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Republican National Committee Chairman Cortelyou leaves several letters for President Roosevelt’s review, with a recommendation that Roosevelt consult with Justice Morris before making the appointment to which the letters relate.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-12-10
President Roosevelt writes that through John J. Hannahan he has learned that Patrick H. McNellis supports him. If true, Roosevelt assures McNellis that he will “carry myself that neither you or any other straight and decent man need feel regret at having backed me.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-15
President Roosevelt has received the report and thanks Arthur von Briesen and the commission for their work. He is impressed with the Staats-Zeitung proposition and directs Briesen to contact Senator Murray Crane.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-02-05
William H. Taft seeks advice from President Roosevelt regarding an advisory committee being set up by several Republican Party operatives. Taft is concerned that accepting a large donation from William Nelson Cromwell would work against his campaign, as would Cromwell’s work with corporations, though Taft has never had a negative experience with him in that regard.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-08-05
William H. Taft writes to President Roosevelt about the issue of monetary contributions to his presidential campaign. While Taft knows it will likely decrease the amount of money available for his campaign, he feels strongly that he should follow New York’s publicity law for donations nationwide, which he hopes will ultimately contribute to reducing the power of money in politics. Taft also writes about other issues that have been arising in his campaign, including the selection of certain people to his campaign staff.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-09
Leslie H. Southwick provides a comprehensive history of the 1904 presidential election, surveying the Republican and Democratic candidates as well as those of the Socialist, Populist, and Prohibition parties. Southwick describes Theodore Roosevelt’s path to securing his election, touching on his service as Vice President, his political battles with Senator Marcus Hanna, and his selection of George B. Cortelyou as his campaign manager. Southwick also covers Alton B. Parker’s path to the Democratic nomination, highlighting the roles played by former nominees William Jennings Bryan and Grover Cleveland. Southwick describes the dull fall campaign, enlivened by the musings of Finley Peter Dunne’s fictional barkeeper, Mr. Dooley, which Southwick quotes frequently in the course of the article.
Photographs of the four candidates for president and vice president of the Republican and Democratic parties appear in the article, along with an electoral map of the election, and Homer Davenport’s famous cartoon endorsing Roosevelt.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
2004
Cornelius Newton Bliss advises President Roosevelt on officers to manage the 1904 presidential campaign.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-04-26