Pius X, Pope, 1835-1914

Peter W. Shute tells Theodore Roosevelt he is the only man to unite the Republican Party, but also suggests a new political party be formed, the Union Party. Shute believes there should be more focus on prohibition and temperance in politics, and less in the Church. Shute shares his grievances regarding William H. Taft and Robert M. La Follette and hopes Roosevelt will step up and save the party and the country.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-12-12

Creator(s)

Shute, Peter W. (Peter Wilkes), 1843-1921

Manuscript about Theodore Roosevelt’s travels in Europe in 1910, submitted to The Reader’s Digest by his personal secretary, Frank Harper. The article describes how Harper came to work for Theodore Roosevelt, his first meeting with him at Sagamore Hill before his departure on his African safari in 1909, and meeting him again next in Rome a year later. Harper then details the controversy over whether Roosevelt would be able to meet the pope (which meeting Harper describes as being blocked by Cardinal Merry del Val), Roosevelt’s meeting with the King of Italy, his visit to Porto Maurizio to see his wife’s sister Emily Carow, his address at the Sorbonne in Paris (which was translated for him into French by Jules Jusserand), an offer from Count Zeppelin to visit Germany in one of his Zeppelins, the hospitality of the German Kaiser in Berlin, and Roosevelt’s service as the special ambassador representing the United States at the funeral of Edward VII.

Collection

Sagamore Hill National Historic Site

Creation Date

Unknown

Creator(s)

Harper, Frank, 1882-1971

President Roosevelt requests that Ambassador Reid explain to Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes that his African trip is a scientific expedition to collect specimens for the National Museum, not “a game butchering trip.” However, if given the opportunity, Roosevelt may collect some trophies. The invitation from the chancellor of Oxford, George Nathaniel Curzon, to present the Romanes lecture gives Roosevelt a genuine reason to visit England on his return from Africa. He details his travel itinerary, plans for appropriate formal attire, and people to call upon. Roosevelt is interested in what the Japanese minister for foreign affairs Jutarō Komura says and includes his letter to Japanese ambassador Kogoro Takahira and the reply. Reid’s full statement on the incidents of the Olympics pleases Roosevelt, who believes intense international matches inevitably result in misunderstandings.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-20

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Endicott Peabody invites Theodore Roosevelt to stay at Groton School for the Thanksgiving Holiday with his family. Peabody will have Roosevelt speak once formally, but hopes to allow boys to listen to his conversations. Peabody also addresses Roosevelt’s previous letter about Groton School being criticized.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-09-30

Creator(s)

Peabody, Endicott, 1857-1944

John St. Loe Strachey relays to President Roosevelt an account of his trip to France and Germany. He and his wife visited Ambassador Charlemagne Tower and his wife in Berlin as well as Ambassador Robert Sanderson McCormick and his wife in Paris. Strachey believes that Chancellor Bernard Fürst von Bülow will be defeated in his reelection bid and that the Emperor was also held in disfavor by the German people. Strachey is concerned about the warlike nature of the Germans. He relays his thoughts on some of the French politicians and theologians whom he met; he found the French people and politicians generally to be pacifistic.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-11

Creator(s)

Strachey, John St. Loe, 1860-1927

James Jeffrey Roche shares his views on a range of topics with President Roosevelt, including Roosevelt’s handling of Bellamy Storer’s “indiscretion” in Rome, the public’s response to the Brownsville case, and Roche’s support for Roosevelt’s simplified spelling idea.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-28

Creator(s)

Roche, James Jeffrey, 1847-1908

William Dudley Foulke calls President Roosevelt’s attention to a paper he encloses which was “published ostensibly by negroes” and distributed widely in Indianapolis. Foulke also comments on the situation of Francis Augustus MacNutt, who had been in the service of the United States as a diplomat until certain charges were raised against him. MacNutt was acquitted at Rome, but subsequent statements attributed to Roosevelt led to his not being received at the Vatican. MacNutt begs the privilege of answering any definite charge against him. He is still abroad, but would return to the United States to have the opportunity to prove his innocence.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-28

Creator(s)

Foulke, William Dudley, 1848-1935

Archbishop Keane tells Maria Longworth Storer that he sent Bishop Richard Scannell to talk with Cardinal Raphael Merry del Val, and Scannell reported that the Cardinal’s sympathies are not with them. Princess Alexandrine Windisch-Graetz informs Storer that she met with Pope Pius X about Archbishop John Ireland, and Ireland will be made Cardinal at the next Consistory.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-06-14

