Treaties--Ratification

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John St. Loe Strachey

President Roosevelt thanks John St. Loe Strachey for remembering the upcoming wedding of his daughter Alice to Congressman Nicholas Longworth. Roosevelt is pleased with Longworth and hopes that he will have a successful career in politics. He reflects at length about politics in both Great Britain and the United States. In particular, Roosevelt discusses the function and manner of the United States Senate, and envies that a labor man is in Great Britain’s Cabinet.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-02-12

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Lincoln Steffens

President Roosevelt takes issue with some criticisms that Lincoln Steffens has made of his efforts to get Congress to ratify the Santo Domingo treaty. He points out that several Democrats are opposing the treaty merely to be obstructionist, rather than because of an honest difference of opinion. In contrast, Roosevelt believes that there is more room for honest differences in opinion in the railroad rate bill. Steffens’s idea that Roosevelt should refuse to make any concessions and to let the voters decide who is correct in the next election is flawed. Roosevelt cites evidence of voters supporting men who are on two sides of the same issue.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-02-05

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Lyman Abbott

President Roosevelt complains to Lyman Abbott about a number of matters that are being affected by partisanship. In particular, he is upset about partisan opposition to two of his nominations: Franklin K. Lane to the Interstate Commerce Commission and Joseph Bucklin Bishop as Secretary of the Isthmian Canal Commission. He is also frustrated that Democratic Senators are blocking the ratification of the Santo Domingo treaty “on mere partisan grounds,” and would normally favor the treaty if he were not a Republican president.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-12-14

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Alvey A. Adee

President Roosevelt instructs Acting Secretary of State Adee to take the actions outlined in a cablegram by Thomas Cleland Dawson regarding actions in the Dominican Republic. United States citizens should be nominated as receivers of the ports in the Dominican Republic, and the nation’s creditors should not take any further steps at this time. This would temporarily maintain the status quo in the Dominican Republic until a formal treaty is ratified in the Senate.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-28

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Joseph Bucklin Bishop

In response to a “extraordinary statement” in William Randolph Hearst’s paper, President Roosevelt tells Joseph Bucklin Bishop that although he is fond of his uncle Robert Barnwell Roosevelt, they rarely agree on politics. Roosevelt did not make a statement that he did not intend to accept the nomination for a third term as president without thinking it over, and he stands by his decision even though it is causing him trouble in the Senate. Roosevelt complains about the inability of the Senate to ratify his San Domingan treaty. Efforts from both Democratic Senators and Republicans Eugene Hale and John C. Spooner derailed the treaty.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-23

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John C. Spooner

President Roosevelt had understood that Senator Spooner favored the treaty regarding Santo Domingo (now the Dominican Republic). Roosevelt realizes the treaty cannot be ratified before the end of the term, but asks Spooner to report it out of committee to show support for the Santo Domingan government.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-02-24

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Nicholas Murray Butler

President Roosevelt tells Nicholas Murray Butler, president of Columbia University, that he wishes Professor John William Burgess would share his opinion about the right of the Senate to amend a treaty. Roosevelt decries those who claim the Senate can modify a treaty, or that the president can veto line items in an appropriation bill. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-02-18

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Cabot Lodge

President Roosevelt is “at work upsetting the Treasury about the frame business.” He liked Senator Lodge’s statement in response to Culbertson’s Panama “‘bomb,'” and disparages the newspapers for misconstruing the meaning of statements made a year before about the treaty ratification. Roosevelt also appreciated Lodge’s quote in support of him in McClure’s, and thought it sounded better than former President Cleveland’s endorsement of Alton B. Parker.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-22

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Theodore Roosevelt

The Arabian stallions were not sent to President Roosevelt. It was a newspaper story and the horses were actually sent to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. There might not be any horses left for Ted Roosevelt as all of Roosevelt’s horses are having health issues and he currently is unable to ride. It appears that the Panama treaty will be ratified but the situation in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) is chaotic and Roosevelt had to intervene. He hopes to defer doing more for as long as possible. Roosevelt has been paying close attention to the Russo-Japanese War. Russia had been behaving “very badly” in Asia and, secretly, Roosevelt is pleased with the early Japanese victories.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-02-10

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Arthur Hamilton Lee

President Roosevelt is pleased with the treaty between the United States and Great Britain but decides to hold back his response until he can see Arthur Hamilton Lee next year.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-12-31

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Nelson W. Aldrich

President Roosevelt has not changed the treaties except to include the amendments Senator Aldrich suggested. He will call the attention of the Senate to the treaties and would like to meet with Aldrich.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-11-18

Letter from William Edgar Borah to Theodore Roosevelt

Senator Borah is opposed to the unamended arbitration treaties and actually made the motion that Section 3 of Article 3 be stricken, not Senator Lodge. Borah would like to see Theodore Roosevelt but fears that it would lead to a new outburst on the part of the press. He does not want his political activities checked.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-01-11

Letter from William Jennings Bryan to William Osborne McDowell

William Jennings Bryan would be pleased to see a “meeting of the parliaments of the world in the United States.” He hopes that the ratification of the arbitration treaties now pending will lead to more treaties to cement the “bonds of peace.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-11-13

Letter from Coe Isaac Crawford to Theodore Roosevelt

Coe Isaac Crawford expresses his thanks to Theodore Roosevelt for the letter he sent concerning a treaty with Honduras and the arbitration treaty with the Great Britain. Crawford has not given much personal attention to the treaty with Honduras; however, he believes it should be ratified. He states the arbitration treaty with the Great Britain has not yet been submitted to the U.S. Senate, and as a result he has not formed a definite opinion on it until he has heard more about it. Crawford showed a letter from Roosevelt to Robert M. La Follette, and states La Follette thinks the treaty with Honduras goes to far in assisting another country. 

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-06-15

Letter from Robert Bacon to Theodore Roosevelt

Acting Secretary of State Bacon encloses copies of a letter from Kuhn, Loeb & Company to Jacob H. Hollander and the reply of Federico Velásquez y Hernández accepting the company’s proposal to refinance the debt of Santo Domingo. The contract will be put into a more formal shape and will be important to Santo Domingo and the prospects of treaty ratification.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-07-19

Letter from Shelby M. Cullom to Theodore Roosevelt

Shelby M. Cullom informs Theodore Roosevelt that the Committe on Foreign Relations will report the Algeciras Treaty to the Senate on December 5 and voting for ratification will take place on December 12. Cullom also reports that the Committee ratified the convention providing for an International Institute of Agriculture.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-27

Letter from Elihu Root to William Loeb

Secretary of State Root encloses an edict from Emperor Meiji and a dispatch from Minister Lloyd Carpenter Griscom containing a note from the Japanese Foreign Office, announcing the ratification of the peace treaty between Japan and Russia.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-11-11

Telegram from Rudolph Forster to William Loeb

Rudolph Forster received a cable that proposes the withdrawal of troops garrisoned on the province of Tschili and has given a copy to Secretary of State Elihu Root.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-10-22

Telegram from Herbert H. D. Peirce to William Loeb

Herbert H. D. Peirce informs William Loeb that Japan and Russia will likely sign the peace treaty the following day. Peirce asks if he should report to President Roosevelt in person.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-09-04

Letter from Robert Grant to Theodore Roosevelt

Robert Grant continues a discussion with President Roosevelt about the immoral behavior of some wealthy people. He also notes that the Senate is rejecting the treaty of San Domingo.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-15