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Ambassador to Great Britain Reid updates President Roosevelt on various matters, including poet Algernon Charles Swinburne and his “suppressed” poem, the Newfoundland modus vivendi, and happenings in Parliament. Reid also details how he “warded off…the offer of some brand-new territory and responsibilities” in Nicaragua.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-08-28
Ambassador Durand, Lord Lansdowne, and the British State Department ask that William Loeb pass on their sincerest condolences to the President at the sudden passing of Secretary of State John Hay.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-07-02
Ambassador Reid writes Secretary of State Hay regarding arrangements with the British and Venezuelan diplomatic debt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-06-23
Ambassador Reid discusses his experience at the English royal court, explains the reasons for England’s reluctance to force conversations for peace between the Russians and Japanese, and relays information on the current relationship between Germany and France.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-06-17
Ambassador Reid reports to Secretary of State Hay a conversation he had with Lord Lansdowne, in which Lansdowne quelled rumors that England wanted the war between Russia and Japan to continue.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-06-16
American diplomat Henry White updates President Roosevelt on efforts to have British diplomat Cecil Spring Rice visit Roosevelt to discuss policy on the “far east.” Spring Rice, who had recently met with King Edward VII, will visit Roosevelt but stay with historian Henry Adams instead of at the White House. White also discusses meeting with Rear Admiral French Ensor Chadwick, who hopes to receive command of a new squadron. White also notes anti-Semitic attitudes in Austria and Italy towards Jewish diplomats.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-01-13
American diplomat Henry White thanks President Roosevelt for his appointment as Ambassador to Italy. White also discusses the secret negotiations going on with Lord Lansdowne that would lead to British diplomat Cecil Spring Rice being transferred from acting ambassador to Russia to serving as a special representative to Roosevelt. White notes that he has kept these negotiations secret, even from the United States’ Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Joseph Hodges Choate.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-01-07
President Roosevelt skates in the shape of “statesmanship” while Uncle Sam, John Bull, and three British politicians look on: Joseph Chamberlain, Leader of the House of Lords Henry Charles Keith Petty-FitzMaurice Lansdowne, and Prime Minister Arthur James Balfour. Caption: (“If any other feeling is mingled with our admiration of the President’s clear thinking and straight-forward utterance of thought, it is a feeling of regret that these ideas have not animated all our own statesmen.”—London Post.)
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-12-25
Secretary of State Hay recounts the difficulties associated with the ongoing Alaska boundary dispute.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-07-17
Whitelaw Reid writes to President Roosevelt to discuss Roosevelt’s correspondence with the Japanese, Russian, and British governments during the peace negotiations. Reid commends Roosevelt and asks permission to share the correspondence with Lord Lansdowne and King Edward.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-09-18
President Roosevelt is opposed to arbitration in the Alaska boundary dispute but is willing to appoint three commissioners to meet with commissioners from Canada and Great Britain. However, Roosevelt believes that the Canadian claim is “wholly false” and he does not want to yield on American claims. Secretary of War Elihu Root has been secretly strengthening the garrisons near the disputed territory.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-07-16
President Roosevelt believes that Ambassador Reid should avoid speaking with King Edward VII in any official way, and instead the United States should officially communicate with the Prime Minister or Foreign Office. He laments the poor relations between Germany and England, and urges Reid to bring about better relations between the two if it is possible.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-09-19
President Roosevelt tells Ambassador Reid that he agrees with Robert Harry Munro Ferguson’s recommendation about how to communicate about the treaty between Japan and England. He also discusses the background of the situation currently going on regarding ownership of the Hankow railway in China. At China’s insistence, J. Pierpont Morgan and other American financiers are willing to accept a concession payment and give up their stake in the railway, although Roosevelt told them that the American government was willing to back up their rights to the contract they had signed.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-09-16
President Roosevelt asks that Cecil Spring Rice give his regards to Lord Henry Charles Keith Petty-FitzMaurice Lansdowne. Roosevelt writes at length about the current state of international affairs and of relationships between different nations. He feels that it is not in Japan’s interest to extend the Russo-Japanese War for another year and explains his actions in pressing for peace negotiations between the two powers. Roosevelt also discusses his efforts urging the United States to interpret the Monroe Doctrine in an active way and remarks upon the recent death of Secretary of State John Hay.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-07-24
This memorandum draft tells Ambassador Reid to have Henry Charles Keith Petty-FitzMaurice Lansdowne show him the dispatch received from British Ambassador H. Mortimer Durand about Russia. Additionally, President Roosevelt has informed German Ambassador Hermann Speck von Sternburg he does not believe the United States could join a conference about Morocco, unless France acquiesced. Roosevelt also spoke with J. J. Jusserand, but does not want any publicity.
