Goethals, George W. (George Washington), 1858-1928

Joseph Bucklin Bishop, Secretary to the Isthmian Canal Commission, asks President Roosevelt when he will issue the medals he had promised American employees the last time he had visited the Canal Zone, remarking that their work has noticeably improved since his visit. Bishop is shocked to hear of Charles T. Barney’s death by suicide following his forced resignation from the Knickerbocker Trust Company and considers it a “lesson of consequences of the craze for wealth.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-28

Creator(s)

Bishop, Joseph Bucklin, 1847-1928

Joseph Bucklin Bishop, secretary of the Isthmian Canal Commission, recounts the Congressional Appropriations Committee’s visit to the Panama Canal Zone and offers several suggestions for how to improve government operations in the Canal Zone. The committee members are enthusiastic about the project and were highly impressed by the abilities and knowledge of George W. Goethals, Chief Engineer of the Isthmian Canal Commission, but were disappointed by Canal Zone Governor Joseph C. S. Blackburn’s abilities. Bishop candidly admits to feeling similarly about Blackburn and encourages President Roosevelt to send Goethals to speak before Congress on the proceedings of the Canal project instead. Bishop also discusses the General Counsel for the Canal Zone Richard R. Rogers, who had criticized the Commission’s operations in a way which demonstrated an intolerable ignorance of the situation and a disloyalty to President Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-13

Creator(s)

Bishop, Joseph Bucklin, 1847-1928

Secretary of the Isthmian Canal Commission Bishop sends President Roosevelt a rough draft of talking points he can use in his message about the Panama Canal. Bishop also includes a detailed description of the canal’s progress, as well as his evaluation of some other members of the Commission.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-10-16

Creator(s)

Bishop, Joseph Bucklin, 1847-1928

Joseph Bucklin Bishop reports to President Roosevelt on the status of the construction and workers at the Panama Canal. The social discontent following Chief Engineer John F. Stevens’s departure has primarily resolved, and Colonel George W. Goethals has proved himself a capable replacement. Bishop attended his first Isthmian Canal Commission meeting and finds its members “able and intelligent,” and “actively engaged.” At the current pace, excavation will be complete in five to six years, and construction of the dam and lock can commence.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-18

Creator(s)

Bishop, Joseph Bucklin, 1847-1928

Joseph Bucklin Bishop updates President Roosevelt on his arrival to the Canal Zone. Colonel George W. Goethals, chief engineer and chairman of the Isthmian Canal Commission, welcomed him and looked forward to Bishop’s aid. Bishop reports that the work is progressing “splendidly,” and it appears the dissatisfaction among the workers has been resolved. Excited by what he sees, Bishop thanks Roosevelt for sending him. He closes by describing his proposed semi-weekly newspaper for the “regular dissemination of accurate information about the canal.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-13

Creator(s)

Bishop, Joseph Bucklin, 1847-1928

On behalf of Secretary of War William H. Taft, Fred W. Carpenter sends a typescript of a telegram to William Loeb. George W. Goethals describes labor negotiations with and resignations of Isthmian Canal construction workers. Goethals reports that men are returning to work and he has no fear of the outcome.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-05-16

Creator(s)

Carpenter, Fred W., 1873 or 1874-1957

Secretary of War Taft agrees with President Roosevelt’s decision to appoint John Marshall Harlan. Taft then analyzes the political considerations in making the appointment of the Supreme Court justice who will succeed Henry Billings Brown. Taft also expresses concern about Chief Engineer of the Panama Canal John F. Stevens’s inability to answer the charges of Poultney Bigelow’s article in The Cosmopolitan, even if the charges have no foundation. In addition, Taft notifies Roosevelt that he tried to get Major George W. Goethals, an army engineer, to be Secretary of the Board to live on the Isthmus of Panama, but the presence of Secretary of the Isthmian Canal Commission Joseph Bucklin Bishop prevents it. Taft recognizes that Congressman Julius C. Burrows is “indignant” about Taft’s involvement in the appointment of District Judge in the Western District of Michigan, but Taft does not think Burrows is justified.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-21

Creator(s)

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

Michael F. Moran chronicles the Theodore Roosevelt Association’s (TRA) Panama Canal Centennial Strenuous Life Adventure of March 2014. Moran describes the itinerary of the group, highlighting its passage through the canal on a cruise ship and its stop at various offices and sites associated with the construction of the canal. Moran also refers to figures prominent in the building of the canal such as John F. Stevens. Moran describes the condition of Colon, Panama, highlights the group’s bird watching expedition, and notes the costumes of the native Embera Indians.

