Your TR Source
Theodore Roosevelt introduces Albert J. Beveridge. Beveridge’s politics are very similar to Britain’s Liberal Party. He is studying the situation of the Great War and will be writing about it for Collier’s Weekly.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1914-12-04
Theodore Roosevelt writes to David Lloyd George to support Albert J. Beveridge during his stay overseas reporting on the war in Europe for Collier’s Weekly.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1914-12-04
Arthur Hamilton Lee writes Theodore Roosevelt on the issue of the “Parliament Bill.” Lee details the effects the bill, the House of Commons, and the House of Lords are having on Great Britain and its politics. He also tells Roosevelt about George V, King of Great Britain and his new success as king. Lee inquires how Roosevelt and politics in the United States are going, along with Roosevelt’s views on the Anglo-American Arbitration Treaty. He asks how Roosevelt and his family is doing.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-06-15
George Otto Trevelyan briefly tells President Roosevelt of some recent hunting he has done, and hopes that Roosevelt is able to visit when he is in Great Britain. Trevelyan’s son, Charles Philips Trevelyan, has told him about a recent dinner in honor of Prime Minister H. H. Asquith, which Trevelyan then relates to Roosevelt. There is a great deal of tension between the House of Lords and the Liberal Party of Great Britain, which controlled the House of Commons, but Trevelyan believes that Asquith will help the Liberal Party advance their reform agenda.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-15
Ambassador Reid provides President Roosevelt with a variety of pieces of information regarding the status of English politics. Douglas Robinson and Corinne Roosevelt Robinson met with many different members of the royal family. Reid recounts a scandal regarding Prime Minister Campbell-Bannerman, who nine months after his wife died, was engaged to her caretaker. Regardless, Campbell-Bannerman has surprised most in Parliament at his effectiveness as a leader. Reid is disappointed that Robert Bond and the Liberal Party agreed to govern the colony of Newfoundland. The U. S. government is not pleased with this agreement, and many of the other premiers disagree with the Liberal Party’s policy. In particular, Alfred Deakin, the premier of Australia, is an outspoken opponent to this policy. Additionally, many of the colonies want preference in the British markets, and may sacrifice free trade agreements to achieve this status. Next, H. H. Asquith proposed an income tax for Great Britain that will introduce a new, objectionable system of old age pensions. R. B. Haldane proposed a permanent standing army in the British colonies. Augustine Burrill’s proposed Irish Council Bill is becoming unpopular and he does not have many successes as a politician. Overall, the Liberal Party is disappointed by Campbell-Bannerman’s performance.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-05-24
United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom Reid comments on Winston Churchill’s recent promotion to the Privy Council, noting that it acknowledges his rise in the party without giving him a seat in the Cabinet. Churchill is still not well liked. Reid relays the debates on Horace Curzon Plunkett in the House of Commons and reports on English newspaper coverage of Roosevelt’s speech at Jamestown. He comments on unease over labor relations in France, the planning of an event after the Colonial Premiers’ Conference, opposition to a proposed move for a limitation of armaments at the Hague Conference, and Lewis Harcourt’s proposed English Land Bill.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-05-01
British Foreign Secretary Grey informs President Roosevelt that Ambassador H. Mortimer Durand will be replaced, and while he understands Roosevelt’s desire to have Arthur Lee in his place, that is politically impossible. Temporarily, Esmé Howard will be sent to Washington as Councillor to the Embassy. Grey appreciated Roosevelt’s explanation of his telegram to German Emperor William after the Portsmouth Peace. Grey explains that his foreign policy is not anti-German, but to be independent he feels it necessary to strengthen the entente with France and come to an agreement with Russia. Grey believes that his generation has had enough of war, and the British people feel a special bond with the United States. Grey hopes the dispute between Canada and the United States over Newfoundland will soon be settled. He also adds that many in Great Britain are upset over reports of slavery and plunder in the Belgian Congo.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-12-04
Whitelaw Reid updates President Roosevelt on the newspapers’ reaction to the measures taken in a shipping and fishing dispute in Newfoundland. Reid details his negotiations with Sir Edward Gray and Sir Charles Hardinge regarding the United States’ right to ship Newfoundland fisherman. Reid also discusses several books with Roosevelt, including one about Alexander Hamilton and a biography of Winston Churchill’s father, Randolph Churchill. Reid comments on Roosevelt’s offer to let the Cubans try self-government again, noting that it silences those who would paint Roosevelt as an imperialist. Reid does not think that the Cubans are ready for self-government, and he believes the United States should make Cuba one of its states. Reid updates Roosevelt on the political conflict between the Labor and Liberal parties in the United Kingdom. Reid notes that due to “bad blood” between the German and English press, it is difficult to trust English newspapers for accurate views of German positions. Reid also offers his opinion on domestic political issues, writing that those who vote for Hearst will be written off as from “the ignorant or dangerous classes.” Reid believes William Jennings Bryan has fallen out of favor, but he does not think they have seen the last of him. Finally, Reid has enclosed several books and clippings for Roosevelt to peruse.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-10-08
Francis M. Carroll examines Theodore Roosevelt’s opinions on the question of home rule for Ireland during World War I, and demonstrates how John Quinn, a prominent Irish-American, used arguments Roosevelt made in an August 1917 letter to George Russell in his book on the home rule question. Carroll examines the state of Irish-British relations during World War I and looks at Roosevelt’s correspondence with those involved in the home rule issue. The article reprints in side by side columns Roosevelt’s August 1917 letter to George Russell and portions of Quinn’s The Irish Home-Rule Convention, demonstrating that Quinn used much of Roosevelt’s language and arguments in his own work.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
1980
James Bryce regrets not responding to Commissioner Roosevelt’s letter sooner. He comments on the likely outcome of the upcoming elections in England. Bryce also notes that the issue of the Minneapolis Convention is “rather tragic” for James Gillespie Blaine.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1892-06-15