India

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frederick Courteney Selous

Theodore Roosevelt expresses to Frederick Courteney Selous his sympathy for the poor treatment Selous received during a scientific expedition, including health issues and bureaucratic obstacles. Roosevelt defends Selous’s integrity and scientific value, criticizes British officials for their lack of support, and reflects on his own African experiences. He praises Selous’s field observations and urges him to continue his contributions to natural history despite age and physical limitations.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-09-11

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Whitelaw Reid

President Roosevelt is determined to shoot a white rhinoceros on his African safari, and would like Ambassador Reid to speak with Lord Crewe about his obtaining permission to hunt in the same places in Uganda as Winston Churchill did. He would like Reid to inquire if the British Museum would like a white rhinoceros specimen if he is lucky enough to shoot three; the first two are promised to the Smithsonian Institution. He discusses a number of international events including the situation in India, and the ongoing controversy between the United States and England that arose during the summer Olympics.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-27

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Arthur Hamilton Lee

President Roosevelt is glad that Viscount Lee liked his comments about India. He felt the timing was right given that agitators like James Keir Hardie and William Jennings Bryan are feeding existing discontent in India, Great Britain, and America about the establishment of an Indian republic. Roosevelt agrees with Lee’s argument about the “two-power navy policy,” and does not believe Americans will take offense if Lee frames his reasoning thus. It would be a bad diplomatic decision to make a special exception for America, or any country, because this would give offense to other allies. Roosevelt is worried about the current conflict over Japanese immigration to the United States. He wants to follow a policy that prevents Japanese immigration “with the minimum of friction and the maximum of courtesy,” while also building up the navy.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-07

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to James Bryce

President Roosevelt is glad that Edward Morley and John Grey liked his speech praising British colonial rule in India. However, Roosevelt feels he only said what needed to be said, especially since there is currently “agitation” in India which “foolish” Americans take “mischievous pleasure” in.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-01-21

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Robert Harry Munro Ferguson

President Roosevelt sends word to Robert Harry Munro Ferguson that he will be leaving public office in “a rather stormy fashion,” being attacked by both houses of Congress and by the press. James Bryce has remarked that bringing libel cases against the biggest two offenders in newspapers will be a service to the American public. Bryce and John Morley suggested Roosevelt make a statement about the British in India, which he plans to do presently. Some of Roosevelt’s English friends sent him a rifle for use on his African safari.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-01-17

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Whitelaw Reid

President Roosevelt is glad the furor over the results of some of the Olympic games is dying down, and specifically remarks on the results of the marathon. Additionally, Roosevelt explains to Ambassador Reid the situation surrounding a newspaper interview with German Emperor William II. William Bayard Hale petitioned the White House to help with gaining admission to the Kaiser, which was refused, but persisted in getting access. The resulting interview spoke on a number of sensitive matters and “lookt like a pipe dream,” and while Roosevelt believed it was accurate, advised the New York Times not to publish it.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-01-06

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William H. Taft

President Roosevelt tells President-Elect Taft that he was recently approached by Austrian Ambassador Ladislaus Hengelmüller von Hengervár, who was concerned about a telegram that Taft and his wife, Helen Herron Taft, allegedly sent to the Serbians. While Roosevelt does not know anything about the incident, he offers his opinion on the situation in the Balkans, and says that the Austro-Hungarian empire has done a good job governing Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that immediate annexation of these states to Serbia would be a disaster.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-29

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Sydney Brooks

President Roosevelt is planning to take Sydney Brooks’ advice in describing the British attitude in India in an upcoming speech. He liked Brooks’ article, and is pleased that he is going to write another one. Roosevelt appreciated Brooks’ praise of his achievements in office, but highlights what he believes are his greatest achievements while in the presidency, including increasing the size of the navy, the construction of the Panama Canal, the creation of forest reserves, and the involvement of the United States in international affairs to promote world peace. He encloses several volumes of his Presidential addresses and State papers.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-28

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Morley

President Roosevelt was recently reading a volume of John Morley’s work Critical Miscellanies, and wished to write to him about a number of the issues he raises, and critiques several other historians and works of history. Roosevelt pivots to talking about the recent election in the United States as he identifies it as having taken place under circumstances similar to those identified by Baron Thomas Babington Macaulay–with a recent financial panic and a demagogue opposing William H. Taft–but because of the moral superiority of the Republican party, Taft became president-elect. Roosevelt believes that foolish optimism can get in the way of sane optimism, but also believes that there is cause to hope in the future. He would like to see Morley when he visits England in 1910.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-01

