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President Roosevelt tells Matthew Hale he is sorry to hear about his illness and wishes to see him when he’s feeling better. Roosevelt wishes he could accept Hale’s offer to speak at an event, but notes it’s impossible—and that he’s already turned down an offer to speak at Harvard on Memorial Day.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-12-14
Theodore Roosevelt does not know the case facts which Edward P. Goetz mentioned in his letter. His secretary refers Goetz to the Inter-State Commerce Commission, which determines “such facts,” and to the speech Roosevelt made on the most recent Decoration Day at Gettysburg, which was reprinted in The Outlook.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-06-12
On behalf of Theodore Roosevelt, his secretary informs A. B. Nettleton that Roosevelt does not have a copy of the speech he gave in Newark last Memorial Day. It was an extemporaneous speech, and he recommends checking the Newark Evening News for a detailed report.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-06-20
President Roosevelt expresses concern to Vice President Fairbanks about a squabble over the Memorial Day exercises in Indianapolis at which he is to speak. He urges Fairbanks to get all the parties together, to coordinate the dedication of the statue of General Henry Ware Lawton with the exercises, and to ensure that the men of the Grand Army of the Republic are given a prominent role.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-04-11
James Andrew Drain encloses an editorial from Arms and the Man that he would like Theodore Roosevelt to read.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-06-10
Stewart L. Woodford did not join in on “the general and enthusiastic acclaim” at the close of Roosevelt’s Memorial Day speech at General Grant’s tomb the day prior. While he agrees with Roosevelt’s points on duty, he feels as though Roosevelt’s comments on arbitration will do harm.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-05-31
Benton Anderson Williams commends Theodore Roosevelt for his Memorial Day address at General Grant’s tomb, remarking that he was glad to see Roosevelt arguing in favor of peace in plain terms. He expounds that, while war may have been necessary to “conquer the old order of things and prepare the way for new and better conditions,” the world is far from having solved all of its problems and must one day turn to peace as a solution.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-05-31
James J. Finnegan is very sorry that Theodore Roosevelt was not able to attend the Oyster Bay Baseball Club’s opening game on Memorial Day. He admits that the speech Roosevelt gave at General Grant’s tomb instead “will do the people at large much more good.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-05-31
Bela Tokaji commends Theodore Roosevelt on his recent Memorial Day address at Ulysses S. Grant’s tomb, which he considers to be one of Roosevelt’s finest, sure to silence his detractors. Tokaji affirms the National Progressive Republican League of the State of New York’s commitment to Roosevelt, remarking that all its members are likewise members of the National Roosevelt League.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-05-31
Francis Hopkinson Smith remarks that he cannot leave for Europe without visiting Theodore Roosevelt first. Should he be available, he and his wife Josephine Van Deventer Smith will motor down to Sagamore Hill on June 4. Smith commends Roosevelt for a well-delivered speech the day prior, a Memorial Day address.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-05-31
John James compliments Theodore Roosevelt on his Memorial Day address at General Grant’s tomb on the topic of a peace treaty with England, though James hopes to inform Roosevelt of a topic that may change his opinion on international relations with the foreign power. He purports to hold a confidential report from the London Board of Education that proves that American statesmen and historical figures are belittled in English schools, and offers to send the report to Roosevelt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-05-31
William C. Gill commends Theodore Roosevelt for his Memorial Day address at General Ulysses S. Grant’s tomb. He remarks on the ways in which various figures in American history have striven for peace, though that “theories are nicely and happily worked out in Dreamland but how different in practice in near-Utopias.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-05-31
Lincoln C. Cummings commends Theodore Roosevelt’s Memorial Day address on peace arbitrated by the Navy. He adds that, in an interview with Cardinal Gibbons, the Cardinal agreed with the sentiments that Cummings and Roosevelt share.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-05-31
Herbert L. Bridgman, on behalf of The Standard Union, asks Theodore Roosevelt to send them an advance copy of the Memorial Day address he will be giving at Ulysses S. Grant’s tomb for publication.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-05-11
Mayor Joseph T. Bennett, A. Edward B. Pollock, and Charles H. Baxter, representing the speaker’s committee of Lancaster, Wisconsin, invite Theodore Roosevelt to give a Memorial Day address in their city. They tell him of the history of the small town and why Roosevelt may want to visit it, and ask that they inform them of his decision as quickly as is convenient.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-03-21
Lewis R. Stegman sees President Roosevelt’s upcoming Memorial Day address as an opportunity to promote “patriotic sentiments” that can be useful during the upcoming Presidential election. Stegman identifies conservative Democrats who support Roosevelt. He discusses Roosevelt’s omission of Civil War General George B. McClellan’s name during the monument dedication at Antietam battlefield.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-05-06
Reverend Norman Vincent Peale gives an address upon receiving the Theodore Roosevelt Distinguished Service Medal for 1985. Peale relates two humorous anecdotes about speaking before groups of funeral directors and bankers before he recalls his family’s support of Theodore Roosevelt. Peale tells the story of having to give an address before a large crowd in New York City on Memorial Day 1926, and he highlights the support that General Theodore Roosevelt gave him before and after his speech.
A photograph of Peale with John A. Gable and William Davison Johnston of the Theodore Roosevelt Association accompanies the text.
President Roosevelt describes a 62-mile horse ride to Cheyenne, Wyoming, he took with Presley Marion Rixey, Senator Francis E. Warren, and Mr. Van Tassel, the owner of the ranch at which Roosevelt’s party ate lunch. After the ride, Roosevelt led a procession into Cheyenne and made a 45-minute speech at the city’s Memorial Day services. Roosevelt adds a post-script describing a second, 30-mile, horse ride to Warren’s ranch.
Massachusetts Historical Society
1903-05-31
Theodore Roosevelt appreciates the editorial responding to the statement in President Taft’s Decoration Day address that the horrors of war necessarily outweigh the benefits that may come of it. Roosevelt agrees with James Andrew Drain in opposing such a statement. He also states that death is not the worst of all possible evils. Rather, “No man is fit to live unless he is ready to quit life for adequate cause.”
1911-06-19
Theodore Roosevelt is pleased with William H. Moody’s letter, which Charles G. Washburn has sent. Roosevelt discusses the speeches he will make ahead of the upcoming Progressive National Convention in Chicago.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-05-16