International relations

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Henry Schofield

President Roosevelt congratulates literature professor William Henry Schofield on his upcoming marriage and thanks him for sending a copy of English Literature. Currently, Roosevelt is busy and prefers not to see anyone in person. He asks Schofield to convey his appreciation to German Emperor William II for working to strengthen the relationship between Germany and the United States.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-21

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Lucy Chauncey

President Roosevelt will do what he can to help Lucy Chauncey. He receives numerous requests for help in cases relating to South America.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-17

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Robert Bacon

President Roosevelt requests Acting Secretary of State Bacon look into and provide a special report on Lucy Chauncey’s letter regarding her father Henry C. Chauncey’s claim against the Government of Chile for two million dollars.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-17

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Albert Gleaves

President Roosevelt congratulates Captain Gleaves on his successful trip and finds it interesting that Germany was friendlier than England. He apologizes for being unable to stop and visit Newport, Rhode Island, although the president was interested in what Gleaves wrote about mines and torpedoes.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-10

Telegram from Theodore Roosevelt to Elihu Root

President Roosevelt informs Secretary of State Root he approves of the plan for the proposed Hague permanent court.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-08

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Elihu Root

President Roosevelt requests Secretary of State Root review the letters from Representative William S. Bennet regarding an immigration agreement with Greece. Such an agreement could aid in easing relations with Japan.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-08

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Cabot Lodge

President Roosevelt finds the letters Senator Lodge forwarded from Representative William S. Bennet to be interesting. They could aid in easing relations with Japan.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-08

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Truman Handy Newberry

President Roosevelt directs Assistant Secretary of the Navy Newberry to return the memorandum to the General Board of the Navy, saying he approves all of it except for the point about dividing the fleet. Naval history and the recent Russo-Japanese War illustrate the dangers of splitting forces to protect multiple strategic points. Roosevelt wants the Atlantic Fleet to remain a singular unit.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-06

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Merriman C. Harris

President Roosevelt is glad to hear from Bishop Harris. Roosevelt cannot contemplate war between the United States and Japan, especially since both countries strive to develop the Pacific. He will do what he can to ensure the United States treats Japan and its people fairly. However, large numbers of foreign wage workers create economic pressures.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-06

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Hermann Speck von Sternburg

President Roosevelt was impressed with the account of a German military attaché in Japan that German Ambassador Sternburg recently sent him, especially in the assessment that racial tensions are driving relations in the Pacific. Roosevelt looks forward to seeing Sternburg and his wife this weekend.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-03

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Elihu Root

President Roosevelt sends a draft of his Provincetown speech to Secretary of State Root and asks for notes as soon as possible. Roosevelt invites Root and his wife to Sagamore Hill and will arrange to have Secretary of War William H. Taft meet them there. Before Root answers the “Japanese note,” Roosevelt wants to discuss it with him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-02

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Elihu Root

President Roosevelt sends Secretary of State Root several enclosures regarding escalating tensions with Japan. Roosevelt says Senator Eugene Hale, who has opposed repairs to the American fleet, will not be allowed to dictate the movements of the fleet, and Roosevelt believes it is useless to communicate with him. In a postscript, Roosevelt proposes a suit against officials in San Francisco who refuse to grant business licenses to Japanese immigrants, and says that though he does not expect war with Japan, he does not believe the United States could hold Manila if war did break out. Roosevelt laments the “yellow press” in Japan is just as bad as in America.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-31

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Nicholas Longworth

President Roosevelt is pleased with the letters from Representative Longworth and his wife, Alice Roosevelt Longworth. Roosevelt tells Longworth he feels positive about the “Taft business,” but friction with the Japanese, and the outcome of the Big Bill Haywood trial, are causing him anxiety.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-31

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry White

President Roosevelt thanks Ambassador White for the clipping he recently sent and for hosting Admiral Charles H. Stockton in Paris. Roosevelt is anxious for the Great White Fleet to travel to the Pacific Ocean, because while he wants Japan to know he has nothing but friendly intentions, he also wants them to know he is not afraid of them. Roosevelt wishes Congress would provide adequate housing for American ambassadors abroad, but is afraid it will take some time to accomplish it.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-30

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Truman Handy Newberry

President Roosevelt returns two reports to Acting Secretary of the Navy Newberry and approves of Newberry’s actions in the improvement of training future officers in the military and naval academies. In a postscript, Roosevelt notes that Maine Senator Eugene Hale is adding to the tensions between the United States and Japan by his actions, and asks Newberry for his alternate plans for the fleet as soon as possible.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-30

Telegram from Theodore Roosevelt to Elihu Root

President Roosevelt asks Secretary of State Root about his opinion regarding a proposal by Great Britain at the International Peace Conference at the Hague. Roosevelt is inclined to agree with Admiral Charles S. Sperry’s views.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-29

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Elihu Root

President Roosevelt sends Secretary of State Root an article from the London Times, and wonders if the United States should intervene in Venezuela if it does not pay its debts, as decided by the International Peace Conference at the Hague. Roosevelt says he supposes they should decline to meet with the Korean mission if they come to the United States. In a postscript, Roosevelt encloses a copy of the Tokyo Puck, lamenting its sensationalism. Secretary of War William H. Taft is planning a trip to the Philippines, and Roosevelt asks Root’s thoughts on Taft stopping in Siberia or Japan on the way.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-29

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to James Roosevelt Roosevelt

President Roosevelt thanks James Roosevelt Roosevelt for an editorial about American relations with Venezuela. The president fears that someday the United States will have to “spank” Venezuela, but he is more concerned about relations with Japan, and hopes the diplomatic mission from Korea does not visit the United States.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-29

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Whitelaw Reid

President Roosevelt compliments Ambassador Reid’s handling of the international arbitration proposal regarding American fishing rights in Newfoundland. Roosevelt says his chief concern in foreign affairs is the potential hostility between the United States and Japan, either due to “mob leaders” and “yellow journals” in California, or to the lack of foresight in men like Maine Senator Eugene Hale with regard to funding the Navy. Roosevelt is surprised that anyone pays attention to recent negative comments in the news about him made by George Brinton McClellan Harvey. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-26

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Truman Handy Newberry

President Roosevelt believes the arguments of Admiral H. N. Manney against sending the naval fleet to the Pacific are absurd. If the arguments were true in a time of peace, they could more readily be applied in the event of war, in which case the United States should resign itself to giving up the Philippines, Hawaii, and Alaska, as well as Puerto Rico and the Panama Canal.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-24