Emigration and immigration--Government policy

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to David Starr Jordan

President Roosevelt thinks that it is “a wicked thing” for the idea of adding about one Japanese child to every Californian school to jeopardize relations between the United States and Japan, whether or not the schools have the constitutional right to deny the children admittance. He also hopes that Japan will propose a reciprocal agreement in which American laborers will be kept out of Japan and vice versa.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-09

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Arthur Hamilton Lee

President Roosevelt thanks Arthur Hamilton Lee for sending Robert Louis Stevenson’s essays. He thinks Lee’s visit accomplished a good deal, and that Viscount James Bryce will do well. The British government has the same issue with Newfoundland that the United States has with California, in that the central government must work with smaller governments to manage foreign policy.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-05

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John St. Loe Strachey

President Roosevelt tells Spectator editor John St. Loe Strachey that he is embarrassed of the way that former Ambassador Bellamy Storer has behaved in the press as of late, but that he ultimately stands by all sentiments he gave in the letters that have been made public. The president muses on the details surrounding the recent controversy regarding the exclusion of Japanese children from San Francisco schools, as well as his proposed plan for the United States and Japan to keep their laborers out of one another’s countries.  

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-21

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Henry Cabot Lodge to Theodore Roosevelt

Senator Lodge has read Theodore Roosevelt’s article on arbitration under the Russian treaty and is troubled by the matter. The Russians have never “given up the doctrine of indefeasible allegiance,” thus excepting their subjects from part of the treaty. Lodge also believes that the Russians violate the treaty regarding American born Jews. Going to the Permanent Court of Arbitration could strengthen the American position but Russia would likely ignore any decision on their right to exclude immigrants. This would also raise awkward questions regarding the United States’ laws against Chinese immigration.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-10-12

Creator(s)

Lodge, Henry Cabot, 1850-1924

Letter from Frances Kellor to Theodore Roosevelt

In reference to their conversation about a federal immigration bureau, Chief Inspector Kellor encloses a translation of a Polish letter from North Dakota that illustrates how helpless a state can be when faced with international and interstate difficulties.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-09-13

Creator(s)

Kellor, Frances, 1873-1952

Letter from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of War Taft updates President Roosevelt regarding the management of the National Parks. Superintendent of Yellowstone National Park S. B. M. Young would prefer rangers to the military, and Taft agrees with him, but Congress is putting the responsibility of park management on the War Department rather than the Department of the Interior. Taft warns that he accidentally engaged in cards on a Sunday, in case the press finds out. While traveling, he saw Secretary of Commerce and Labor Oscar S. Straus, and they discussed both Japanese naturalization and immigration of Russian Jews. Taft briefly lists his upcoming speeches.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-04

Creator(s)

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Letter from Kentarō Kaneko to Theodore Roosevelt

Kentarō Kaneko hopes that President Roosevelt’s son, Archie, is recovering from his illness. He assures Roosevelt that he did all he could in light of racial tensions in San Francisco, and will remind the Japanese government that Roosevelt has been a friend to Japan in the past.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04-15

Creator(s)

Kaneko, Kentarō, 1853-1942

Letter from Elihu Root to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of State Root sends President Roosevelt a letter from Francis March Hatch of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters’ Association in which Hatch writes that the Hawaiian Islands should be left out of any effort to exclude Japanese laborers from the United States.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-19

Creator(s)

Root, Elihu, 1845-1937

Remarks made by Frank P. Sargent at Honolulu, June 27, 1905

Commissioner Sargent delivers remarks at a dinner given by the Chinese-Consul General of Hawaii. Sargent praises the friendly relations that exist between the United States and China, yet acknowledges that the Chinese Exclusion Act prohibits “certain classes of its people” from emigrating to the United States. As the two countries work towards a new treaty, Sargent hopes that “nothing will be permitted to arise which will mar the good feeling which does and should prevail between the two countries.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-06-27

