Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords

Creation Date

1911-08-22

Creator(s)

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Arthur Hamilton Lee

Theodore Roosevelt asks Arthur Hamilton Lee about the political situation in the House of Lords. Roosevelt also discusses relationships between the United States, Canada, and Great Britain, including the railway system and a peace and arbitration treaty. Roosevelt also expresses displeasure with politics and the press in the United States. Roosevelt thanks Lee for allowing him to stay at his two homes, especially at Chequers, and provides Lee with an update on his family.

Collection

Creation Date

1911-08-22

Creator(s)

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frederick Scott Oliver

Theodore Roosevelt has heard that Frederick Scott Oliver is the real author of one of the plans for reforming the House of Lords. He would like Oliver to send a copy and information of the proposed plan to The Outlook. Roosevelt is currently trying to get “a proper mixture” of Alexander Hamitlon’s and Thomas Jefferson’s principles into the modern political movement, but progressives are resistant to it.

Collection

Creation Date

1911-02-08

Creator(s)

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Whitelaw Reid

President Roosevelt was very interested in what Ambassador Reid wrote to him about the planned reform of the House of Lords, and about German Emperor William II. Roosevelt tells Reid about some of his own foreign relations with Germany, intimating that he used the United States Navy to help shore up relations with Germany during the Venezuela crisis. He qualifies that such threats of force must be “accompanied with every manifestation of politeness and friendship,” and that he follows the policy of “speaking softly and carrying a big stick.” Roosevelt additionally informs Reid of the route he plans to take on his way to Mombasa, and that he wishes to avoid official functions. He also hopes to avoid reporters.

Collection

Creation Date

1908-12-04

Creator(s)

Letter from Arthur Hamilton Lee to Theodore Roosevelt

Arthur Hamilton Lee writes Theodore Roosevelt on the issue of the “Parliament Bill.” Lee details the effects the bill, the House of Commons, and the House of Lords are having on Great Britain and its politics. He also tells Roosevelt about George V, King of Great Britain and his new success as king. Lee inquires how Roosevelt and politics in the United States are going, along with Roosevelt’s views on the Anglo-American Arbitration Treaty. He asks how Roosevelt and his family is doing.

Collection

Lee of Fareham, Viscount (Arthur Hamilton Lee), 1868-1947

Creation Date

1911-06-15

Creator(s)

Letter from George Otto Trevelyan to Theodore Roosevelt

George Otto Trevelyan briefly tells President Roosevelt of some recent hunting he has done, and hopes that Roosevelt is able to visit when he is in Great Britain. Trevelyan’s son, Charles Philips Trevelyan, has told him about a recent dinner in honor of Prime Minister H. H. Asquith, which Trevelyan then relates to Roosevelt. There is a great deal of tension between the House of Lords and the Liberal Party of Great Britain, which controlled the House of Commons, but Trevelyan believes that Asquith will help the Liberal Party advance their reform agenda.

Collection

Trevelyan, George Otto, 1838-1928

Creation Date

1908-12-15

Creator(s)

Letter from Whitelaw Reid to Theodore Roosevelt

Ambassador Reid updates President Roosevelt on a number of personal, social, and official matters. In particular, Reid focuses on the fallout of a controversial interview given by Emperor William II of Germany to the British press. The interview has been suppressed in Germany and caused domestic issues for William, but may improve relations with the English. Reid discusses plans to reform the House of Lords, and a shooting outing he hosted where his son Ogden Mills Reid related stories about the presidential campaign in the United States. Reid also intends to give a dinner for Frantz Bille, the retiring Danish minister. Reid writes that everyone was on “pins and needles” waiting for information about foot and mouth disease.

Collection

Creation Date

1908-11-24

Creator(s)

Letter from Whitelaw Reid to Theodore Roosevelt

Ambassador Reid updates President Roosevelt on the political exploits of Winston Churchill, who is once again running a contested election, and whose comments on Ireland have caused problems in Parliament.

