Morris, Laura A. Hull, 1852-1917

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Cabot Lodge

President Roosevelt found Senator Lodge’s letter to Richard Olney to convey a true mastery of language. Enclosed are letters that will allow for a full understanding of the scandal concerning Laura A. Hull Morris, and Roosevelt will also have information for Lodge about the Brownsville incident. Roosevelt has just given William Sturgis Bigelow the first of the five dollar gold pieces.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-10-01

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Francis J. A. Darr

President Roosevelt thanks Francis J. A. Darr for the letter, which he will publish if need be. Accounts of the incident involving Laura A. Hull Morris at the White House were deceptive, and the generous explanation of her behavior is that she was insane.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-22

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Statement of Secret Service agent Stephen A. Connell

Secret Service Agent Connell recounts his experience of the “Mrs. Minor Morris incident,” when Laura A. Hull Morris entered the White House and demanded to speak with President Roosevelt before being escorted from the premises.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906

Creator(s)

Connell, Stephen A., 1873-1928

Sensation mongers

An article in the Lakewood Times and Journal discusses the political aspects of the removal of Laura A. Hull Morris from the White House. The writer argues that politicians are drawing attention to the incident unnecessarily and Morris was rightfully removed because she caused a disturbance after being asked to leave.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-26

Creator(s)

Unknown

The silence of Republicans; The Mrs. Morris affair

Two newspaper articles, one regarding the sentiment and reactions of Republicans to Senator Benjamin R. Tillman’s speech in Congress. The other article discusses the removal of Mrs. Minor Morris from the White House.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-21

Creator(s)

Unknown; Fitze, Charles G., Mrs.

Senator Tillman and President Roosevelt

The Laurel Ledger prints an article discussing Senator Tillman’s criticism of the removal of Laura A. Hull Morris from the White House. The article speaks highly of President Roosevelt and also describes where a “woman’s place” should be, claiming that if Morris had been in her place “attending to her duties at home” rather than “trying to influence the government in her hen-pecked husband’s behalf,” there would not have been an incident.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-20

Creator(s)

Unknown

Statement of Jacob P. Frech

Private Jacob P. Frech describes his involvement in removing Laura A. Hull Morris from the White House. Frech claims that Morris was uncooperative, even kicking him in the groin. A witness claims that the guards used a reasonable amount of force considering the manner in which Morris protested her removal, calling her a “large, strong woman.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-19

Creator(s)

Unknown

Senate vote

Record of the Senate vote regarding Senator Tillman’s request for an investigation of the removal of Mrs. Minor Morris from the White House. The motion carried by a vote of 54 to 8.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-18

Creator(s)

Unknown

Current comment

Article describing two incidents involving former inhabitants of Sedalia, Missouri. One is Mrs. Minor Morris, and the author of the article laments the notoriety Morris has achieved.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-18

Creator(s)

Fuller, Aunt

Head of nation hotly assailed

W. S. Couch writes an article detailing Senator Tillman’s verbal attack on President Roosevelt and call for investigation on the removal of Laura A. Hull Morris from the White House.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-18

Creator(s)

Couch, W. S.

Mr. Roosevelt and Mrs. Morris

Francis Joseph Andrew Darr writes to the editor of the New York Journal regarding Laura A. Hull Morris’s removal from the White House. Darr is critical of President Roosevelt, William Loeb, and Benjamin F. Barnes, stating that Morris “has the sympathy of all decent men and women.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-19

Creator(s)

Darr, Francis J. A. (Francis Joseph Andrew), 1859-1918

A White House outrage

An article in the Springfield Daily News reports the ejection of Laura A. Hull Morris from the White House. The writer goes into great detail about Morris’s alleged respectability, her well-groomed and well-dressed appearance, and her reason for visiting the White House. The behavior of the White House staff and of Benjamin F. Barnes is highly criticized. The author also criticizes President Roosevelt, calling him “Czar Roosevelt” and claiming that anyone who disagrees with him is subject to this type of treatment. Furthermore the writer states that “such proceedings have no rival in any country but Russia.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-05

Creator(s)

Unknown

Response to the Mrs. Morris incident

A brief article responds to the removal of Laura A. Hull Morris from the White House, stating that she was treated appropriately for her behavior and her social status should not matter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-06

Creator(s)

Unknown

Vindicating authority at the White House

Regarding the removal of Laura A. Hull Morris from the White House, the author argues that all individuals should be treated with respect, despite supposed mental states. In President Roosevelt’s White House, “traditions of dignity have been discarded.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-07

Creator(s)

Unknown

Mrs. Morris not ill treated at the White House

Statement from Assistant Secretary to the President, Benjamin F. Barnes, detailing the events of the Mrs. Morris incident.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-09

Creator(s)

Smith, William Wolff

At the president’s gate: The man who bars objectionable visitors

Report of the removal of Laura A. Hull Morris from the White House, emphasizing the mild mannered nature of Benjamin F. Barnes, Assistant Secretary to the President, during the event.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-12

Creator(s)

Unknown

Washington letter

Lengthy news articles reporting on the Mrs. Morris incident and the Hamilton Bill, as well as a series of short news stories and satire.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-11

Creator(s)

Snow, C. A.

Response to the Mrs. Morris incident

An article responds to the removal of Laura A. Hull Morris from the White House, claiming that she, not the White House, was responsible for the “outrage against American womanhood” which ensued.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-10

Creator(s)

Unknown

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Melville Elijah Stone

President Roosevelt thanks Melville Elijah Stone for the letter of explanation but believes that if Elmer E. Paine is replaced as a reporter in the White House before the Senate votes to confirm Benjamin F. Barnes’s nomination, it will be difficult to convince people that the change was not made because of the Mrs. Morris incident earlier in the year. If Stone still feels that Paine should be replaced, Roosevelt suggests waiting a few weeks before taking action.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-10

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Melville Elijah Stone

President Roosevelt writes to Melville Elijah Stone because he has heard a rumor that Elmer E. Paine is to be replaced as a reporter at the White House because of his truthful reporting on the “Mrs. Morris affair.” Roosevelt defends Paine and his reporting and makes it known that he “should feel in the strongest way his change under these circumstances.” Roosevelt feels that Paine’s removal would signal that reporters should not report the truth and does not want them to be punished for being honest.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-08

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919