2022-10-20
George Otto Trevelyan takes great pleasure in Theodore Roosevelt’s letters and prizes each one he receives. He comments on current politics in Great Britain. Recently, he and his wife, Caroline Philips Trevelyan, vacationed in the Swiss Alps and delighted in the landscape. His son George Macaulay Trevelyan’s new volume will be published in September, and his Parliamentarian son, Charles Philips Trevelyan, will be glad to hear from Roosevelt. Trevelyan sends his regards to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt and the family.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-08-03
Senator Lodge discusses a number of topics regarding the late Secretary of State John Hay. Lodge bemoans the editing of a publication of Hay’s letters, claiming that Hay was “one of the best if not the best letter writer of his time,” but the publication does not do him justice. He reminisces on the many men of letters he has known in his life, and believes that Hay was the most “brilliant, humorous, sympathetic, [and] witty” among them. Lodge holds more criticism for Hay in his role as a secretary of state, discussing how Hay bungled multiple treaties, took credit for accomplishments that were not his own, and formed poor relations with the Senate.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-02-14
Whitelaw Reid updates President Roosevelt on diplomatic affairs in London. Reid has spoken with several British authorities regarding Roosevelt’s upcoming African safari. The Japanese Ambassador to Great Britain, Jutarō Komura, met with Reid at a luncheon given for members of the Olympic committee and emphasized that he and the Japanese Emperor recognized the United States as a friend. The Chinese Ambassador held a dinner and expressed friendly regard toward the United States. Reid provides a detailed description of two controversial Olympic races in London: in the 400 meter race, an American was disqualified for breaking the rules, and in the marathon, the Italian winner was disqualified in favor of an American. Reid notes that the American athletes, while somewhat justified in their frustrations, were seen by the British press as ill-mannered. Finally, Reid says he doubts that Roosevelt can make private visits to Paris and London on his way back from Africa without giving offense to government officials who would expect a state visit.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-08-11
Ambassador Reid updates President Roosevelt on a number of matters happening in England, including the nervous breakdown of Lord Edward Marjoribanks Tweedmouth, whose recent trouble relating to a letter from German Emperor William II was only the latest in a long string of misfortunes. He also offers insight into the English interest in the American Presidential election, and explains that he has told questioners that he believes Roosevelt will answer the call if his party ultimately nominates him against his wishes. Reid also discusses the lack of a profitable liberal newspaper in England.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-01
Ambassador Reid updates President Roosevelt about the recent turmoil in Great Britain surrounding an exchange of letters between Edward Marjoribanks, Baron Tweedmouth, and Emperor William II of Germany. The Emperor wrote privately to Lord Tweedmouth, and in passing mentioned the British Navy. News of this mention spread to the press, who seized upon news of the letter to blow the incident out of proportion and make it seem as if Germany were trying to influence British naval policy. Reid sends a selection of newspaper clippings following the development of the issue in the press. Additionally, Reid reports that Henry Campbell-Bannerman’s condition is not improving, and it appears that H. H. Asquith will be his successor as Prime Minister.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-10