Petitions

Letter from John O. Yeiser to Isaac T. A. Reneau

John O. Yeiser thanks Isaac T. A. Reneau for volunteering to support this work of bringing Roosevelt’s men together in his city in order to get Roosevelt nominated for President. They are not asking Roosevelt what he thinks, but Yeiser does not believe Roosevelt would refuse the nomination and allow Taft to win again. Yeiser encourages Reneau to get the “real rough Roosevelt men” to sign the petition, and the rest will follow and Roosevelt will be elected President.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-11-29

Creator(s)

Yeiser, John O. (John Otho), 1866-1928

Letter from John O. Yeiser to Theodore Roosevelt

John O. Yeiser tells Theodore Roosevelt he has taken the responsibility of mailing out petitions to get an idea of what people are thinking about the presidential nomination, though he is being cautious. Yeiser does not need Roosevelt to approve of the endeavor, but Yeiser does ask if Roosevelt might consider coming to Nebraska to speak at one of the banquets he plans to hold. Any correspondence between them is strictly confidential unless Roosevelt authorizes Yeiser to mention it.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-11-23

Creator(s)

Yeiser, John O. (John Otho), 1866-1928

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Gerrit J. Diekema

President Roosevelt informs Representative Diekema that he has received a copy of the petition to establish a Dutch Chair at the University of Chicago, which already has around six hundred signatures. He supports the petition and sincerely hopes the position will be created.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-21

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to George C. Holt

President Roosevelt tells Judge George C. Holt that he and Secretary of State Elihu Root agreed with the judge’s recent petition, but he is not certain that he will be able to “accomplish anything or not in the direction desired.” Roosevelt notes that the Senate is not always looking to help the president accomplish his goals, and often “can help a cause best” by saying little about it in public.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-12

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Ella Sears Bulloch to Theodore Roosevelt

Ella Sears Bulloch petitions her nephew, President Roosevelt, on behalf of her sister’s godson, Gifford Cutler, who failed his exam for the United States Navy. She lists his relatives that Roosevelt would know. She explains that he passed in all subjects except spelling and is doing well in a quality technical school in Washington.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-03-09

Creator(s)

Bulloch, Ella Sears, 1849-1911

Telegram from Theodore Roosevelt to John Hay

President Roosevelt instructs Secretary of State Hay to release to the press the cable that was sent to St. Petersburg, Russia, and announce that the Russian government refused to receive the petition. The signers of the petition are now free “to say whatever they choose as regards the matter.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-07-16

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Telegram from Benjamin F. Barnes to John Hay

Benjamin F. Barnes conveys President Roosevelt’s views and directions regarding a petition that will be sent to the Russian government.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-07-14

Creator(s)

Barnes, Benjamin F., 1868-1909

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Alfred O. Fonkalsrud

Theodore Roosevelt informs Alfred O. Fronkalsrud that he does not like to sign public requests and asks for the names of the regents. He will write to them to express his support for the proposed change.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-11-25

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Richard Watson Gilder

President Roosevelt tells Richard Watson Gilder that he can do whatever he wants about a letter. Roosevelt enjoyed reading what Gilder wrote about St. John’s Chapel, and has signed the petition asking that it not be disturbed.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-16

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to United States Navy Department

President Roosevelt believes that Diamond L. Sadler and James W. McDonough have a case, and directs that their petition to be re-rated as quartermen in charge be granted, unless there is a reason why it should not be.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-26

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to A. E. Dunning

President Roosevelt thanks A. E. Dunning for an editorial that he wrote. Roosevelt agrees that while the motive behind the petition that Dunning wrote about may have been good, the act itself was counterproductive.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-22

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Curtis Guild

President Roosevelt assures Massachusetts Governor Guild that his petition regarding tariff legislation will receive serious consideration.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-18

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Florence Bayard Lockwood La Farge

Regarding the biological survey, President Roosevelt characterizes the actions of outgoing Senator James Wolcott Wadsworth as typical, dirty, and fitting of a “cheap demagog.” Roosevelt will speak with C. Hart Merriam about the matter, and he asks Florence Bayard Lockwood La Farge to have William Dutcher and his Audubon Society contacts mobilize the press and petition their senators as well.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-02

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Curtis Guild

President Roosevelt acknowledges receipt of Governor Guild’s last telegram and agrees with him about its contents. Roosevelt assures Guild that he has only attempted to support Guild’s decision regarding the execution of Charles L. Tucker, and does not care if he is attacked for it.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-01

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Oscar S. Straus

President Roosevelt writes to Oscar S. Straus about the international situation, and while Russia has promised to take steps to prevent trouble being done to its Jewish population, Roosevelt also comments on the impossibility of interfering in other countries, such as the Congo Free State or Turkey. Issuing petitions can sometimes be harmful unless the United States is able to back up the petitions with military force, which it is unlikely to do. Roosevelt knows he does not have to convince Straus of this, but some of Straus’s friends “need to have these considerations ever clearly before their eyes.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-04-10

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William H. Taft

President Roosevelt asks Secretary of War Taft to review an enclosed petition to stop diversion of the waters of the Niagara River before the falls to determine whether it is legal and proper to do so.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-04-04

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Timothy L. Woodruff

President Roosevelt asks Timothy L. Woodruff to confer with the men who have signed the petition about the appointment in question.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-12-19

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to George B. McClellan

President Roosevelt sends New York Mayor George B. McClellan a self-explanatory letter. He feels that the position taken is proper, and that Congress should not be asked to appropriate money for both the Fulton celebration and the Jamestown Ter-centennial Exposition. He wonders if the Fulton celebration could be postponed, or combined with the Jamestown exposition.

Comments and Context

The Fulton Celebration was originally planned to take place in 1907 and celebrate the 100th anniversary of Robert Fulton beginning steam navigation on the Hudson River. It would later be postponed to 1909 and combined with a celebration of the 300th anniversary of the discovery of the Hudson River by Henry Hudson.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-07-29

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Wingate Sewall

President Roosevelt would like to appoint William Wingate Sewell to the collectorship, but needs a petition to demonstrate support for Sewell. Roosevelt does not want to get into a fight with the Senators or Representatives.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-11-17

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Grimes Walker

President Roosevelt sends Rear Admiral Walker a petition from the Central and South American Telegraph Company and a letter from the Attorney General. Roosevelt would like to know why Scrymser’s offer to send government messages at 40 cents (gold) per word was not taken.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-07-21

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919