Your TR Source
H. T. Nations recommends Judge Walker be made Collector of the Port in Mobile, Alabama, and is fervently against the appointment of James Thomas Heflin to that position.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-12-13
President Roosevelt is glad Joseph Bucklin Bishop is involved in the campaign. He discusses various factors that would sway public support for him. Roosevelt mentions press coverage of an inflammatory speech by Alabama Congressman Heflin in the Washington Post. Roosevelt also comments on his relationship with Carl Schurz of the Evening Post and writes that his opposition to Roosevelt has a long history.
1904-10-05
President Roosevelt rebukes Richmond Pearson Hobson and Alabama Representative James Thomas Heflin for their comments that amount to inciting assassination of the president. Roosevelt says Hobson and Heflin should realize such language, which is “equivalent to incitement to assassination,” is “deeply discreditable to the man using it.” A handwritten addition says, “File. Do not send.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-11-12
President Roosevelt responds to Representative Williams’s claim that he does not understand the South. Although Roosevelt is “greatly puzzled” by some difficulties he has encountered in the South, he has tried to treat the Southern States fairly. Roosevelt believes there are no issues with what he has done in the South but how he has been misrepresented in the South. The president is fine if people disagree with his policies, but he does not like when the facts are misrepresented. He mentions statements made by Alabama Senator John Tyler Morgan and Williams himself that were incorrect. Roosevelt does not appreciate the application of base motives to the president of the United States, and believes if the people of the South have been misled, it is because Southern leaders have misled them. Roosevelt also does not appreciate white men in the South trying to get their vote to count more than those in the North, and believes African American men should be judged by the same tests as “ignorant, vicious and shiftless whites.” Roosevelt closes by saying that what the South “really needs” is for her leaders to tell the truth.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-12-05
President Roosevelt finds amusement in the clipping from The World about the Evening Post, and he thinks it base and hypocritical for the Post to continue to support the candidacy of Alton B. Parker in light of such speeches as that of Henry Gassaway Davis. Roosevelt provides two quotations addressing the “colored issue” for inclusion in his speech and letter of acceptance. Roosevelt aims to make his points clear while at the same time making them in such a way as to cause minimal irritation in the south.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-12
Theodore Roosevelt is pleased that J. B. Bishop is taking an “effective interest” in the campaign. Roosevelt is concerned that people who attack “Odellism” may vote the Democratic ticket. Congressman Heflin of Alabama also told the Washington Post “that if some Czolgosz had thrown a bomb under the table at which I sat with Booker Washington, no great harm would have been done the country!” Roosevelt clarifies his relationship with Carl Schurz, who has been opposed to him for years.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-05
Ray Stannard Baker responds to President Roosevelt’s letter and clarifies that he is not standing by Senator Benjamin R. Tillman or others like him. Rather, as a journalist, Baker is “seeing and reporting the facts on which other men act.” Baker believes that Roosevelt asserted socialistic thought in his letter, and states that people have been moving toward socialism because, like Roosevelt, they have been emphasizing personal goodness and have found that it does not always lead to the betterment of man. Baker tells Roosevelt that he has articles coming out soon which will clarify his views on race and society. As Roosevelt suggested in his letter, he would like to meet with Roosevelt to discuss his views in depth.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-08
A list of congressional nominees for the 1906 election, organized by state, printed for the convenience of the press by the Republican Congressional Committee.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-06
The London Times relays reports from its correspondent in America regarding various issues and events in the United States. In particular, the correspondent provides updates on political policies and legislation, as well as events that have happened in Washington, D.C., and between the United States and countries abroad, such as Venezuela and Haiti.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-30
President Roosevelt asks District Attorney Baker to give his personal attention to the murder case against United States Representative James Thomas Heflin. Roosevelt says Heflin must face consequences. He asks Baker to call on him to discuss the matter.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-29
Collection of newspaper articles criticizing Alabama Secretary of State Heflin for his attacks on Judge Jones. Heflin found fault with Judge Jones’s instructions to the jury in the Turner peonage case.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-07-26