Collection

Creation Date

1908-05-01

Creator(s)

Letter from Whitelaw Reid to Theodore Roosevelt

Ambassador Reid updates President Roosevelt about the recent turmoil in Great Britain surrounding an exchange of letters between Edward Marjoribanks, Baron Tweedmouth, and Emperor William II of Germany. The Emperor wrote privately to Lord Tweedmouth, and in passing mentioned the British Navy. News of this mention spread to the press, who seized upon news of the letter to blow the incident out of proportion and make it seem as if Germany were trying to influence British naval policy. Reid sends a selection of newspaper clippings following the development of the issue in the press. Additionally, Reid reports that Henry Campbell-Bannerman’s condition is not improving, and it appears that H. H. Asquith will be his successor as Prime Minister.

Collection

Creation Date

1908-03-10

Creator(s)

Letter from Whitelaw Reid to Theodore Roosevelt

Ambassador Reid provides President Roosevelt with a variety of pieces of information regarding the status of English politics. Douglas Robinson and Corinne Roosevelt Robinson met with many different members of the royal family. Reid recounts a scandal regarding Prime Minister Campbell-Bannerman, who nine months after his wife died, was engaged to her caretaker. Regardless, Campbell-Bannerman has surprised most in Parliament at his effectiveness as a leader. Reid is disappointed that Robert Bond and the Liberal Party agreed to govern the colony of Newfoundland. The U. S. government is not pleased with this agreement, and many of the other premiers disagree with the Liberal Party’s policy. In particular, Alfred Deakin, the premier of Australia, is an outspoken opponent to this policy. Additionally, many of the colonies want preference in the British markets, and may sacrifice free trade agreements to achieve this status. Next, H. H. Asquith proposed an income tax for Great Britain that will introduce a new, objectionable system of old age pensions. R. B. Haldane proposed a permanent standing army in the British colonies. Augustine Burrill’s proposed Irish Council Bill is becoming unpopular and he does not have many successes as a politician. Overall, the Liberal Party is disappointed by Campbell-Bannerman’s performance.

Collection

Creation Date

1907-05-24

Creator(s)

Letter from Whitelaw Reid to Theodore Roosevelt

United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom Reid comments on Winston Churchill’s recent promotion to the Privy Council, noting that it acknowledges his rise in the party without giving him a seat in the Cabinet. Churchill is still not well liked. Reid relays the debates on Horace Curzon Plunkett in the House of Commons and reports on English newspaper coverage of Roosevelt’s speech at Jamestown. He comments on unease over labor relations in France, the planning of an event after the Colonial Premiers’ Conference, opposition to a proposed move for a limitation of armaments at the Hague Conference, and Lewis Harcourt’s proposed English Land Bill.

Collection

Creation Date

1907-05-01

Creator(s)

Letter from John St. Loe Strachey to Theodore Roosevelt

John St. Loe Strachey agrees with President Roosevelt’s characterization of William Randolph Hearst as a dangerous man. He also thinks that Roosevelt is right about William Jennings Bryan as a “kindly example of the Jefferson type.” Strachey discusses the status of antitrust law in the British Parliament.

Collection

Strachey, John St. Loe, 1860-1927

Creation Date

1906-11-06

Creator(s)

Letter from Wayne MacVeagh to Theodore Roosevelt

Wayne MacVeagh writes to President Roosevelt that he hopes Roosevelt was able to find “the act of Congress and its affirmance by the Supreme Court.” It was accepted quietly and approved, hardly a “violent form of anarchy.” Although not well-drafted, MacVeagh believes the idea is there. A few weeks after Roosevelt’s speech on graduated inheritance taxes, H. H. Asquith, Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, announced support to begin graduated income taxes, after experiencing success with inheritance taxes since 1894.

Collection

MacVeagh, Wayne, 1833-1917

Creation Date

1906-05-09

Creator(s)

Letter from Henry White to Theodore Roosevelt

Henry White sends President Roosevelt a message from Edward VII. The King wanted to convey his regards and his best wishes for Roosevelt’s success with his second administration and hopes Roosevelt will never be persuaded by any other sovereign or government. The King intends to write Roosevelt shortly. White asks that when Roosevelt replies to the King, he mentions that White delivered the message. White saw Cecil Spring Rice, Arthur James Balfour, and Henry Lansdowne before leaving London, and they were all interested in Spring Rice’s trip to Washington. White also writes that the British government has had two votes of want of confidence in the House of Commons and again in the House of Lords.

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