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Recall of judicial decisions

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Can poverty be abolished in America?

Can poverty be abolished in America?

Lee C. Spooner believes Americans share the sentiment that poverty can and must be abolished and proposes how this can be accomplished, primarily by turning competition into cooperation. He argues that the laborers are the enemy of the republic, as they either turn to crime or revolution. To feel the responsibility of citizenship, the laborer must first own property. Spooner proposes they be granted a one-acre, suburban tract of land with a house through a federal initiative. Next, the prohibition of liquor will prevent laborers from wasting their earnings. Instead, they can then invest their earnings in federally regulated trusts. This redistribution of wealth will bring “socialism by purchase” and the end of poverty.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-04-19

Telegram from Frank Harper to Joseph M. Dixon

Telegram from Frank Harper to Joseph M. Dixon

Frank Harper sends instructions to Senator Joseph Dixon regarding logistics for Theodore Roosevelt’s speeches and transportation during his planned campaign tour. Roosevelt dictated a conversation about the ineffectiveness of the Sherman Anti-Trust Law as enacted by President William Howard Taft’s administration. Roosevelt also takes issue with Taft’s inaction over the tariff and wants a commission established to revise it so that it benefits farmers and laborers. He believes in the people’s right to initiative and referendum, not as a replacement for representative government but as a means of ensuring it. President Taft feels that when the people elected him, “their voice was next to the voice of God,” but that in regard to passing judgment on their own laws they are not “entitled to rule.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-03

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Herbert David Croly

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Herbert David Croly

Theodore Roosevelt writes to Herbert David Croly, defending his support for the recall of judicial decisions. Judicial action over the last thirty years has consistently prevented “measures for social and industrial betterment” that have been adopted in other “civilized” nations. Roosevelt believes that this trend must stop and that recall is one solution.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-02-29

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Cecil Spring Rice

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Cecil Spring Rice

Theodore Roosevelt updates Cecil Spring Rice on the members of the Roosevelt family. Roosevelt feels that British politics are much more interesting than politics in the United States at the moment. He is disappointed in President Taft, and thinks that his leadership has divided the conservative and progressive streams within the Republican Party. However, Roosevelt would like to see Taft elected again. Roosevelt has “no sympathy with [Taft’s] arbitration treaty business” and believes the treaty should be strictly between Great Britain and the United States. Roosevelt also writes about his contentment with his life at the moment, writing for The Outlook.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-08-22

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles M. Harrington

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles M. Harrington

Theodore Roosevelt thanks Charles M. Harrington for his letter and expresses that he welcomes “any attack made upon me by any of the judges or any other prominent men.” Roosevelt also clarifies his position that he does not advocate for the recall the decision made in any case, but agrees with Harrington’s proposal with the addition that he “would not have the act repressed by the legislature.” Roosevelt tells Harrington that he is currently working on an article for Collier’s on this very topic and will do as Harrington suggested. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-12-23

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to George U. Crocker

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to George U. Crocker

Theodore Roosevelt responds to George U. Crocker about why he named his doctrine “recall of judicial decisions” and the problems it caused. He then explains that he does not care if the form of recall of decisions applies to voters deciding if Supreme Court interpretations of the Constitution are right or wrong or to voters deciding they want an act to become law regardless of the Constitution. Although, he thinks that deciding ad hoc changes to the Constitution is easier and safer. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-11-19