Twenty photographs and a map appear in the text while a photo album of seventy-two color photographs arrayed in twelve pages follows the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2014

Thomas R. Goethals describes the appointment of his grandfather, George W. Goethals, as chairman and chief engineer of the Panama Canal Commission in 1907. He recounts President Theodore Roosevelt’s repeated reorganization of the commission and his desire to place the project under the authority of the Corps of Engineers of the United States Army. Goethals notes the rapport quickly established between Roosevelt and Goethals, and he details Goethals’s concern over having to replace the very popular John F. Stevens as chief engineer of the project. Goethals notes that his grandfather was most worried about managing the people who would actually build the canal, and he highlights Goethals first speech in Panama in which he tried to reassure them that he would not militarize the project. Goethals also stresses the important role played by Secretary of War William Howard Taft in staffing and overseeing the construction of the canal.

The article includes nine photographs, including five of George W. Goethals, four illustrations, and one map of the canal zone. An advertisement for the Chocolate Lady candy store of Oyster Bay, New York, appears at the conclusion of the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2010

The front cover of this issue features a photograph portrait of George W. Goethals who managed the construction of the Panama Canal. A lithograph illustration from 1912 of a steam shovel and trains constructing the canal appears on the back cover.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1912

Creator(s)

Pennell, Joseph, 1857-1926

James M. Strock examines Theodore Roosevelt’s approach to leadership by identifying and exploring twenty tenets of Roosevelt’s leadership style. Among these are seizing the initiative, hiring talented subordinates, and delegating authority. Strock draws extensively from Roosevelt’s leadership of the Rough Riders and his management of the Panama Canal construction for examples with which to illustrate Roosevelt’s leadership, and he cites Elihu Root and Gifford Pinchot as examples of talented subordinate leaders. Fifteen of the twenty tenets offer examples of how Roosevelt managed those who worked for him in various capacities.  

Six photographs populate the article, including ones of Roosevelt, Root, and Pinchot. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2007

Congressional Charter for the then Roosevelt Memorial Association established in May 1920 that lists the original incorporators and includes some of the key provisions guiding the organization. These include stipulations that the association will be governed by a board of trustees; that its income will go only to further its educational goals; and that it will work to establish memorials to Theodore Roosevelt in Washington, D.C. and Oyster Bay, New York. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2000

Creator(s)

Theodore Roosevelt Association

The proposal to allow a ship from a recently established steamship company headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, to be the first American ship to pass through the Panama Canal has received widespread support from across the country, including from such prominent figures as Theodore Roosevelt and President William H. Taft.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-07-23

Creator(s)

Unknown

Second part of a compilation film revealing the story of Panama Canal construction, which Theodore Roosevelt considered one of his most valuable contributions to foreign affairs. This portion of the video focuses on the construction of the canal, as well as the canal in operation.

Collection

Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound

Creation Date

1927

Creator(s)

Roosevelt Film Library

George W. Davis presents several reasons why the 85-foot plan of three locks-in-series for the Panama Canal should be abandoned, and either the sea level or the 60-foot plan of four single locks should be adopted.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-15

Creator(s)

Davis, George W. (George Whitefield), 1839-1918

Secretary of War Taft interviews Captain George Reynolds Shanton about James M. Maguire, who has displayed poor conduct in the Canal Zone. Shanton also discusses the political situation in Panama, where it is likely that the election will be corrupt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-09

Creator(s)

Unknown

John Bigelow, a former ambassador to France from the United States, has recently published a pamphlet on the Panama Canal. Bigelow criticizes the inflated costs of the project, as well as the slow pace of the work. The initial French plan consisted of an initial, preliminary canal which after its completion would be widened into the final form, but the United States rejected this plan in favor of completing the canal in one go.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908

Creator(s)

Unknown

This newsletter, available free of charge to employees of the Isthmian Canal Commission and the Panama Railroad Company, reports on various happenings in the Canal Zone, including updates on progress, revenue, mosquitoes, sports, and excavation. It also includes a directory of names at the end.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-11

Creator(s)

Unknown

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04-03

Creator(s)

Unknown

Language

English

Period

U.S. President – 2nd Term (March 1905-February 1909)

Secretary of War Taft tells President Roosevelt about criticism of the administration of the Canal Zone and that he has accepted the option to purchase a Catholic property in Havana. Taft explains tension among George W. Goethals, William Grant Bierd, and Jackson Smith.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-29

Creator(s)

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