Your TR Source
As they may disembark that night, Theodore Roosevelt writes a quick note from off the coast of Santiago, Cuba, to tell his three children that he loves them. Included with the letter is a sketch of a dog labeled “Cuba” and signed by William Pollock, whom Roosevelt describes as “the Pawnee Indian.” The dog in the sketch, Roosevelt says, runs everywhere around the ship and howls sometimes when the band plays.
1898
Theodore Roosevelt writes to George Bird Grinnell that he met relatives of one of the Rough Riders, William Pollock, in Oklahoma. When the relatives found out that Roosevelt knew Grinnell and Major North, “their friendship for me was complete.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1900-08-10
George W. Nellis asks if Theodore Roosevelt remembers William Pollock, who served as a Rough Rider in the Spanish-American War. While Pollock died in 1899, his family was informed that he was awarded, but never received, a gold medal for bravery, and have asked for assistance in obtaining the medal.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-03-24
John B. Ashbaugh examines Theodore Roosevelt’s complicated views on race and charts his history with various ethnic and racial groups, including Native Americans, African-Americans, and Jews. Ashbaugh highlights the influence of Roosevelt’s southern born and raised mother and her brothers, both of whom served the Confederacy during the Civil War. Ashbaugh stresses that Roosevelt’s views evolved over time, and he demonstrates how Roosevelt believed in and promoted the Progressive views of his time such as the assimilation of Native Americans, but that he also respected many aspects of Native culture and had enduring friendships with individual Native Americans. Ashbaugh presents Roosevelt’s views on Jews and immigration, and he details many aspects of Roosevelt’s feelings toward and relationship with African-Americans, including his condemnation of lynching, his White House dinner with Booker T. Washington, and the Brownsville incident.
Five photographs and two illustrations appear in the text.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
2020