Mahan, A. T. (Alfred Thayer), 1840-1914

Chronology of the daily life of Theodore Roosevelt from January 1884 to December 1891. Notable events include the deaths of Alice Lee Roosevelt and Martha Bulloch Roosevelt, Roosevelt’s time on his ranch, the completion of Sagamore Hill, Roosevelt’s engagement and marriage to Edith Kermit Carow, Theodore “Ted” Roosevelt’s birth, the “Great-Dieup” of cattle in North Dakota, and the founding of the Boone and Crockett Club.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association

Creation Date

1985

Captain A. T. Mahan will be writing an authoritative article about the composition of the Great White Fleet and the reasons for sending it first to the Pacific Coast, and then around the world. The article will feature in an upcoming double-size special Navy edition of Scientific American, which will be available December 7, 1907.

Collection

Duane G. Jundt Theodore Roosevelt Collection

Creation Date

1907

Serge Ricard studies the attitude of the United States government to arbitration and disarmament proposals put forward by the First and Second Hague Peace Conferences of 1899 and 1907. Ricard notes that the United States approved of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, but he stresses that the nation, especially under the administration of Theodore Roosevelt, did not pursue disarmament proposals. Ricard asserts that Roosevelt always favored preparedness over disarmament as the best means to avoid war, and he notes that the United States’ traditional policies of isolationism and non-interference in European affairs made it unlikely the country would embrace international bodies. Ricard notes that Secretary of State Elihu Root managed America’s participation in the Second Hague Peace Conference of 1907.

Six photographs and one illustration accompany the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Edward Renehan examines Theodore Roosevelt’s lifelong interest in naval affairs: naval history, strategy, and the building and deploying of a naval fleet. Renehan highlights the exploits of Roosevelt’s uncles, James Dunwoody Bulloch and Irvine S. Bulloch, and the work of Alfred Thayer Mahan as influencing Roosevelt’s views. Renehan also notes the importance of Roosevelt’s history, The Naval War of 1812, his tenure as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and his construction of battleships while president.

Two photographs, one of Roosevelt’s flag as Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, and the other of Renehan with Alexandra Roosevelt Dworkin, supplement the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Four titles, two books for children and two for adults, come under scrutiny in this edition of the “Book Reviews” section. Linda E. Milano praises Cheryl Harness’s biography Young Teddy Roosevelt, especially its illustrations, and she finds that A Christmas Tree in the White House, though fiction, still teaches important lessons about conservation. Randall Holdridge highlights the five journeys undertaken by Louis Abernathy and Temple Abernathy, the sons of John R. Abernathy, a friend of Theodore Roosevelt and United States Marshal for Oklahoma. Holdridge asserts that Bud & Me: The True Adventures of the Abernathy Boys demonstrates the inspirational value of Roosevelt’s character. 

Grace Frisone says that The Birth of American Imperialism does not break much new ground, but that it does acknowledge the importance of Roosevelt to turn of the twentieth-century American foreign policy. Frisone also says that this work, written in Italian, brings a European perspective to the study of American history. A photograph from the 1998 annual meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association appears in the section.

Wallace Finley Dailey presents an exhibit, “Roosevelt Reading: The Pigskin Library, 1909-1910,” that opened at Harvard University in September 2003. Dailey provides an introduction to the exhibit which consists of photographs, excerpts of letters, and illustrations of the numerous pigskin bound volumes that Theodore Roosevelt took with him on his African safari. The exhibit is divided into three parts: “Classics and the Continent,” History and Romance,” and “Americans.” Many of the book illustrations have captions taken from letters or articles written by Roosevelt that comment on the book and its author. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2013

John M. Thompson examines the domestic political dimensions of the United States’ efforts to secure a canal zone in Central America. Thompson identifies those who favored canal routes in Nicaragua or Panama, and he looks closely at the Congressional reaction to the revolt in Panama and the United States’ quick recognition of the new nation. Thompson lays out the opposition to the subsequent canal treaty from Democrats and anti-imperialists, and he details the publicity campaign waged by President Theodore Roosevelt’s administration to justify its course of action and win Senate approval of the treaty. Thompson highlights the role of Southern Democrats who supported the treaty because they saw the canal as aiding their region’s economy and because Democrats did not want to be seen as opposing a popular policy of constructing a canal. Thompson concludes his article by examining the various aspects of domestic politics that Roosevelt had to consider when making foreign policy decisions. 

Ten photographs and five political cartoons populate the article.

Carl Cavanagh Hodge examines Theodore Roosevelt’s ideas and policies regarding naval policy in the context of international relations and a naval arms race in the first decade of the twentieth century. Hodge emphasizes Roosevelt’s reading and use of the ideas of naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan, and he compares American naval plans with those of Great Britain and Germany. Hodge frames Roosevelt’s policies within the context of friendly relations with Great Britain, an increasingly assertive Germany, and the rising power of Japan, especially in the wake of the Russo-Japanese War. Hodge highlights the acquisition and construction of the Panama Canal and the voyage of the Great White Fleet as key parts of Roosevelt’s overall naval strategy. He notes Roosevelt’s embrace of the battleship as a means of engaging other nations’ fleets abroad, and he asserts that Roosevelt saw the fleet as an important symbol of American power. 

