South African War (1899-1902)

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edward Grey

President Roosevelt tells British Ambassador to the United States Grey that Rennel Rodd was offered a position interacting with the US government, but turned it down. Roosevelt contrasts the attitudes and relations of a number of different countries with America and England, and takes a specific focus on Japan. Roosevelt notes that Japan has continued preparing for war over the last decade, and writes that there will be industrial competition between Japan and European countries. He also wonders if they are planning on invading America, Germany, or the Philippines. Roosevelt wants the United States and Japan to sign a treaty stating they will keep their citizens out of each other’s labor markets. Roosevelt closes by remarking on the similarities in governmental thinking and military approach between the United States and England.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-19

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Paul Dana

President Roosevelt would like to discuss the Goldwin Smith letters with Paul Dana. Smith’s suggested solution for the war seems good but Roosevelt doubts it could be carried out. He invites Dana and Mary Duncan Butler Dana to spend a night at the White House.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-09-27

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Herbert W. Ladd to Theodore Roosevelt

Herbert W. Ladd informs Theodore Roosevelt about his daughter Elizabeth B. Ladd’s upcoming trip to Entebbe, Uganda, where she will marry Dr. Robert E. McConnell. Ladd requests Roosevelt’s advice, aid, or introductions to assist her during her journey and after her arrival in Africa.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-09-11

Creator(s)

Ladd, Herbert W. (Herbert Warren), 1843-1913

Letter from Thomas Henry Barry to Arthur Hamilton Lee

General Barry notifies British Colonel Lee that he has sent the annual report, and he will send the Army Register as soon as it is available. In regard to the issuance of the Spanish Campaign Badge to foreign military attachés, the general staff have not yet been able to work out whether it will be possible, but Barry will notify Lee as soon as they decide.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-08

Creator(s)

Barry, Thomas Henry, 1855-1919

President Roosevelt seeing it all in one day

President Roosevelt holds a lunchbox and sees a variety of sights. Caption: 9 a. m.—He discovers the Pike. 1 p. m.—Passes through the Philippine village. 2 p. m.—Inspects the “Petroleum Alps.” 3 p. m.—Makes a rush for the stadium. 5 p. m.—Takes a last look at the general effect. And is compelled to leave before seeing the Boer war.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-11-28

Creator(s)

Donahey, J. H. (James Harrison), 1875-1949

Germany’s aim in foreign politics

Arnold White writes about the international situation in Europe, addressing first Russia’s desire for a warm water port, and then his impression of Germany’s goals with regards to Europe. Germany, White says, is the only nation with something to gain from a European war, and that the push for war is coming from the Jewish influence in Germany. With President Roosevelt’s election and friendship towards Germany, the United States has been removed as a potential deterrent toward German aggression. White ends with a prediction that if war happens, it will come through German aggression towards the Netherlands moving towards a collision with Great Britain, and he admonishes his reader that Germany must be watched.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-04

Creator(s)

White, Arnold, 1848-1925

Besluit van’ T Volks Congres te Vereeniging

Resolution by the representatives of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal regarding the treaty to end the Boer War. Although the delegates believe in their right to independence, they recognize the costs of the war in destruction of property and loss of life, and acknowledge that there is no prospect of victory. They therefore urge their respective governments to sign the treaty with Great Britain, in the interests of their peoples.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-05-31

Creator(s)

Unknown

Letter to the Consul General at Cape Town

This draft of a letter gives instructions for distribution of a check to meet the needs of Boer women and children in the concentration camps.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-05-15

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frank Nelson Doubleday

President Roosevelt thanks Frank Nelson Doubleday for sending him a volume of short stories by Rudyard Kipling. Roosevelt was disappointed that some of his favorite stories about soldiers in the South African War were not included and asks Doubleday to find out where he might obtain copies. Roosevelt also states that if he does not get a tutor from Harvard, he will write to young Parker.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-09-14

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Brander Matthews

President Roosevelt sends Brander Matthews an excerpt of a letter that Edith Wharton sent Henry Cabot Lodge. The excerpt focuses on Wharton discussing George Otto Trevelyan’s history of the American Revolution with a soldier who participated in the South African War.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-06-07

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Earl Grey

President Roosevelt would like to know if Earl Grey has any insider information on affairs in South Africa. Roosevelt hopes that the situation in Africa will settle down because he believes that the British and Boers will eventually “tend to amalgamate.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-11-22

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Montagu White

President Roosevelt will seek to privately “better the South African situation.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-11-06

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Joseph Wheeler

President Roosevelt found the report on British casualties in the South African War to be interesting. Roosevelt believes that the British percentage of loss during the fighting was considerably less than during the American Civil War or at the battle of San Juan.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-08-05

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John St. Loe Strachey

President Roosevelt is looking forward to John St. Loe Strachey’s visit to Washington, D.C. Roosevelt has been occupied over an Alaskan boundary dispute with Canada and is not inclined to compromise since he believes that the Canadians do not have a “leg to stand on.” Roosevelt also met with some Boer prisoners with whom he sympathized, describing the men as “admirable stock out of which to make a nation.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-07-18

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John St. Loe Strachey

President Roosevelt is pleased that the Second Boer War has ended and suggests that a complete amnesty eventually be given to the “Cape Colony insurgents” similar to what happened to Confederate soldiers after the American Civil War.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-06-20

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Andrew Carnegie

President Roosevelt would like to see Andrew Carnegie to discuss “Cape affairs” and the Philippines.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-06-13

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Edward Reeve Merritt to Theodore Roosevelt

Edward Reeve Merritt encloses a $750 check from an unnamed committee where he serves as treasurer. The money is for Boer victims of the South African War and is to be distributed by President Roosevelt. Merritt requests that most of the money go towards relief in the Orange Free State, the often forgotten ally of the South African Republic (Transvaal).

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-05-14

Creator(s)

Merritt, Edward Reeve, 1850-1931

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Herman Speck von Sternburg

President Roosevelt agrees with Herman Speck von Sternburg’s positions on mounted infantry. He believes cavalry forces should constitute a larger portion of standing armies and that modern cavalry troops must posses far greater skill than “the old-style cavalryman.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-11-09

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Hay

President Roosevelt asks Secretary of State John Hay to ensure the enclosed $200 is delivered to Mrs. Sarah Viljoen Snyman. He is concerned she is in dire poverty after hearing of her living condition from Commandant Wilhelm Snyman.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-10-29

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Philip Battell Stewart

Vice President Roosevelt wants to meet the “Spokane brother-in-law” when he arrives. Roosevelt supports the Isthmian Canal and has done so publicly. He had a good time in Vermont with Stewart’s father even though their time was cut short by the attempted assassination of President McKinley. Roosevelt is confident McKinley will recover.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-09-07

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919