Your TR Source
Theodore Roosevelt thoroughly agrees with Dr. Daniel S. Gage regarding Hoke Smith. He directs Gage to the section of his own autobiography that discusses the Spanish-American War. Roosevelt believes England acted in a way that was substantially as Gage describes, but cannot say whether it is exact.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1915-12-31
Theodore Roosevelt thinks Myron T. Herrick is a mighty good man, and he is glad that Herrick made that speech. Roosevelt trusts that Henry Cabot Lodge liked his cordial and enthusiastic endorsement of President Wilson’s message. Roosevelt thinks the step Lodge took related to Senator Smith’s resolution was admirable. Roosevelt has the same information about Charles Evans Hughes that Lodge has, but Roosevelt says there is a considerable feeling that it is unwise to take a candidate from the Supreme Court as this would establish a bad precedent. Roosevelt encloses a nice letter from Gillett, and notes that he has received two letters from men who were Wilson delegates at the Convention and nominated Wilson for president, but who now enthusiastically support him.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1915-12-17
President Roosevelt introduces an enclosed letter summarizing the conclusions of the recent White House Conference on the Care of Dependent Children, and a program of its attendees. One conclusion was that Roosevelt should send each governor a copy of the proceedings for state governments to reference. While the proceedings are being published, Roosevelt sends these enclosures for immediate use. He hopes that the governors will actively promote the Conference’s cause. The names of the governors who received this letter are then listed.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-02-02
President Roosevelt would prefer not to write to any state legislature on matters they are currently debating, as Alexander Jeffrey McKelway has asked him to do. Roosevelt would be glad for McKelway to state what he said regarding Georgian Governor Hoke Smith, but would prefer not to be directly quoted as he is not sure what precisely he said, and minor changes can alter the tone or meaning of a quote. Roosevelt agrees with McKelway that the national government must do the main work regarding the regulation of railroads, but that state governments have important work to do in this regard as well.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-12-19
A statement issued by President Roosevelt refutes a false article in The Sun which states that he overruled then-Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock’s recommendations regarding pipeline permits for the Prairie Oil and Gas Company, to the benefit of the Standard Oil Company. Roosevelt asserts that this article is patently false, and that a so-called report detailing this incident is a falsehood. Rather, the permits were granted based on legislature, and Roosevelt believes that he has never ignored his Interior Secretaries’ recommendations.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-11-16
President Roosevelt sends Martin A. Knapp, chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission, some clippings on the actions of Milton H. Smith, of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company, who he says is trying to discredit the actions of the government. He additionally encloses a letter from Governor Hoke Smith of Georgia. Roosevelt says that it would be advisable if action could be taken regarding the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, and asks Knapp to keep him informed on the situation.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02-22
President Roosevelt thanks Governor Comer for the interview and hopes they can dine together soon. Roosevelt eagerly awaits receiving the sugar cane syrup.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-12-18
William Loeb sends Secretary Cocks a letter of introduction to General Leonard Wood and Governor Hoke Smith. He also includes a passport.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-05-23
President Roosevelt responds to a letter from his friend John Milliken Parker. Roosevelt remarks on Parker’s “hysterical tone” suggesting that “increase of rape” and the “relations of the races” has anything to do with Roosevelt’s friendship with Booker T. Washington. Roosevelt does not believe he needs to speak to the press as Parker suggests and gives many examples when he expounded his beliefs on the matter of race relations.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-10-03
William H. Fleming responds to the Augusta Herald editor’s criticism of his position on the disenfranchisement of African Americans. Fleming argues that denying qualified African Americans the right to vote in general elections is against the Constitution, and criticizes the editor’s stance that the state of Georgia should disenfranchise African American voters.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-08-10
Senator Bristow is pleased that Theodore Roosevelt will support the constitutional amendments he has proposed. Bristow has contacted Senator Smith regarding Helen Dortch Longstreet’s situation. She is being punished for her loyalty towards Roosevelt and Smith has suggested that she could succeed the Congressman from Gainesville, Georgia.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-12-10
After hearing that Theodore Roosevelt is planning to speak at Occidental College during his upcoming trip to California, Finis E. Yoakum invites him to address the people at his “Pisgah Home” about progressive Christianity. Yoakum informs Roosevelt that he is an older brother of B. F. Yoakum, whom Roosevelt knows well.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-02-13
Judge Speer encloses a list of United States judges who will likely be appointed by Democratic nominee William Jennings Bryan. He explains to President Roosevelt the ramifications of having Bryan potentially nominating a large number of justices to federal courts at various levels. The Bryan judges would likely jeopardize peonage laws and the Employers Liability Act, among other things. Democrat-appointed judges would shift jurisprudence to favor states’ rights over federal authority.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-26
Ambassador Reid updates President Roosevelt and Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt on his unsuccessful efforts to locate Charlotte Berkeley Coles, an American socialite hoping to be presented at Court in London. Reid notes that many women making this request neglect to leave an address where they can be reached.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-04-29
Attorney William H. Fleming appreciates President Theodore Roosevelt’s suggestion that the appointment of a commission would be most palatable if it comes from “some high class southern senator or congressman.” Fleming suggests Senator Alexander Stephens Clay, Congressman Clark Howell, or Congressman William Gordon Brantley for the task. Fleming commends Roosevelt’s caution in the matter and agrees to discuss it with him before the meeting of Congress. Fleming encloses an editorial he wrote about race hatred in Georgia that rebuts the claims of Hoke Smith and Congressman Thomas William Hardwick and discusses the disenfranchisement situation in Alabama.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-09
This Augusta Chronicle article written by William H. Fleming details Fleming’s opinions of a recent race riot as well as the suppression of African American voters in Alabama and Georgia.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-09
William H. Fleming approves of President Roosevelt’s treatment of the “race problem,” and he thinks the appointment of a commission to investigate facts and make recommendations about racial tensions would be useful. Fleming says some political factions will oppose the commission because they “do not wish to have the light turned on.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-11-02
Politician and orator William H. Fleming believes President Roosevelt wishes “to do the best thing possible for the whole country, including our Southern white people, and not excluding the negroes.” Many Georgia locals agree with outspoken men like T. W. Hardwick though the South owes no allegiance to the 14th and 15th Amendment. South Carolina politician Coleman Livingston Blease has argued against education for African Americans and called for the university in Orangeburg to be torn down. Fleming asks Roosevelt if the government can make a statement of clarity regarding the amendments to help “check the riotous tendency down here.” Fleming believes that any man not willing to commit to the Constitution and its amendments should be stripped of their seat and discusses counter efforts against the passage of disenfranchisement laws.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-08-24
William H. Fleming writes to President Roosevelt about the possible disfranchisement of African American voters in Georgia. Fleming believes it would be a disaster if Hoke Smith, who advocates such disfranchisement, was nominated at the Democratic Convention. He is even more concerned about the conduct of Representative Thomas W. Hardwick, who has been decrying the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution and publicly renouncing his allegiance to those parts of the Constitution. Fleming thinks that the question should be raised in the House of Representatives, whether a member is violating their oath of office by refusing to uphold these amendments. Such an inquiry would force Hardwick to either retract his statements or be removed from office.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-08-17
George B. Cortelyou informs President Roosevelt about a lawsuit involving several prominent manufacturers that he feels bears some discreet investigation.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-08-28