Muir, John, 1838-1914

John Burroughs is starting for California and will not see Theodore Roosevelt before his long African hunt. John Muir will meet Burroughs in Arizona and go with him to the Petrified Forest and the Grand Canyon. Burroughs looks forward to the natural history notes that Roosevelt will bring back with him from Africa and congratulates Roosevelt on his recent speech in Kentucky, which he says contains many “noteworthy passages.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-20

Creator(s)

Burroughs, John, 1837-1921

Frank Ross McCoy reports on activities in Yosemite National Park, hoping to remind President Roosevelt of the “fine work and sport of the summertime.” John Muir, Joseph N. LeConte, and other members of the Sierra Club have said that the change in the valley has been very positive since it became part of the national park this year. The superintendent, Harry Coupland Benson, knows the park well and is popular with the Sierra Club. McCoy describes the park rangers and some encounters with grizzly bears, noting he found the instinct to shoot very strong but felt “stern duty’s restraining hand.” McCoy says Interior Secretary James R. Garfield came and went in a flurry, mentioning that he finds Roosevelt’s cabinet officers showing up everywhere to be “inspiring,” now that he has experienced it in the Philippines, Cuba, and the United States. McCoy offers his thoughts on race relations between the Californians and Japanese, as well as the attitudes of people on the West Coast regarding the Great White Fleet. McCoy regrets he cannot conduct Roosevelt and his family personally through the park.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-08-07

Creator(s)

McCoy, Frank Ross, 1874-1954

A series of short letters sent to Daniel Carter Beard about kinds of merit badges, called “Top Notches,” that could be offered to Beard’s Sons of Daniel Boone which, in 1909, became the Boy Pioneers of America. The organization later merged with the nascent Boy Scouts of America. One of the short letters is from Theodore Roosevelt with suggestions for actions that merit “Top Notches.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-04-09

Creator(s)

Unknown

George Hansen informs President Roosevelt of Louisa Muir’s death in Arizona and its effects on John Muir.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-08-11

Creator(s)

Hansen, George

A chronology tracing the creation of the Olympic National Park, beginning from when the lands were first ceded to the United States Government by Native American groups, and continuing through the various proclamations, legislative bills, and other events impacting the location.

Includes a list of cited references.

Collection

Olympic National Park

Creation Date

Unknown

Duane G. Jundt reviews two large format picture books, a biography, and a special issue of Cobblestone magazine, all devoted to the topic of Theodore Roosevelt. Jundt finds that the illustrations outshine the text in both To Dare Mighty Things: The Life of Theodore Roosevelt and in The Camping Trip That Changed America: Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir, and Our National Parks. Jundt finds fault with some of the works for assigning heroic qualities to all of Roosevelt’s actions, but he notes that the works do reflect changes in historiography with their emphasis on Roosevelt’s commitment to conservation. He closes the review by sharing that all of the works under consideration highlight Roosevelt’s role as a father. 

A stereoscope card showing Roosevelt speaking, the front covers of Who Was Theodore Roosevelt? and Cobblestone magazine, and the logo of the Theodore Roosevelt Association populate the essay.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2014

Mark W.T. Harvey begins his review of Douglas Brinkley’s The Wilderness Warrior by noting that it is a very large book with much to say, but Harvey asserts that in his zeal to convey the story of Theodore Roosevelt as a conservation crusader, Brinkley tries to cover too much, provides too many details, and overwhelms the reader with his accumulation of facts and anecdotes. Harvey also argues that this barrage of knowledge comes at the expense of analysis and interpretation, and he believes that Brinkley lets his enthusiasm for his subject overtake the need for a critical perspective. Harvey contends that Brinkley does not adequately explore what terms like conservation, preservation, and wilderness meant in Roosevelt’s time and how Roosevelt acted to fulfill the meaning of these designations. Although he faults Brinkley for making Roosevelt too much of “a conservation hero,” Harvey concludes his review with praise for Brinkley for raising the profile of Roosevelt as an unrestrained lover of nature and a bold leader in the fight to conserve the nation’s natural resources.

