Foreign workers, Japanese

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Elihu Root

President Roosevelt sends Secretary of State Root several enclosures regarding escalating tensions with Japan. Roosevelt says Senator Eugene Hale, who has opposed repairs to the American fleet, will not be allowed to dictate the movements of the fleet, and Roosevelt believes it is useless to communicate with him. In a postscript, Roosevelt proposes a suit against officials in San Francisco who refuse to grant business licenses to Japanese immigrants, and says that though he does not expect war with Japan, he does not believe the United States could hold Manila if war did break out. Roosevelt laments the “yellow press” in Japan is just as bad as in America.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-31

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Benjamin Ide Wheeler

President Roosevelt tells President of the University of California Benjamin Ide Wheeler that he agrees with the sentiment of his recent letter. Roosevelt desires a peaceful understanding with Japan wherein both governments ban laborers from one another’s countries. Roosevelt notes the recent situation in San Francisco where Japanese children were barred from attending a public school based on their race will make a labor exclusion agreement with Japan difficult to obtain.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-20

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edward Grey

President Roosevelt tells British Ambassador to the United States Grey that Rennel Rodd was offered a position interacting with the US government, but turned it down. Roosevelt contrasts the attitudes and relations of a number of different countries with America and England, and takes a specific focus on Japan. Roosevelt notes that Japan has continued preparing for war over the last decade, and writes that there will be industrial competition between Japan and European countries. He also wonders if they are planning on invading America, Germany, or the Philippines. Roosevelt wants the United States and Japan to sign a treaty stating they will keep their citizens out of each other’s labor markets. Roosevelt closes by remarking on the similarities in governmental thinking and military approach between the United States and England.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-19

Letter from August F. Herrmann to Theodore Roosevelt

August F. Herrmann encloses a copy of an article recently published in the St. Louis Daily Globe about the proposed reciprocity agreement with Canada and an article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis. Herrmann copies a portion of a letter sent to a member of the cabinet, related to the reciprocity agreement and the number of Japanese, Indian, and Chinese immigrants in the Canadian workforce.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-09-22

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

Letter from Francis March Hatch to Elihu Root

Francis March Hatch explains to Secretary of State Root that Hawaii’s sugar plantations will suffer if Japanese laborers are excluded. With sugar exports constituting 97% of the profits generated, Hawaii relies heavily on Japanese labor and the profits it provides. The situation is so dire that Hatch feels it appropriate to write Root directly.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-13

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Arthur Hamilton Lee

President Roosevelt recounts for Viscount Lee how pleasant it was to sit for his portrait by Fülöp László. László allowed him to have guests to speak to while he sat, and Anna Cabot Mills Davis Lodge was a common guest. Roosevelt thanks Lee for his work with William Lyon Mackenzie King, and notes that although the issue of Japanese immigration is not acute yet, it could be soon. He also discusses the success of the Great White Fleet’s tour and target practice.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-04-08

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Whitelaw Reid

President Roosevelt is glad that Ambassador Reid has made clear to the English people that William Lyon Mackenzie King was sent from Canada on their own initiative, and without prompting from the United States. Roosevelt has been in contact with Sir Wilfred Laurier because he wants the English-speaking world to have good relations with Japan, and presenting a united front that aims toward excluding Japanese laborers, while hopefully refraining from insulting Japan, is not possible without communicating.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-30

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Elihu Root

President Roosevelt asks Secretary of State Root if it would be possible to explain to the Imperial Japanese government that the decision to enact new regulations limiting the number of passports provided for Japanese laborers is an economic one. Roosevelt cites British Columbia, New Zealand, and Australia, which are all British colonies, as having similar policies despite Japan and England’s strong relationship, and hopes that there is a way to maintain current policies without causing diplomatic friction.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Whitelaw Reid

President Roosevelt thanks Ambassador Reid for some clippings he has sent, and says that he finds Sydney Brooks’ criticisms of American policy in the Philippines to be expected, but finds the current situation preferable to the British administration of Malaysia. Roosevelt also finds the distinctions drawn by The London Times between treatments of Japanese workers at the hands of Americans and Australians to “have a certain comic side.” Roosevelt cannot say what Secretary of War William H. Taft will do, but he hopes Taft will come directly home after traveling through Russia.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-25

