Your TR Source
Sir Tollemache Sinclair discusses the circumstances surrounding the Russo-Japanese War and whether the Russians won a diplomatic victory in the peace treaty negotiations at Portsmouth. In a supplement to his letter, he addresses what is currently wrong in Russia, quoting Leo Tolstoy.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-09
Wilbur S. Hinman informs Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt that Secretary of the Navy John Davis Lodge intends to give Wilson his old position at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Since Roosevelt did not reply to his telegram yesterday, Hinman sent William a message to Dominic I. Murphy saying that Roosevelt likely will not be able to attend the banquet for Bishop John J. Keane.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1897-10-12
Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt informs Senator Frye that he does not think there is any intention of letting Frost go as painter. However, he will contact Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to find out.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1897-09-23
Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt reports to Representative Reed that there was nothing crooked about the delay at Portsmouth. He explains that there was a labor shortage.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1897-09-27
Ambassador Reid sends a newspaper clipping from a British newspaper to President Roosevelt, asking if he is correct in assuming that its description of Roosevelt’s telegram to Emperor Wilhelm is “unfair and unfounded.” Reid agrees to “look after” Harriet Shonts and her daughters when they arrive in England if the courts are open, but mentions that it can be difficult to accommodate American visitors when there are fewer courts being held. Reid also comments upon the recent Algeciras Conference.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-04-18
Postcard showing five of the diplomats and statesmen responsible for the Treaty of Portsmouth. A portrait of President Roosevelt is featured in the middle.
1905
Wilbur S. Hinman received Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt’s letter with enclosures and attended to the mentioned matters. He sends an article with information about the USS Constitution. Hinman updates Roosevelt on Arthur L. Hanscom’s letter concerning Ichabod Cole’s discharge. He explains that Secretary of the Navy John Davis Long will decide Wilson’s case on Monday and will send Senator Henry Cabot Lodge’s letter to him. Hinman will report tomorrow on the matters he did not have time to attend to.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1897-10-09
Wilbur S. Hinman received Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt’s letter and followed his orders, except for the Ichabod Cole case. He explains why he has not written to Arthur L. Hanscom regarding Cole and includes a quotation from a conversation with the Chief Clerk. Hinman suggests that nothing be done until Roosevelt returns. Hinman informed Senator Henry Cabot Lodge that Wilson would get his old position at the Boston Navy Yard.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1897-10-15
In his review of Henry J. Hendrix’s Theodore Roosevelt’s Naval Diplomacy, William N. Tilchin examines each of the seven chapters of the book, highlighting both the issues where he disagrees with Hendrix and praising him for “a well-crafted narrative account” of diplomatic milestones in Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency. Tilchin challenges Hendrix on the latter’s account of the Venezuelan crisis of 1902 – 1903, and he takes exception with one of the conclusion’s assertions, but he finds great value in Hendrix’s chapters on the Panama Canal, the Ion Perdicaris affair, the Treaty of Portsmouth, and Roosevelt’s transformation of the United States Navy. Tilchin’s review includes a number of references to prior works on Roosevelt’s diplomacy, highlighting the historiographical debates which have marked issues addressed by Hendrix.
Three photographs of naval commanders under Roosevelt and two illustrations, including the book’s cover, supplement the text. An advertisement for chocolate bars from The Chocolate Lady of Oyster Bay, New York, appears at the end of the review.
William N. Tilchin examines why Theodore Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for his mediation of the Russo-Japanese War. Tilchin asserts that Roosevelt had gained a great deal of diplomatic experience prior to the 1905 negotiations at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, including his work in acquiring the rights to build the Panama Canal. Tilchin also notes that Roosevelt had a sense of the larger geopolitical stakes at hand in the war; namely, preserving the balance of power in both Asia and Europe, and he highlights how Roosevelt deployed his friendships with Kentaro Kaneko of Japan and the United States Ambassador to Russia George von Lengerke Meyer throughout the negotiations.
Three photographs appear in the essay, including one of Roosevelt with the peace commissioners from Russia and Japan and one of Tilchin at the site of the treaty negotiations at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
2007-10-28