Your TR Source
President Roosevelt writes Mark Sullivan, of Collier’s, in response to Jack London’s article recently published in the magazine. London’s article incorrectly quotes Roosevelt on multiple accounts. Although Roosevelt thoroughly disagrees with London, his disappointment lies with Collier’s for publishing such a poorly constructed and argued piece.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-09
President Roosevelt outlines and refutes the falsehoods in Alfred Holt Stone’s Studies in the American Race Problem. He tells John Graham Brooks that he judges a work’s reliability by seeing what it says about a subject he is familiar with, and then deciding if he can trust it on things that he does not know as much about. He explains that Stone is spreading falsehoods about the so-called “referee” system in the Southern states, especially Mississippi. Roosevelt points out that the practice was common with presidents before him, and that it is necessary in areas where the Republican party does not have a strong enough presence to provide good appointees to positions. He also discusses his handling of the case of African American postmistress Minnie M. Geddings Cox, who was forced by an angry mob to resign her position and leave town.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-11-13
President Roosevelt liked Mark Sullivan’s paragraph about Jack London and was amused by the additional quotations Sullivan made. Roosevelt believes that London is not only an advocate of atheism and socialism, but he also teaches “nihilism of the most foolish Russian type.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-13
President Roosevelt explains his thoughts related to socialism, saying that socialists do some good in waking some people up to the evils of modern life and the great disparities of wealth, but that for the most part they “merely add to the mass of aimless discontent.” Roosevelt discusses several instances in which socialism praises people who he believes do not deserve it, such as Eugene V. Debs. He believes that socialism also is frequently associated with an “only partially concealed crusade against domestic morality.” For Roosevelt, trending too far towards the ideas of socialism is just as bad as going too far towards the actions of swindling financiers or corrupt politicians.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-17
President Roosevelt looks forward to receiving a copy of Egerton Ryerson Young’s book, My Dogs in the Northland. Roosevelt says he has a poor opinion of Jack London. Roosevelt thanks Young for his hard work as a missionary.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-06-20
President Roosevelt thanks George W. Spratt for an editorial he sent, saying the author knows what he’s talking about, unlike nature fakers like William J. Long or Jack London.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-06-19
Theodore Roosevelt is glad that John Burroughs is getting well. Roosevelt gave a statement about William J. Long and Jack London, writers of “unnatural history.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-03-12
Although he enjoyed William J. Long’s book, President Roosevelt takes issue with the fact that Long presents several anecdotes about animal behavior as absolute fact, when they are not so. Roosevelt highlights a passage about a wolf killing a caribou in an improbable fashion as an example.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-09-27
Elva E. Miller responds to Theodore Roosevelt’s “Race Decadence” article in The Outlook by comparing it to Jack London’s “The Human Drift.” Both pieces attempt to forecast the “comparative population of the various countries” within the next century. Miller contends that such questions are purely academic. Instead of focusing on potential future issues related to decreased birth rates, Miller asserts that reducing the present infant death rate is of far greater consequence.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-04-06
Abe Spring begins his letter by drawing Theodore Roosevelt’s attention to several inaccuracies in Jack London’s latest novel about Alaska. His true purpose in writing, however, was to discuss the political situation in Alaska with Roosevelt. Spring feels that Alaska does not have clear leadership, and that without such leadership it will not develop into a useful state. While he recognizes that Roosevelt is a private citizen now, he nevertheless appeals to Roosevelt’s patriotism for assistance.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-03-04
Mark Sullivan encloses a paragraph about Jack London. He notes that people who have not been taught to think about what they read are impressed by the “bosh” that London writes, and that his false analogies about man and nature is the basis for a lot of atheism and socialism.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-12
Reverend Long, a naturalist, scolds President Roosevelt for his article “Roosevelt on Nature Fakirs” in Everybody’s Magazine. Long shames Roosevelt for slandering the writer Jack London, and contends that Roosevelt uses his prominent position in society to promote his own naturalistic views, but these views are inaccurate.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-05-22
Maurice Francis Egan writes to President Roosevelt that he has heard that only James Fenimore Cooper and James B. Connolly can write about the sea with disparaging remarks about Captains Courageous and The Sea Wolf.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-08-20
Caspar Whitney describes the recent growth of Outing Magazine and asks President Roosevelt to write an introduction of a series and a history of the United States Navy.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-11-03
Editor and owner of Outing magazine, Caspar Whitney, writes that he would be happy to publish President Roosevelt’s book containing the “deer article.” Whitney states that he espouses “wholesome living in the broadest sense.” He also volunteers to assist with the Bureau of American Republics.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-02-08
Richard Harding Davis and his wife Cecil Clark Davis are settled in Tokyo like it is home. Davis’ contract with Collier’s Weekly was only for three months, but he does not want to return home without seeing the front lines of the Russo-Japanese War. Davis complains that the newspaper correspondents have been treated poorly by the Japanese authorities who have restricted their access to the front, read their private correspondence and had them spied upon. As an example of the unfair treatment they have been subjected to, Davis recounts the story of Jack London who has been arrested and tried by court martial after getting into a physical altercation with a servant who was caught stealing correspondents’ supplies. Davis knows that President Roosevelt likes to hear of United States representatives abroad, and praises the work of LLoyd Carpenter Griscom, Charles Carlton Marsh, and James Wheeler Davidson.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-05-26
Two books undergo scrutiny in this edition of the “Book Reviews” section while ten others are mentioned in a “Book Notes” subsection that lists recently released or reissued titles. Elizabeth E. Roosevelt reviews Richard H. Collin’s Theodore Roosevelt’s Caribbean and gives a brief overview of each of the work’s four sections, praising the book for its portraits of key players involved in the various diplomatic tussles of the Roosevelt administration in the Caribbean basin. The review is followed by seven excerpts from Collin’s book, ranging from a single sentence to short paragraphs. Donald F. Kirkpatrick reviews Ralph H. Lutts’s The Nature Fakers which chronicles Theodore Roosevelt’s fight with William J. Long and other nature writers who attributed human traits to animals.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
1991
Roosevelt, Elizabeth E.; Collin, Richard H.; Kirkpatrick, Donald F.; Unknown
In the “Book Notes” column, Frederick W. Marks reviews William M. Gibson’s Theodore Roosevelt Among the Humorists and John A. Gable reviews Aloysius A. Norton’s Theodore Roosevelt. Marks criticizes Gibson for accepting the judgments of Theodore Roosevelt put forward by humorists such as Mark Twain, and he argues that Gibson, as a literature professor, is not qualified to make evaluations of Roosevelt’s diplomacy. Gable praises Norton’s study of Roosevelt as a writer, and his main criticism is that the book is too short to provide a thorough analysis of all of Roosevelt’s works. Marks and Gable contend that Roosevelt’s image continues to suffer from persistent stereotypes.
A picture of Roosevelt reading accompanies the article.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
1981
The writer of the article suggests that the author Jack London is purposely misquoting what President Roosevelt said about his book White Fang. London states that in the book, a wolf-dog kills a lynx, while Roosevelt was criticizing the idea that the lynx killed the wolf-dog. However, London omits that later in White Fang, the leader of the dog pack is torn to shreds by a lynx.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-17
Harper’s Weekly cover shows Theodore Roosevelt holding a bowling bowl labeled “Nomination 1908.” A sign above the pins reads “Favorite Sons.” Pins are labeled with the names of the following states: Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Pennsylvania. Another sign lists people that are warned off the premises. Jack London is one of those individuals.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1907-06-01