Turner, George, 1850-1932

President Roosevelt disagrees with several statements Secretary of State John Hay wrote. While Hay was one of the most “delightful characters” Roosevelt had ever met, he found Hay lacking leadership qualities as a Secretary of State. Roosevelt provides Senator Lodge with his view of the Alaska Boundary dispute in 1903. He includes copies of the letters Roosevelt wrote to Judge Oliver Wendell Holmes and Henry White to show to British Secretary of State for the Colonies James Chamberlain and Prime Minister James Arthur Balfour. Roosevelt explains why certain appointments were made following the death of President William McKinley and details for why Hay was not consulted on matters concerning the Russo-Japanese War and the acquisition of Panama.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-01-28

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt has received a number of recommendations from important politicians and judges advocating for the appointment of Potter C. Sullivan as District Attorney for the Western District of Washington. Given these recommendations Roosevelt would normally do so without hesitation, but has some reservations about Sullivan’s past alcoholism. Roosevelt has decided to appoint Sullivan to the position, but warns that should Sullivan become addicted to drinking again he will have to request his resignation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-15

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt tells Governor Hoggatt of Alaska that he is interested in seeing railroads built in Alaska, and plans to speak in favor of legislation to that end in his next message to Congress. Roosevelt sends Hoggatt some papers outlining what interested parties think would be fair, and asks Hoggatt to look into the matter in order to offer his own advice.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-04-26

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt sends Senator Proctor, ex-senator George Turner’s letter of appeal on General Phelps’s behalf. He feels the need to take the suggested action and asks Proctor’s opinion.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-01-17

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

William Loeb encloses letters for Senator Lodge and George Turner to be delivered upon the arrival of the S.S. Cedric.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-10-23

Creator(s)

Loeb, William, 1866-1937

Secretary of War Root, Senator Lodge, and Senator Turner have been appointed as American representatives to the tribunal that will determine the boundary between Alaska and Canada. Roosevelt instructs the representatives to impartially judge the questions that come before them and then explains the American interpretation of the boundary. This copy of the letter was sent to Root.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-03-25

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

President Roosevelt encloses a copy of a letter from Senator Lodge and believes that Senator Turner will be a “thoroughly satisfactory commissioner.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-02-21

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

John P. M. Richards thanks Jacob A. Riis for the book. Richards goes on to reflect about President Roosevelt and the rest of the Roosevelt family, from childhood memories of Theodore Roosevelt Sr. visiting his grandfather’s shop to purchase hunting equipment to seeing the president’s recent speech in Spokane, Washington.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-27

Creator(s)

Richards, John P. M. (John Phoenix Moore), 1847-1924

William Hutchinson Cowles reports that President Roosevelt is expected to win the election in the state of Washington by at least 20,000 votes. The impression Gifford Pinchot had before coming to Washington is probably due to reports concerning the large defection from the Republican Party on the state ticket, which was the result of an attempt to prevent the passage of a law creating a state railway commission. Cowles discusses the candidates and issues on the state ticket.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-17

Creator(s)

Cowles, William Hutchinson, 1866-1946

David G. Haglund notes that American presidents are often not popular in Canada, and he asserts that Theodore Roosevelt is especially disliked because of the perception of him as a unilateralist and because of the outcome of the Alaska boundary dispute in 1903. Haglund argues that Roosevelt’s bad reputation in Canada is undeserved because for the first time in American history the United States actually grew smaller as a result of its concessions in the boundary dispute. Haglund says Canada feels aggrieved because of Great Britain’s desire to draw closer to the United States at Canada’s expense.  Haglund writes that Canada’s embrace of Franklin D. Roosevelt while scorning his distant cousin is the result of a “fundamental misperception.”

A map of the Alaska-Canada boundary dispute and two photographs supplement the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2008

Lyle A. McGeoch examines the state of relations between the United States and Great Britain when Lord Lansdowne served as Britain’s foreign secretary from November 1900 to December 1905. He highlights the negotiations concerning the Hay-Pauncefote treaty, the settlement of a boundary dispute between Canada and the United States, and a crisis stemming from Venezuela’s debt to Great Britain and Germany. McGeogh also looks at how Lansdowne struggled with the appointment of an ambassador to the United States, his difficulty at times in dealing with the personal style of diplomacy employed by President Theodore Roosevelt, and Lansdowne’s recognition of growing American power in the first decade of the twentieth century.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1979

Creator(s)

McGeoch, Lyle Archibald

President Roosevelt tells Senator Lodge, who is serving on the Alaskan Boundary Tribunal, that the United States can yield on the Portland Canal Islands as long as Lord Alverstone agrees with them on the line being drawn around the heads of the inlets. Roosevelt believes the contention regarding where the line should be drawn is a result of inaccurate maps of the area. He asserts that the British have “no case whatever” and that Alverstone should be satisfied with the very minimum. Roosevelt is glad that Lodge, Secretary of War Elihu Root, and former Senator George Turner of Washington feel the same way.

Collection

Massachusetts Historical Society

Creation Date

1903-10-05

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Henry Cabot Lodge writes to President Roosevelt confirming receipt of his letter enclosing a message from Assistant Secretary of State Loomis. Lodge advises Commissioners to explain, but not comment on or publish articles regarding a present matter. Lodge relays that he will address the issue in a speech scheduled that afternoon. Lodge requests that Roosevelt postpone discussing the matter with Mr. Turner until Lodge and Roosevelt meet.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-10-31

Creator(s)

Lodge, Henry Cabot, 1850-1924

Secretary of State Hay sends President Roosevelt a typed extract from a letter written by First Secretary of the London Embassy, Henry White. Hay also sends comments made by Joseph Hodges Choate regarding negotiations to reconcile the Alaskan border dispute between Canada, the United States, and Russia. Choate and White praise work done by United States Commissioners Henry Cabot Lodge, George Turner, and Elihu Root, and the conduct of Lord Alverstone.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-10-29

Creator(s)

Hay, John, 1838-1905

Henry Cabot Lodge sends President Roosevelt a positive report regarding the outcome of a recent tribunal. Lodge relays that he will make a speech before arriving in Washington and writes a positive review of Mr. Turner’s performance, to which Mr. Root agrees.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-10-28

Creator(s)

Lodge, Henry Cabot, 1850-1924

Wendell W. Mischler returns Loeb’s letter of the previous day with an enclosure from Senator Turner.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-03-05

Creator(s)

Mischler, Wendell W., 1870-

At the direction of President Roosevelt, William Loeb encloses a letter from Senator Turner for Secretary Root’s comment.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-03-04

Creator(s)

Loeb, William, 1866-1937

Senator Lodge reports the ratification of the Alaskan treaty and requests that President Roosevelt not provide any indication as to the appointment of the commissioners.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-02-11

Creator(s)

Unknown