Your TR Source
Theodore Roosevelt congratulates Assemblyman Hubbell on his victory and expresses his regret that James Gillespie Blaine was unsuccessful in his run for president.
1884-11-14
President Roosevelt sends Ambassador Egan his speech and writes that he wishes he could study the “socialistic movement” in Denmark. Roosevelt compares socialism in the United States with that in Scandinavia. He also inquires if Egan knows Rennell Rodd and mentions that Secretary of War William H. Taft is likely to win the upcoming election.
1908-08-05
Theodore Roosevelt thanks Charles Sumner Bird for his support of Roosevelt’s presidential candidacy and the Progressive movement.
1912-11-04
President Roosevelt encloses for Richard V. Oulahan an example of the statements being made against William H. Taft, alleging that he dislikes Catholics. Roosevelt notes that Taft has always been “fair and square” to Catholics and believes that the attacks are because Taft is a Universalist. He thinks that men like Ernest Harvier and Michael Walsh should work to make Catholic laymen aware of the attacks made on Taft by William Jennings Bryan’s campaign.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-12
President Roosevelt does not think that the Republican National Committee is doing anything about Eugene V. Debs’s assault on William H. Taft which has been published in the Catholic papers. Roosevelt does not believe it would take much money to handle the matter; they just need to convince the laypeople that the attack has been circulated by Protestants, Masons, and socialists.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-10
President Roosevelt does not think that the incident with the papers that Representative Longworth wrote him about was his fault. Roosevelt tells his son-in-law about a time when a paper invented a quote from him stating that he would rather vote for a ticket of drunkards than a ticket of prohibitionists. Even after Roosevelt said it was a “lie out of the whole cloth,” the statement was quoted at prohibition meetings. Roosevelt believes that William H. Taft will be elected, but that the popular vote will be less than it was four years ago.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-10
President Roosevelt discusses the current state of the presidential election and predicts that the Republicans will win the electoral college. He notes their prospects in various states, and in particular notes that although they are “horribly handicapped” by the unpopularity of Governor Charles Evans Hughes, he believes they will win in New York. Roosevelt inquires if William Sturgis Bigelow has shown Senator Lodge the new five dollar gold piece, and reports that he plans to address the Sorbonne upon his return from Africa.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-07
President Roosevelt sends Edward North Buxton a copy of a letter from William Northrup McMillan. Roosevelt hopes to visit McMillan’s farm, but has asked that he contact Buxton when making arrangements. Roosevelt discusses potential guides for the Safari, and Alfred E. Pease has strongly suggested William C. Judd. For the hunting boots, Roosevelt does not want to bother Sirdar F. R. Wingate, and he has asked Frederick Courteney Selous to add them to the supplies. Until the presidential campaign is over, Roosevelt’s attention is on helping to elect William H. Taft.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-25
President Roosevelt agrees with William H. Taft’s view on tariffs but advises him to tread lightly and cautiously on all policy matters. Roosevelt also advises that Taft resist any attempts by George Barnsdale Cox to push him into the wrong positions, but that he remain on good terms, to avoid coming off as Governor Charles Evans Hughes does. Roosevelt advocates that Taft act as he did when in similar positions, avoiding conflict but fighting when necessary. Roosevelt believes he has taken a good shot at William Jennings Bryan.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-09-24
President Roosevelt informs Edwin Emerson that Guatemalan president Manuel Estrada Cabrera never donated any money to his campaign and says he was assured of this fact by George B. Cortelyou and Cornelius Newton Bliss, the campaign treasurer.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-08-13
President Roosevelt sends a letter from William L. Ward to Attorney General Bonaparte, commenting that he knows nothing about the matter but prefers that there be less activity on the National Committee of New York and Ward’s part, especially during the presidential election.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-08-12
President Roosevelt thanks Dudley P. Lewis for the clippings and says William H. Taft is the best man for president. Roosevelt is very touched by the relationship Lewis describes between himself and his father.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-08-11
President Roosevelt sends excerpts of some letters he has received regarding the renomination of Charles Evans Hughes for governor of New York and shares his thoughts about them with Herbert W. Collingwood.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-08-11
President Roosevelt shares his thoughts on the difficulty of dealing with Ohio Representative Theodore E. Burton and the reasons for his African safari with William Allen White. Roosevelt asks White if William H. Taft will win the upcoming presidential election in Kansas.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-08-10
President Roosevelt updates Henry Cabot Lodge on personal and political matters. Roosevelt feels obligated to enjoy a series of essays by Westerlick because his wife, Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt, assumes he would not care for them; the puzzling problem of the re-nomination for Charles Evans Hughes for governor of New York; the plans for Roosevelt’s upcoming African safari, and his desire to tour Europe on the way home as a private citizen without pomp; his plans to write for Scribner’s and The Outlook post-presidency, and his reasoning for selecting those offers.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-08-08
President Roosevelt asks Frank H. Hitchcock to look into a matter personally. In a postscript, Roosevelt encloses a letter and asks Hitchcock to write to M. J. Costello.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-08-08
President Roosevelt shares his opinions on various politicians with Columbia University President Butler. He thinks that reactionaries hope to use politicians like New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes, Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon, or Senator Philander C. Knox to enact their own agendas, but Roosevelt believes all of these men would be loyal to the nation’s interests. Roosevelt still feels that Secretary of War William H. Taft is the best man for the presidency, though he is not very concerned about the matter now.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-27
President Roosevelt hopes William Loeb will be named as a delegate to the Republican National Convention. He asks for the help of United States Attorney Youngs, to ensure local disputes will not interfere with the upcoming presidential election.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-24
President Roosevelt agrees with Columbia University President Nicholas Murray Butler’s ideas about monetary policy, but does not see how they could be implemented at the present. Members of Congress are entirely at odds about what to do, and those who wish to revise the tariff now want to do so simply to hurt the Republican Party. Roosevelt is not concerned about reluctance to support Secretary of War William H. Taft’s bid for the presidency as he believes people are even more reluctant to support other candidates. He is more worried at the suggestion that each party might choose a nominee who had not held high office before, as Roosevelt believes a president must have experience handling the many responsibilities of the government.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-24
President Roosevelt is amused at some of the political attacks against him. He agrees to Senator Lodge’s suggestions for personnel changes in the Spanish Treaty Claims Commission, but is unsure how to handle the “whisky business” regarding the Pure Food and Drug Act. Roosevelt is facing a number of requests that he run for reelection, but is not concerned with what most people think.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-21