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Theodore Roosevelt found Adolph W. Callisen’s letter to Richardson about William Roscoe Thayer’s “Chapter of Diplomacy” regarding the Venezuela incident interesting. He asks Callisen to write him more fully about it.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-05-03
Theodore Roosevelt thanks Elbert F. Baldwin for sending him a clipping written by Oswald Villard of the Evening Post. Roosevelt refers to Villard as a “kind of hyphenated-American whom I loathe more than anyone.” Roosevelt also discusses William Roscoe Thayer and notes his recent review of Thayer’s Life and Letters of John Hay for Harvard Graduate Magazine.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1915-10-30
Theodore Roosevelt instructs Robert Underwood Johnson to write to William Roscoe Thayer about John Hay’s original manuscripts.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1915-03-30
Theodore Roosevelt mentions William Roscoe Thayer and his book Life and Times of Cavour. Roosevelt knows that Assistant Secretary of State Phillips is acquainted with Thayer and will help him get access to material about John Hay.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1915-01-15
An item will be presented to Secretary of War Garrison by William Roscoe Thayer, a historian from Boston. Theodore Roosevelt considers Thayer a personal friend despite the fact that Thayer voted for President Wilson. Roosevelt asks Garrison if he can score access for Thayer to the archives he desires to inspect.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1915-01-16
President Roosevelt asks Harvard University President Eliot to show the enclosed copy of Paul Joseph Dashiell’s letter to Harvard football coach William T. Reid, William Roscoe Thayer, and Mr. Dana. Roosevelt also includes a letter from a man from Buffalo that should be shown to the same people. It appears that the Yale football team believes just as much as Harvard that its team has “nearly a monopoly of the virtue.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-12-09
Wallace Finley Dailey, curator of the Theodore Roosevelt Collection at Harvard University, recreates an exhibit on Theodore Roosevelt’s involvement with Harvard from his days as a student to his work as an overseer. The exhibit was displayed at Harvard in 1977, 1980, 1996, 2005, and 2012. The exhibit in article form consists of twenty-five photographs, including thirteen of Roosevelt, and numerous documents including letters, certificates, diary and notebook entries, and publications by and about Roosevelt. The accompanying text identifies each photograph and document, noting its source and providing context.
Edmund Morris examines in great detail the negotiations that led to the resolution of the Venezuelan debt and blockade crisis of 1902 between the United States and Germany. Morris agrees with historian Frederick W. Marks that much of the correspondence and records of the negotiations have been destroyed, and he provides five pages of tables to show the different versions of the negotiations as remembered by Theodore Roosevelt and recorded by various journalists, historians, and biographers. Morris argues that Roosevelt saw Germany as a threat to American interests and the maintenance of the Monroe Doctrine, and he asserts that Roosevelt behaved like a gentleman who was keen to prevent the humiliation of Emperor William II. Morris demonstrates that Roosevelt acted in keeping with his belief of speaking softly while deploying American naval assets under the command of Admiral George Dewey. Morris asserts that this combination of deft diplomacy and the employment of military power led to a successful resolution of the crisis.
A photograph of Roosevelt standing next to a large globe and another showing him on horseback with Emperor William II of Germany appear in the article. A listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association along with the members of its executive committee also appears in the article.
Joe F. Decker studies Theodore Roosevelt’s use of language and focuses on some of his most colorful expressions and opinions, which was most often found in his correspondence. Decker says that Roosevelt tended to be more cautious with his language when speaking in public. He dwells on the object of much of Roosevelt’s invective, President Woodrow Wilson, but he cites numerous letters to various figures such as Amos Pinchot and Henry Cabot Lodge to give examples of Roosevelt’s use of language. Decker notes that Roosevelt was also willing to use animated language to poke fun at himself.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
1986
Joe F. Decker provides a comprehensive bibliography of the various accounts of Theodore Roosevelt’s attempt to form a volunteer division during World War I. Decker begins with Roosevelt’s own first account in 1917 and concludes with John Milton Cooper’s version in The Warrior and the Priest of 1983. Decker examines books, book chapters, and articles on the subject, and finds that the story still has not been “dealt with satisfactorily.” Decker points out the biases and the shortcomings of some of the authors, and notes that many of the accounts strongly favor either Roosevelt or his antagonist President Woodrow Wilson.
A full page-photograph of Roosevelt and General Leonard Wood accompanies the article. A photograph of Harrison Engle and Sidney D. Kirkpatrick who directed documentary films on Roosevelt is featured, along with three photographs of Roosevelt from newsreel footage used in the film The Indomitable Teddy Roosevelt.
A listing of the officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association as well as the members of its executive, finance, and Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace committees is on page two of the article.
In the “Book Notes” column, John A. Gable reviews two books that cover different aspects of the era of Theodore Roosevelt. He praises David McCullough’s The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 for its “careful research, balanced judgment, and good prose.” Gable compares McCullough’s verdict on Roosevelt’s actions regarding the Canal with the work of other Roosevelt scholars, and he gives over much of his review to an extended quote from a letter McCullough wrote to President Jimmy Carter supporting passage of the 1977 Canal treaties.
Gable endorses, with some reservations, They Were Ragtime, a popular history of the United States in the Progressive era written by Warren Forma. Gable lists many of the personalities from entertainment, the arts, and the business world who populate Forma’s work, and he argues that the work is valuable for its look at popular culture in turn of the twentieth-century America.
Speech given by Henry Cabot Lodge, the grandson of Theodore Roosevelt’s close friend of the same name, at the dedication of the Richards-Theodore Roosevelt Room at Boston University. The speech mostly addresses aspects of Roosevelt’s character while examining his time at Harvard, his role in the 1900 presidential campaign, and the attempt on his life in 1912. The title for the speech is taken from John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal
1978
Theodore Roosevelt points to several excerpts from the book Out of Their Own Mouths that he says illustrate Germany’s aggressive attitude toward the United States during and prior to World War I, providing justification for the U.S. to enter the war. While there are rumors of peace in Europe, Roosevelt says the only true peace will come with the overthrow of the German government.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1917-10-05
Letter of introduction for William Roscoe Thayer, requesting that he be given access to unnamed archives.
1915-01-15
Theodore Roosevelt finalizes arrangements for his upcoming visit with Robert Grant, requesting to have William Roscoe Thayer join them for dinner. He also compliments Grant on his recent articles.
1912-01-30
William Roscoe Thayer of the Harvard Graduate’s Magazine has asked Curtis Guild to write an article about President Roosevelt’s time at Harvard. He requests Roosevelt’s help with writing the article and will add or keep out whatever Roosevelt would prefer.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-10-17