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European Americans--Ethnic identity

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Letter from Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt argues that Americans who view international relations from the standpoint of their “ancestral blood” are damaging the country’s “common American citizenship.” Roosevelt has used the case of Belgium to show what could happen to the United States after a German victory. However, he has other reasons, which he does not want to put on paper, to fear a showdown with a victorious Germany. The wrongs of the war were perpetrated by Germany against Belgium, and it is impossible not to think that wrongs could be committed against you if there is “sufficient interest to make it desirable.” There is no doubt that the German people believe in the righteousness of their cause and have responded accordingly. However, Southerners during the American Civil War felt the same. Roosevelt would like the United States to introduce universal military service and guarantee Germany against invasion and subjugation. Afterwards, the country could guarantee the borders of small states, such as Belgium.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-01-29

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Arthur Leland

Theodore Roosevelt believes that Colonel Leland can do the most good at his current munitions position under Prime Minister David Lloyd George. Roosevelt admires Lloyd George’s work and the recent differences between the United States and Great Britain are that the British have Lloyd George and the United States has no one. He has been surprised at the resilience of the Central Powers and feels that Germany is currently “on the whole victorious.” Roosevelt is pleased that Leland supports conscription and Roosevelt has been working in support of obligatory American military training and service. He believes the British were too harsh on the leaders of the Irish Easter Rising and should not have used capital punishment. Roosevelt is disgusted at the policies of the Wilson administration and has been waging a lonely war in favor of military readiness and against hyphenated Americanism. He does not expect to be a presidential nominee and believes the Republicans will nominate Justice Hughes.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1916-06-07

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Thomas D. Schall

Theodore Roosevelt commends Representative Schall for his patriotic speech on the navy and military readiness. Roosevelt has denounced the “agitators of the German-American alliance” but this makes him want to show his faith in the Americans of German descent. He feels that German blood is a strong addition to the United States but only when it “fuses with the other blood strains into the new American type.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1916-06-19