Emigration and immigration

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.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association

Creation Date

1985

This radio documentary describes Theodore Roosevelt’s 1912 presidential campaign, highlighting his progressive policies. Although Roosevelt was unsuccessful in this campaign, the progressive movement gained much from his leadership. Many of the issues he strove to address are ones with which America still wrestles today.

Collection

America

Creation Date

2012

Bela Tokaji writes to the editor of the Brooklyn Daily Times to refute claims that immigrants will be the downfall of America made by Alfred Paul Karl Eduard Schultz. Tokaji states the peaceful and industrious men and women who come to America have demonstrated their loyalty. The children of immigrants will continue to take care build America for centuries to come.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-11-10

Bela Tokaji writes to the editor of the Brooklyn Daily Times to refute claims made by Alfred Paul Karl Eduard Schultz that immigrants will be the downfall of America. Tokaji states the peaceful and industrious men and women who come to America have demonstrated their loyalty. Mary Emelia Clark Barnes is quoted from her speech at the international congress for the welfare of children saying immigrant children are the future of the nation. Since four in five children born in New York City are born to immigrant parents, Tokaji agrees with Barnes and cites immigrants’ enormous contribution to the industrial growth in America as proof.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-11-09

Form for a ship passenger to provide personal details to the United States government. United States citizens are only required to list their sex and approximate age, while immigrants are asked questions including their race, where they plan to live, and what their occupation is. The front side of the form bears a list of races for the bearer to select from.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-07-06

Walter E. Davenport, in a newspaper article, discusses issues pertaining to immigration, the challenges of immigrating to the United States, and the challenges facing immigrants searching for jobs in the United States.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

This newspaper article written by Walter E. Davenport speaks about labor congestion in New York, dwindling demand for immigrant labor, and subsequent deportations. The first half of the article focuses on the experiences of Italian immigrant Giuseppe Pissaro trying to find employment and being ordered for deportation by the Board of Inquiry.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-06-06

Benjamin K. Focht addresses the Hummel family reunion. Focht discusses German immigration to Pennsylvania, starting with a history of Germany and leading to the contributions that German-Americans have made to public life in the United States. This is a published version of a speech that Focht gave August 28, 1907.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908

Motohiko Miyasaki describes the flourishing Japanese community of Los Angeles, many of whom are involved in agriculture. Their community includes many successful businesses, and most people are well educated. Overall, Miyasaki characterizes Japanese people as desirable residents for a number of reasons, and emphasizes the warm relationship between Japan and the United States.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-03-21

Otto Reinhold poetically describes his experience of immigrating to the United States.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-03-06

The Immigration League of Australia’s manifesto, which aims to encourage more immigration to Australia from Europe.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01

Extracts from numerous letters address the need to act against the ills of the day, including political corruption, partisanship, influence of money in elections, and the attack on democratic electoral principals.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-02-24

President Roosevelt looks over a fence at a farmer labeled “Congress” chopping the roast off a pig: “salary increase.” The rest of the pig is labeled, “inheritance and income tax,” “big warships,” “Panama Canal legislation,” and “currency reports.” He smokes a pipe as he says, “I’ll take this roast home. The rest will go in the smokehouse.” In the background stands “The Congressional Smokehouse” with a sign, “The Long Cure Process Used.” Four cuts of meat are in there: “Philippines Tariff Bill,” “Ship Subsidy,” “Santo Domingo Treaty,” and “Immigration Bill.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

The underlying point, or contemporary pertinence, of cartoonist Kirk L. Russell’s cartoon is in its title — “Planning a Raid On the Smokehouse” — despite not portraying President Roosevelt as anything but a casual observer over the fence.

President Roosevelt takes a big stick labeled “Japanese question” and hits “San Francisco” with it. Caption: “Another earthquake.”

comments and context

Comments and Context

Fortunately or unfortunately, the tragedy of the San Francisco earthquake provided cartoonists opportunities to employ the event as a reference-point for drawings that addressed other matters. But it is what cartoonists do — deal in the relatable; and after more than a century, the earthquake provides talking-points in politics and other fields.

In this magazine article, John Bassett Moore discusses the concept of expatriation. In the early days of the American republic, the government inherited the idea of “indefeasible allegiance” from English common law, which was maintained for some time. The first Secretary of State to announce the doctrine of expatriation was James Buchanan, who believed it was the duty of America to protect naturalized and native citizens exactly the same. This opinion was not adopted by subsequent secretaries of state until Buchanan was president, and did not become law in the United States until July 1868. Since 1872, the United States has tried to secure naturalization treaties with all countries. Moore concludes his article discussing an incorrect impression about expatriation. Some people believe a declaration of intention to become an American citizen brings about the same protection as a citizen, which Moore firmly states is “altogether erroneous.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12

The report provides demographic information for Japanese passengers traveling from Japan to Hawaii and the mainland United States in May and June 1908. The handwritten numbers indicate figures for May, while the printed numbers are for June.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908

An opinion piece from The Outlook magazine of London, England, discussing the debate over Japanese laborers in British colonies.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-12

The Montreal Gazette argues that Canadian Minister of Labour Rodolphe Lemieux is the best official to discuss Canada’s immigration policy with Japan. It is rumored that Germany is sending a powerful naval fleet to the United States to show solidarity between the two countries. It is believed that President Roosevelt wishes to show Japan that the United States is close friends with Russia and Germany.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10

A private communication describes the conversation between Marquis Kinmochi Saionji and Secretary of War William H. Taft during a lunch at the Arsenal Garden in Japan. Saionji expressed relief at learning that Taft’s views align with those of the Japanese government on relations between the United States and Japan and on the belief that the Philippines should remain under United States control. Taft was unable to secure another meeting with Saionji on the topic of immigration, but it was expressed to him that Japan could not act in any way on the matter that would impact their dignity on the world stage.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-01

The report provides data on Japanese immigration to the United States, including figures on ports of entry, occupation, and immigration figures by month.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-05