Your TR Source
While Republicans in Massachusetts are happy about the nationwide victories in the recent election, this sentiment is marred by Governor John Lewis Bates’s loss. This result is somewhat puzzling, given the other election results within the state. One possible explanation is due to the strained relations Bates had with the state legislature.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-11-09
Several newspaper articles highlight the large margins by which President Roosevelt won the recent presidential election, including in his home state of New York, and calls Roosevelt’s victory “one of the most significant victories for enlightened popular government that the world has ever known.” Roosevelt has dealt with many questions while in office, including the Panama Canal and the anthracite coal strike, and the people approve of him and the men in his administration. Given the magnitude of Roosevelt’s victory, another article muses on the future of the Democratic party and William Jennings Bryan, who may be ascendant in the party with the defeat of presidential candidate Alton B. Parker.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-11-09
This newspaper article lists the states in which President Roosevelt had a plurality of at least two to one votes to Alton B. Parker. In Vermont, the votes for Roosevelt were four times greater than the votes for Parker. The writer observes the majority of the two to one states were in the West.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-12-12
An open letter in which railroad executive John Byrne justifies his prior support for Grover Cleveland why explaining why his position has since changed, especially regarding the tariff.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-26
Sheet music for “A Toast to Roosevelt” by Jules Jordan, supporting Theodore Roosevelt’s 1904 presidential campaign. The cover displays the title in bold black letters at the top of the page with a flourish underneath and a black and white, 1902 photograph of Roosevelt standing three-quarters to his right, left hand on waist. Roosevelt is wearing a long coat, striped pants, vest, tie, and pince-nez glasses.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10
Stéphane Lauzanne, editor of Le Matin, proclaims that the results of the United States election are no longer in doubt due to the large majority garnered by the Republican party in recent elections taking place in Vermont. Noting Vermont’s place as a sort of “electoral barometer,” it seems clear that President Roosevelt will be reelected. Lauzanne provides a brief description of the Democratic party for his French audience, as well as a short history of Roosevelt’s political career.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904
Secretary of War Taft addresses the Republican Convention of North Carolina on a number of topics, highlighting the differences between the Republican and Democratic parties and arguing that the Republican party has better helped the southern states than the Democratic party has. Taft believes the South’s loyalty to the Democratic party comes largely from its historical affiliation, and encourages Republicans in the south to show that they are not merely a party of office-seekers, but that they are working to improve the state of the South as a whole.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-07-10
Addison B. Atkins reports that, amid fears of the schism caused by Gregorio Aglípay y Labayán and general anti-Catholic sentiments in the Philippines, Catholics are supporting Republicans over Democrats following candidate Alton B. Parker’s letter stating his belief that the United States should leave the islands and grant Filipinos self-government.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-09-06
Addison B. Atkins reports that, amid fears of the schism caused by Gregorio Aglípay y Labayán and general anti-Catholic sentiments in the Philippines, Catholics are supporting Republicans over Democrats following candidate Alton B. Parker’s letter stating his belief that the United States should leave the islands and grant Filipinos self-government.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-09-06
Daniel Edgar Sickles urges his fellow veterans to vote for President Roosevelt, rather than Judge Alton B. Parker, in the upcoming election.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-09-07
Prominent Catholics who claim to be Democrats support President Roosevelt because of his commitment to the separation of church and state, and stated desire to nominate men to office based on their merits, rather than their religion.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-08-30
William E. Chandler expresses his complete confidence that the Republicans will be victorious and President Roosevelt will win reelection. Thanks to Alton B. Parker’s blunder in sending a telegram about the gold standard, the only thing that could cause Roosevelt to lose is the perception that he is taking too much money from magnates like J. Pierpont Morgan, Edward Henry Harriman, and Henry Clay Frick.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-09-10
Nathan Bijur takes exception to the New York Evening Post’s endorsement of the Parker Constitution Club, which aims to examine full records of President Roosevelt’s actions which have overridden the Constitution. Bijur notes that other presidents, such as Grover Cleveland, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln, were all also accused of overriding the Constitution.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-09-10
In a speech, San Franciscan Frank Vrooman appeals to the people of Maine to re-elect President Roosevelt, citing policy failures and inconsistency in the Democratic Party, and the lack of their candidate Alton B. Parker. Vrooman believes that Roosevelt will not back down in the Philippines and remain devoted to American supremacy in the Pacific.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-09-12
At a meeting of Fayette County Democrats in Kentucky, the participants resolved to form The Democrats’ Parker and Davis Club of Fayette County, and to work to elect Democrat Alton B. Parker as President. The article also provides updates on Judge Watts Parker and several cases in the District Court in Fayette County, as well as news about a farmer shipping diseased sheep, and the opening of schools in Kentucky.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-09-13
Milton B. Goodkind writes that he was skeptical about Theodore Roosevelt being president following the 1904 election due to his belief that Roosevelt’s anti-trust program would rebound and impact the lives of the common people. Now that this has happened, the people who are most affected blame Roosevelt for the economic conditions they are suffering. Goodkind suggests that the reforms that Roosevelt has been instituting need to happen sooner or later, but that by insisting they happen now, the public may take their anger out on Roosevelt instead of the trusts, at whom their wrath and indignation should be directed.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-03-21
The article notes that while editors of the Toronto World express dismay at the things said about Judge Alton B. Parker, the Paris Pictorial must be in “anguish” after their commentary about American affairs. An excerpt from the paper spells the names of numerous politicians wrong and suggests that American presidents are elected based on their individuality. In particular it states that “Judge Perkor” is a noted swimmer and diver, and that “President Roosevaldt” is a Mormon who has children “by the score.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-08-22
Henry W. Taft believes there is no adequate foundation for a statement made by Alton B. Parker that the common law can serve as a legal remedy against trusts and monopolies. Taft maintains that it is necessary for laws restricting monopolies to come from the federal level in order to appropriately apply criminal penalties and work at a national scale. Taft also quotes extensively from three letters by Thomas Jefferson to show that Jefferson, the founder of the Democratic party, opposed the common law being applied at a national scale.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-09-30
A market letter sent to investors by well-known investment firm Dick Bros. & Co. The letter is highly critical of President Roosevelt and his actions surrounding the financial panic, calling him a “Mad Messiah” and describing Roosevelt’s recent hunting trip “with swashbucklers and clowns” as “pursuing bobcats and slaying semi-domestic fat bears” at a time when Wall Street is in crisis.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-12-13
Proof for a newspaper article that describes political activities the year before the national party conventions, when many politicians are already active in the presidential race. Both Democrats and Republicans are already trying to shape public opinion toward conservative platforms and “safe and sane” candidates. Republicans in New York are trying to kill support for William Jennings Bryan in the South. Others are actively against a third term for President Roosevelt. Despite this activity, however, Bryan and Roosevelt remain popular, and no other political candidacy has gained much headway. The press and Senator Jonathan Bourne are advocating for another term for Roosevelt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-06-28