Your TR Source
A typed manuscript with handwritten edits and additions, preface to the second edition of Theodore Roosevelt’s Fear God and take your own part. Also included on page 4 is an engraved presentation card from G.H. Doran to William L. Fish.
1916-04-24
Handwritten essay discussing military preparedness, German aggression and forming a league of allies to keep peace. Published in the Metropolitan magazine, Feb 1917.
1917
Quentin Roosevelt writes to his father about not receiving nor sending mail recently and worried mail from United States might have been lost at sea. He then discusses the state of the US air forces in France, seeing Archibald and Eleanor Butler Roosevelt and asks if his father has any news on why his fiance Flora Miller cannot come to Paris right now.
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site
1918-05-12
President Roosevelt pulls back a curtain to display a statue of Columbia, holding a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. Behind her is a battleship armed for war, and next to her is a cannon. Caption: President Roosevelt’s ideal of Columbia, now that she is a world power.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-03-07
Theodore Roosevelt will follow Gifford Pinchot’s suggestion on the letter from Max W. Ball. Roosevelt takes umbrage with Henry Cantwell Wallace’s recommendations on discussing military preparedness in Des Moines, Iowa. He says he will stand behind President Woodrow Wilson “precisely to the degree in which Abraham Lincoln stood behind Polk in the Mexican War…” He will stand behind every public servant to the degree in which they serve the United States.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1918-02-05
Theodore Roosevelt is on his way to the steamer and can only dictate his reply to L. H. Bailey. Roosevelt appreciates Bailey’s clarity on the issue that “we must not confuse militarism and war for glory with adequate preparation for defense.” He agrees that there should not be over-development of the military establishment, preferring a small army, and implementing a universal training system.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-02-18
Theodore Roosevelt does not remember the letter that Frederic Louis Huidekoper mentions and is sure that the Army War College would have sent it to Sykes if they meant to publish it. He has often spoken about what the army should do.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-02-27
Theodore Roosevelt is pleased with Marshall Stimson’s letter as he had been communicating with prominent men on the subject. He has tried to increase the Navy and fortify Hawaii and the Pacific Coast, but faced difficulties doing so. Roosevelt considers The Valor of Ignorance sound in its purpose but finds Homer Lea overstates matters, making his argument less impressionable.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1910-12-19
Theodore Roosevelt agrees with Frank Knox. President Woodrow Wilson makes it difficult to get troops, if the need for troops should arise.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-07-11
Theodore Roosevelt does not believe that there will be a war with Mexico, but if there were such a war, Roosevelt would feel obligated to raise a division. Roosevelt disagrees with Woodrow Wilson and Congress’s handling of the matter.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-07-11
Theodore Roosevelt tells Lieutenant John S. Pratt that he does not know whether he will be allowed to raise a division, but he would like Captain Dan Tyler Moore for the artillery.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-06-29
Theodore Roosevelt writes David Gray that the best help he could give in terms of the World War I division that Roosevelt wants to raise is to provide troop horses. Gray cannot actually fight, because Roosevelt will not take a married man.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-06-30
It appears that President Wilson is drifting into war with Mexico without any preparations. Theodore Roosevelt hopes to raise a division and will stop being a critic once in uniform. Roosevelt wants to serve and be a public example of service even if the division is used to further the political goals of Wilson and the Democratic Party. Sending the National Guard to the border was a mistake that allowed the “hardships of war” without the “benefits of efficient war.” Many families are suffering as their men patrol the border.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-07-03
Theodore Roosevelt is glad the Spanish War veterans support preparedness. He hopes they will back it up to the limit by going for universal military training, which he thinks is absolutely essential to the country. Roosevelt is not able to make any promises about a speech, and he recommends Dwight Logan Loughborough get in touch with Medill McCormick.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-01-03
Theodore Roosevelt hopes that Senator Lodge is appointed Secretary of State. He views Lodge and Elihu Root as the only Republicans fit for the position. However, Roosevelt was distressed by a recent speech that Root delivered suggesting that public opinion can restrain a “wrong-doing nation.” Roosevelt disagrees and feels that Root’s speech damaged the movement for military readiness.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-01-06
Theodore Roosevelt thanks publisher Victor Freemont Lawson for supporting the call for universal military training, which Roosevelt also supports. Training not only creates useful citizens but also social cohesion and a common social conscience.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-01-19
Theodore Roosevelt regrets losing his German friends because of his opinion on the war and feels that his views, compared to Hugo Münsterberg’s, are “as far apart as the poles.” Roosevelt is an American and nothing else. He opposes “hyphenated Americanism.” He believes English should be the language of the United States but Americans must also remain distinct from the people of Europe. Citizens should be treated equally but also held to a high standard of citizenship. Roosevelt judges each nation by their conduct and that is why he is opposing Germany and Austria-Hungary. He admires German ideals but their conduct during the war has been deplorable. Roosevelt’s main concern is that the United States is prepared to do its duty and maintain the nation’s honor.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-01-19
Theodore Roosevelt thanks Harry B. Kirtland for the telegram. However, he cannot consent to having any of his letters used in a primary contest. His letter only referred to Kirtland’s statement on preparedness.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-04-12
Theodore Roosevelt thanks Henry Mortimer for his letter and interesting record of his ancestors. He comments on the historical tribute paid to the Moorish pirates and the continued relevance of the patriotic motto of “millions for defense but not a cent for tribute.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-04-12
Theodore Roosevelt will not interfere in any political issues at the state level. The public does not want national leaders bothering with their state concerns, and Roosevelt does not want any attention taken away from the issue of military readiness.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-04-15