The front cover illustration of The Wilderness Warrior, one of Roosevelt’s bird lists, two photographs of the Elkhorn Ranch, and seven photographs of Roosevelt accompany the essay.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2011

William N. Tilchin provides an introduction to former Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal editor John A. Gable’s last major public address of October 23, 2004. Tilchin notes that Gable’s speech called for a comprehensive study of Theodore Roosevelt and conservation and that Douglas Brinkley has met that need with his 2009 book The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America. The journal reprints Gable’s address in its handwritten version with Gable’s final edits added by Tilchin.

In the speech, Gable asserts that Theodore Roosevelt’s record as a conservationist and an environmentalist has not been adequately explored by historians and biographers, and he notes the work of Tweed Roosevelt in trying to correct this shortcoming. Gable also argues that Roosevelt, a man of many seeming contradictions, was both a use-conservationist and a preservationist when it came to natural resources, and he quotes Theodore Roosevelt and cites examples from his record as president to bolster his argument. 

Four photographs of Gable supplement the text. Gable’s address first appeared in volume 26, number 3, 2005 issue of the journal.

James M. Strock examines Theodore Roosevelt’s approach to leadership by identifying and exploring twenty tenets of Roosevelt’s leadership style. Among these are seizing the initiative, hiring talented subordinates, and delegating authority. Strock draws extensively from Roosevelt’s leadership of the Rough Riders and his management of the Panama Canal construction for examples with which to illustrate Roosevelt’s leadership, and he cites Elihu Root and Gifford Pinchot as examples of talented subordinate leaders. Fifteen of the twenty tenets offer examples of how Roosevelt managed those who worked for him in various capacities.  

Six photographs populate the article, including ones of Roosevelt, Root, and Pinchot. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2007

Lowell E. Baier describes the importance of Theodore Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch to the formation of Roosevelt’s environmental awareness, and subsequently to the emergence of the nation’s conservation movement in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Baier provides a brief history of the conservation movement in the United States before Roosevelt’s emergence as its leader, and he argues that the conservation effort stemmed in part from the nation’s desire to preserve parts of its frontier past. Baier quotes Roosevelt biographer Edmund Morris in emphasizing the importance of the Elkhorn to Roosevelt’s environmental beliefs, and he highlights efforts to secure the protection of lands directly across the Little Missouri River from the Elkhorn ranch house.

A photograph of Roosevelt with two of his ranch hands and three historic photographs of the Elkhorn Ranch buildings populate the essay along with two contemporary color photographs of the site. The essay also features illustrations of Roosevelt’s cattle brands, sketches of the Elkhorn ranch buildings by Frederic Remington, and a large map showing the various units of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and surrounding lands.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2007

John A. Gable asserts that Theodore Roosevelt’s record as a conservationist and an environmentalist has not been adequately explored by historians and biographers, and he notes the work of Tweed Roosevelt in trying to correct this shortcoming. Gable also argues that Roosevelt, a man of many seeming contradictions, was both a use-conservationist and a preservationist when it came to natural resources, and he quotes Theodore Roosevelt and cites examples from his record as president to bolster his argument. The section also includes a text box with a quote from Theodore Roosevelt, an announcement about the establishment of the Theodore Roosevelt Center for American Civilization at Tulane University, and information about the 2005 annual meeting of the Theodore Roosevelt Association.

The article includes ten photographs of Gable with various figures, including three Presidents of the United States–Jimmy Carter, George Bush, and George W. Bush.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2004-10-23

Biography dominates the “Reviews” section of this issue: five biographies are considered, including those of four Roosevelts and one of Gifford Pinchot. Charles W. Snyder finds H. Paul Jeffers’s examination of Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt’s life to be less than complete, and he notes that the work focuses on Roosevelt’s military career, especially his service during World War II. John A. Gable revisits the work of husband and wife biographers Edmund Morris and Sylvia Jukes Morris in his essays on their biographies of Theodore Roosevelt and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt. Gable compares The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt with Theodore Rex, and he asserts that the endnotes in both works are worth reading. He notes that paperback editions of both of the Morris biographies have been issued to coincide with the release of Theodore Rex. 

