Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt recently signed the bill establishing the Olympic National Park, protecting the trees, glaciers, and wilderness on Washington state’s Olympic peninsula. Although the area of Mount Olympus National Monument, which President Theodore Roosevelt had previously proclaimed, had dwindled over the years, proclaiming it a National Park restores and enlarges the protected area.

Collection

Olympic National Park

Creation Date

1938-06-29

Creator(s)

New York times

A history of the Olympic National Forest boundary, noting the presidents involved with the creation and alteration of the boundaries of the National Forest, National Monument, and National Park.

Collection

Olympic National Park

Creation Date

Unknown

Creator(s)

Unknown

A chronology tracing the creation of the Olympic National Park, beginning from when the lands were first ceded to the United States Government by Native American groups, and continuing through the various proclamations, legislative bills, and other events impacting the location.

Includes a list of cited references.

Collection

Olympic National Park

Creation Date

Unknown

This chronological record traces the efforts to establish Olympic National park from 1904 through 1943, highlighting the various legislative bills that were advanced and the congressmen who were involved, as well as the varying size of the area protected by the government.

Collection

Olympic National Park

Creation Date

Unknown

Creator(s)

Unknown

Susan Schultz, Olympic National Park historian, sends Larry a draft history of the events leading up to the creation of Olympic National Park. The history was created to assist Karen Schlom with preparations for events celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the park’s creation.

Collection

Olympic National Park

Creation Date

1988-05-16

Creator(s)

Schultz, Susan, -2012

A thorough history chronicling the establishment of Olympic National Park, written for the fiftieth anniversary of the park. The narrative follows the early expeditions into the Olympic Mountains, the efforts by Theodore Roosevelt and his administration to preserve the area through its designation as a national monument and forest reserve, and later legislative and local efforts to establish it as a national park

Collection

Olympic National Park

Creation Date

1988-05-16

Creator(s)

Schultz, Susan, -2012

The Emergency Conservation Committee highlights the importance of the Olympic Peninsula as a habitat for wildlife species and forests, including Roosevelt Elk and Douglas fir trees. It urges the expansion of the Olympic Peninsula National Monument to encompass all the terrain originally reserved for it, prior to President Woodrow Wilson reducing its size, and hopes that this expansion may serve as a prelude to further protections and the establishment of a national park.

Collection

Olympic National Park

Creation Date

1934-06

Creator(s)

Emergency Conservation Committee

Gregory A. Wynn interviews the author of Theodore Roosevelt’s Ghost, Michael Patrick Cullinane. Cullinane describes his book as a work of historiography, and he addresses issues such as the efforts to memorialize Theodore Roosevelt that failed in the immediate years after his death. Cullinane also touches on the evolving reputation of American presidents, and he highlights the importance of the work of historians Henry F. Pringle and Elting Elmore Morison. Cullinane recommends that the Theodore Roosevelt Association continue to spend money on projects that further research on Roosevelt. A photograph of Wynn, Cullinane, and Tweed Roosevelt accompanies the text of the interview.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2018

Creator(s)

Wynn, Gregory A.; Cullinane, Michael Patrick, 1979-

William N. Tilchin reviews Ken Burns’s documentary film The Roosevelts: An Intimate History about Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Eleanor Roosevelt. Tilchin examines all seven episodes of the documentary, and he largely praises the latter episodes devoted to the Hyde Park Roosevelts while expressing serious reservations about the first two episodes centered on Theodore Roosevelt. Tilchin criticizes the treatment of Roosevelt’s service prior to and during the Spanish-American War by Burns and by three “talking head” commentators, and he admonishes the film for its coverage of Roosevelt’s presidential diplomacy. Tilchin also faults Burns for failing to recognize the evil nature of Joseph Stalin’s reign over the Soviet Union. Overall, Tilchin finds much to like in the film, but he believes that it will never be seen as “a masterpiece.”