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to James Norris Gillett

President Roosevelt explains to California Governor Gillett that protesters in San Francisco who want to exclude Japanese laborers are preventing their goal through their own actions. Japan has agreed not to issue passports to laborers as long as Americans do not discriminate against or insult the Japanese. Attempts in California to legislate discrimination against the Japanese will undermine this agreement with Japan.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-03-09

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to George Robert Carter

President Roosevelt sends Governor Carter of Hawaii a letter from Labor Commissioner Neill. Roosevelt is concerned that any accidents that could occur to Japanese workers in Hawaii could bring serious problems.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-03-03

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to George Kennan

President Roosevelt shares with George Kennan the difficulties he has had dealing with the movement in California to remove the children of Japanese immigrants from schools. Although labor is partially to blame, Roosevelt believes deeply rooted racism is also at fault.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-09

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Kermit Roosevelt

President Roosevelt updates his son Kermit Roosevelt on the comings and goings of the White House and his thoughts on a recent article that appeared in Outing. Roosevelt had hoped to keep his upcoming visit to Groton School and Harvard University private, but it has leaked. He is having difficulties resolving the segregation of Japanese students from San Fransisco schools and the resulting diplomatic tensions, but has decided immigration from Japan must be curtailed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-09

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Andrew Dickson White

President Roosevelt agrees that Andrew Dickson White’s suggestion may become necessary, but is also ready to confront Japan on the matter of Japanese immigration and foreign workers on the American Pacific Coast. Roosevelt believes that there “is no difference between American and Japanese gentlemen and scholars,” but acknowledges that American workers are angered “to the point of madness.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-04

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Kermit Roosevelt

President Roosevelt pens his son Kermit Roosevelt with updates about the family’s activities over the previous weekend, including rides on the presidential yacht and hikes with Senator Henry Cabot Lodge. He is especially gushing about his wife, and Kermit’s mother, Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt’s aptitude for physical activity and general intelligence. Roosevelt goes on to describe his trouble responding to the San Francisco Board of Eduction’s attempt to remove Japanese students from schools. He believes that the general distain for the Japanese among Americans on the Pacific Coast, stemming from labor disputes and racism, is to blame. Congress’ refusal to fund new fortifications in Hawaii and the Philippines has added to Roosevelt’s woes in the region.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-04

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Victor Howard Metcalf

President Roosevelt compliments Secretary of Labor and Commerce Metcalf on the case of the treatment of Japanese Americans on the coast. Roosevelt read his upcoming annual message to Japanese Ambassador Baron Kogoro Takahira before leaving for Panama. Roosevelt believes “the only way to prevent constant friction between the United States and Japan” is to restrict the movement of citizens between the two countries to students, travelers, and business men. The working classes of both countries should not go back and forth, and he hopes that the Japanese government will stop Japanese “coolies” from coming to the United States or Hawaii.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-11-27

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William H. Taft

President Roosevelt asks Secretary of War Taft to investigate the Japanese labor issues in Hawaii on his way to the Philippines during the summer.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-02-09

Letter from Elihu Root to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of State Root informs President Roosevelt that he has agreed to preside over the Republican State Convention in Saratoga, New York, and asks for campaign literature to bring himself up to date about what to say in his remarks and to the people. Root has heard from Assistant Secretary of State Robert Bacon that children in Central America are dying of childhood diseases. Root is reassured by Japanese Ambassador Kogoro Takahira’s letter, but is cautious in his expectations concerning Japanese cooperation in limiting Japanese workers from entering the United States.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-01

Letter from Arthur Hamilton Lee to Theodore Roosevelt

Arthur Hamilton Lee is pleased that President Roosevelt was willing to sit for a portrait by Fülöp László, and looks forward to seeing it. He updates Roosevelt on the progress of William Lyon Mackenzie King, who is in England advocating for Roosevelt’s policy on Japanese immigration to English-speaking countries. Lee agrees that such immigration should be limited, and King is making inroads in getting the government to cooperate on this matter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-31