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Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874

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Letter from Henry S. Pritchett and James Ford Rhodes to Theodore Roosevelt

Letter from Henry S. Pritchett and James Ford Rhodes to Theodore Roosevelt

Henry S. Pritchett, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, writes to President Roosevelt about “the Negro question.” Pritchett claims that Republican Reconstruction was a failure, and argues that the federal government should stop trying to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment, since legislative threats are not making the Southern states comply. He recommends that the Southern states be allowed to control their own voting laws, subject only to outside criticism without force. Pritchett admits the Southern states will immediately disenfranchise most African Americans, but that this will be fair since they will also disenfranchise ignorant whites. He believes Roosevelt will still be allowed to make some African American appointments pending approval of local white leaders. Pritchett encloses an article he wrote on the subject and pages from James Ford Rhodes’s history. Rhodes, a historian specializing in Reconstruction, adds a postscript to Pritchett’s letter saying he agrees with Pritchett’s recommendations and will discuss with Pritchett conversations he had previously on the subject with Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-06

Creator(s)

Pritchett, Henry S. (Henry Smith), 1857-1939; Rhodes, James Ford, 1848-1927

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William B. Weeden

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William B. Weeden

President Roosevelt tells William B. Weeden his opinions and critiques of a book written by Weeden that he is reading on his trip to Panama. He compares the situations of Abraham Lincoln to his own, concluding that he has “bigger men than Lincoln had in his cabinet-men who have the great qualities of Seward, Chase and Stanton, without their great defects.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-11-12

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister

President Roosevelt writes to Owen Wister about a letter Roosevelt received from Judge J. M. Dickinson. Dickinson suggested that while the race question may never be settled, he believes that Roosevelt has helped quiet it for a time. Roosevelt believes that this is a common view in the South. He asserts that while many problems still remain in race relations and universal suffrage, the current situation has improved upon the past.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-03

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry S. Pritchett

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry S. Pritchett

President Roosevelt fundamentally agrees with Henry S. Pritchett and James Ford Rhodes about the Southern question. Although Roosevelt believes it is unwise and impractical to repeal the Fifteenth Amendment now, he does agree it should not have been passed in the first place. The president can also agree with Pritchett and Rhodes that Congress should not press for active enforcement of the Fifteenth Amendment; however, it cannot go too far with Mississippi Senator John Sharp Williams having more power than Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon. Roosevelt believes Southern states cannot enforce the laws themselves because they are trying to readopt slavery through peonage. Additionally, Southerners demand the exclusion of African Americans from offices, although Southerners have approved of Roosevelt’s choices for offices in the South on the whole even though the president has appointed some African Americans. Roosevelt insists he has tried Pritchett’s course of action, but it has not worked because the South has not met him even halfway. The president believes cooperation depends on Southerners, and the difficulty will vanish when they “quit lying.” Finally, Roosevelt says he has not observed outside criticism of the South and asks Pritchett how Congress needs to respond since it has not controlled the South. Roosevelt concludes by asking for one specific thing he is doing wrong, as he wants to learn.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-14

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to James Ford Rhodes

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to James Ford Rhodes

President Roosevelt tells James Ford Rhodes he has just finished reading his fifth volume, which has tied in well with Roosevelt’s other readings of Thomas Babington Macaulay’s History and Abraham Lincoln’s letters and speeches. Although the president agrees with Rhodes that the right is not all on one side and the wrong is not all on the other in quarrels, Roosevelt thinks the American Civil War is the exception, as he believes “the right was exclusively with the Union people.” Roosevelt talks about his plans to build up the Navy to avoid war, believing the Panama Canal will help. Finally, he discusses problems he has been having with the tariff and Southern states. He disagrees with Rhodes that the South is not trying to reinstate slavery, as there is peonage in three states right now. Roosevelt closes by mentioning how his opponents helped him during the election campaign.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-11-29

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John St. Loe Strachey

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John St. Loe Strachey

President Roosevelt will see E. D. Morel, but will not be able to do anything about the Congo when it is six weeks before a national election. Roosevelt has been rereading Thomas Babington Macaulay’s histories and is struck by the importance of moderation in bringing about progress. Roosevelt discusses his position on race relations and labor issues as being moderate compared to extremists on either side.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-09-16

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Lillian F. Clarke to Lyman Abbott

Letter from Lillian F. Clarke to Lyman Abbott

Lillian F. Clarke protests that a recent article in the Outlook does not seem to have understood the situation surrounding the physical attack against Senator Charles Sumner by Representative Preston Brooks in 1856. Clarke characterizes Sumner as “severe but perfectly parliamentary” in his speeches criticizing the southern states and slavery, and the assault against him was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but was premeditated.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-03-10

Creator(s)

Clarke, Lillian F. (Lillian Freeman), 1842-1921

Letter from Samuel W. Small to Theodore Roosevelt

Letter from Samuel W. Small to Theodore Roosevelt

Samuel W. Small informs President Roosevelt of the content of a long telegram sent by Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World to his managing editor. Pulitzer plans to launch a series of editorials attacking Roosevelt, accusing him of violating the United States Constitution. Small believes that Roosevelt is doing well in the South.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-02-17

Creator(s)

Small, Samuel W. (Samuel White), 1851-1931

The doctrine of expatriation

The doctrine of expatriation

In this magazine article, John Bassett Moore discusses the concept of expatriation. In the early days of the American republic, the government inherited the idea of “indefeasible allegiance” from English common law, which was maintained for some time. The first Secretary of State to announce the doctrine of expatriation was James Buchanan, who believed it was the duty of America to protect naturalized and native citizens exactly the same. This opinion was not adopted by subsequent secretaries of state until Buchanan was president, and did not become law in the United States until July 1868. Since 1872, the United States has tried to secure naturalization treaties with all countries. Moore concludes his article discussing an incorrect impression about expatriation. Some people believe a declaration of intention to become an American citizen brings about the same protection as a citizen, which Moore firmly states is “altogether erroneous.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12

Creator(s)

Moore, John Bassett, 1860-1947

John A. Logan in 1859

John A. Logan in 1859

John Alexander Logan stands at center, holding a paper that states “No Interference with Slave-Hunters!” and looking over his left shoulder at two slave hunters rounding up a family of fugitive slaves. A similar scene is repeated in the background. Abraham Lincoln, William H. Seward, and Charles Sumner are standing on the left, watching in anger and with restraint. Caption: “You call it the dirty work of the Democratic Party to catch fugitive slaves for the Southern people. WE are willing to perform that dirty work.” –John Alexander Logan, in the Illinois State Legislature, Dec. 9th, 1859.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1884-07-09

Creator(s)

Gillam, Bernhard, 1856-1896