Nominations for office

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William W. Cocks

President Roosevelt believes it is nonsense to say that he demanded Townshend Scudder’s nomination [for New York State Supreme Court]. He does not remember saying anything about Scudder except to Representative Cocks himself, and even then Roosevelt believes he only said that he “hoped that the nominators’ ticket would be as far as possible adopted, and that as few men would be substituted for those on it as possible.” Roosevelt details that he also wrote to New York State Republican Committee Chairman Timothy L. Woodruff about another candidate that Roosevelt believed to be on the ticket. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-22

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Ethan Allen Hitchcock

President Roosevelt was thrilled by Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock’s telegram. While he is disappointed Winston Churchill was not nominated, he counts the narrow loss as a victory of “moral effect.” He has been reviewing the documents regarding the charges against Governor of Oklahoma Territory Frank C. Frantz and comments on the case’s various aspects.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John A. Sleicher

President Roosevelt thanks John A. Sleicher for the letter and sends his regards to Sleicher’s daughter, Harriet C. Sleicher. He is pleased Sleicher likes his response to Representative James E. Watson. Later he may communicate about the situation in New York state.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-24

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Nicholas Murray Butler

President Roosevelt would be pleased by Nicholas Murray Butler’s plan to have Roosevelt nominated as a senator after his term as president is over, but worries it would cause opposition to the ticket from both Thomas Collier Platt and Benjamin B. Odell.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-31

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Henry Wigmore

President Roosevelt was glad to receive John Henry Wigmore’s dispatch, because he has been considering nominating Franklin K. Lane to the Interstate Commerce Commission but was waiting for a statement like the one Wigmore just gave. He wants to be sure that the man he selects will “do exact justice,” wronging neither the public nor the railroads.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-10-15

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Elihu Root

President Roosevelt asks Secretary of State Root’s opinion on whether or not Charles Evans Hughes should accept the nomination for Mayor of New York. Roosevelt thinks it is a good idea, but William Loeb believes the people will see Hughes’s nomination as a way to sidetrack him from his current investigation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-10-08

Telegram from Theodore Roosevelt to Herbert Parsons

President Roosevelt informs Representative Parsons that he and Secretary of State Elihu Root feel that it is unwise to nominate Charles Evans Hughes for Attorney General. It would be “a calamity” to stop him from his current work investigating insurance companies.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-10-09

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to James D. Yeomans

President Roosevelt informs James D. Yeomans that his successor on the Interstate Commerce Commission does not wish to join the commission quite yet, and that Roosevelt will therefore nominate Yeomans to serve until March 4th, with the understanding that Yeomans would resign on that day.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-01-11

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Robert Bacon

President Roosevelt does not understand why there was hesitation about nominating Robert Bacon and had earnestly hoped that Bacon would be nominated. He did not believe there would be any “clamor” raised against Bacon.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-14

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Barnes

President Roosevelt will write Governor Benjamin B. Odell regarding his support for John Thomas McDonough’s nomination to fill D. Cady Herrick’s vacancy.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-09-26

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Benjamin B. Odell

President Roosevelt believes the nomination of John Thomas McDonough for Judge D. Cady Herrick’s place is most desirable.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-09-26

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Eugene A. Philbin

President Roosevelt argues that he does not favor Catholics any more than he favors Protestants, and tries to treat every person alike in public office as he does in his personal life. The United States will last for many centuries, and he hopes that Catholics elected president in the future will appreciate his actions. He supported the nomination of General Philip Henry Sheridan, a Catholic, for president in 1884. Roosevelt would like Eugene A. Philbin to read a letter written by John Henry Hammond about Roosevelt’s removal of Asa Bird Gardiner.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-09-10

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Emlen Roosevelt

President Roosevelt discusses potential Secretary of State nominees with his cousin William Emlen Roosevelt, a prominent banker. The president notes that Elihu Root has popular support while Joseph Hodges Choate does not, adding that trying to “engineer his nomination would be disastrous.” The president says he has heard that the businessmen in Brooklyn, New York, support Charles A. Schieren.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-12

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bell

President Roosevelt expresses concerns to Charles J. Bell about a prior discussion they had with Governor Benjamin B. Odell and Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson regarding the possible appointment of Elliott B. Norris to a prominent position shortly before the election. Although Roosevelt “took a great fancy to him,” he is concerned that since Norris ran for political office in New York just two years prior as a Democrat, appointing him at this time would “look too much like bargain and sale.” It would leave Roosevelt’s actions open to misinterpretation, and the opposition would be sure to use it during the current campaign.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-01

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Aaron Jones

President Roosevelt expresses concern to Aaron Jones, Master of the National Grange, about a prior discussion they had with Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson and Governor Benjamin B. Odell regarding the possible appointment of Mr. Norris to a prominent position shortly before the election. Although Roosevelt “took a great fancy to him,” he is concerned that since Norris ran for political office in New York just two years prior as a Democrat, appointing him at this time would “look too much like bargain and sale” and leave Roosevelt’s actions open to misinterpretation on top of the lies and “slander” the opposition will bring forth during the campaign. Roosevelt would like Jones to ask Norris to visit him in person.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-01

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Oscar S. Straus

President Roosevelt invites Oscar S. Straus to come to Oyster Bay with James Speyer, Jacob H. Schiff, Cornelius Newton Bliss (treasurer of the Republican National Committee), and Elihu Root to see him formally notified of his nomination.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-07-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Elihu Root

President Roosevelt asks Elihu Root whether he will be in New York in the days after the democratic nomination. If so, Roosevelt would like Root to visit the Roosevelt home in Oyster Bay, New York, and help him go over his speech.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-07-05

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Anna Roosevelt Cowles

President Roosevelt informs Anna Roosevelt Cowles he is honored to receive the nomination for president given the circumstances, as the first Vice President to assume the Presidency after a death, and to receive his party’s nomination without opposition.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-06-27

Telegram from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles W. Fairbanks

President Roosevelt congratulates Senator Fairbanks on his nomination for Vice-President.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-06-23

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Albert J. Hopkins

President Roosevelt was pleased to see the way in which Frank Lowden made the nomination of Charles Samuel Deneen unanimous and pledged his active support. Roosevelt received criticism for nominating Thomas Nevin Jamieson, and he feels that the heartiness with which Jamieson and William Lorimer support Deneen justifies his decision.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-06-04