Lusitania (Steamship)

Theodore Roosevelt wrote this article after the Lusitania was torpedoed by a German submarine and sank. Roosevelt blasted Germans for the attack and urged Americans to take action.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1915-05-09

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1917-08-14

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Recipient

Blair, William M.

Language

English

Theodore Roosevelt writes to his son Kermit and daughter-in-law Belle about how happy he is to have the Sagamore Hill home and the visits there by the family. He is happy he won the libel suit, though William Barnes Jr. may appeal. Roosevelt writes how disgusted he is with President Wilson’s handling of international affairs even though Secretary of State Bryan resigned. Roosevelt ultimately wants peace but thinks America should be at war with Germany and is ready to raise a division of mounted riflemen and enter the war. He also describes his ten day trip to Louisiana and says his ribs are mending nicely after falling off a horse.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1915-06-16

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt writes to his son Kermit about his upcoming trip to Louisiana. He says he will write a book with chapters on his travels to the Andes, Patagonia, Brazil, and Arizona. Roosevelt says his latest book Through the Brazilian Wilderness is getting recognition but he is unhappy that Scribner’s changed the title. He is sending Kermit South of Panama by Edward Alsworth Ross and looks forward to hearing Kermit’s thoughts on it. Roosevelt also gives his opinions on the War in Europe and President Wilson.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1915-05-31

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt defends his statements in favor of foreign policy action against criticism from an Outlook correspondent.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-12-21

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt argues in favor of a military draft and suggests that the lack of a draft has limited Great Britain’s strength. Roosevelt believes that President Wilson is motivated by fear of pacifist and German-American voters. Wilson also has the “Jeffersonian Buchanan tradition” of avoiding all physical danger. If he had been president, Roosevelt would have taken action after the invasion of Belgium or the sinking of the Lusitania and he believes the country would have supported him.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-11-30

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt believes there are ways to get the Wilson administration to defend the rights of Americans and take action for the sinking of the Lusitania and Ancona.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-11-27

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt has publicly demanded action regarding the invasion of Belgium and the sinking of the Lusitania. He has advocated that the United States prepare for war and is a great admirer of the British fleet and army. Roosevelt has primarily been writing about the shortcomings of the United States.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-11-12

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt expresses to author and journalist Irving Bacheller his relief to hear another American criticize President Woodrow Wilson and his brand of preparedness. He predicts the army will be ill-prepared compared to other armies, using the metaphor of muzzle-loading muskets going up against high-powered rifles. According to Roosevelt, Wilson’s efforts at preparedness fall very short, especially considering American men, women, and children continue to be murdered while at sea.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1916-02-07

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt told Judge Osborn that he felt great sympathy for the Armenians that are being persecuted in Turkey but he cannot speak to a mass meeting on the subject. Roosevelt thinks a meeting about Armenian atrocities should also address Belgian atrocities. However, there will be no results until the United States atones for the Americans lost on the Lusitania and murdered in Mexico. In a postscript, Roosevelt states that no protest will be effective until the country shows it has the strength and will to fulfill its promises.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-10-25

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt suggests consulting New York newspaper files from the days after the sinking of the Lusitania, and there David Wallenstein will find the date on which the statement appeared in the Berlin Lokal Anseiger.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-10-11

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt thanks J. A. Harvey for his letter and refers to his other statements about the sinking of the Lusitania. Roosevelt himself does not support neutrality.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-06-23

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt will not accept the lecture proposition as misapprehensions always arise when he travels abroad to speak. Roosevelt is disgusted with the Wilson administration and its support from the American public. He feels that the public “will always do well or ill largely in proportion to their leadership.” Roosevelt also fears a future conflict with Japan. If the war is deadlocked he feels Japan will seek “tribute” in the form of Hawaii, the Panama Canal, and Alaska. Roosevelt has been heartsick over the sinking of the Lusitania.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-06-23

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt is puzzled by Ladislaus Hengelmuller von Hengervar’s letter. He has been careful not to make any statement hostile towards Austria and cannot understand Hengelmuller’s attitude towards the sinking of the Lusitania. Roosevelt admires German efficiency but finds them ruthless and indifferent to the rights of other people.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-06-23

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt thanks John H. Lorimer for his letter. Roosevelt believes that if President Woodrow Wilson had acted firmly when the Gulflight was attacked, the people who died on the Lusitania would still be alive.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-06-21

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt cannot approve of William Hutchinson Cowles’s editorial and opposes universal arbitration. Each nation and community has issues which they would refuse to arbitrate. The Wilson administration has signed thirty arbitration treaties and refused to abide by the treaty with Germany when the Lusitania was sunk. The public approved of President Wilson’s decision. Promises should not be made that the nation, its leaders, or the public do not intend to keep. The nations of Europe are fighting for their existence and will justifiably ignore calls for arbitration and pacifism from America. The United States needs to prepare for war and learn to keep promises.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-06-17

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt agrees with William Dudley Foulke’s letter and confirms Foulke’s understanding of why Roosevelt declined to take part in a peace conference. Roosevelt feels that before the United States participates in a general international peace movement, it must first “attend to the affairs of our own household.” Roosevelt agrees with William Jennings Bryan only on the point of refusing arbitration with Germany.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-06-16

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

If it was right to originally sign the international arbitration treaties, then it should now be right to grant Germany’s request to have a commission of inquiry regarding the sinking of the Lusitania. However, President Wilson has succeeded in stalling and the public has forgot. Years of peace propaganda have created an “attitude of sluggishness and timidity.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-06-15

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt believes that political parties should have “large liberty in the different states for individual actions.” He would not be comfortable in the Republican Party of many states but in some states believes that progressives can work with Republicans. Roosevelt views President Wilson as a coward and thinks he is making the United States “appear contemptible.” However, most of the public is with Wilson and Roosevelt feels out of touch with the American people.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-06-10

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt is interested in what James Rudolph Garfield had to say in his letter. Roosevelt agrees with what Garfield says about the “new men in office,” likely referring to President Woodrow Wilson’s administration. In Roosevelt’s mind, Wilson’s conduct following the sinking of the Lusitania is “one of the most cowardly bits of clever infamy” he has ever witnessed, although Medill McCormick has told him it made Wilson strong in Illinois.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-06-09

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919