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President Roosevelt says Edith has gone to New York and he has been reading to Archie and Quentin. He has also been trying to get his message done. Roosevelt says he has been riding and playing tennis with Matt Hale, Cooley, and James Rudolph Garfield. He is happy to be elected President but worries he will have no real rest until his Presidency is through.
1904-11-16
Theodore Roosevelt writes to his sister as he is about to head out West on the campaign trail. He recounts his speaking engagements in Vermont and asks her to tell her son, Theodore Douglas Roosevelt, that he regretted having to send him a refusal of his requests.
1912-09-01
Theodore Roosevelt writes his sister from the campaign trail. Roosevelt asks her to tell her son, Theodore Douglas Robinson, that he wishes he were with him. Roosevelt mentions that the nomination from Oscar S. Straus strengthened his campaign.
1912-09-15
Theodore Roosevelt writes that he received his sister’s new book of poems and praises her ability to put into words the inarticulate feelings of life and inspire others to live up to high ideals. He mentions the hard work those around him have put into his campaign and cites it as one of the reasons he was reluctant to run for president.
1912-10-06
President Roosevelt writes to his sister about his decision to not run for re-election. He describes the presidency as a very powerful office, but one that should not be held for more than eight years. Roosevelt encloses an amusing editorial.
1908-06-26
Joseph Bucklin Bishop, editor of The Globe in New York City, enclosed this article in a letter to President Roosevelt. Bishop wrote this article about the independent vote for Roosevelt in the presidential election of 1904. In all cases, Bishop writes, independent voters seem to have preferred Roosevelt, even in states which elected democratic governors.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-11-14
William Randolph Hearst wears the clothing of past presidents as he embarks on a campaign for the presidential election in 1908. He is wearing Washington’s shoes, Lincoln’s pants and whiskers, Jefferson’s coat and wig, and Jackson’s hat. Next to him are boxes and trunks labeled “Old Hickory’s Hat Box,” “Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution,” and “T. Jefferson.” Standing in the background is Hearst’s right-hand man, Arthur Brisbane — editorial writer for the Hearst newspaper chain, and editor of several of its newspapers. Caption: “We will succeed if we walk straightly along the path where Washington and Jefferson and Jackson and Lincoln have walked before us.”
Williams Jennings Bryan had recently made official his intention to secure the Democrat presidential nomination in 1908, at a speech in Madison Square Garden. But newspaper publishing titan and New York congressman William Randolph Hearst kept his own ambitions warm.
Democratic Chair Thomas Taggart is undecided on whether he should go to Indiana to help the campaign of the Democratic Presidential nominee, Alton B. Parker. It was announced that he was going to Indiana but Taggart denied it and claimed that George B. Cortelyou planted the story.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-12
President Roosevelt writes to his sister and describes the summer he has spent with Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt and their children in Oyster Bay. Roosevelt is unsure if he has enough support to overcome the opposition to his reelection, but hopes his policy making will justify itself.
1903-09-23
President Roosevelt writes that he was worried by his sister’s most recent letter, wishes he could visit her, and requests updates about her operation. He also mentions a week long visit from Edith. Roosevelt writes that he has been busy preparing his letter of acceptance and is unsure of how the election will turn out, but will be content with either outcome.
1904-08-14
President Roosevelt writes that he enjoyed having his nephew, Theodore Douglas Robinson, visit him and mentions their recreational activities. Roosevelt also writes that he is excited about the upcoming presidential election, but that he has been occupied with regular presidential duties.
1904-10-18
President Roosevelt writes that he will send Douglas Robinson $4,000 and that he will see him at Thanksgiving. Regarding his presidential campaign, Roosevelt mentions that Secretary of State Hay had a successful event, but that he is still prepared for any outcome.
1904-10-28
“In view of the facts stated in the enclosed letter I transfer my support for the presidency to Genl. Nelson A. Miles.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-06-09
David B. Hill appears as a farm wife feeding chickens, geese, and pigs. Vignette scenes show Hill working the farm, shopping, and pontificating to a group of hayseed farmers. The final scene shows Hill in bed receiving the “Presidential Nomination” from Columbia.
