Immigrants

Earl Grey, Governor General of Canada, speaks to the Women’s Canadian Club about raising the funds to erect a “colossal statue of the Angel of Welcome and Peace” on the Plains of Abraham to welcome emigrants to Canada. This should be done to celebrate the tricentennial of the founding of Quebec. Describing Canada’s history, Grey compares the United States’ dedication to erecting patriotic monuments and preserving its past to the lack of enthusiasm in doing the same in Canada.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-01-28

Creator(s)

Grey, Albert Henry George Grey, Earl, 1851-1917

Representative Parsons has conferred with Timothy L. Woodruff, Representatives Olcott, Bennet, Calder, and Sherman, and Charles Evans Hughes about the matter in President Roosevelt’s previous letter. Parsons would like to bring in out-of-state speakers to enliven the campaign but hopes they will not discuss tariffs or labor unions. There was general agreement to have Joseph Gurney Cannon, Speaker of the House, give his scheduled speech but many think it unwise to have Secretary of State Elihu Root speak in New York because of his connection to Thomas Fortune Ryan, the “Equitable matter,” and corporations in general, and how William Randolph Hearst would portray it in his papers. Edward R. Finch agrees with Parsons that Root should still come and speak about stable government ensuring good business conditions, but would like Secretary of War William H. Taft to be his substitute if the Congressmen decide against Root.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-15

Creator(s)

Parsons, Herbert, 1869-1925

Jeremiah Whipple Jenks, member of the Commission on International Exchange, writes to President Roosevelt regarding treatment of Chinese immigrants.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-26

Creator(s)

Jenks, Jeremiah Whipple, 1856-1929

Posters showing Chinese men being beaten by police are untrue representations of conditions in America. They are never attacked by police, are not forced into “pig-pen” housing, are not killed for fear of plague, and are not prevented from leaving the United States if they choose. These claims were meant to hamper trade.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-08-12

Creator(s)

Unknown

Julius Gareché Lay tells the president of the Opposing Treaty Society of President Roosevelt’s proclamation that all Chinese people entering the United States must be treated with respect as any other person. Lay suggests that they stop the boycott, as the poor treatment of the Chinese in America appears to be the reason for the boycott.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-08-04

Creator(s)

Lay, Julius Gareché, 1872-1939

John Barrett submits a memorandum regarding Japanese immigration to William Loeb for review by President Roosevelt. Barrett reminds Loeb of the document’s confidential nature and the need to file it in a place where it will not be accessible to someone who might misuse or misunderstand it.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-07-12

Creator(s)

Barrett, John, 1866-1938

Emma Brace explains to Corinne Roosevelt Robinson her concerns about possible upcoming restrictions to immigration. She read in the newspaper that President Roosevelt is considering a change in policy that would require immigrants to pay a $25 tax in order to come, or limit immigration with national quotas. Brace feels this is a mistake because it is unfair to peasants and their families, especially Italians, who cannot afford the tax, and unfair to American companies who need good laborers. Brace tells Robinson about an idea she read in a book called Imported Americans, in which representatives from American companies would go abroad to villages and select the workers they want, thereby giving a certificate to those who meet the criteria and thus the “undesirable may not even leave their own commune.” Brace believes this idea is approved by Commissioner of Immigration Robert Watchorn and hopes Robinson will communicate this idea to her “active-minded brother,” meaning President Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-05-25

Creator(s)

Donaldson, Emma Brace, 1859-1952

Michael Davitt writes to ask President Roosevelt to make a statement in favor of Irish independence from England. Noting that England very much admires Roosevelt and would listen to him, Davitt explains the reasons why Ireland needs to be allowed self-rule. He also offers data about the large number of American immigrants who have left Ireland, having a negative impact on Ireland.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-04

Creator(s)

Davitt, Michael, 1846-1906

Tweed Roosevelt describes two failed attempts by Scottish settlers to establish a colony on the isthmus of Panama. Roosevelt examines the conditions in seventeenth-century Scotland, notably a prolonged drop in temperatures or “the Little Ice Age,” that prompted the exodus, and he highlights how the lack of proper planning, poor leadership, and the harsh conditions doomed both expeditions. Roosevelt highlights one of the survivors of the second attempt, Archibald Stobo, who settled in Charleston, South Carolina, rather than return to Scotland. Stobo’s daughter would marry into the Bulloch family and her lineage can be traced to Martha Bulloch Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt’s mother. 

Two photographs and two illustrations appear in the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Eleven topics vie for attention in the “Reviews” section, including six book review essays, three of which are written by John A. Gable. Harry N. Lembeck revisits Jacob A. Riis’s 1904 biography Theodore Roosevelt the Citizen and finds it especially valuable for learning about Theodore Roosevelt’s tenure as Police Commissioner of New York City. Jeremy M. Murphy says that Eric Rauchway’s Murdering McKinley goes against the prevailing trend that sees Roosevelt’s progressivism as genuine, and he disputes Rauchway’s conclusions about the fate of the Socialist Party in the United States. Gable notes that James Chace’s 1912 makes no use of primary sources, but he recommends it “as a good place to start on the election of 1912.”

In his review of Daniel J. Philippon’s Conserving Words, Edward Renehan focuses on Roosevelt, his writings about hunting and ranching in Dakota, and his founding of the Boone & Crockett Club. Gable notes that John P. Avlon identifies Roosevelt as a model centrist in his Independent Nation, and he says that Richard D. White’s Roosevelt the Reformer provides a biography of Roosevelt during his years as a Civil Service Commissioner. The section also has an excerpt from the writings of Douglas Brinkley, notes the passing of Edward Wagenknecht, author of The Seven Worlds of Theodore Roosevelt, and announces that the 2004 meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) will be held in Portland, Oregon. An article on the vice presidential candidates in the election of 1904 and two letters to the TRA praising its journal close out the section.

