Knox, Philander C. (Philander Chase), 1853-1921

After a newspaper reported that Senators Henry Cabot Lodge and Winthrop Murray Crane were at odds about support in Massachusetts for William H. Taft for in the upcoming presidential election, both sides denied the story. An unnamed person close to Crane says he has not been as welcome lately at the White House as he had been before, and believes this is because Crane refuses to “fall down and worship false gods.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-20

Massachusetts Senator Winthrop Murray Crane is opposed to Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge and President Roosevelt in supporting William H. Taft in the upcoming presidential election. Crane has threatened to resign his seat rather than be forced on the matter. Details of Crane’s objections and state of mind are discussed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-18

Proof for a newspaper article that describes political activities the year before the national party conventions, when many politicians are already active in the presidential race. Both Democrats and Republicans are already trying to shape public opinion toward conservative platforms and “safe and sane” candidates. Republicans in New York are trying to kill support for William Jennings Bryan in the South. Others are actively against a third term for President Roosevelt. Despite this activity, however, Bryan and Roosevelt remain popular, and no other political candidacy has gained much headway. The press and Senator Jonathan Bourne are advocating for another term for Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-28

Clipping from The New York World stating that President Theodore Roosevelt will be the issue of the next Presidential campaign. The article cites Roosevelt’s many supporters and the Republican Party’s determination not to go back to the silver standard.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907

Secretary of War William H. Taft seemed to be the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president, but his candidacy is losing support. Even thought President Roosevelt supports him, and he is personally popular with the public, he is a poor campaigner and is losing ground in several states to other politicians, including Roosevelt himself, whom some support for a second elected term.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-21

An examination of contenders for the 1908 Republican presidential nominee, including a number of “favorite sons” and President Roosevelt, who has said he will not run again. However, popular opinion is strong for a “second elected term,” and Roosevelt does not have the right to select who will be president – only the people, who want him to carry on his unfinished work, can decide.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-13

The editors of the Oregonian discuss the possibility, spoken of in some political circles, that President Roosevelt will be nominated to run for president again in 1908, and the consequences of such an outcome.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-11

President-Elect Taft informs President Roosevelt that he has written to Senators Eugene Hale, Shelby M. Cullom, Philander C. Knox, and George C. Perkins about the matter of establishing an embassy in China. Taft believes that if Roosevelt writes to Perkins and Cullom, they might be convinced. He hopes that they will be able to “steal a march” on Secretary of State Elihu Root and get this embassy established quickly.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-24

President Roosevelt tells Senator Lodge that after a second operation his leg seems to be recovering after his recent carriage accident. Roosevelt then reports on the situation with the Anthracite Coal Strike and his discussions with various parties. He plans to invite the mine operators to come speak with him in three or four days, requesting a good faith effort to come to an agreement with the miners. He will also meet with representatives from the coal miners at some point.

Collection

Massachusetts Historical Society

Creation Date

1902-09-30

Uncle Sam is pictured as a cadaver labeled “The Body Politic” that President William H. Taft, as Dr. Tulp, is using to instruct his cabinet members in the anatomy of the “body politic” based on “His Policies.”

Comments and Context

Still in a honeymoon mode — albeit in the first month of the new Administration — Puck Magazine’s chief political cartoonist Udo J. Keppler presents a dignified portrait of William H. Taft and his cabinet. Such drawings, sometimes allegorical but invariably neutral in tone, accompanied the advent of every presidential team.

Why Keppler chose the famous Rembrandt painting on which to base his cartoon is uncertain, but the anatomy lesson features an Uncle Sam who is very much alive and content with the proceedings of Doctor Taft.

