevelt tells Minnesota Representative Bede to show this letter to Thomas Cleland Dawson, the American Minister in Santo Domingo. Dawson will treat this letter as a “personal request” to ensure that Bede has every opportunity to investigate the political environment there.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-09-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Elihu Root

President Roosevelt welcomes Secretary of State Root back and “cheerfully” unloads the issues in Venezuela and Santo Domingo on him. He asks what Root thinks of enclosures from Edward Everett Hale and Admiral Colby Mitchell Chester, and also encloses a letter about Newfoundland from Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge. Roosevelt says they need to think about who will replace Lloyd Carpenter Griscom as Ambassador to Japan if Griscom leaves. In a postscript, Roosevelt asks if Root, Lodge, and Joseph Hodges Choate can come spend a few nights at Oyster Bay.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-09-05

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Lyman Abbott

President Roosevelt thanks Reverend Abbott for writing to him. He feels the death of former Secretary of State John Hay “bitterly” for both personal and public reasons, but what he must now “make good” is the public loss. He will not stop Secretary of War William H. Taft from going to the Philippines, but is having difficulty managing the State Department by himself. He wishes he could find help for the peace negotiations between Japan and Russia, as well as for San Domingo and Venezuela. If William J. Calhoun is willing to go to Venezuela, Roosevelt will send him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-07-03

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Hay

President Roosevelt is glad to hear that Secretary of State Hay is recovering. He updates Hay on a variety of matters the State Department is currently dealing with. In particular, Roosevelt discusses the situation in Santo Domingo, and the ongoing efforts to broker peace between Russia and Japan.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-30

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Oscar S. Straus

President Roosevelt is glad that Oscar S. Straus likes what was done regarding Santo Domingo.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-31

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Hay

Before he leaves for six weeks of travel, President Roosevelt updates Secretary of State Hay on a number of foreign relations issues. In particular, he discusses his efforts to begin peace talks between Russia and Japan, and the worries of the German emperor.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-04-02

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William H. Taft

President Roosevelt tells Secretary of War Taft that he is doing everything right. In Roosevelt’s absence, Taft has been handling matters between Russia and Japan, Americans working in custom houses in Santo Domingo, and the current situation regarding Morocco.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-04-08

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Joseph Bucklin Bishop

In response to a “extraordinary statement” in William Randolph Hearst’s paper, President Roosevelt tells Joseph Bucklin Bishop that although he is fond of his uncle Robert Barnwell Roosevelt, they rarely agree on politics. Roosevelt did not make a statement that he did not intend to accept the nomination for a third term as president without thinking it over, and he stands by his decision even though it is causing him trouble in the Senate. Roosevelt complains about the inability of the Senate to ratify his San Domingan treaty. Efforts from both Democratic Senators and Republicans Eugene Hale and John C. Spooner derailed the treaty.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-23

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Alvey A. Adee

President Roosevelt instructs Acting Secretary of State Adee to take the actions outlined in a cablegram by Thomas Cleland Dawson regarding actions in the Dominican Republic. United States citizens should be nominated as receivers of the ports in the Dominican Republic, and the nation’s creditors should not take any further steps at this time. This would temporarily maintain the status quo in the Dominican Republic until a formal treaty is ratified in the Senate.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-28

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Arthur P. Gorman

President Roosevelt explains to Senator Gorman the situation regarding Jacob H. Hollander. Last year, at the request of Dominican president Carlos Felipe Morales Languasco, Secretary of State John Hay asked Hollander to go to Santo Domingo to help the government “straighten out their finances,” but Hollander was unable to go.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-28

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Robert Grant

President Roosevelt shares his views on “easy divorce” among New York’s upper classes with Robert Grant, who recently wrote a magazine article on the topic. Roosevelt praises Japan’s military spending and bemoans the state of foreign affairs in the United States.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-14

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John C. Spooner

President Roosevelt requests Senator Spooner meet with him to discuss the treaty with Santo Domingo. Roosevelt would also like to discuss the diplomatic appointments of two Wisconsin men, John Hicks and Amos Parker Wilder.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-14

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William G. Tiffany

President Roosevelt thanks William G. Tiffany for sending a letter by Senator William Andrews Clark. Roosevelt refutes Clark’s claims regarding the handling of the treaty with Santo Domingo, and shares his thoughts as to what the treaty actually entails in terms of debt collection. Roosevelt says it would be “an infamy” to vote against the treaty.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-14

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Weldon Brinton Heyburn

President Roosevelt believes Senator Heyburn’s resolution to be unwise, and requests Heyburn come meet with him about the matter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-15

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Cecil Andrew Lyon

President Roosevelt tells Cecil Andrew Rice he feels terrible about missing their bear hunt, but the manner in which the Senate is handling the Santo Domingo treaty makes it necessary. He is still not sure when he will finally be able to take his trip.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-09

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John C. Spooner

President Roosevelt had understood that Senator Spooner favored the treaty regarding Santo Domingo (now the Dominican Republic). Roosevelt realizes the treaty cannot be ratified before the end of the term, but asks Spooner to report it out of committee to show support for the Santo Domingan government.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-02-24

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Shelby M. Cullom

President Roosevelt understands what Senator Cullom has said and thanks him for all he has done. Roosevelt will send a message to the Senate on the matter of Santo Domingo next week, after the inauguration.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-01