Creator(s)

Sargent, Frank P., 1854-1908

Letter from John Barrett to Theodore Roosevelt

Responding to a request from President Roosevelt, John Barrett details his analysis and his involvement in a number of matters of international relations regarding Colombia, Panama, and South America generally, as well as Japan and China. He responds to the president’s concerns that he has been “too much in the papers.” He also suggests that Roosevelt visit South America at some future time after leaving the presidency. Such a visit would strengthen ties and would prepare Roosevelt for handling international affairs, should the nation again select him for the presidency.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-06-17

Creator(s)

Barrett, John, 1866-1938

Letter from Herbert H. D. Peirce to diplomatic service in China

The letter contains instructions from the president regarding the immigration of Chinese citizens to the United States.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-06-26

Creator(s)

Peirce, Herbert H. D. (Herbert Henry Davis), 1849-1916

Treasury official would drop bars for Chinese

Discussion of the Pacific Coast Chinese Exclusion bill, particularly how it will affect the Philippines.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-03-23

Creator(s)

Livernash, Edward James, 1866-1938

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Jacob A. Riis

President Roosevelt will consult with Jacob A. Riis before coming to a decision regarding the “Danish Islands business.” There are a variety of charges against Edward F. McSweeney and Terence Vincent Powderly, and Roosevelt feels he needs to learn more about the situation before he can make a decision.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-03-18

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edward Alsworth Ross

Theodore Roosevelt appreciates receiving Professor Ross’s book and is in agreement with Ross’s views on Chinese and Asian exclusion. Roosevelt even quoted Ross in a speech.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-10-31

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Cabot Lodge

Theodore Roosevelt would like the Permanent Court of Arbitration to examine the Russian arbitration treaty. He believes that nations should be able to exclude undesirable immigrants, but Russia is being foolish by turning away Jewish-American travelers. Roosevelt does not believe that this compares to American laws against Chinese immigration, as the Jewish Americans are not seeking to permanently join the Russian population. Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt is “really better.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-10-20

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frances Kellor

Theodore Roosevelt found the letter melancholy but it perfectly illustrates Chief Inspector Kellor’s point regarding immigration policy.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-09-15

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frances Kellor

Theodore Roosevelt has not received the preliminary report from the New York Bureau of Industries and Immigration. It may have been sent to his home in Oyster Bay, New York and Roosevelt requests that a copy be sent to the Outlook offices. Roosevelt agrees that each state should have a bureau “dealing with migration matters” alongside a federal coordinating bureau. Roosevelt would be pleased to meet with Chief Investigator Kellor and suggests a meeting for Friday at his office.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-08-05

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Kogoro Takahira

Theodore Roosevelt expresses his pleasure at hearing from Ambassador Kogoro and his happiness about the effects of the treaty. Roosevelt believes the positive outcome of the treaty is likely to last as long as the Japanese government prevents a large-scale emigration of working-class Japanese to the United States. Working-class Americans, Roosevelt believes, would object to this just as working-class Japanese would object to a similar emigration of working-class Americans to their country. Roosevelt hopes that the United States and Japan will continue to cooperate in the future, believing such cooperation is of the “utmost consequence” to the whole world.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-04-21

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Mr. Thomas

Theodore Roosevelt refers Mr. Thomas and the high school boys to his book, America and the World War. However, he believes the suggested debate topic related to Asian immigration and disarmament is outrageous and nonsensical. Roosevelt suggests an alternative topic.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-03-12

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Hiram Johnson

Japan is making preparations to take part in the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, California, and is prepared to spend large sums to be well represented. It is important to have a Japanese presence, as European participation will be low due to the war. The Japanese do not want any anti-Japanese legislation passed by the California legislature and it would be exceedingly awkward if there was hostile legislation attempted or passed during the exposition. Theodore Roosevelt hopes Governor Johnson can “stave off any action.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1914-11-30

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919