Journalistic ethics

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Lawrence F. Abbott

President Roosevelt encourages Lawrence F. Abbott to say that he spoke after having looked at the same documents that Roosevelt had access to regarding the Portsmouth Treaty. Roosevelt feels it is ridiculous for The Springfield Daily Republican to call for a formal denial of the vague reports from Ambassadors Arthur Paul Nicholas Cassini and Baron Roman Romanovich Rosen. The unofficial statements would under no circumstances require President Roosevelt’s involvement, and he has made himself clear in his own letters.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-01

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Lyman Abbott

President Roosevelt sends Lyman Abbott two letters indicating a plan to sell editorial columns for advertising purposes by Harper’s Weekly.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-10

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Caspar Whitney

President Roosevelt has agreed to have his articles published in a book but does not want them published in Outing magazine.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-10-15

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Caspar Whitney

President Roosevelt will hold the check until he hears from Caspar Whitney. As he has written previously, Roosevelt does not want his articles published in Outing or any other magazine, only as chapters in a book.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-10-14

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Caspar Whitney

President Roosevelt does not want his articles to be published in Outing. They should only be published in a book about deer, as originally agreed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-10-10

Letter from William Michael Byrne to William Loeb

William Michael Byrne thanks William Loeb for warning him that newspapers are likely to criticize him and asks Loeb which newspapers he thinks will be running negative stories. Byrne thinks he can ask some of his friends to convince the newspapers not to run critical stories about him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-07-11

Why I believe in the kind of American journalism for which the Outlook stands

Typewritten manuscript with handwritten edits and additions by Theodore Roosevelt. The article discusses the state of journalism in the United States and why the Outlook is exemplary, in Roosevelt’s opinion. Editorial for the Outlook, March 6, 1909.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1909-03-05

Address of President Roosevelt at the laying of the corner stone of the Office Building of the House of Representatives

Preliminary copy of a speech President Roosevelt would deliver at the cornerstone laying for the House of Representatives Office Building. Roosevelt speaks in favor of journalistic integrity, and that “to denounce mud slinging does not mean the indorsement [sic] of whitewashing.” He advocates for government oversight over corporations to ensure taxes are paid and used appropriately.

Comments and Context

This speech is popularly known as “The Man with the Muck-Rake,” due to Roosevelt’s references to a character in John Bunyan’s 1678 work The Pilgrim’s Progress. Roosevelt is credited with coining the term “muckraker” to describe investigative journalists that are overly sensationalist and do not offer solutions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Draft of the speech for the corner stone laying of the Office Building of the House of Representatives

Partial draft, with handwritten edits, of a speech President Roosevelt would deliver at the cornerstone laying for the House of Representatives Office Building. Roosevelt speaks against sensationalism and in favor of government oversight over corporations.

Comments and Context

This speech is popularly known as “The Man with the Muck-Rake,” due to Roosevelt’s references to a character in John Bunyan’s 1678 work The Pilgrim’s Progress. Roosevelt is credited with coining the term “muckraker” to describe investigative journalists that are overly sensationalist and do not offer solutions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Original draft of the speech for the corner stone laying of the Office Building of the House of Representatives

Original draft, with handwritten edits, of a speech President Roosevelt would deliver at the cornerstone laying for the House of Representatives Office Building. Roosevelt speaks against sensationalism and in favor of government oversight over corporations.

Comments and Context

This speech is popularly known as “The Man with the Muck-Rake,” due to Roosevelt’s references to a character in John Bunyan’s 1678 work The Pilgrim’s Progress. Roosevelt is credited with coining the term “muckraker” to describe investigative journalists that are overly sensationalist and do not offer solutions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Address of President Roosevelt at the laying of the corner stone of the Office Building of the House of Representatives

Preliminary copy of a speech President Roosevelt would deliver at the cornerstone laying for the House of Representatives Office Building. Roosevelt speaks against sensationalism and in favor of government oversight over corporations.

Comments and Context

This speech is popularly known as “The Man with the Muck-Rake,” due to Roosevelt’s references to a character in John Bunyan’s 1678 work The Pilgrim’s Progress. Roosevelt is credited with coining the term “muckraker” to describe investigative journalists that are overly sensationalist and do not offer solutions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Letter from Secretary of Theodore Roosevelt to A. R. Pinci

The secretary of Theodore Roosevelt consulted with George Emlen Roosevelt and it is clear that Theodore Roosevelt would not grant an interview to journalist Pinci but Pinci was free to compile an article from Roosevelt’s speeches and writings. However, Pinci altered Theodore Roosevelt’s past speeches to make it appear that Pinci had conducted an interview. Harper’s has been contacted and told that no interview took place.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-10-16

Letter from Secretary of Theodore Roosevelt to Lawrence Gilman

Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary informs Gilman that Roosevelt has denied giving an interview to Mr. Pinci and the interview answers appear to have been taken from Roosevelt’s speeches. It is not an interview and should not be published as such.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-10-04

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Samuel C. Dobbs

Theodore Roosevelt thanks Samuel C. Dobbs for his invitation to the meeting of the Associated Advertising Clubs of America, but he regrets that he is unable to attend. He applauds the goals of the organization.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-07-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Ida M. Tarbell

Theodore Roosevelt cannot believe that Ida M. Tarbell would compare the New York Herald to the New York Tribune. He believes that the comparison is as ridiculous as comparing American Magazine with Town Topics. Roosevelt defends The Outlook‘s balance and journalistic ethics.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-05-06

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Ida M. Tarbell

Theodore Roosevelt is disappointed with an American Magazine article that praised James Gordon Bennett. According to Roosevelt, “Bennett represents more brazenly and shamelessly the forces of evil in the United States.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-04-28

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Zebina Ripley

Theodore Roosevelt refutes several statements written by George Kennan that appear in the pamphlet The Chicago and Alton Case.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1916-01-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to the Editor of the New York Tribune

Theodore Roosevelt found T. Kyle Dawson’s article to be excellent but Dawson was misinformed about Roosevelt’s article, “The Duty of the United States to Its Own People.” Roosevelt blames this misinformation on English correspondents only telegraphing the sensational parts of his article. The main point of the article was America’s failure to make military preparations. Roosevelt was appealing to his countrymen and had no idea the article would be read in England.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-11-20

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to D. P. Toomey

Theodore Roosevelt declines to contribute to the symposium and corrects the published text of a speech he delivered to the Knights of Columbus in New York. The published text left out a paragraph about the separation of church and state. Roosevelt requests that D. P. Toomey publish a correction.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-11-08

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Allen White

Theodore Roosevelt expects William Allen White, as a newspaper man, not to be deceived by false stories about Roosevelt and his opinions. Roosevelt defends his opinion that President Wilson is similar to James Buchanan. He compares Buchanan’s views towards succession to Wilson’s views on military readiness. Roosevelt believes the world war is of much greater significance then the American Civil War even though the United States is not a combatant. The war can “at any moment prove to be fraught with almost as much consequence” even to Americans. Roosevelt agrees with other leading Progressives that there is little political hope for the near future.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-08-03