Your TR Source
President Roosevelt thanks Senator Albert J. Hopkins for his work as Chairman of the Committee on Resolutions in preparing the Republican party’s political platform that was presented at the Republican National Convention.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-26
President Roosevelt tells his sister, Anna Roosevelt Cowles, that he thinks that Henry Cabot Lodge did very well at the Republican National Convention, and that he is pleased with the result. Roosevelt is already looking forward to his safari in Africa, and says that he does not want it to just be a vacation, but hopes to be able to contribute scientific specimens to museums.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-22
President Roosevelt thanks Governor Fort of New Jersey for the letter, and is sorry that he cannot accept.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-23
President Roosevelt thanks his sister Corinne Roosevelt Robinson and her husband Douglas Robinson for the telegram. He was very pleased with the Republican National Convention, and thinks that Senator Henry Cabot Lodge handled it very well. Roosevelt was relieved when William H. Taft was finally nominated, although he was fairly sure it would happen.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-23
President Roosevelt promises to take up the ship business that Senator Lodge mentioned with Luke E. Wright. Roosevelt has heard of Lodge’s great success as chairman of the Republican National Convention, and thanks him for it. President Roosevelt also reflects on the upcoming presidential election, and thinks that the Republican party is in good shape, although there are some areas that could be more secure. He has begun preparations for the African safari he is planning to take once he leaves office, and hopes to be able to make it a scientific expedition rather than just a vacation. Roosevelt wants to “remain a man of action as long as possible,” even after leaving the presidency.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-24
President Roosevelt congratulates Frank H. Hitchcock on the way he ran the campaign, and thinks that he followed the only course possible.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-25
President Roosevelt sends a telegram to Frank H. Hitchcock at the Republican National Convention hoping that the Louisiana case can be settled on its merits. He says that he instructed Pearl Wight, who he holds in high regard, to make sure that colored men were put on the delegation because he thought it was right and equitable, and because failing to do so would jeopardize the case being judged on its merits. Nonetheless, he hopes that Wight will abide by the decision of the committee and accept Hitchcock’s judgement.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-09
President Roosevelt was pleased by Frank H. Hitchcock’s telegram of the previous evening, and thinks that Pearl Wight acted in a patriotic matter. He thinks that if any of Wight’s associates tried to appeal to the convention, they would only bring disaster.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-10
President Roosevelt sends John St. Loe Strachey the two last volumes of his speeches and messages, and has added some notations for where to find speeches relating to matters of socialism and class consciousness that Strachey has been talking about. Roosevelt additionally includes a copy of a letter he wrote to Lincoln Steffens. The Republican National Convention will be starting soon, and Roosevelt is sure that Secretary of War William H. Taft will be nominated as the Republican presidential candidate.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-11
President Roosevelt has communicated with both Pearl Wight and Francis Bennett Williams, but believes he does not have enough knowledge of the case to intervene. He hopes that the case will be treated exactly on its merits, and that he has no personal request to make of them.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-13
President Roosevelt writes to his son Kermit, telling him about the pleasant weather that Washington, D.C., has had recently. He also mentions that he thinks that they should take a good camera with them when they go to Africa. Roosevelt has been keeping a close eye on the Chicago Convention, and it appears that Secretary of War William H. Taft will be nominated as the Republican presidential candidate. In a handwritten postscript Roosevelt remarks on some birds that he has seen around the White House recently.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-13
President Roosevelt asks Senator Lodge about rumors that he has heard concerning several planks in the Republican Party’s platform. Roosevelt thinks that omitting references to postal savings banks and injunctions would not be favorable. He also informs Lodge that he has heard protests against J. S. Sherman being nominated as the Vice Presidential candidate. William H. Taft thinks that discussion of the candidate for Vice President can be postponed until after the platform is adopted and the Presidential nominee selected.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-15
President Roosevelt hopes that Frank B. Kellogg is not moved by the clamor surrounding the injunction plank, as it has been stirred up by the Manufacturers’ Association. The plank will try to call the attention of the courts “to a bad habit into which some judges have fallen,” and Roosevelt expects that they will neither satisfy the extreme labor agitator nor the extreme representatives of the Manufacturers’ Association, but will be seek to be fair to all American citizens.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-16
President Roosevelt tells his sister, Anna Roosevelt Cowles, that his sons, Kermit and Archie Roosevelt, were overjoyed to see her at Groton, and that he is happy that she could visit. He is pleased that she and her son, William Sheffield Cowles, will be accompanying her husband, William Sheffield Cowles, to Québec. Roosevelt also comments on the goings-on at the Republican National Convention.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-17
President Roosevelt thinks Benjamin Ide Wheeler’s letter of the 15th was very wise, saying that he summed up the situation regarding Secretary of War William H. Taft’s candidacy very well. Roosevelt says he was surprised at the conservative nature of the delegates, but supposes that the cause is due to the fact there was no fight on a principle made in choosing the delegates
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-17
President Roosevelt is grateful that Frank B. Kellogg has drawn up some planks for the Republican Party, and will put them before Secretary of War William H. Taft at once. He believes Taft will benefit from them. Roosevelt hopes to see Kellogg soon after the convention.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-04
President Roosevelt encloses several letters for his son Kermit regarding their upcoming trip to Africa. Roosevelt discusses the guns that the two of them should bring, and tells Kermit that it is time to discuss when they should make the trip. He also includes a letter from Seth Bullock about the upcoming Republican National Convention. Roosevelt believes that Secretary of War William H. Taft can be nominated on the first ballot. Additionally, Roosevelt has heard from Endicott Peabody, the Rector of Groton school, and has decided that the best course of action regarding Archibald Roosevelt’s education is to hold him back a year.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-06
President Roosevelt agrees with Secretary of War William H. Taft’s telegram to Chairman of the National Republican Committee Frank H. Hitchcock. He tells Senator Lodge that in regards to seating delegates, each case should be considered on its merits, rather than whether or not the man in question supports Taft.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-07
President Roosevelt spoke with Secretary of War William H. Taft regarding Frank H. Hitchcock’s proposal for a compromise regarding the seating of delegates at the Republican National Convention. Roosevelt tells Senator Lodge that they both believe it would be an “outrage” to make a compromise and to seat men who do not deserve it, regardless of their support of Taft, and urges Lodge to treat each case on its merits. Roosevelt takes particular issue with Senator Winthrop Murray Crane’s suggestions, and hopes that Lodge will be able to resist them. Roosevelt cautions Lodge against bowing to reactionaries in the party. Roosevelt also tells Lodge more about his recent horse riding accident.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-08
Seth Bullock reports that the delegates in the Western states will vote for Secretary of War William H. Taft at the convention in Chicago, but it is imperative that they are counted quickly, because if they “mill around” too much, they will go for President Roosevelt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-05-31