Creator(s)

Unknown

President Roosevelt asks if there is any reason why he should not congratulate the new Pontiff as suggested by Archbishop John Ireland. In a note at the bottom, Secretary of State Hay notes that he advises against sending congratulations.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-08-01

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt responds to Miss Stevenson’s letter by defending his stance on religion. Stevenson expects Roosevelt to disparage Catholicism because Pope Pius X prevented him from meeting with the Methodist church in Rome. In the second part of the letter, Roosevelt does not approve of the suffrage movement, and he has “nothing but contemptuous dislike with many of the so-called leaders of the suffrage movement.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-05-22

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Theodore Roosevelt thanks J. J. O’Connor for the letter and appreciates his friendly words regarding Roosevelt’s article on the Mexican situation. However, Roosevelt takes issue with O’Connor’s statement that Roosevelt made a political blunder by not visiting Pope Pius X. After his African safari, Roosevelt visited Rome, Italy, and intended to pay his respects to the Pope. Cardinal Merry del Val, the Cardinal Secretary of State, made a stipulation for meeting with the Pope that Roosevelt could not visit the Methodist church and school at Rome. Roosevelt could not agree to these terms and was not received. He believes his decision was proper.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1914-12-18

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt informs Eugene A. Philbin that he does not think it would be appropriate for him to congratulate Pope Pius X on the anniversary of his becoming a priest.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-14

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt congratulates William Woodville Rockhill on the “extraordinary experience” of meeting the Dalai Lama. Roosevelt asks what sort of gift he should send the Dalai Lama in return for the Buddha and silk katag. He sent Pope Pius X a copy of his books, but thinks the Dalai Lama might not have use for such a gift.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-08-01

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt was impressed with what John St. Loe Strachey had to say about Berlin and Paris and discusses his thoughts on the war scare between England and Germany two years prior.  He tells Strachey that there are those who object to “keeping up the Navy” while also persuading him to come to terms with Japan, which he sees as “inviting trouble” and refusing to prepare if conflict with Japan became a reality. Roosevelt believes that the United States will have to adopt a similar policy on Japanese immigration as Australia but is confused as to why a country with a much smaller population and birth-rate adopted such a policy so soon.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-22

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

In a letter to Elihu Root (and possibly intended for a wider audience), President Roosevelt gives his perspective of his conflict with the recently-recalled Austrian Ambassador Bellamy Storer. Embedded within the letter are reproductions of private letters between President Roosevelt, members of his administration, and Storer. The letters detail the saga of the Storers’s push for Archbishop Ireland to become Cardinal and the fracturing of their friendship with the Roosevelts.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-02

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt was astonished at seeing Bishop Gabriels’ interview in which he claimed to be quoting from his private conversation with Roosevelt. President Roosevelt chides Gabriels for doing this without first consulting with Roosevelt, and would not have held a private conversation with him if he knew it would be used like this. Furthermore, Gabriels misquoted Roosevelt, making it seem like Roosevelt wanted recognition for appointing Catholics, where what Roosevelt said was that he had treated Protestants and Catholics on equal footing.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-08-01

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt has received portraits of Pope Pius X and Merry del Val, and would like to send them pictures of himself in return. He asks Assistant Secretary of State Robert Bacon whether it would be possible to have Ambassador Henry White deliver the pictures. He concedes it may be wise to ask Secretary of State Elihu Root before making a final decision.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-04-30

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt is concerned over rumors of a resumed “pro-Friar agitation.” Any American endorsement of the friars would greatly annoy Filipinos, alienate Filipinos from the Catholic Church, and damage public opinion in the United States. Roosevelt requests that Archbishop Ireland write to Judge John Thomas McDonough on the matter. He intends to discuss with Secretary of State John Hay a “message of congratulations to the new Pontiff.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-07-31

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Francis Hopkinson Smith informs Theodore Roosevelt that he has given a letter of introduction to the artist and adventurer Herbert Ward, who wants to meet Roosevelt. Smith lists Ward’s many achievements and strongly praises him. He also mentions the current conflict between the Spanish government and Pope Pius X.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1910

Creator(s)

Smith, Francis Hopkinson, 1838-1915

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1910-02-22

Creator(s)

Falconio, Diomede, 1842-1917

Recipient

O'Laughlin, John Callan, 1873-1949

Language

English