Your TR Source
Theodore Roosevelt believes that Emerson Hough will be satisfied with the letter he is writing to the Progressive National Committee. Roosevelt also mentions the difficulties he is having acquiring a new rifle.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-06-19
Photograph showing full-length portrait of Theodore Roosevelt, seated, in deer skin hunting suit, holding rifle.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1885
Photograph of Theodore Roosevelt standing in deer skin hunting suit, holding his rifle.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1885
Photograph of a drawing of Theodore Roosevelt in buckskins.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1885
A wolf wearing a red cape labeled “Hard Times 1893” stands on a rock outside a gate labeled “U.S.” with Uncle Sam standing inside the gate and pointing a rifle labeled “Business Revival” at the wolf. Hanging on the wall of a building in the background are hides labeled “Hard Times 1819, Hard Times 1837, Hard Times 1857, [and] Hard Times 1873.” Columbia, carrying a rifle labeled “Prosperity,” is rushing to aid Uncle Sam. Caption: Uncle Sam (to the Wolf at the Door)–One of you pesky critters comes around here about every twenty years; but this is the gun that gits you!
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1894-04-11
Uncle Sam and John Bull, holding rifles with fixed bayonets, stand atop a fortified barrier with the American and British flags behind them.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1898-06-08
President Roosevelt tells the crowd in Lexington, Kentucky, that the state has a special relationship to American history as a border state both between north and south, as well as east and west. Kentucky has also contributed more than one would expect to “the leadership of the country in peace and in war.” Roosevelt expounds on three necessary qualities of citizenship: honesty, courage, and common sense. He argues that, just as military tactics and arms change but the soldier’s spirit remains constant, so too must good citizenship continue even as laws or the Constitution must adapt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-09-06
At the opening session of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen convention, President Roosevelt praises railroad workers as possessing the necessary qualities of soldiers, including obedience, initiative, and the rugged, manly virtues that Roosevelt feels are threatened by modern luxuries. He argues that organized labor is wonderful, but only if it encourages individual improvement while working for the group, and he feels that the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen have historically exemplified this virtue. Roosevelt warns that the prosperity of modern progress also gives rise to new challenges. He insists that, just as certain soldierly qualities remain constant despite changes in arms or military tactics, laws and constitutions may change but the need for good citizens of honesty, courage, and common sense will always be necessary. Having just visited the Chickamauga and Chattanooga battlefields, Roosevelt also praises the unified American spirit shared by men and women across the country, including immigrants.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-09-08
President Roosevelt reminds the crowd in Asheville, North Carolina, of the state’s connection to American history. He mentions his recent visits to the battlegrounds at Chickamauga and Chattanooga and says no citizen can visit them without becoming a better American. He discusses his multi-state journey, saying it is a good thing for a president to travel so he can see that sectional and class differences are trivial. He notes how military arms and tactics may change but the necessary spirit of the good soldier remains the same; so too may laws and constitutions change, but Americans must always possess the qualities of good citizens: honesty, courage, and common sense. He concludes by reminding the crowd that all Americans are part of the government.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-09-09
President Roosevelt speaks to Cincinnati businessmen at a meeting in the Cincinnati Music Hall during a festival. He recalls the memory of President William McKinley, who came from Ohio, and notes the connections the city and state have to American history. Roosevelt congratulates the city on its prosperity, which he credits to “the intellectual and moral fiber of the men and women back of it.” He highlights the need for continued improvements along the Ohio River, as well as the benefits the city will receive from the Panama Canal when completed, explaining that “the whole country if benefited by whatever benefits one part.” Roosevelt argues that, just as military tactics and arms change over time but the soldiering spirit remains, so too will legal and economic realities change but the need for citizens of honesty, courage, and common sense remain.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-09-20
President Roosevelt thanks the local chairman, presumably a Democrat, for introducing him, saying that political party is of little importance when Americans are unified in the spirit of fairness. He notes the presence of school children in the crowd as well as veterans of the Union Army in the American Civil War, saying that the veterans’ victorious spirit lived on in the American soldiers who fought in the Philippines. He notes how evolving weapons and tactics have not changed the necessary qualities of the soldier. Benedict Arnold was a gallant and talented soldier who helped win major battles but was missing the important “root of righteousness” that eventually led to his reputation as a traitor. Similarly, laws may change, but the need for patriotic citizens with honesty, courage, and common sense remains the same.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-09-23
A sickly looking dove is caught in a birdcage fashioned from rifles and swords, with “Powder” kegs at the ends of a perch labeled “Peace Conference,” and topped with the flags of “England, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Japan, Russia, Spain, [and] U.S.” Caption: “Caged.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1907-05-29
Theodore Roosevelt writes his sister Anna Roosevelt Cowles about a recent family picnic and Ted learning to shoot a rifle. Bellamy Storer is visiting and Roosevelt thinks if William McKinley is elected he may put Storer in the cabinet. He talks of the Republicans chances in the next election and his feelings on William Jennings Bryan.
1896-08-02
Theodore Roosevelt writes to his sister Anna Roosevelt about her upcoming trip to New York. He, along with Senator Lodge, would like to meet her for lunch. Roosevelt will be returning to Washington the following Sunday.
1893-08-01
William Crozier encloses President Roosevelt’s new rifle and his Winchester that was used as a model for the new rifle. Crozier discusses the specifications of Roosevelt’s new rifle and its cost.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-02-05
The international match for the Palma Centennial trophy will take place in Ottawa, Ontario, on August 26. The 1902 match will use military rifles, and the United States may not be able to compete as the current American magazine rifle has deficiencies that make it unreliable at a range over 1,000 yards.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-07-17
Receipt for ammunition given to President Roosevelt from the Winchester Repeating Arms Company at no charge.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-06-04
H. B. Dow answers a question about what type of ammunition should be used in a rifle President Roosevelt received as a gift.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-06-04
Nathaniel Henchman Davis answers questions about a rifle he sent to President Roosevelt, primarily what ammunition should be used.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-05-28
Hermann Speck von Sternburg congratulates Theodore Roosevelt on his new appointment in the Navy. He discusses hunting and his opinions on various rifles and of the Navy.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1897-05-08