Rural conditions

Letter from Columbus Bradford to Theodore Roosevelt

Columbus Bradford makes the case for Theodore Roosevelt to write a piece in The Outlook about his movement to establish “social and university settlements in the country.” Bradford then encourages Roosevelt to run for president in 1912 and recounts how he has supported Roosevelt since 1904. Bradford believes Roosevelt is the only man suitable for the Republican Party.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-12-20

Program for the Woman’s Congress

The program for the Women’s Congress outlines a four-day series of events that showcase women’s roles and responsibilities in the home, featuring presentations and demonstrations covering various topics.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-09-06

Voted to federate for country life progress

Recently, ninety informal delegates met and laid the foundation for the Illinois Federation for Country Life Progress, an organization striving to improve rural life across the state.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-04-06

Illinois Federation for Country Life Progress

Preliminary newspaper circular sent out before the first meeting of the Illinois Federation for Country Life Progress. It outlines the purpose of the organization and the meeting and lists the three sessions that will take place.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-02-07

Letter from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt

President-Elect Taft tells President Roosevelt that he had a very pleasant talk with Horace Curzon Plunkett, for whom Roosevelt had written a letter of introduction. He promises to continue addressing the problem of a declining birth rate and the movement of population away from rural areas as best he can, and says that he will rely on Gifford Pinchot as a conscience. Taft answers Roosevelt’s question about his life and career, but does not think that Roosevelt should have taken on the burden of writing an introduction to Taft’s inaugural address. He approves of Roosevelt’s planned executive order.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-24

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Carroll Smalley Page

Theodore Roosevelt tells Carroll Smalley Page that he agrees with him on the importance of industrial and agricultural training in rural communities. Roosevelt says the conditions in some of the “old States” are alarming and should be improved. He, however, does not have enough information to call out specific parts of the nation or judge what role the federal government should play in this work.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-12-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to L. H. Bailey

President Roosevelt thanks L. H. Bailey for his work on the Commission of Country Life. He believes farmers and members of the rural community should feel that they are part of the commission. Therefore, Roosevelt suggests Bailey arrange community meetings to discuss such topics as roads, postal facilities, and rural schools. Bailey is to find out what rural conditions are, what farmers can do themselves, and how the government can provide aid.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-11-09

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Willis G. Johnson

President Roosevelt received Willis G. Johnson’s plans for an American Institute School of Forestry and Horticulture. He thinks the situation opens unique possibilities of usefulness. It is difficult for Roosevelt to convey his views in a letter adequately. He believes funding a school in New York merely duplicates facilities and work done elsewhere. Instead, Roosevelt thinks the Institute could lead the vital work of bettering conditions of rural life, which suits the purpose of the Institute’s founding.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-13

Letter from L. H. Bailey to Theodore Roosevelt

L. H. Bailey praises Theodore Roosevelt for his recent article on farming conditions. However, he cautions against drawing conclusions from European cooperative experiences because they are tied to social stratification and political land systems–issues America does not have. Bailey sends a copy of his book Country-Life Movement. Concentrated populations are not the solution to rural difficulties. Instead, dispersal allows for better infrastructure and conditions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-04-23

Letter from Arthur B. Farquhar to Theodore Roosevelt

Arthur B. Farquhar believes Theodore Roosevelt’s interest in rural conditions was one of the greatest works of his administration and should have been endorsed by Congress. The Pennsylvania Rural Uplift Society wants to send a committee to Roosevelt to discuss the matter. Farquhar asks Roosevelt if he is available on December 16. The committee also wants to meet with James J. Hill.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-12-05

Letter from Marie Turner Harvey to Theodore Roosevelt

Marie Turner Harvey sends Theodore Roosevelt some literature she hopes he will examine. Despite being rich in resources and developed wealth, her state of Missouri ranks low in education because most children reside in poor, rural areas. Roosevelt’s 1908 letter to Professor L. H. Bailey inspired the “country life” classes that she teaches. She hopes Roosevelt can attend the First Missouri Rural Life Conference, as his presence would significantly impact the work. Harvey regards the Country Life Commission as one of Roosevelt’s greatest services to the country.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-08-01

Letter from John J. Fox to Theodore Roosevelt

John J. Fox belatedly responds to the Country Life Commission’s investigation on how to make the farmer’s life more attractive. He argues that the government’s actions through the Post Office make magazines, the “chief recreation,” prohibitive in price. Many farmers suspect that the increased rates on periodicals and other literature are corporate schemes to decrease the rural “political horizon.” Fox believes that many in the agricultural sector will vote Democratic in the general election if the Republican Party does not carry out its pledged policies and resolve the issues with the postal service. He hopes Theodore Roosevelt can help in some way.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-07-28

Letter from William Chauncy Langdon to Theodore Roosevelt

William Chauncy Langdon reminds Theodore Roosevelt of the interest he had shown in the upcoming pageant of Thetford, Vermont, and of his promise to write a letter expressing this interest if he was sent a statement of facts of the work that is being done. Langdon accordingly sends Roosevelt a copy of an article he wrote for The Vermonter, which he believes will suffice for this purpose. Roosevelt’s letter will be a great encouragement to the people of Thetford.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-06-20

Letter from Mogens M. Uhrenholt to Theodore Roosevelt

Mogens M. Uhrenholt tells Theodore Roosevelt of a government policy in Denmark that helps provide loans with low interest rates for people in cities to purchase land and farms, and wonders if a similar policy could work in the United States.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-06-02

Letter from Edwin Earle Sparks to Ernest Hamlin Abbott

Edwin Earle Sparks requests Ernest Hamlin Abbott’s assistance in securing Theodore Roosevelt as a speaker at the Conference on Rural Conditions. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-05-31

Letter from Edwin Erle Sparks to Theodore Roosevelt

Edwin Erle Sparks invites Theodore Roosevelt to speak at the Conference on Rural Conditions in Pennsylvania on July 5, 6, and 7. Roosevelt can pick from a variety of relevant themes to speak on, and Sparks is confident that his presence will bring “light in this conservative state.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-05-23

Letter from John B. McFerran to Theodore Roosevelt

John B. McFerran discusses the poor condition of schools in rural Kentucky and his efforts to improve them. Feeling that Theodore Roosevelt could “arouse a genuine interest,” McFerran asks him to lecture on the “absolute necessity” of taking better care of children through education.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-04-26

Letter from A. N. French to Theodore Roosevelt

To foster interest in its organization, A. N. French, a student at the University of Washington, asks Theodore Roosevelt to endorse the university’s Country Life Club.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-04-06

Letter from Willie S. Delano to Theodore Roosevelt

Willie S. Delano, Secretary of the Nebraska Farmers’ Congress, informs Theodore Roosevelt that the organization was successful in securing the creation of a state Rural Life Commission. He asks Roosevelt if, because of his interest in the topic, he would be able to attend the Nebraska State Fair and deliver an address.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-03-22

Letter from Weston T. Gardiner to Theodore Roosevelt

Weston T. Gardiner sends Theodore Roosevelt the draft of a paper he is considering having printed on the subject of rural conservation based on the example of France’s departments. He expresses his admiration for Roosevelt’s work, and hopes that he will be be able to attain the presidency again.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-03-18