The review is supplemented with twenty-six images over ten pages from the Theodore Roosevelt Collection at Harvard University and by three illustrations of the DVD set from the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2015

William N. Tilchin reports that he has received favorable feedback regarding his review of Ken Burns’s documentary on the Roosevelt family which appeared in the Winter-Spring-Summer 2015 issue of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal. Tilchin quotes from email and letters he received, and he highlights letters received from William J. Vanden Heuvel of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute. Tilchin closes with commentary reflecting on the shared perspectives of Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2015

Creator(s)

Tilchin, William N., 1950-

Edward Renehan examines Theodore Roosevelt’s lifelong interest in naval affairs: naval history, strategy, and the building and deploying of a naval fleet. Renehan highlights the exploits of Roosevelt’s uncles, James Dunwoody Bulloch and Irvine S. Bulloch, and the work of Alfred Thayer Mahan as influencing Roosevelt’s views. Renehan also notes the importance of Roosevelt’s history, The Naval War of 1812, his tenure as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and his construction of battleships while president.

Two photographs, one of Roosevelt’s flag as Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, and the other of Renehan with Alexandra Roosevelt Dworkin, supplement the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1999-10-29

Genna Rollins, Secretary of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA), highlights the ceremonies and speeches that marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the Roosevelt Study Center (RSC) in Zeeland, the Netherlands, on September 19, 2011. Rollins notes the various speakers from the United States and Holland, and she briefly summarizes their remarks. Rollins also provides a history of the RSC, with an emphasis on its relationship with the TRA, which included funding, donations of books and materials, and providing speakers such as John A. Gable, longtime executive director of the TRA. In one of her endnotes, Rollins examines the history of the Roosevelt family in the United States, noting the the two branches headquartered in Oyster Bay and Hyde Park, New York. 

Six photographs populate the essay, including three of the speakers at the anniversary celebration.

David G. Haglund notes that American presidents are often not popular in Canada, and he asserts that Theodore Roosevelt is especially disliked because of the perception of him as a unilateralist and because of the outcome of the Alaska boundary dispute in 1903. Haglund argues that Roosevelt’s bad reputation in Canada is undeserved because for the first time in American history the United States actually grew smaller as a result of its concessions in the boundary dispute. Haglund says Canada feels aggrieved because of Great Britain’s desire to draw closer to the United States at Canada’s expense.  Haglund writes that Canada’s embrace of Franklin D. Roosevelt while scorning his distant cousin is the result of a “fundamental misperception.”

A map of the Alaska-Canada boundary dispute and two photographs supplement the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2008

In her review of Stacey A. Cordery’s biography of Alice Roosevelt Longworth, Kathleen A. Dalton asserts that Cordery is too often uncritical of her subject, and Dalton highlights her differences with Cordery over Longworth’s relationships with, and treatment of, Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt. Dalton writes that as a biographer Cordery often accepts Longworth’s point of view, but Dalton believes that Cordery has written “the best biography ever” of Longworth, showing her to be a substantial figure who should be remembered for more than just her sharp tongue and reactionary politics.

A photograph of Longworth and a text box with the mission statement of the Theodore Roosevelt Association supplement the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2008

Char Miller opens and concludes his biography of Gifford Pinchot by asserting that the contemporary Republican Party under President George W. Bush has abandoned the conservation legacy the party built under Pinchot and Theodore Roosevelt. Miller looks at the evolution of Pinchot’s beliefs, extending back to his grandparents, and he demonstrates how Pinchot moved further to the left during the course of his career. By the time of the second Roosevelt presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt,  Pinchot had undergone a “radicalization” that called for the seizure of private forest lands. Miller highlights some of the individuals who worked with or against Pinchot in his forestry career.

Thirteen photographs supplement the text, including two of Theodore Roosevelt and six of Pinchot. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2007

William J. Vanden Heuvel looks at the connections between Theodore Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, especially their shared commitment to American engagement with the world and promoting conservation. Vanden Heuvel highlights Theodore Roosevelt’s winning the Nobel Peace Prize and his support for an inheritance tax, and he notes that both Theodore and Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to regulate corporations and the wealthy for the benefit of the working class. Five photographs of Vanden Heuvel accompany the text of his address.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2003-10-24

Creator(s)

Vanden Heuvel, William J. (William Jacobus), 1930-

Char Miller explores the use and evolution of the Antiquities Act of 1906, which President Theodore Roosevelt made extensive use of during his second term in office. Miller notes how the Act emerged from the Progressive movement with its faith in a strong central government and trained experts. Miller notes that the Act has been seen as part of the growing power of the executive branch of government, but he notes that the national monuments created by the Act lacked protection and development for decades until the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Miller highlights national monuments such as Devils Tower, Navajo National Monument, and the Grand Canyon. 