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Whitelaw Reid

President Roosevelt asks Ambassador Reid if he would be able to petition Lord Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes to write to officials in Uganda that Roosevelt would appreciate being given a guide and information that would allow him to hunt a white rhinoceros or elephant. The current unrest in India concerns Roosevelt, and asks what the feelings of British officials are towards it. Roosevelt also remarks briefly on his plans to leave immediately after William H. Taft’s inauguration as president, and comments on a controversy that arose at the 1908 Olympic Games in London, which is still fostering some resentment between the two nations. If Roosevelt can secure a third specimen of the white rhinoceros, he would be happy to send it to the British Museum.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-26

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Sydney Brooks

President Roosevelt sends Sydney Brooks a copy of a letter he wrote to Senator Henry Cabot Lodge accurately predicting the outcome of the recent presidential election. He is greatly amused to hear about the reaction of the British press to his involvement in the campaign of president-elect William H. Taft, and briefly comments on American politics. Roosevelt is glad to be joining the staff of The Outlook after leaving the presidency, and is looking forward to his safari, which he has received a great deal of help planning from his British friends. He is sorry to learn that a number of American papers have been attacking Britain for its rule over India, and says that he believes that while there have been faults committed, it is nevertheless “one of the mighty feats of civilization.” He also notes that some British papers have criticized the United States for its work in the Philippines.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-20

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Theodore Roosevelt

President Roosevelt writes his son, Ted, about a variety of matters. He discusses the trouble that Emperor William II of Germany is in with both conservatives and socialists. Last year, he gave a damaging interview to American journalist William Bayard Hale, which Roosevelt intervened to prevent the New York Times from publishing. A portion was published in Century and suppressed by the Germans. Roosevelt reflects on the current state of the liberal and democratic movement, and believes that the situation is not as dire as in the French Revolution, or in 1840s America. He also explains his lukewarm support of women’s suffrage. Finally, Roosevelt offers his son advice on working with the people around him when it is natural, but not pursuing relationships that are merely social in nature.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-20

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to James Bryce

President Roosevelt encloses a letter relating to Tibet and India for British Ambassador Bryce to share with the Foreign Office or any other part of the British government he believes appropriate, but that should otherwise be kept in strict confidence. Roosevelt believes William H. Taft will be elected president, but it is too early to be certain. Roosevelt tells Bryce about his plans for his African safari.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-02

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Harnam Singh

President Roosevelt cannot accept the invitation to visit India to inspect the work of the YMCA there. However, he praises Harnam Singh’s work in India and Burma.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-04

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Arthur Judson Brown

President Roosevelt tells Dr. Brown that it is not possible for him as President, and probably not appropriate for Congress, to invite any king to visit the United States. Roosevelt was shocked to read in Brown’s article in The Outlook of the brutality of English officers in India. Roosevelt closes by objecting to Brown’s remark that American government representatives in the East are of an “unsatisfactory character.” He asks Brown to provide facts on which he bases such a statement.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04-20

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Whitelaw Reid

President Roosevelt thanks Ambassador Reid for the interesting letter. He comments on William Jennings Bryan’s recent speech, uncertain if he should “feel more irritated or sympathetic.” Roosevelt hopes to “persuade the Cubans to act decently” and continue in self-governance.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-24

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Gilbert John Murray Kynynmond Elliot

President Roosevelt tells Gilbert John Murray Kynynmond Elliot, Earl of Minto and Viceroy of India that his daughter, Alice Longworth, has wished to travel to India for some time, but because her husband, Nicholas Longworth is a member of Congress they are not able to travel at the usual time. He asks Minto for advice regarding which dates it would be possible to see something of Southern India between late spring and early fall, in case they are able to make a trip there.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-17

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Hermann Speck von Sternburg

President Roosevelt thinks that Ambassador Sternburg’s statement is interesting, and agrees that the movement Sternburg references is more likely to have started in India than in Japan. He does not believe that the Japanese will be converted to Islam, but the movement is still significant because it shows the solidarity of Asian peoples, and the leadership position that Japan has won in region.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-04-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frederick Courteney Selous

President Roosevelt is most interested in what Frederick Courteney Selous wrote about the cheetahs. Roosevelt hopes that Selous will take a hunting trip to India and advance the knowledge of big game.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-22

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William F. Carr

President Roosevelt was interested in William F. Carr’s account of how his dog killed a rattlesnake. He believes it sheds light on how mongooses kill venomous snakes in India.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-11-25