Freedom of religion

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Comerford

President Roosevelt thinks that William Comerford fails to understand the “bitter indignation” of the Catholic Filipinos and Philippine priests against the friars. After consulting with leading Filipino Catholics, it was decided to try and purchase the friars’ lands with the condition that the friars leave the islands. This seemed the best way to appease Filipino Catholics and do justice to the Catholic Church. If no agreement is reached, the government has no power to force the friars to leave the islands or force the parishes to accept the friars. The Roosevelt administration is doing its best “to safeguard all the rights of all religious people, clerical or lay, in the Philippines.” (Copy of this letter was marked “Void – not sent.)

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-07-16

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Thomas E. Watson

Theodore Roosevelt invites Thomas E. Watson to Oyster Bay, New York, to discuss their shared Georgian ancestry and view some heirlooms Roosevelt has collected. Roosevelt defends the “countless good Americans who are Catholic” and supports the legality and legitimacy of marriages between people of different religious creeds. He denounces any “general assault on Catholics.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-03-16

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Thomas E. Watson

Theodore Roosevelt is disappointed that Thomas E. Watson has such “violent feeling” towards Catholics, which he does not believe is compatible with the “real and full belief in our American institutions.” He would consider himself an unworthy citizen if he failed to treat each citizen with “absolute disregard of his creed.” Roosevelt defends religious freedom and will “fight the battle of decency” without regard for a person’s religion or opposition to him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-01-19

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Hannah Kent Schoff

President Roosevelt explains to Hannah Kent Schoff that the reason he has not “settled the Mormon question,” as many people have asked her, is that such a question is essentially meaningless. While Roosevelt would like to see a constitutional amendment against polygamy adopted, he does not think such an amendment is needed, as there have been fewer polygamous Mormon marriages in recent years than there have been bigamous marriages among other Christian sects. Mormons have as much a right to practice their religion as any other faith, and there does not seem to him to be anything that needs to be “settled.” Attacks on Mormons in Idaho have driven them to act more like a unified group, whereas before the attacks they were beginning to divide and act more independently.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-07

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Clayton McMichael

The Civil Service Commission has determined that the three postal carrier were transferred due to improper political considerations by Postmaster McMichael’s subordinates. President Roosevelt does not believe that McMichael was aware of the political pressure being used against the carriers but he approved the transfers at the suggestion of his subordinates. The carriers will be returned to their previous routes. The reasons for transfers will now be kept in a written record, and special care must be taken to ensure that transfers are not influenced by political or religious considerations.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-12-30

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to James Jeffrey Roche

President Roosevelt is amused at the information on Edward A. Moseley, who Roosevelt assumed to be Catholic. However, Roosevelt claims not to consider a “man’s creed” for or against them.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-11-06

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Comerford

President Roosevelt explains that the administration is seeking to purchase the friars’ lands in the Philippines in response to the hostility of the Filipino Catholics and parish priests towards the friars. The friars are not required to leave the Philippines, and religious freedom will be protected just as it is in the United States.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-07-22

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Cyrus Townsend Brady to Theodore Roosevelt

Cyrus Townsend Brady sends Theodore Roosevelt copies of The Kansas City Journal and the Kansas City Post, both of which contain an article he had written on religious freedom. He feels the case is sufficiently strong enough for mention in The Outlook.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-06-02

Creator(s)

Brady, Cyrus Townsend, 1861-1920

Letter from Oscar S. Straus to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of Commerce and Labor Straus encloses for President Roosevelt his address delivered at the University of Georgia centennial. Straus directs Roosevelt to read the portion on the development of religious liberty in the United States.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-05-13

Creator(s)

Straus, Oscar S. (Oscar Solomon), 1850-1926

Extract from pastoral of the Most Excellent and Most Reverend Archbishop of Montevideo on the duty of the present hour

Archbishop Soler praises American Catholics and the thriving nature of Catholicism in the United States. He argues that the Church is not the enemy of progress, which is proven by how Catholicism has flourished in the U.S., the example and standard of progressive nations. He explains a visit he made to Secretary of State Elihu Root, to express his admiration for the way in which American ideals allow complete liberty to Catholics, and the way other Americans respect them as collaborators in the social order.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-11-30

Creator(s)

Soler, Mariano Delmiro Encarnación, 1846-1908

Memorandum from Theodore Roosevelt

President Roosevelt notes that Bishop Henry Gabriels, in his speech to the Pope, correctly reflected the meaning of Roosevelt’s words regarding equal treatment of members of different religions, but that the precise words used were the Bishop’s own.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Address to the Holy Father

This speech, created by the members of the Catholic American Pilgrimage of 1906, addresses Pope Pius X, and speaks about the state of the Catholic Church in the United States. Noting the large increase in the number of Catholics since the inception of the church in the United States, the group also speaks of the religious freedom present in the nation, and quotes Theodore Roosevelt’s support of both Catholic and Protestant presidents.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906

Creator(s)

Gabriels, Henry, 1838-1921

German immigration to Pennsylvania

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

Creator(s)

Focht, Benjamin K. (Benjamin Kurtz), 1863-1937

An historical retrospect: the development of religious liberty in the United States

Oscar S. Straus gives an address at the University of Georgia tracing the development of religious liberty in the United States. Beginning with the founding of several American Colonies, including Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island, Straus examines how many of the colonies dealt with religious freedom, or lack thereof, and how as the United States has developed as a nation it has set forth the law that no religion or sect of religion is above any other, and that the laws apply to all equally.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-05-13

Creator(s)

Straus, Oscar S. (Oscar Solomon), 1850-1926

Seder at Ellis Island

Two newspaper articles describe a seder service held at Ellis Island for ninety detained Russian Jewish immigrants. The supplies and cost for the religious service were paid for by the private catering company that held the Ellis Island contract.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-04

Creator(s)

Unknown

Draft of an address to the committee appointed to notify Theodore Roosevelt of his nomination for the presidency

Draft of an address to be given by President Roosevelt with handwritten edits. Roosevelt accepts the Republican presidential nomination and reviews the accomplishments of his administration.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-07-13

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

This is what the “freedom of worship” bill means – can we hold the evil in check?

A female figure with a shield labeled “Tolerance” and a sword labeled “Knowledge” uses a cord labeled “Equality” to hold back a large snake labeled “Freedom Worship Bill” that has ensnared a young child wearing a hat labeled “S of Refuge.” “Randalls Island” House of Refuge is in the background.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1885-02-11

Creator(s)

Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, 1838-1894

Report on religious issues in the Philippines

Series of exhibits highlighting religious issues in the Philippines, including disputes between religious and municipal authorities, opposition to the friars, and conflict between the Catholic Church and the Iglesia Filipina Independiente.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903

Creator(s)

Unknown

Letter from William H. Taft to Macario Favilla

Governor Taft has received a protest from the town of Dagupan regarding two Dominican friars in town. According to the Treaty of Paris, Spaniards, including friars, are entitled to go anywhere in the Philippines “in pursuit of their calling.” Citizens are not required to listen to the friars or to attend church and can attend any religious worship they choose. The government will preserve peace and freedom of religion. Governor Favilla’s task is to explain the situation to the citizens.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-10-13

Creator(s)

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

Letter from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt

Governor Taft defends the Philippine Commission and the Federal Party against charges that they have pursued policies hostile to the Catholic Church. The complaint was submitted by Father O’Mahoney through Bishop McFaul of New Jersey. Taft specifically addresses the complaints and defends his own position and the position of others in regards to the charges.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-10-05

Creator(s)

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