David B. Hill had served in many offices as a New York Democrat — state assemblyman, lieutenant governor, governor, United States Senator, as a supporter and opponent of New York’s Grover Cleveland, and as a supporter of his party’s presidential candidate, William Jennings Bryan. He also was, for roughly two decades between 1884 and 1904, an aspiring presidential candidate.
Alton B. Parker, in full-length portrait, facing slightly left, wears a judicial robe and holds in his right hand a scythe and in his left hand a book labeled “Law.”
The import of this caricature of Judge Alton B. Parker lies in its date — more than a week before the Democratic National Convention in 1904 (July 6-10). It was rather clear that Judge Parker, a conservative Democrat, was the inevitable choice of the party, yet the inevitability had been preceded by approximately 18 months of encouragement, boosting, and publicity engendered by traditional Democrat leaders and publications. Opposition to — and frank weariness of — William Jennings Bryan, twice the losing candidate of the party, and of his policies of populism, free silver, an income tax, etc., fueled the efforts that settled on the obscure New York judge.
President Roosevelt and Judge Alton Brooks Parker meet as boxers in a boxing ring, shaking hands before the start of the match. Uncle Sam, as the referee, stands in the background.
With the dust settled from President Roosevelt’s active administration after William McKinley’s assassination, Democratic Party wrangling between factions favoring and opposing William Jennings Bryan — by mid-summer 1904, the rival presidential candidates were chosen, and the campaign could begin.
William Jennings Bryan, walking along railroad tracks and following a sign “To Salt River,” drags a carpet bag which contains a gold cross, crown of thorns, bellows, and possibly a megaphone. Following him are Arthur Brisbane who is carrying a doll-like William Randolph Hearst, James K. Jones, Charles A. Towne, Richard F. Pettigrew, and Gardner F. Williams.
In the 1904 Democratic convention, the remnants of Bryanism — remaining supporters and a few old platform planks — and William Jennings Bryan himself were routed. The conservative but obscure Judge Alton Brooks Parker was the party’s presidential nominee, and the traditional views of leaders like former president Grover Cleveland were ratified in the platform.
Judge Alton B. Parker pulls a donkey to safety across a bridge constructed of planks labeled “Conservatism, Sanity, Tariff Reform, [and] Anti-Trust.” Falling into the chasm are William Jennings Bryan, hanging onto the “Financial Plank,” and David B. Hill. The donkey’s bridle is labeled “Telegram.”
In 1904, presidential candidates did not attend their nominating conventions. The ritual included informing the candidate by telegram and the candidate’s acceptance by telegram, followed by transmission of the platform, and delegations visiting the candidates’ homes for the”formal” notifications and acceptance speeches.
An old woman labeled “Miss Democracy” rides on the Democratic donkey along a dirt road labeled “Political Pike.” A banner labeled “S and S” (Safe and Sane) hangs from the donkey’s neck. In the background, the Republican elephant labeled “G.O.P.”, ridden by George B. Cortelyou, is leaning against a tree. Caption: The Elephant — Well, gee whiz! Who’d have thought it?!
Cartoonist Pughe’s depiction of the Democratic Party’s happiness, and Puck‘s own confidence, over the transformation of Populist ideology and return of conservative values, reflected facts, but the reality was short-lived as well as futile. Theodore Roosevelt’s Republican Party was moving closer to reform views first advanced by William Jennings Bryan (the Democratic presidential candidate in 1896 and 1900) and, overall, was overwhelmingly popular with citizens.
Thomas Taggart, Democratic National Committee Chairman, on the left, and George B. Cortelyou, Republican National Committee chairman, on the right, milk a cow into buckets labeled “Dem. Campaign Fund” and “Rep. Campaign Fund.” A bell labeled “Wall Street” hangs from a ribbon labeled “Trust Interests” around the cow’s neck.
Cartoonist Keppler’s caricatures of Tom Taggart and George B. Cortelyou generally reflected their gifts used in 1904 as chairmen of their national political parties.