Letter from Charles E. Newton and Myrtle May Newton to Theodore Roosevelt
The Newtons inform Theodore Roosevelt about their triplets born on January 10.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1911-02-02
Your TR Source
Family size
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Francis Davis Millet
President Roosevelt tells Francis Davis Millet that he finds the American gold coin better than the Italian coin. Roosevelt enjoyed revisiting Gustave Le Bon’s book, and he is interested in the situation in France as it relates to the trend towards the two-child family.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1908-09-19
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to George O. Greene
President Roosevelt praises George O. Greene, editor of The Clifton Forge Review, “as a mighty good citizen,” and congratulates his wife for being the mother of eight children. While Roosevelt believes business troubles in 1893 were probable, he also feels the actions of the Democratic party aggravated the situation. He asks Greene to regard this statement as private and not for quotation.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1908-09-01
Letter from Charles S. Clark to Theodore Roosevelt
Charles S. Clark sends Theodore Roosevelt a copy of the St. Johns News highlighting an article about a family with thirteen children since he knows Roosevelt prefers large families to avoid “race suicide.”
Comments and Context
Race suicide was a 20th century fear that professed preferable races or ethnic groups would see their death rate outpace their birthrate. In response to lowering birthrates in the United States, Theodore Roosevelt was outspoken in his views that families should have many children.
Collection
Letter from John W. Pilger to Theodore Roosevelt
John W. Pilger writes to Theodore Roosevelt about the birth of his eleventh child, who he has also named Kermit. Pilger lists all his children, three of whom are named after Roosevelt’s.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1911-09-26
Letter from Daglan Hogan to Theodore Roosevelt
Daglan Hogan informs Theodore Roosevelt that his nineteenth child was recently born.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1911-09-26
Note from Amelia Glover to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt
Amelia Glover sends Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt a newspaper clipping about President Roosevelt’s supposed treatment of women, highlighting his wish for women to do nothing more than produce large families. She informs Edith her husband and her neighbor’s husband no longer intend to vote for the president again if this is the treatment Edith is receiving. Glover sends her sympathies to Edith.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1904-11-10
Making it lively for the stork
A stork looks annoyed as President Eliot of Harvard University and President Roosevelt poke it with sticks labeled Lecture on “Race Suicide.” Caption:”Hi, you, there! Quit wasting so much time.”
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1903-02-20
Uncle Alexander thought he had an invitation to the White House
Three-panel cartoon shows the patriarch of a family reading in the newspaper that President Roosevelt “likes to see large families,” the family boarding the train, and their arrival at the White House. President Roosevelt looks startled at their number but is “delighted” to see them.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
Unknown
The president’s idea of domestic bliss
President Roosevelt struggles to hold four screaming babies. Caption: “I thoroughly believe in large families. Roosevelt’s letter congratulating Stanislaus Spyschalski on being the father of quadruplets.”
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1903
Letter from Secretary of Theodore Roosevelt to James E. Henderson
Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary thanks James E. Henderson for the letter. Roosevelt was pleased to hear about Mr. Sims and his employees. He agrees that Henderson should be a vice-president of the anti-race suicide club.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1912-11-07
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Willoughby S. Williams
Theodore Roosevelt sends Willoughby S. Williams a bullet which he used to kill an elephant in Africa “to be given as you suggest.” He adds that “the man ought to have not only a large family, but ought to be doing his duty by them.”
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1911-07-18
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edward Alsworth Ross
Theodore Roosevelt found Professor Ross’s article on China to be interesting and important. With France dying due to excessive limits on population and China because rational limits will not be set, Roosevelt favors a middle course. He does not recommend enormous families but believes that if the average American family does not have three or four children the “American blood would die out.”
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1911-07-11
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John F. Twombly
Theodore Roosevelt responds to John F. Twombly’s argument that Americans having fewer children are doing so for economic reasons. Roosevelt asserts that economics may account for individual cases, but the widespread decrease in numbers of children reflects “cool selfishness” and an abandonment of the primary duties on the part of citizens, which if left unchecked will cause race suicide.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1911-05-15
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Endicott Peabody
Theodore Roosevelt is pleased to learn that Endicott Peabody agrees with the position expressed in Roosevelt’s article, “Race Decadence.” Roosevelt admits that he has been disappointed by some of the criticisms leveled at the article, particularly those expressed by the leaders of female movements. Roosevelt agrees to visit Reverend Peabody the following autumn, but fears that he is not up to as much athletic activity as he once was and cites his trip to Africa as probably his last activity of such a vigorous nature. Roosevelt informs Peabody that his sons Ted, Kermit, and Archie have all praised Peabody’s abilities as a schoolmaster.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1911-05-05
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edgar Campbell
Theodore Roosevelt does not understand how Reverend Campbell’s argument about the “production of a better quality” race relates to the eventual death of the race, which was the subject of Roosevelt’s article. Roosevelt is only able to point Campbell to the content of his article, which did not deal with racial quality in relation to family size.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1911-04-25
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John F. Twombly
Theodore Roosevelt asserts that the argument John F. Twombly made in his letter has nothing to do with the matter, which should have been clear from Roosevelt’s article. The birth rate, Roosevelt insists, actually decreases in proportion to the rising status of the population.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1911-04-24
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Mrs. J. H. Sine
Theodore Roosevelt asserts that there is little difference between having one child and no children at all, as both cases will lead to the extinction of the race. Roosevelt believes that an average couple able to have children should have at least three, as one in every three children either dies before reaching adulthood or never has a family of their own. Roosevelt compares having less than three children to a soldier doing only a third of his duty on the battlefield.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1911-04-21
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Fred V. Garey
Theodore Roosevelt cannot comment on special cases of which he has no knowledge and in his article he was only discussing cases where sterility was a conscious choice. Roosevelt sees no significant difference between a childless couple and one that has only one or two children, as he believes that both cases will eventually place the nation in peril.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1911-04-21
Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles E. Newton
Theodore Roosevelt congratulates Charles E. Newton on the birth of his triplets.
Collection
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Creation Date
1911-02-11