Photographs of Roosevelt and Avlon appear in the section along with a text box with a quote from Roosevelt about the 1904 campaign.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

In three speeches on October 20, 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt addresses a variety of topics in front of crowds in Roswell and Atlanta, Georgia. Roosevelt notes the courage and devotion to duty of soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, and he states that he can take pride in his Southern heritage. Roosevelt asserts that large corporations should be regulated by the federal government and that political corruption should be identified and eliminated. He notes that the problem of Chinese immigration needs to be addressed by Congress, and he comments on the importance of cotton to the Southern economy. Roosevelt also states that he enjoys the stories of Georgia’s Joel Chandler Harris precisely because they have moral themes that imbue him “with the purpose of being a better man.” John A. Gable provides an introduction to the speeches.

Six photographs of Bulloch Hall in Roswell, Georgia, accompany the text as does a photograph of nearby Barrington Hall. A text box lists the members of the executive committee of the Theodore Roosevelt Association.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1905-10-20

A compilation of standards and legislative decisions that factor into the process of naturalization for non-citizens of the United States. The document also includes questions asked to naturalization applicants with notable incorrect answers. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-05-19

Creator(s)

Unknown

Henry Cabot Lodge, labeled “A.D. 1620,” cowers before a Native who is about to hit him with a club around which a paper is wrapped that states “An Act to Prevent the Country from being Overrun by Foreigners.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1898-03-30

Creator(s)

Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956

Print shows an Irishman confronting Uncle Sam in a boarding house filled with laborers, immigrants from several countries who are attempting to sleep. The “Frenchman, Japanese, Negro, Russian, Italian,” and “German” sleep peacefully. The “Irishman” kicks up a row. He has thrown such bricks as “The Chinese must go,” “Recall Lowell,” and “Irish independence” at Uncle Sam and the female figure of liberty standing on the left. He disturbs a “Chinese” man and an “Englishman,” who are in the berths next to him. Caption: Uncle Sam – “Look here, you, everybody else is quiet and peaceable, and you’re all the time a-kicking up a row!”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1882-06-07

Creator(s)

Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, 1838-1894

James G. Blaine stands before starving miners outside the entrance to the “Hocking Valley Mines.” He is holding a paper that states “Blaine’s $25,000 share in ‘Hocking Valley’ Ohio,” and on the ground behind him is a paper that states “I have never ‘owned a share of stock in any coal, iron or land company in the state of Ohio’ J. G. Blaine.” In the background, on the left, is a large house with banner that states “J. G. Blaine’s Washington House cost $150,000,” and at center a band of “Italian Cheap Labor” miners are coming up the road. Caption: Hungry Miner – “You call yourself our friend! Your ask for our votes! Why, you are the ally of the monopolists who starved us out in Hocking Valley, and imported cheap Italian laborers to take our places!”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1884-10-15

Creator(s)

Keppler, Joseph Ferdinand, 1838-1894

Theodore Roosevelt describes the problems he observes in a county that has absorbed successive waves of immigrants. Some of the newcomers to the county are wealthy, and for the most part, they do not dwell there and contribute to community life. The people who do have roots in the county are made up of a mix of “old native stock” and new immigrants, and each group has its own problems. Among the old families, the philosophy of individualism, with no responsibility owed to others, has degraded the sense of community. Although material prosperity has grown, many families have regressed. Rather than stewarding their good fortune wisely, they frittered it away in get-rich-quick schemes or simply stopped working. In addition to being seduced by wealth, many of them lost church connections. This loss leads to a tendency “to let the home run down and to be shiftless in labor.”

The immigrants offer a different set of problems. They value hard work, but they prize self-reliance so highly as to lack a sense of duty to the community. The Germans and the Irish were able to assimilate into the community over time, but the recent immigrants, predominantly Poles and Italians, find assimilation more difficult. The public school is the only “Americanizing institution” they encounter, and while the school does admirable work, other agencies must reinforce and supplement the schools’ work. The church is among those agencies, along with guilds and societies and clubs for men and women.

Finally, Roosevelt discusses the need to provide healthy entertainment, including hard sport. The YMCA and the Boy Scouts are commended for their contributions to the growth of young men. These organizations may be key to stemming the tide of migration from the rural areas into the cities.

This article was published in Ladies Home Journal in October 1917.

Yick Nam Quan thanks President Roosevelt for helping his business partner enter the country and assures Roosevelt that he will continue to be a reformer.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-02-09

Creator(s)

Quan, Yick Nam, -1954

Maxim Svagrovsky, a Bohemian-American newspaper editor, writes to President Roosevelt from Panama offering his services as a campaign surrogate who could focus on outreach to communities of Bohemians, Slovaks, Poles, and Germans in the United States. Specifically, he could draw on accounts of his recent travels in Panama to highlight the opportunity for the United States that exists there. He praises Roosevelt’s accomplishments and record of public service and compares him to members of the princely houses of Europe.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-12-22

Creator(s)

Svagrovsky, Maxim, 1853-1921

Gebhard Willrich submits a report on the “treatment and examinations of immigrants” at Ellis Island. Willrich has considerable criticism for the accommodations, resources, and policies at Ellis Island but denies reports of intentional cruelty towards immigrants. The report ends with Willrich’s recommendations to improve Ellis Island and immigration policy.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-02-06

Creator(s)

Willrich, Gebhard