Gable reviews Char Miller’s Gifford Pinchot and the Making of Modern Environmentalism, and he describes the split in the environmental movement between the followers of Pinchot and John Muir. Gable highlights Pinchot’s career after his service in the Roosevelt administration, and he notes that Miller’s work has won two book awards for biography. “In Medal of Honor Revisited,” Gregory A. Wynn examines the arguments of two acclaimed military historians who take opposing views on Theodore Roosevelt’s Medal of Honor award. Wynn summarizes the arguments of  Edward M. Coffman and Allan Reed Millett, and he finds more merit in Coffman’s assertions based on eyewitness accounts of Roosevelt’s actions in battle. 

Two father-son photographs–Brigadier General Roosevelt with his son Quentin and Pinchot with his son Gifford B. Pinchot–appear in the section along with four text boxes highlighting various aspects of the Theodore Roosevelt Association such as its vision statement and website.

John A. Gable reviews the second volume of Edmund Morris’s biography of Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Rex. Gable notes the literary character of the work, and he argues that Henry F. Pringle’s biography of Roosevelt is still read not because of its judgments, but because it is well written. Gable also compares Morris’s book to those of Lewis L. Gould and William Henry Harbaugh, and he quotes from several reviews of Theodore Rex in leading newspapers and magazines. Gable singles out the critical review of Christine Stansell, and he rebuffs some of her arguments by quoting from a response he wrote to her review. Gable concludes his essay by noting that many reviewers found parallels between the events of September 11, 2001 and the assassination of President William McKinley in September 1901. 

A photograph of Roosevelt, two of Morris, and a text box advertising a CD-ROM published by the Theodore Roosevelt Association appear in the review.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

The combined “Books” and “Book Notes” sections contain four lengthy reviews, a brief review essay, and a notice about five works related to the life of Theodore Roosevelt. It also includes a short excerpt from Roosevelt’s writings on conservation and a report by Wallace Finley Dailey on the status of the Theodore Roosevelt Collection at Harvard University. Christopher Volpe praises Edward Renehan’s biography of John Burroughs and highlights Burroughs’s friendships with Roosevelt and the poet Walt Whitman. Volpe notes that Burroughs was a very popular figure as a nature writer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, but that he fell into obscurity after his death in 1921.

John A. Gable admires the cartoons and commentary found in J. David Valaik’s Theodore Roosevelt, An American Hero in Caricature which reproduces forty-seven caricatures of Roosevelt found in the pages of Puck magazine. Gable also favors Caleb Carr’s historical novel, The Alienist, which revolves around Roosevelt’s tenure as Police Commissioner of New York City. Gable, deeply skeptical of fictional portrayals of Roosevelt, finds Carr’s treatment “entirely accurate,” and he notes how other characters that people the novel have roots in real persons.

James G. Lewis reviews Char Miller’s Gifford Pinchot: The Evolution of an American Conservationist and notes that the work challenges the established view of the relationship between Pinchot and John Muir. Lewis says that Miller is “writing revisionist environmental history” by providing a nuanced portrait of Pinchot. Some of the selections as well as some of the commentary found in Mario R. Di Nunzio’s Theodore Roosevelt: An American Mind are questioned by the anonymous reviewer.

Wallace Finley Dailey, Curator of the Theodore Roosevelt Collection at Harvard University, provides a detailed update on manuscript and book additions to the collection; the use of the collection holdings by numerous authors; and the adoption of new computer based cataloging technology. Dailey also discusses fundraising efforts, exhibitions using the collection materials, and donations from members of the Roosevelt family. Photographs of Burroughs, Pinchot, Carr, and Valiak appear in the sections along with a view of the Theodore Roosevelt Gallery at Harvard.

