Your TR Source
On behalf of the Committee of Arrangements, G. P. Eckman invites Theodore Roosevelt to give an address at the Methodist Episcopal Church General Conference. More than 3,000 Methodists will be in attendance, representing the largest Protestant denomination in the United States.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-12-15
On behalf of the Brotherhood, Frank M. Life asks Theodore Roosevelt to address the men of the church during one of their monthly meetings.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-10-02
James Jeffrey Roche shares his views on a range of topics with President Roosevelt, including Roosevelt’s handling of Bellamy Storer’s “indiscretion” in Rome, the public’s response to the Brownsville case, and Roche’s support for Roosevelt’s simplified spelling idea.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-12-28
Theodore Roosevelt writes to Michael Schaap about a bill that would require the reading of the Bible in public schools. Roosevelt is against the bill. He believes it is okay for teachers to read a few verses, as long as no offense is caused to anyone, but it should not be compulsory. Roosevelt would like this letter to remain private.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1915-02-22
Theodore Roosevelt enjoyed the play that Elisabeth Marbury sent him. He believes a couple lines about religion should be struck out.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-11-29
President Roosevelt did not know that the clause Father Henry B. Tierney wrote about existed. He does not wish to be quoted denying a statement that no one has ever said he made. He would oppose any clause such as the one Tierney mentioned and believes that both Catholics and Protestants should be admitted to the YMCA.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-01-13
Theodore Roosevelt would like Eugene Philbin to include in the editorial to the Evening Post that Roosevelt received the Archbishop of Canterbury, a group of Methodist ministers from Wales, a group of Congregational ministers from England, a group of Presbyterian ministers from Scotland, and Lutheran ministers from England before he received Cardinal Satolli. Roosevelt wants to prove that he is not guilty of prejudice.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-04
Theodore Roosevelt is still being attacked on his treatment of the Catholics in the Philippines. Roosevelt identifies himself to Eugene Philbin as half Dutch and half Irish, but he believes that the “vital question as to any man is not his national origin or his creed, but his spirit and purpose.” Roosevelt would like Philbin to write an editorial on his behalf to the Evening Post speaking out for the fair treatment that Roosevelt gives people, especially Catholics.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-10-04
President Roosevelt argues that he does not favor Catholics any more than he favors Protestants, and tries to treat every person alike in public office as he does in his personal life. The United States will last for many centuries, and he hopes that Catholics elected president in the future will appreciate his actions. He supported the nomination of General Philip Henry Sheridan, a Catholic, for president in 1884. Roosevelt would like Eugene A. Philbin to read a letter written by John Henry Hammond about Roosevelt’s removal of Asa Bird Gardiner.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-09-10
Theodore Roosevelt lists various religious groups that have visited the White House. Roosevelt would like John B. Worrall to know that he does not discriminate for or against anyone because they are Catholic or Protestant.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-08-01
President Roosevelt will not accept the resignation of James Francis Smith as Secretary of Public Instruction for the Philippine Commission. Roosevelt believes Smith is contributing the greatest possible service in the Philippines. Smith’s attitudes toward Protestants and Catholics makes Roosevelt feel proud of him as an American, as Smith is treating everyone equally without regard to religion.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-07-11
President Roosevelt was not surprised by Bishop Rooker’s letter since he had already heard of the conflict between Rooker and the Filipinos, as well as the American government officials. Many people have contradicted what Rooker said and Roosevelt hopes that the Catholic prelates in the Philippines can convince the Filipinos that they are their friends and not their enemies like the friars who preceded them. Roosevelt has taken steps to create a special tribunal regarding the Aglipayan quarrel, disregards Rooker’s “groundless” claims against Commissioner Smith and is committed to increasing Filipino independence.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-06-22
President Roosevelt finds the friar question “puzzling” and would like to know what John Thomas McDonough thinks of the offer for the friars’ lands. Roosevelt wants to act with absolute fairness and is not concerned with political considerations or the opinions of “misguided” Catholics and Protestants.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-08-11
Raffaele De Pierro writes to Theodore Roosevelt about a recent interview Roosevelt had with Peppino Garibaldi. While some Italian Catholic priests have sought to use this interview to present the view that all of them are good, De Pierro, as a pastor of Italian Protestants, provides some examples of priests working for their own benefit and not necessarily that of their communities.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-08-05
Eugene A. Philbin showed President Roosevelt’s letter to Archbishop John M. Farley, who agrees with Roosevelt’s reasons for not sending a congratulatory message to Pope Pius X. Philbin also comments on an open letter to Roosevelt from some Protestant clergymen, in which the writers do not seem to understand the relationship between Catholics and the Pope. The relationship is a purely spiritual one. Catholics believe that Church and State should be separate, and would not allow their religious beliefs dictate their actions in public life.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-11-16
Archbishop Soler praises American Catholics and the thriving nature of Catholicism in the United States. He argues that the Church is not the enemy of progress, which is proven by how Catholicism has flourished in the U.S., the example and standard of progressive nations. He explains a visit he made to Secretary of State Elihu Root, to express his admiration for the way in which American ideals allow complete liberty to Catholics, and the way other Americans respect them as collaborators in the social order.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-30
Bellamy Storer writes to President Roosevelt asking him to consider the facts, which Storer has enclosed as a statement of points, regarding his dismissal from diplomatic service. The dismissal was based on the grounds that both Storer’s conduct, in his capacity as an American ambassador, and his wife Maria Longworth Storer’s conduct in Rome, blurred the lines of public office and personal opinion regarding the promotion of Archbishop John Ireland to Cardinal. Storer defends his actions, including full and partial correspondence between those chiefly involved, to prove that he was acting in his public capacity at the request of President Roosevelt, which Roosevelt now denies. Storer is aggrieved that he was dismissed before his letter of resignation could have reached Washington since he was on leave in Egypt at the time he received Roosevelt’s request for his resignation.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-18
A reprint of John E. White’s sermon on the Young Men’s Christian Association’s relation to Jews and Catholics. He calls for inclusivity, declaring the institution “is avowedly without ecclesiastical character.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-04-17
Draft of a letter dictated and edited by Theodore Roosevelt for Outlook editor Lyman Abbott. He wishes to address the “Vatican incident” and has the utmost respect for Catholics. A note at the end says this letter was dictated, perhaps while on a steamship from Alexandria to Naples.
1910-04-03