Your TR Source
President Roosevelt is determined to approach the task of the presidency “with all the strength he has” and to run a transparent administration. Presently, he is most concerned with the Isthmian Canal Treaty.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-11-03
President Roosevelt thanks Henry H. Boyce for the letter. The daily paper will report that Roosevelt will retain William McKinley’s policies and Cabinet.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-09-14
Viscount Aoki thanks President Roosevelt for personally writing such a kind letter about the note exchange program between their two countries that Aoki had proposed. He recalls his time as ambassador to the United States fondly, and is gratified that Roosevelt feels he has made a positive impact on relations between America and Japan. Aoki congratulates Roosevelt on his accomplishments in office, and will watch his future career with interest.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-02-02
President Taft wishes Theodore Roosevelt well on his African safari and discusses the strangeness of being referred to as “Mr. President.” He compares his presidential and political prospects with what Roosevelt achieved in office and assures Roosevelt that he plans on furthering the same agenda.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-03-21
Assistant U.S. Attorney General Cooley happily received word from Solicitor General Henry Martyn Hoyt and President Roosevelt that he “was back in the world again.” Both Ward and Elihu Root have promised to assist him with navigating the incoming administration, and Cooley and his wife, Susan Dexter Dalton Cooley, are grateful for the support of their many friends. He finds the end of Roosevelt’s presidency bittersweet, and wishes that the entire “Tennis Cabinet” could keep their jobs. He is very sorry that Secretary of State Robert Bacon and Secretary of the Interior James Rudolf Garfield will likely “not be retained.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-31
French Ensor Chadwick shares with President Roosevelt some perspective that he has gained from his research on the Civil War. In studying the election of 1860, Chadwick noticed a detrimental effect from James Buchanan’s decision to tide over affairs until Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration. In effect, four months to a year of the new Congress’s term was lost, which served to “nullify the principle of representative government.” Chadwick finds this a compelling argument for moving the government changeover up to December.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-01-28
President Roosevelt writes George Otto Trevelyan that he feels very comfortable having William Howard Taft as his successor as president, but he says that both his foes and his friends have made him at times doubt his decision to give up the office. Roosevelt invokes the memory of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and he believes that the nation’s system of government requires a strong executive.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
1908-06-19
Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to come to office after the death of a predecessor and then be subsequently elected in his own right. Several other vice-presidents had previously entered office after the death of a president, but were not elected to the office. After Roosevelt, several other vice-presidents have come to office following the death of a president, and were subsequently elected.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
1986
Plaque with inscription describing how Theodore Roosevelt became president and listing the drivers who helped Theodore Roosevelt travel from the Tahawus Club to North Creek as William McKinley died.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1938
Arthur Hamilton Lee is glad to have the pictures President Roosevelt sent of him jumping on horseback, and wishes he could have accompanied him. Lee has found news coming from American newspapers “more than usually interesting lately,” and comments that the state of politics seems perplexing to an outsider, mentioning a number of issues. He shares the sentiment of many Americans in wishing that Roosevelt could have served another term in the presidency, but respects his opinion on the matter. He hopes that after leaving the presidency Roosevelt will be able to make “a private ‘out-of-season’ visit to England” to see his friends there. Lee provides a brief update on British politics as well, saying “the present government has shown an extraordinary capacity for mismanaging its own affairs,” and jokingly suggesting that Roosevelt come to England to help manage the government.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-06-16
In spite of President Roosevelt’s endorsement of Secretary of War William H. Taft’s candidacy for president, there was still a question at the Republican National Convention of whether Roosevelt’s conviction to not be nominated for a third term would stand firm. Once it was made clear that he would not stand to be renominated, the article recounts, the convention lost some of its energy, but still supported Taft very strongly. Taft is extremely capable and has a good character, so he will be a good person to succeed Roosevelt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-19
A color postcard of the Ansley Wilcox house in Buffalo, New York, where Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office after William McKinley’s death. Image features an insert oval portrait of a young Roosevelt in the top right corner.
1930-1945
President Roosevelt took the oath of office following William McKinley’s death at the Wilcox House in Buffalo, New York.
1901
Postcard featuring image of the Wilcox House in Buffalo, New York, where President Roosevelt took the oath of office upon President McKinley’s death. “9:30 a.m. Waiting for the train to Mt Pocono to see Jack. Had a fine boat trip from Detroit. Aunt Ida.”
1939-06-27
Postcard illustrating President Roosevelt taking the oath of office following President McKinley’s death. A crowd is gathered at the porch area of Ansley Wilcox’s home and banners decorate the porch area.
1907-1914
Holiday postcard with photographs of the Ansley Wilcox house and the Milburn residence. William McKinley passed away while at the Milburn residence, and President Roosevelt took the presidential oath of office at the Ansley Wilcox house.
1901-1907
Postcard featuring image of the Wilcox House in Buffalo, New York, where President Roosevelt took the oath of office following President McKinley’s death.
1907-1914
Postcard with sepia tone photographs of the Wilcox and Milburn residences. William McKinley passed away while at the Milburn residence and President Roosevelt took the presidential oath of office at the Wilcox residence.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1901-1905
Postcard with sepia tone photographs of the Wilcox and Milburn residences. William McKinley passed away while at the Milburn residence and President Roosevelt took the presidential oath of office at the Wilcox residence.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1901-1905
Unknown card featuring a black and white photograph of the exterior of the Ansley Wilcox House in Buffalo, New York, the location where Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office after the death of William McKinley. On the reverse is a description of the house. Below the description is an advertisement for Dr. Pierce’s Cough Syrup.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
Unknown