Variety marks the “News and Notes” column as it covers twelve topics over five pages. The first three topics involve awards and prizes conferred in 1988, and describe the Theodore Roosevelt Public Speaking Contest for the New York public schools, research grants from the American Museum of Natural History, and the Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval History Prize. The column reprints Tweed Roosevelt’s address on the 100 year anniversary of Arbor Day in Albany, New York, and notes the passing of Paul Russell Cutright who wrote two books about Roosevelt as a naturalist. “News and Notes” also highlights the speaking engagements of John A. Gable, promotes the Theodore Roosevelt Association’s publication of a collection of Roosevelt’s speeches, The Man in the Arena, and refutes assertions made in the media that Roosevelt believed in astrology.

A photograph from the finals of the public speaking contest, an illustration of Roosevelt, and one of both sides of the Theodore Roosevelt Association medallion appear in the column.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1988

Gifford B. Pinchot, Gifford Pinchot’s son and only child, challenges assertions made by Stephen R. Fox in an article, “Gifford Pinchot and His Place in the American Conservation Movement,” that appeared in the Summer, 1987 issue of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal. Gifford B. Pinchot argues that Fox’s claims that Gifford Pinchot had no original ideas and that his works were written by others does not withstand scrutiny. Gifford B. Pinchot cites his father’s invention of fishing gear and says that he had a secretary and research assistant, but that he did his own writing. Fox responds by writing that Gifford Pinchot did not produce his own writing when he was working as the nation’s chief forester, and he quotes the historian Samuel P. Hays who says that Pinchot did a lot of damage to the conservation movement.

Three photographs of Gifford Pinchot fly fishing illustrate the exchange of letters.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1988

Four books are scrutinized in this edition of the “Book Reviews” section. A catalog to the Theodore Roosevelt film collection at the Library of Congress is discussed, and the review notes how the collection was assembled, how the catalog is organized, and it highlights other Roosevelt collections and their printed guides. Kenneth D. Crews reviews two historical novels about Roosevelt, Bully! by Mark Schorr and The Big Stick by Lawrence Alexander. Crews finds more entertainment value in Schorr’s book, and he asserts that both titles cater to simplistic and stereotyped views of Roosevelt at the expense of a carefully crafted character. John A. Gable examines Theodore Roosevelt: Wilderness Writings edited by Paul Schullery, and most of the review focuses on, and quotes extensively from, Schullery’s introduction. Gable notes that Schullery tackles the thorny issue of Roosevelt’s hunting, and he describes how the book is organized.  

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1986

Creator(s)

Gable, John A.; Crews, Kenneth D.

Advertisement and order form for seven books from Peregrine Smith books. Theodore Roosevelt: Wilderness Writings edited by Paul Schullery dominates the advertisement, and it is also included in a five volume Literature of the American Wilderness set. The two page advertisement features a one page excerpt from Roosevelt’s writing about the bighorn sheep which is reproduced in cursive handwriting intermixed with a drawing of Roosevelt, pen in hand, and a drawing of three bighorns. The second page of the advertisement depicts the covers of the books, has summaries of each title or collection, and includes the order form.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1986

Creator(s)

Unknown

Barry W. Walsh provides an overview of the career of America’s first and most famous forester, Gifford Pinchot. Walsh emphasizes Pinchot’s work in government to promote forest conservation, and she examines his work with President Theodore Roosevelt and his dismissal under President William Howard Taft. Walsh also examines Pinchot’s bitter quarrel with John Muir over building a dam in the Hetch Hetchy valley in Yosemite National Park, and she notes his advising President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the founding of the Yale Forest School. A photograph of Pinchot appears in the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1987

Creator(s)

Walsh, Barry W.

Stephen R. Fox explores the divide in the American conservation movement between camps headed by followers of John Muir and those of Gifford Pinchot. He talks about the popularity of each and of the scholarship that has been produced about each of them. Fox argues that Pinchot “is best understood not as a conservationist but as a politician,” and he examines Pinchot’s autobiography in some detail to support this assertion. Fox argues that Pinchot had presidential aspirations and that he demonstrated little interest in practical forestry matters in his later years, but he also contends that Pinchot remains an important figure in the history of the American conservation movement.

A photograph of Roosevelt and Pinchot appears in the article as does a listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association. A notice that this issue of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal is dedicated to Jessica Kraft appears on the last page of the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1987