Eight photographs, including those of Roosevelt and Mahan, and one illustration supplement the article. A text with the mission statement of the Theodore Roosevelt Association appears in the endnotes. 

Henry J. Hendrix argues that President Theodore Roosevelt did not see diplomacy and the deployment of the United States Navy as separate and unrelated actions, but rather he saw and used them as complements to one another, and Hendrix cites examples of episodes during Roosevelt’s presidency to bolster his argument. Hendrix cites the Venezuelan crisis of 1902, intervention in Panama in 1903, the kidnapping of Ion Perdicaris in 1904, and the mediation of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 as examples of Roosevelt deploying assets of the United States Navy in support of his diplomatic efforts. Hendrix asserts that Roosevelt used a very hands on approach to his statecraft, in effect acting as his own Secretary of State and Secretary of the Navy.

Two photographs of Hendrix and one of Secretary of State John Hay appear in the article along with a text box containing the mission statement of the Theodore Roosevelt Association.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Seven books receive scrutiny in the “Reviews” section, including two biographies of Theodore Roosevelt, specialized studies of the White House and Memorial Day, a collection of Roosevelt’s writings, a look at the Rough Riders of Arizona, and a study of turn of the twentieth-century American foreign policy. John A. Gable notes that Stacy A. Cordery’s biography of Roosevelt serves as a comprehensive historiographical study as it draws on thirty years of Roosevelt scholarship in its quotes and analysis. Gable also offers thoughts on Kathleen Dalton’s biography of Roosevelt, and he provides excerpts from five other reviews of the work that highlight Dalton’s coverage of the role of women in Roosevelt’s life and that affirm Roosevelt as a moderate radical. Of Brian Thomsen’s collection of Roosevelt’s writings, The Man in the Arena, Gable says: “there is no reason to buy this book.”

Gable also reviews Marty F. Feess’s Theodore Roosevelt’s Arizona Boys which examines the life of the Arizona Rough Riders after the Spanish-American War and the many actions taken by their Colonel to help them succeed in their post-war lives. Henry J. Hendrix faults Warren Zimmermann’s First Great Triumph for injecting present day views into his analysis of the makers of foreign policy in Roosevelt’s presidency. Hendrix also examines A History of Memorial Day which traces the transformation of the holiday from a solemn occasion to a day of recreation. Jeremy M. Murphy highlights Gable’s chapter on the Roosevelts in his review of The White House: Actors and Observers, and he also notes the work’s use of the photographs of Frances Benjamin Johnston.

Henry J. Hendrix reviews Kenneth Wimmel’s Theodore Roosevelt and the Great White Fleet: American Sea Power Comes of Age and finds it disappointing because it is “somewhat shallow” in its treatment of the times and figures that marked the rise of American naval power at the turn of the twentieth century. Hendrix notes the importance of Alfred Thayer Mahan, Theodore Roosevelt, and others to the creation of a modern American fleet. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2000

John A. Gable, editor of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal, reviews three works and Richard H. Collin a fourth in the “Book Reviews” section. Gable examines a history of Theodore Roosevelt’s tenure as Police Commissioner of New York City, a biography of Alice Roosevelt Longworth, and a reissue of Hermann Hagedorn’s classic study of Roosevelt’s time in Dakota, Roosevelt in the Bad Lands. Collin studies a work on the relationship between Roosevelt and the naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan. Gable lists sixteen changes introduced to the New York City Police Department (NYPD) by Roosevelt, and he finds Jay S. Berman’s study important as the first book solely devoted to Roosevelt’s years with the NYPD despite his misgivings about its use of academic language and police jargon.

Gable focuses on Hagedorn’s research and on his relationship to the Roosevelt Memorial Association rather than on the content of the book, but he quotes David McCullough in arguing that Roosevelt in the Bad Lands remains valuable to those wanting to know about Roosevelt’s time in the West. In reviewing Carol Felsenthal’s Alice Roosevelt Longworth, Gable quotes from newspaper reviews, compares the book to previous biographies, and asserts that it is the best overall study of “Princess Alice” done to date. Collin highlights episodes, mostly negative, from Mahan’s career, and argues that Richard W. Turk’s study of the Roosevelt-Mahan relationship is deeply flawed by its lack of knowledge of Roosevelt, factual errors, and a weak bibliography. A photograph of USS Theodore Roosevelt appears in the Collin review.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Six works compete for attention in this edition of the “Book Reviews” section, including two works by Theodore Roosevelt: a collection of nine of his speeches and essays published by the Theodore Roosevelt Association and a reissue of his The Naval War of 1812. The review of The Man in the Arena: Speeches and Essays notes that John A. Gable wrote the introduction and explanatory notes, and it provides context for some of the selections. A portion of Gable’s introduction follows the review. Seth Cropsey praises Roosevelt’s naval history and stresses its fairness and “balanced objectivity” and notes its relevance to contemporary debates about how to deploy the American navy.

