Theodore Roosevelt’s spelling reform initiative
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.