Presidents--Intellectual life

President Roosevelt returns the article to Albert Shaw, and hopes that Shaw will write an article himself. Roosevelt wishes that Shaw could visit him again so he could express his ideas in person, but is sure that Shaw already knows his views on a number of topics. He states that while he is friendly to England, he is “neither pro-Boer, nor pro-Briton; simply pro-American.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-10-09

George B. Cortelyou informs Caspar Whitney of the Outing that President Roosevelt wishes for the articles he sent Whitney to be “treated in the same dignified manner, with the same freedom from advertising,” that he requested from Charles Scribner regarding some different articles. Only under these conditions can Roosevelt consent to the publication of the articles.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-10-05

James Ford Rhodes compliments President Roosevelt on the quality of his message. Rhodes is so impressed by Roosevelt he is ready to endorse almost any of his opinions, simply because they are the President’s. Rhodes feels especially that Roosevelt will inspire “young men of good family, intelligence and education to go into politics” and address the problem of corruption in state and local governments.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-12

Historian James Ford Rhodes thanks President Roosevelt for his “kind words” and discusses the volume on which he is currently working. Rhodes mentions that when Roosevelt is no longer president, he would like to sit and talk with him about history and literature.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-11-15

Cartoon depicts President Roosevelt in various scenes with a diverse group of friends from Rough Riders to professors. Meant as a comment on Roosevelt’s breadth of knowledge, skills and interests.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-07-25

Theodore Roosevelt thanks C. J. Harriman for his letter and indicates that some of his syndicated articles have recently been printed in the New York Times. Roosevelt also discusses international relations in regard to the Great War and protection of Belgium.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1914-11-30

President Roosevelt cheers Winifred Buck Abbott for the birth of her son, Lyman Abbott. He comments that “[t]he pains of childbirth render all men the debtors of all women” and ranks mothers above solders. Roosevelt tells Lawrence F. Abbott that he regrets getting involved in the nature faker controversy, but explains that he finds it difficult to avoid work outside of the Presidency. He felt compelled to review poet Edwin Arlington Robinson for The Outlook because Robinson “merited more consideration” and to condemn naturalist William J. Long because “he is so impudent and so shameless an imposter.” Roosevelt encloses clippings of other’s opinions on Long.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-08

Lawrence F. Abbott thanks President Roosevelt for the letter and tells him that he had it read to his wife, Winifred Buck Abbott, and the nurse. He jokes that the Roosevelt proved that presidents can speak about non-government matters. He teases that his over nine pound baby boy and healthy wife make him strong on “race suicide,” even if he is weak on “nature fakers.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-10

In his review of Josh Hawley’s Theodore Roosevelt: Preacher of Righteousness, Harry N. Lembeck stresses Hawley’s contention that Theodore Roosevelt was always more than just a man of action, and he refers to Roosevelt as “a deep political thinker.” Lembeck relays points from Hawley’s study, including Roosevelt’s desire to greatly strengthen the federal government to insure the rights of Americans in the twentieth century. Lembeck takes issue with Hawley’s focus on race, and with his use of the term “racialism,” and Lembeck admits to Roosevelt’s shortcomings on issues such as condemning and stopping lynching.  

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Kathleen Dalton explores “a little known side of” Theodore Roosevelt: his love of telling stories. Dalton identifies ghost stories, animal and hunting stories, tales from his days as a cowboy, and stories involving the Rough Riders as some of Roosevelt’s favorite topics. She also says that he liked to talk about his own adventures, such as hiking in Rock Creek Park, or discussing his political friends and foes, and she says that Roosevelt’s favorite audience for his stories was his children. Dalton identifies a number of people who were subjects of Roosevelt’s tales or who, like Rudyard Kipling, were captivated by listening to his stories.

 

Two photographs of Roosevelt, and an illustration of him telling a camp fire story to children, supplement the article which also has two text boxes with information about the Theodore Roosevelt Association.

 

John A. Gable examines the influence that Theodore Roosevelt’s service as a Rough Rider in the Spanish-American War had on the rest of his career. Gable argues that Roosevelt’s service was vital to his election as Governor of New York and as Vice President. He also contends that it made Roosevelt a more effective and convincing Commander-in-Chief as President, but Gable also believes that the power of the Rough Rider image overshadowed Roosevelt’s considerable talents as a writer and intellectual. Gable concludes by asserting that Roosevelt’s record as a Rough Rider made him the last member of a “Heroic Line” in American history stretching back to the Revolutionary War. 

 

A photograph of Roosevelt in his Rough Rider uniform appears in the article.

Lincoln Steffens wrote to President Roosevelt asking him to meet with Peter Fenelon Collier, owner and editor of Collier Weekly and Norman Hapgood, the author of the Life of Lincoln since Roosevelt was interested in Lincoln. Steffens will send Roosevelt a copy of the book.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-03-29