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Print shows William McKinley as a circus ringmaster trying to coax a defiant Emilio Aguinaldo to jump through a hoop labeled “Peace”; standing in the background are three figures labeled “Cuba, Porto Rico, [and] Hawaii”.
Caption: Ringmaster McKinley–You’ve got to jump through, and the sooner you do it the better!
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1899-09-20
As President and personal friend, President Roosevelt congratulates Captain McCoy on his campaign against Datto Ali.
1906-01-03
Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt is caring for Ted Roosevelt, who is recovering from an illness. President Roosevelt updates her on the other children and their activities. He has been busy with work, including meetings regarding the Philippines and completing a memorandum on the Schley case. Emperor William II sent a telegram with congratulations on Ted’s recovery and announced that Prince Heinrich had sailed.
1902-02-16
Governor Roosevelt responds to questions raised by William Jennings Bryan regarding trusts, expansion of the military, and Filipino policy. He defends the Republican’s trust policy, an army of 100,000 men, and the legitimacy of the acquisition of the Philippines. Two copies, one with handwritten revisions.
1900-10-12
Draft of a speech with handwritten corrections. Governor Roosevelt rebukes several statements from William Jennings Bryan regarding economic policy, bimetallism, patriotism, and imperialism.
1900-09-06
Draft of a speech with handwritten corrections. Vice President Roosevelt advocates for a vigorous policy at home and abroad of seeking justice and battling “barbarism” exemplified by the proverb, “Speak softly and carry a big stick–you will go far.”
1901-09-02
In this speech draft with handwritten corrections, Governor Roosevelt campaigns against William Jennings Bryan and his policies. Bryan’s prophecies regarding the need for free silver have not come true and the country has prospered. Roosevelt advocates national action to combat the complex problems of trusts. He points out the plight of African Americans and that Bryan seems more concerned with the rights of the “bandits” in the Philippines. Roosevelt does not want the United States to shirk its duty in the Philippines and believes that liberty will come to the islands under the American flag.
1900-10-09
President Roosevelt’s message to Congress at the beginning of the third session of the fifty-eighth Congress in 1904. In this message, Roosevelt discusses various aspects of the state of the union and introduces the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-12-06
President Roosevelt discusses the potential promotions of Major Generals John C. Bates and Henry Clark Corbin.
1905-09-14
President Roosevelt insists that he did not ask Secretary of War Taft to put Cabot Ward on the Philippine Commission. Regardless, positions on the committee are filled by extensive searches rather than suggestions. Roosevelt tells Anna Roosevelt Cowles that he does not think highly of any biography about him; however, he feels that Francis E. Leupp has written the best of them.
1908-07-09
Uncle Sam stands on a platform with a Philippine man next to a sign that states “For Sale The Philippines. Inhabitants benevolently assimilated. – Sound and kind. – Child can govern them.” Uncle Sam is appealing to a group of European and Asian rulers, who show little interest, talking with each other in front of the platform.
By 1907 the attitudes of America were subtly changing toward the possession acquired in the Spanish-American war. One person with a changing attitude was President Roosevelt. He had quietly but effectively diffused America’s bloody and shameful suppression of insurrectionists seeking freedom after liberation from Spain. Roosevelt, as president, declared amnesty even for the most dangerous rebels, and opened the jails. American troops quietly receded to virtual police duties as various Filipinos wrestled for governmental structures and leadership.
President Roosevelt writes to William Woodville Rockhill, ambassador to China, to ask that Rockhill and his wife take care of Alice Roosevelt on her upcoming venture to the Orient. Roosevelt also asks for information on the “smashing overthrow” of the Russian naval fleet, specifically what military arms were used to execute the mission.
1905-05-31
President Roosevelt describes his recent experience with the coal strike. He shares his opinions about how the political machines and the corporate interests operate in a different world from the majority of people in the country. Roosevelt chose to interfere in the strike to protect the masses, and he hopes it will be over soon.
1902-10-16
Governor Roosevelt shares his thoughts about several potential positions he might pursue, including the Governor Generalship of the Philippines, the Vice Presidency, or a cabinet position. He is satisfied with his work and his legacy, having fought for truth and decency; he is more than happy with his friends.
1900-01-23
Governor Roosevelt asks for advice about the nurses’ bill. Roosevelt states that he is taking care of the children while Edith Roosevelt is away, and describes them as being “really very cunning.” He also discusses the daily business of governing New York.
1900-03-14
Governor Roosevelt presents a detailed, multifaceted analysis of his next career move. He still favors the governorship and does not want the vice presidency, but he also sees that he may lose the gubernatorial election. He takes the advice of Henry Cabot Lodge to heart throughout his deliberations.
1900-04-30
Colonel Roosevelt has been aboard a ship in Port Tampa awaiting departure for Cuba for six days. With 1,000 men on board, he is concerned about the heat and potential for disease before they reach their destination. The delay wears on all the men. Roosevelt expresses his belief that the Navy has had all the fun so far, but hopefully the Army will get some action between Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.
1898-06-12
William H. Taft is globe-trotting from the “Washington White House” to the “Guam White House,” the “Philippine White House,” the “Hawaiin [sic] White House,” the “Cuban White House,” and the “Porto [sic] Rican White House.”
Puck, like most Americans by mid-1907, had come to assume that President Roosevelt’s not-so-subtle intention to engineer the Republican Party’s nomination of Secretary of War William H. Taft as his successor, would succeed. And, further, that Taft’s election over any putative Democratic candidate was also likely.
Governor Roosevelt writes about his recent visit to the White House and his hopes for President McKinley’s policy decisions. Roosevelt is finding it difficult to enjoy his vacation because of the amount of work facing him as governor, but he is very happy to hold the office.
1899-07-12
Governor Roosevelt replies to Anna Roosevelt Cowles’s previous letter. Edith Roosevelt has gone to New York to visit friends. He shares his thoughts on the Philippine campaign and Father Matthews’s story about the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
1899-11-14