Your TR Source
President Roosevelt accepts membership on the Simplified Spelling Board, and he says they may announce his election and acceptance after the New Year.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-12-22
Brander Matthews writes a teasing letter to President Roosevelt. He says that he will enclose “our special souvenir for tomorrow’s banquet” of the Simplified Spelling Board at which he hopes to get Thomas R. Lounsbury elected Chairman in place of himself.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-04-02
President Roosevelt encloses a copy of a letter from Benjamin Franklin in a letter to British Ambassador James Bryce and asks if Bryce has read the article by Thomas R. Lounsbury in the latest Atlantic Monthly.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-05-01
President Roosevelt tells Public Printer Stillings to direct that all government publications use the simplified spellings of three hundred words provided by the Simplified Spelling Board. Roosevelt explains his advocacy for simplified spelling, stating that he believes that it is important for the government to advance ahead of popular sentiment, rather than lag behind. If the changes meet with popular approval, they will naturally become permanent. Roosevelt maintains that the simplified spelling movement is a continuation of former simplifications and alterations of English spelling, and believes that it will make certain spellings “a little less foolish and fantastic.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-08-27
In a letter to the editor of The Times, Andrew Carnegie advocates on behalf of the Simplified Spelling Board, comprised of literary men in America who are trying to simplify the English language and make it more efficient. Carnegie advocates for a board comprised of men from all English speaking countries, in hopes that it will make the language better and more efficient.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-04
Brander Matthews updates President Roosevelt on news of the Simplified Spelling Board, noting that Charles Fletcher Lummis is planning to publish a piece criticizing the organization and that Board member Nicholas Murray Butler seems to be overworking himself. The general attitude of the Board is cheerful.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-11-25
Andrew Carnegie sends President Roosevelt newspaper clippings from the London Times discussing Roosevelt’s step toward reforming the English language. Professor Walter W. Skeat and the other British philologists approve and welcome Roosevelt’s actions. Carnegie is working with Skeat to create a joint committee to work on the language reforms and would like Roosevelt’s approval “so that the whole English-speaking race should march forward in unison.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-09-10
Secretary of War Taft is happy to be the first to receive a letter from President Roosevelt using the new simplified spelling standards, although he does not notice much difference between the standards. Mrs. Taft does not want to join the party going to Panama, mostly because she does not want to travel on a naval vessel and the Taft children are busy with school. However, if two ships leave and Mrs. Roosevelt is on another ship, Mrs. Taft would reconsider, since there would be room on the battleships for one lady each. Taft comments on Theodore P. Shonts and the Isthmian Committee, William Jennings Bryan’s arrival in New York City, the attempt to nullify the 14th and 15th amendments in Georgia, and other domestic matters. He has also ordered Charles Edward Magoon to stay in Panama until the arrive of Elihu Root.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-08-31
John H. Vivian examines the controversy that swirled around President Theodore Roosevelt’s executive order of August 1906 mandating a simplified form of spelling in certain government documents. He looks at the reaction of newspapers from around the country, and says that their initial reactions were overdone but were later tempered. He also examines the reaction from some agencies of the federal government, and notes opposition to the plan in Congress that centered less on concerns about spelling and more on Roosevelt’s use of executive power.
This article is also noteworthy as it is the first article in the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal to have endnotes.
Postcard with image of President Roosevelt and another man sitting under a tree, reading from the “Phonetic Spelling Book.” Roosevelt holds a big stick and the caption reads, “Teddy’s going to teach me the new way to spell at Lansing, Mich. May 31 Roosevelt Day.” F. E. A. writes that everyone is expecting a “big time” on May 31.
1907-04-24
Brown postcard featuring a caricature of Theodore Roosevelt declaring, “spel az yu pleez.” The message accompanying Roosevelt’s image is deliberately misspelled, referencing Theodore Roosevelt’s support for the spelling modifications proposed by the Simplified Spelling Board.
1907-03-09
Brown postcard featuring a caricature of Theodore Roosevelt declaring, “spel az yu pleez.” The message accompanying Roosevelt’s image is deliberately misspelled, referencing Theodore Roosevelt’s support for the spelling modifications proposed by the Simplified Spelling Board.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1906-12-07
Unused black and white postcard titled “Phonetic Spelling” featuring a long list of spelling modifications proposed by the Simplified Spelling Board. In the upper left corner is a portrait of Theodore Roosevelt who endorsed the proposal.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1906