Theodore Roosevelt sends Elihu Root the answer that Senator Philander C. Knox wrote to Alton B. Parker about the common law. Roosevelt would like to see Root take this issue up in one of his New York speeches. If Roosevelt’s opponents in the election continue to keep “Odellism” as the main issue, then Roosevelt will lose.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-03

President Roosevelt has consulted Attorney General Knox and asked that the law, or a constitutional amendment, be passed. As soon as Senator Platt can come to Washington, D.C., Roosevelt would like to see if he and Knox can “devise such a law.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-11-15

Third draft of a letter with handwritten edits. President Roosevelt formally accepts the Republican presidential nomination. He then reviews several campaign issues and the achievements of his administration.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-15

Composite photograph showing President Roosevelt with members of his cabinet seated and standing around a table.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1901-11-16

Composite photograph of Cabinet members superimposed on a photograph of President Roosevelt’s private office in the executive building. Group with, left to right: George B. Cortelyou, Philander C. Knox, Henry C. Payne, William H. Moody, John Hay, President Roosevelt, Ethan Allen Hitchcock, Elihu Root, Leslie M. Shaw, and James Wilson.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1902-11-19

President Roosevelt thanks the members of the Union League of Philadelphia for their commitment to upholding the principles of Abraham Lincoln. He praises the traits that brought the American people through the Civil War and subsequent trials that the nation faced. Roosevelt asks the assembled club to reflect on former President William McKinley’s policies, and says that while policies alone cannot make a nation great, “good laws and good administration of the laws can give to strong, honest, brave men a chance to do well.” Roosevelt praises McKinley’s ability to handle the unexpected challenges of the Spanish-American War and subsequent acquisition of the Philippines. He outlines the current situation in the Philippines, with the ending of the Philippine-American War, the establishment of civil administration, and general situation of peace. Roosevelt advises that the government must solve issues related to the industrial growth of the nation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-11-22

President Roosevelt thanks the members of the Union League of Philadelphia for their commitment to upholding the principles of Abraham Lincoln. He praises the traits that brought the American people through the Civil War and subsequent trials that the nation faced. Roosevelt asks the assembled club to reflect on former President William McKinley’s policies, and says that while policies alone cannot make a nation great, “good laws and good administration of the laws can give to strong, honest, brave men a chance to do well.” Roosevelt praises McKinley’s ability to handle the unexpected challenges of the Spanish-American War and subsequent acquisition of the Philippines. He outlines the current situation in the Philippines, with the ending of the Philippine-American War, the establishment of civil administration, and general situation of peace. Roosevelt advises that the government must solve issues related to the industrial growth of the nation. This is the press copy of Roosevelt’s speech with handwritten edits and applause noted.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-11-22

President Roosevelt thanks the members of the Union League of Philadelphia for their commitment to upholding the principles of Abraham Lincoln. He praises the traits that brought the American people through the Civil War and subsequent trials that the nation faced. Roosevelt asks the assembled club to reflect on former President William McKinley’s policies, and says that while policies alone cannot make a nation great, “good laws and good administration of the laws can give to strong, honest, brave men a chance to do well.” Roosevelt praises McKinley’s ability to handle the unexpected challenges of the Spanish-American War and subsequent acquisition of the Philippines. He outlines the current situation in the Philippines, with the ending of the Philippine-American War, the establishment of civil administration, and general situation of peace. Roosevelt advises that the government must solve issues related to the industrial growth of the nation. This is the press copy of Roosevelt’s speech.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-11-22

President Taft sits on the seashore with a cluster of seashells around him that are labeled “H. Taft, Sherman, Knox, Aldrich, Ballinger, Root, [and] Cannon.” He is holding two labeled “Chas. Taft” and “Wickersham” to his ears, listening for the sound of waves. A large wave, labeled “The People” and showing the face of Uncle Sam, rolls toward shore. Caption: Shells give a good imitation; but, just for a change, why not listen to the real thing?

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1910-07-27

A wave labeled “Republican Voters’ Revolt” crashes into the dining room of a ship where “Cannon, Payne, Taft, Knox, Sherman, Root, Aldrich, Woodruff, Dalzell, Crane, Wickersham, Lodge, Parsons, Hitchcock, Depew, Hale, Elkins, Ballinger, Smoot, Penrose, [and] Cox” are dining, and upsets a dish of “Party Plums,” as well as a bottle of “Stalwart Grog.” Caption: “We were crowded in the cabin, / Not a soul would dare to sleep; / It was midnight o’er the waters, / And a storm was on the deep.”

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1910-04-20