The article includes five photographs of Roosevelt in 1895, 1903, 1910, 1911, and 1914.

Susan Dunn examines Theodore Roosevelt’s policy positions during and after his presidency and asks whether Roosevelt was a cautious conservative or a radical progressive. Dunn emphasizes that Roosevelt often made it difficult for others to determine his stance because of his muddled language, but she asserts that Roosevelt was constrained by the need to work with others in the Republican party and by the Constitution which, with its checks and balances, limited the power of the president. Dunn notes that some of Roosevelt’s stances, favoring an inheritance tax and the review of judicial decisions, cost him the support of friends and colleagues such as Henry Cabot Lodge. Dunn labels Roosevelt “a bold, courageous leader” who achieved much despite the need to compromise with his party and the Constitution.

Seven photographs of Roosevelt from 1875, 1880, 1899, 1901, 1910, and 1914 illustrate the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

John A. Gable examines three titles in the “Book Reviews” section, encompassing a work on leadership, a study of the two branches of the Roosevelt family, and a collection of wartime letters. Gable notes that James M. Strock’s Theodore Roosevelt on Leadership should be considered a management book, but he believes that its study of Theodore Roosevelt’s philosophy of life gives it wide appeal. Gable highlights the feud between the Oyster Bay and Hyde Park, New York, branches of the Roosevelt family in his review of The Three Roosevelts, and he stresses the main points of the book: that Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Eleanor Roosevelt represented a progressive front over a century of American history and that Theodore Roosevelt was more progressive than conservative. In his glowing review of Andrew Carroll’s War Letters, Gable highlights a letter written by Theodore Roosevelt after the death of his son Quentin Roosevelt, and he notes the contributions of historian Douglas Brinkley to the book. 

In her review of A Tale of Two Teddies, Linda E. Milano emphasizes that this children’s book does not tell the familiar tale of Theodore Roosevelt’s bear hunt, but rather looks at the competition among the earliest makers of the teddy bear. A photograph of Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt and two text boxes with information about the Theodore Roosevelt Association appear in the section,

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Seven books are reviewed and one title receives attention because of its reissue in this crowded edition of the “Book Reviews” section. John A. Gable, editor of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal, reviews three works, including an evaluation of Theodore Roosevelt as a politician, a biography of Roosevelt, and a historical novel. Gable likes David H. Burton’s Theodore Roosevelt, American Politician though he disagrees with some of Burton’s analysis, but he is less enthusiastic about H.W. Brands’s T.R.: The Last Romantic, partly because he faults Brands for never properly defining what he means by “romantic.” Gable praises The Angel of Darkness, Caleb Carr’s sequel to his very popular The Alienist, because both “successfully teach readers about various aspects of American life a century ago.” 

Henry J. Hendrix finds that in Theodore Roosevelt and the British Empire, William N. Tilchin provides a plethora of evidence to support his thesis that Roosevelt wanted to forge a closer relationship with Great Britain. Michael L. Manson commends the many illustrations used to populate Ron Ziel’s pictorial history of the Spanish-American War, Birth of the American Century. In a brief review, Elizabeth E. Roosevelt says that William T. Hagan’s Theodore Roosevelt and Six Friends of the Indian shows how a range of personalities tried to influence Roosevelt’s stance on Native Americans as both Civil Service Commissioner and President. Gregory A. Wynn criticizes George Grant for trying to pigeonhole Roosevelt as a Christian conservative in his Carry a Big Stick, and he says that the book’s factual errors and exaggerations make it of little value to Roosevelt scholars. 

“Book Reviews” notes that William H. Harbaugh’s Power and Responsibility: The Life and Times of Theodore Roosevelt, “the best one-volume complete biography,” has been reissued in a new hardcover edition. A photograph of Gable and Carr and two photographs of Roosevelt with members of the Rough Riders appear in the section.