Pritchett, Henry S. (Henry Smith), 1857-1939

Char Miller charts the long path that led to the passage in 1911 of the Weeks Act which provided for the purchase of forest lands in the eastern and southern United States by the federal government to protect the adjacent navigable rivers. Miller highlights the efforts of John W. Weeks of Massachusetts who pushed for the legislation as a member of Congress. Miller lists some of the provisions of the legislation, and he notes how the preservation of forest lands was extended to the Appalachian Mountain watershed in the South. Miller argues that combining the preservation of forest lands in the Northeast and South gave the legislation more support in Congress, and he describes how Gifford Pinchot and Theodore Roosevelt tried to overcome southern hostility to measures by the federal government to purchase forest land. 

 

Photographs of Pinchot and Weeks, two advertisements from the U.S. Forest Service celebrating the centennial of the Weeks Act, and the text of a speech by Roosevelt supplement the article.

Photograph showing President Roosevelt with his “Tennis Cabinet” on the White House lawn on March 1, 1909, when a farewell luncheon was held for the group. Shown from left to right behind Theodore Roosevelt are military aide Archie Butt, Third Assistant Secretary of State William Phillips, Commissioner of the Bureau of Corporations Herbert Knox Smith, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Beekman Winthrop, Chief of U.S. Forest Service Gifford Pinchot, Comptroller of Currency Lawrence O. Murray, U.S. District Attorney Henry L. Stimson, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Herbert Livingston Satterlee, Associate Justice William H. Moody, U.S. District Attorney John Carter Rose, Secretary of the Navy Truman Handy Newberry, G. W. Woodruff, French Ambassador J. J. Jusserand, William Walter Heffelfinger, Postmaster General George von Lengerke Meyer, Commission of Indian Affairs Francis E. Leupp, John Avery McIlhenny, Secretary of the Interior James Rudolph Garfield, U.S. Marshal Seth Bullock, Solicitor General Henry Martyn Hoyt, U.S. Marshal John R. Abernathy, Luther S. Kelly, Secretary of State Robert Bacon, Commissioner of Labor Charles Patrick Neill, William Wingate Sewall, Commissioner General of Immigration Daniel J. Keefe, First Assistant Secretary of State James Callan O’Laughlin, James Bronson Reynolds, Henry S. Pritchett, and secretary William Loeb. In the foreground is the Alexander Phimster Proctor sculpture, “Stalking Panther,” which was presented to Roosevelt by his “Tennis Cabinet” at the luncheon.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1909-03-01

The Secondary Department of the National Education Association proposes changes to high school curriculum requirements and offers suggestions about the nature and number of courses that colleges should require for admission.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-07-11

Henry S. Pritchett, President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, addresses the graduates of his university and hopes that in addition to learning engineering and chemistry, they have learned that “true living is to lead one’s life simply, manfully, sincerely.” There are many opportunities open to the new graduates, and Pritchett encourages them to take advantage of them, wherever they may be.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-14

President Roosevelt introduces Charles L. Taylor to Walter E. Adams, a newspaper man in Boston. Roosevelt knows Adams well and trusts him. Adams wishes to be appointed as a representative of the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission for Boston and the New England area.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-02-11

President Roosevelt thanks Barton Orville Aylesworth, President of the Colorado State Agricultural College, for his letter. Roosevelt asks if Aylesworth saw an address he delivered last year which dealt with the subject. Roosevelt further suggests Aylesworth should get in touch with Henry S. Pritchett to discuss this topic further.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-23

President Roosevelt sends Acting Secretary of War Oliver a self-explanatory letter from Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Henry S. Pritchett. If Roosevelt has the power, he would like to appoint Pritchett’s son, Harry H. Pritchett, to a position in the army.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-07-15

President Roosevelt tells James Ford Rhodes he is at his wits’ end about the Southern question. When he became president, Roosevelt met with Booker T. Washington. They agreed to appoint men of the highest character in the Gulf and South Atlantic States, including a few African American men. Every Southerner agrees with this plan, which Roosevelt has executed, but it has been maligned in the press, creating a “bitterness” in the North. Roosevelt encloses an article written by William H. Fleming and a letter to Silas McBee.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-15

President Roosevelt gives James Ford Rhodes permission to show what he said about the Southern question to Henry S. Pritchett. Roosevelt would like to speak with Rhodes when he visits next year.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-02

Elizabeth L. Bloomstein solicits Theodore Roosevelt’s help in obtaining a place on the Teachers’ List of the Carnegie Foundation for the advancement of teaching. She is at risk of losing her employment as Peabody College undergoes changes and temporarily closes, and needs assistance during the period she will be out of work. She has received numerous letters on her behalf from several prominent figures, and sends Roosevelt a character reference from John Allison.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-03-28

Creator(s)

Bloomstein, Elizabeth L. (Elizabeth Lee), 1857-1927

Secretary of War Taft returns a letter from Henry S. Pritchett, which describes the mental state of John F. Stevens, chief engineer of the Panama Canal. Taft concludes that a man “who goes off his head this way,” referring to Stevens’s behavior, is not the man to continue overseeing “such an important enterprise.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-03-09

James Ford Rhodes and Henry S. Pritchett have been discussing their recent correspondence with President Roosevelt. Both men support President Roosevelt’s stance regarding the American South and agree his policies will result in improving regional and racial tensions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-23

Historian James Ford Rhodes is pleased to have received a long letter from President Roosevelt. Rhodes responds to questions raised by Roosevelt, using historical precedents. Rhodes discusses tariff revision. He thinks Roosevelt is right not to “break with [his] party” over legislation. Rhodes asks Roosevelt if he can share the president’s views on “the Southern question” with Henry S. Pritchett, president of MIT, who has asked Rhodes for assistance. Pritchett is preparing a paper for Roosevelt. Rhodes answers Roosevelt’s comparison of his Cabinet with President Lincoln’s Cabinet.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-01