Lewis L. Gould reviews James Wright’s study of the Progressive era in New Hampshire and notes that Roosevelt’s Bull Moose campaign set back the cause of reform in the state. Archibald B. Roosevelt, Junior, joins his cousin Kermit Roosevelt, Junior, both grandsons of Theodore Roosevelt, in publishing a memoir of his service with the Central Intelligence Agency, For Lust of Knowing: Memoirs of an Intelligence Officer.

The section notes the publication of works on Roosevelt’s time as Police Commissioner of New York City and on his relationship with the naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan, and notes that each will be reviewed in an upcoming issue of the Journal.

This edition of the “Book Reviews” section examines four works. “How Does TR Rate?” focuses on the poll numbers assigned to Theodore Roosevelt in The Rating Game in American Politics and finds that Roosevelt places in the great or near great categories. The review gives an overview of the essays in the collection, and highlights those on Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. William Davison Johnston reviews Edward L. Beach’s The United States Navy: 200 Years and notes that it is not a narrative history, and he stresses that it was awarded the Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History Prize for 1987.

In “The Independent Progressives,” John A. Gable reviews Eugene M. Tobin’s Organize or Perish: America’s Independent Progressives, 1913-1933 which studies former members of the Bull Moose Party like Amos Pinchot and George L. Record. Gable notes that these figures operated outside of elected offices and built organizations, but that they lacked the strength and numbers to build a political party. Gable notes how Tobin’s work adds to our understanding of the larger Progressive era. The section concludes with a notice that the Naval War College has published a comprehensive bibliography of the writings of Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan.

A photograph of Johnston and Beach shaking hands at a Theodore Roosevelt Association event in October 1983 appears in the section.

Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger addresses the crowd assembled for the commissioning of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt on October 25, 1986. Weinberger traces Theodore Roosevelt’s interest in the United States Navy from his writing of the Naval History of the War of 1812 to his sending of the Great White Fleet while President. Weinberger also discusses the maritime strategy of the administration of President Ronald Reagan and argues that its policy mirrors that of Roosevelt’s with its emphasis on a powerful Navy and negotiating from a position of strength. Weinberger uses Roosevelt’s phrase “the just man armed” to describe the purpose of the Theodore Roosevelt.

Two photographs of Captain Paul W. Parcells, Commanding Officer of USS Theodore Roosevelt, with members of the ship’s crew, Weinberger, and members of the Roosevelt family, accompany the address. A photograph of the ship at dock in Newport News, Virginia, also appears in the address. 

Barbara W. Tuchman examines Theodore Roosevelt’s thoughts on, and conduct of, foreign policy during the Spanish-American War and during his presidency. She shows both the belligerent and diplomatic sides of his nature by looking at his handling of the Perdicaris-Raisuli affair in 1904 and his relationship with Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. Tuchman also compares Roosevelt’s views with those of the long-time president of Harvard, Charles W. Eliot.

The invitation to the symposium at Harvard featuring Tuchman is reproduced on the second page of her article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Michael Caglioti challenges the assumption that President Roosevelt acted immorally in the negotiations and events leading to the Panamanian Revolution of 1903 that ultimately led to the construction of the Panama Canal by the United States in the independent nation of Panama. Caglioti details why Roosevelt wanted the Canal built, and looks at the treaties the United States entered into with various countries to pave the way for United States sovereignty over a future canal. He contends that elements of Colombia’s government, press, and public opinion refused to recognize the reality of the United States’ superior economic, diplomatic and military power when negotiating the canal treaty.

Caglioti further notes that the Colombian government refused to ratify the Hay-Herran Convention authorizing the building of the canal because it wanted more money, and details the benefits that Colombia would have received from the canal’s construction. He argues that Roosevelt’s “guilt” in the Panama affair is usually tied to whether his administration gave an explicit assurance of assistance to the Panamanian rebels. He says that Roosevelt acted, as he should have, in the best interests of the United States in helping the revolution succeed.

A photograph of Roosevelt sitting in one of the steam shovels used in the construction of the canal accompanies the article.

Carter H. Fitz-Hugh asks if Theodore Roosevelt has seen the article “War” in the London Spectator, which confuses him. He mentions A. T. Mahan’s article, making a similar point. Fitz-Hugh wonders if Roosevelt saw the correspondence between Andrew Carnegie and J. M. Dickinson regarding the recommendation to fortify and police the Panama Canal.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-10-27

Thomas James Bowlker thanks President Roosevelt for his note. While A. T. Mahan would be an excellent representative, Bowlker wants Roosevelt to know that he offered Mahan a fee to secure his attendance.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-08-01

Charles Prestwood Lucas’s recent book The Canadian War of 1812 is a worthy counterpart to works by Captain A. T. Mahan and President Roosevelt, although it is somewhat overshadowed by the fame of the others. Each author approaches the subject from a different point of view, which justifies the existence of all three works.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-10