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Arthur Hamilton Lee returns C. H. Davis’s reports on the Jamaica affair. He apologizes if he held on to them longer than expected but assures William Loeb that he wanted to be sure that the matter had passed before returning them.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-03-30
British Foreign Secretary Grey updates President Roosevelt about James Bryce’s plans regarding his upcoming trip to Canada and the ongoing conversations about the best position to take at the International Peace Conference. Grey hopes the diplomatic debacle following Jamaican Governor James Alexander Swettenham’s refusal of American help after the Kingston Earthquake is blowing over, as well as the conflict between the Japanese Government and America regarding California. Grey thinks that King Léopold II of Belgium should relinquish control of the Congo, which he believes should pass to the Belgian Government.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-02-12
Governor Swettenham of Jamaica thanks Secretary of State Root for the assistance given to Jamaica by Admiral C. H. Davis and the United States Navy after the earthquake.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-01-20
Governor Swettenham thanks Admiral C. H. Davis for the assistance rendered by Davis and his troops from the USS Missouri in the aftermath of the earthquake in Jamaica.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-01-18
Edward VII thanks President Roosevelt for his message of sympathy regarding the earthquake in Jamaica.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-01-17
Rear Admiral C. H. Davis apologizes to James Alexander Swettenham, Governor of Jamaica, for the mistake regarding a naval salute. He also provides an update regarding the landing of troops from the USS Missouri to assist with disaster relief. He will land further troops to help clear away ruins, stop looters, and offer medical assistance in areas that the Jamaican government would not otherwise reach, unless the governor directs him otherwise.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-01-17
George Otto Trevelyan writes to President Roosevelt about Panama and the Philippines, drawing parallels with Macaulay’s histories and Ancient Rome. Trevelyan discusses the British diplomatic service and his latest work on the American Revolution. He also describes a recent visit from Charles Francis Adams and his wife, and he muses on what it is like to be old. Trevelyan writes of their shared love of English literature, mentioning Milton, Chaucer, and W. W. Jacobs.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-12-12
President Roosevelt reports to Secretary of State Hay on various concerns and wishes that Senator Matthew Stanley Quay has regarding personnel changes in the diplomatic service.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-11-09
Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary tells A. Panton Hewitt that Roosevelt will not be able to provide the help that Hewitt requests.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-09-10
Theodore Roosevelt asks Joseph Mannella to contact Governor Woodruff.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-07-08
Frederic J. Paxon asks Theodore Roosevelt for his views on John E. White’s statements regarding arbitration and the interpretation of Roosevelt’s position on international treaties.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-09-14
President Roosevelt admires how George Otto Trevelyan handled matters with Jamaica Governor James A. Swettenham. Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt gifted Roosevelt a volume of Rennell Rodd’s histography, with the Frankish occupation of Greece being of particular interest to him. While he admires the “American money-maker” that contributes to the betterment of all society, he cannot say the same of a wealthy man who has made that money with little to no moral compass.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-04-10
President Roosevelt believes Arthur Hamilton Lee handled the “Swettenham matter” efficiently, calling the matter itself a “cosmic incident” and citing others like Swettenham in American Government, most notably General James Harrison Wilson. He was amused by the opinions of John William Burgess, who was awarded the Theodore Roosevelt professorship in at the University of Berlin. While Roosevelt admires some of Burgess’s scholarly accomplishments, he considers Burgess “hopefully wrong-headed” and criticizes his first lecture denouncing the Monroe Doctrine.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-04-08
President Roosevelt has several suggestions for Chairman Shonts. While he only saw one or two unhygienic houses, “they were one or two too many,” and he wishes to avoid scandal. He proposes they should obtain some Chinese laborers. The black West Indian workers need a change in their conditions, particularly in their food and personal cleanliness.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-27
President Roosevelt describes his trip to Panama and Puerto Rico. He comments on the uniqueness of Panama and the canal project. He praises William Crawford Gorgas’s work regarding the health of the Americans working on the canal. Black workers from Jamaica have not been as healthy, and Roosevelt feels as though they may need to get Chinese laborers as Jamaican Governor James Alexander Swettenham has been disagreeable to work with. He describes the trip and some reading he has done, saying about John Milton, “What a radical republican, and what a stanch partisan, and what an intense protestant the fine old fellow was!” He plans to read more Greek and Roman literature.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-23
President Roosevelt discusses various Anglo-American diplomats and the current state of affairs between the two countries. He also mentions diplomacy with other countries such as Canada and Jamaica.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-05
President Roosevelt introduces Outram Bangs, a Boston ornithologist who is visiting Jamaica, to Jamaica Governor Swettenham.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-01-12
The writer suggests the creation of a state commission to study the race problem and propose concrete solutions. The questions the committee ought to investigate include the following: 1. Does crime increase or decrease with education among the negroes? … 13. Does a complete separation of the races improve or aggravate the relations existing between them? … 24. Does the example of Hayti show that the negro cannot be left alone?
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-10-24
George Haven Putnam writes to President Roosevelt, requesting a letter to the ruler of Jamaica, to allow Putnam’s wife to have a meeting with him. Putnam also congratulates Roosevelt on the successful vote on the Philippine Tariff Bill.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-01-19
William N. Tilchin argues that President Theodore Roosevelt understood the importance of maintaining a friendly diplomatic relationship with Great Britain, and he further recognized that British naval power did not threaten American power or interests. Tilchin asserts that by maintaining cordial relations with Great Britain, the United States did not have to match or exceed British naval strength and that if the two nations interests were aligned, American naval power could complement the British fleet. Tilchin closely examines a diplomatic row that occurred between Great Britain and the United States after a devastating earthquake in Jamaica in early 1907. Tilchin says that Roosevelt’s handling of this incident, which could have upset relations between the two nations, demonstrated his deft diplomacy and underscored the realignment of naval power in the western hemisphere.
Two photographs of Roosevelt onboard the presidential yacht USS Mayflower and a photograph of Tilchin appear in the text.