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Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Richard Watson Gilder

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Richard Watson Gilder

President Roosevelt writes Richard Watson Gilder a lengthy refutation of an article in the Evening Post in which William Garrott Brown misconstrues his actions in the Republican Party. Namely, Brown accuses Roosevelt of neglecting Republicans in the South and of doing a poor job of making nominations to local offices and positions. Roosevelt asserts that where the Republican party is not strong in the South, he has had to appoint Democrats who were quality men, rather than incapable men who are Republicans. Where he believes the party has a chance to compete with Democrats, he does all he can to support it. Roosevelt also writes that he did not use his influence on officers to get William H. Taft the nomination, but rather Taft was nominated because Roosevelt’s policies were popular, and Taft is the man who will continue those policies. Roosevelt believes that Brown is either ignorant or willfully ignorant of a number of facts.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-16

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William J. Northen

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William J. Northen

President Roosevelt believes that former Georgia Governor Northen has been misled in his assessment of interstate commerce law regarding segregation. Had Northen read the Interstate Commerce Commission’s opinion and read the law, he would understand that he should address his queries to someone “whose duty it was to take the initiative” in appealing to the state commission. Roosevelt notes that the courts back up the law in this case. Roosevelt also notes that Judson C. Clements, a Georgian, is on the Interstate Commerce Commission and he is “simply endeavoring to stand behind the good men of the South” and that it is “foolish” for southerners to protest against the government taking notice of non-obedience of a federal statute.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-04-11

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to T. Jefferson Coolidge

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to T. Jefferson Coolidge

President Roosevelt comments to T. Jefferson Coolidge on the nomination of William H. Taft as Republican candidate for president. Roosevelt is glad to hear that Coolidge supports Taft’s nomination, but is sorry to say that he believes that the forces who oppose Taft will go to great measures to deny him the nomination. He thinks that the anti-Taft forces will particularly try to control Southern delegates. Joseph Benson Foraker has appealed to Judson Whitlocke Lyons, the National Committeeman from Georgia, using the Brownsville incident. Roosevelt asks Coolidge if he could use his connections to appeal to Lyons’s friends to ask Lyons to stand honorably on the questions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-08

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William H. Taft

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William H. Taft

President Roosevelt informs Secretary of War Taft about conditions in the South regarding Taft’s nomination to be the presidential candidate for the Republican Party. One of Roosevelt’s informants told him that the constituents in Alabama will vote for Joseph Benson Foraker if Taft is approved. Roosevelt still believes that the southern states will be in favor of Taft. On another matter, Roosevelt reports that many people want him to nominate John K. Beach over Walter Chadwick Noyes for a circuit court judge position.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-10

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister

President Roosevelt writes to Owen Wister about a letter Roosevelt received from Judge J. M. Dickinson. Dickinson suggested that while the race question may never be settled, he believes that Roosevelt has helped quiet it for a time. Roosevelt believes that this is a common view in the South. He asserts that while many problems still remain in race relations and universal suffrage, the current situation has improved upon the past.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-03

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Eleroy Curtis

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Eleroy Curtis

In response to a letter from William Eleroy Curtis about the quality of his appointments in Alabama, President Roosevelt offers the facts. He asks Curtis to ask people whether the new men he has appointed are better than the ones he replaced. He also clarifies that he did not bar appointees from serving on national and state committees, but that he prefers that appointees do not dominate them. In response to Curtis’s demands that he replace postmasters in Dothan, Andalusia, and Marion, Roosevelt says that one was removed, an inspector recommended that a second be kept, and an investigation into the third is ongoing.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-28

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry S. Pritchett

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry S. Pritchett

President Roosevelt fundamentally agrees with Henry S. Pritchett and James Ford Rhodes about the Southern question. Although Roosevelt believes it is unwise and impractical to repeal the Fifteenth Amendment now, he does agree it should not have been passed in the first place. The president can also agree with Pritchett and Rhodes that Congress should not press for active enforcement of the Fifteenth Amendment; however, it cannot go too far with Mississippi Senator John Sharp Williams having more power than Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon. Roosevelt believes Southern states cannot enforce the laws themselves because they are trying to readopt slavery through peonage. Additionally, Southerners demand the exclusion of African Americans from offices, although Southerners have approved of Roosevelt’s choices for offices in the South on the whole even though the president has appointed some African Americans. Roosevelt insists he has tried Pritchett’s course of action, but it has not worked because the South has not met him even halfway. The president believes cooperation depends on Southerners, and the difficulty will vanish when they “quit lying.” Finally, Roosevelt says he has not observed outside criticism of the South and asks Pritchett how Congress needs to respond since it has not controlled the South. Roosevelt concludes by asking for one specific thing he is doing wrong, as he wants to learn.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-14

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Thomas E. Watson

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Thomas E. Watson

President Roosevelt tells Thomas E. Watson he is unsure what to do about Captain John M. Barnes. The president previously acted on Judge Emory Speer’s positive statements regarding Barnes, but now Roosevelt is not sure how to proceed. He hopes Watson can come and discuss some matters about Georgia with him. While Roosevelt and Watson do not agree on a number of fundamental points, Roosevelt believes Watson to be “fearless, disinterested, and incorruptible.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-11-30