Your TR Source
President Roosevelt thanks John M. Grainey for the letter and enclosures. He agrees that Senator Henry Cabot Lodge should be used both outside and inside Massachusetts.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-08
President Roosevelt doubts the advisability of William Dudley Foulke’s making a statement in favor of Representative James E. Watson without it appearing to reflect on Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon. Roosevelt is glad that Foulke thinks the campaign is going well but worries about opposition from labor parties and New York State.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-07
Timothy L. Woodruff updates William Loeb on New York State politics in anticipation of the next year’s presidential election. He and New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes do not agree on the wording of a resolution, especially because many New Yorkers want Roosevelt to run for reelection. Woodruff asks Loeb to decide what wording the resolution should use.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-20
University of California President Wheeler tells President Roosevelt that most Californians are eager to show their support for Secretary of War William H. Taft’s presidential bid. The Alameda County, California, political machine generally opposes Taft, but William F. Herrin has instructed these men to support Taft. Wheeler praises Roosevelt’s skillful handling of the Berkeley, California post office matter, which Wheeler believes has secured California’s delegation for Taft. He updates Roosevelt on other happenings in California state politics and advises him to do nothing for now.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-20
University of California President Benjamin Ide Wheeler sends William Loeb information regarding Secretary of War William H. Taft’s recent trip to Washington state. Wheeler discusses a letter from Judge Henry A. Melvin to Arthur I. Vorys in which Melvin says the existing political machine in Alameda County, California, will support Taft in the upcoming primaries. Wheeler believes Melvin wrote this letter because he is indebted to William E. Dargie and George W. Reed for his judgeship. Wheeler feels that these men are truly in opposition to Taft and Roosevelt, but are supporting Taft because his victory seems inevitable and they want to be on the winning side.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-19
Governor Curry recently met with Assistant Attorney General Alford Warriner Cooley, who will report back to President Roosevelt. Special Assistant to the Attorney General Ormsby McHarg and Territorial Attorney General Albert B. Fall are working well together and matters in New Mexico appear to Curry to be clearing up. The Republican Party is working in unison with the National and Territorial administrations, and Curry hopes to meet with Roosevelt to discuss how the topics at hand relate to assisting their “mutual friends and comrades.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-09-05
Representative Longworth advises President Roosevelt of the political situation in Cincinnati, Ohio. Roosevelt is more favored than Senator Foraker, but it remains to be seen whether this sentiment can be directed successfully toward nominating Secretary of War Taft for president in 1908. Many Republicans who lost their positions in the election of 1906 place much of the blame on a speech Taft gave at Akron. Longworth believes the attempts of Taft’s brother, Charles, to force a quick resolution of the issue are unwise.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-04-18
Attorney General Bonaparte has spoken to Assistant Postmaster General Frank H. Hitchcock about the political situation in Alabama, particularly regarding Assistant U.S. Attorney Oscar R. Hundley and an open judge seat. One faction supports Hundley’s nomination because it would be a blow to a second disgruntled faction which wants to take control of the Alabama delegation to the National Republican Convention. This faction wants Shelby S. Pleasants chosen. Bonaparte also reports on a conference with James Clark McReynolds about the Tobacco Trust. Bonaparte will be ready to brief President Roosevelt on this matter on Monday or Tuesday.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-03-08
Jacob A. Riis thanks President Roosevelt for the telegram to the San Francisco Commonwealth Club. Riis is currently in California resting to relieve his heart trouble and sends good wishes for Roosevelt’s travels in the south. He does not think Roosevelt will see any trouble, and has seen much kindness on his travels. While Riis has enjoyed his convalescence, he is eager to do some exploring and return home.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-01-22
President Roosevelt uses his “big stick” to destroy the “N.J. state machine,” the “N.Y. machine,” and the “Ohio machine.”
“The sword [or Big Stick] that knows no brother.” These were two colorful metaphors, allusions, and, indeed, weapons in the ideological and political battles of Theodore Roosevelt. Especially toward the end of his second term, as his policies veered toward radicalism, and as reactionary and powerful “stand pat” politicians emerged in Roosevelt’s Republican Party, the president’s lame-duck status emboldened some figures to be rebellious.
New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes is depicted as a jack-in-the-box and holds two paddles: “I know no boss” and “my own ideas.” Hughes says to President Roosevelt, who seems surprised, “Haven’t said a word.” Meanwhile, William H. Taft runs away with “Cleveland’s election” cut into the seat of his pants and says, “Back to the Philippines for Willie.”
President Roosevelt, resolutely refusing to seek renomination in 1908, resisted the speculation and the desires of many who wished that he would break his pledge. He let it be known –not officially but clear to anyone reading between the lines of his letters and comments — that his preference lay with Secretary of War William H. Taft.
Several items from the editorial page of the Commercial Advertiser are highlighted. They include comments on the current gridlock in the Senate, the Michigan Republican State Convention, which endorsed President Roosevelt’s policies, and a criticism of Secretary of War Elihu Root’s response to new information about an insurgency in the Philippines. An article from the Chattanooga Times criticizes the New Orleans Picayune’s criticism of Roosevelt’s social equality platform.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-03-07
New York State Assemblyman William G. Miller visited Governor Frank Wayland Higgins and says that he approves of the selection of James Wolcott Wadsworth for speaker.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-12-22
Henry Melville Whitney, the Democratic candidate for Massachusetts Lieutenant-Governor, repeated his claim that President Roosevelt had said that he was in favor of reciprocity, or Continental Free Trade. Whitney says that Senator Henry Cabot Lodge and other Republicans witnessed the conversation where Roosevelt told him this.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-10-25
Charles M. Pepper reports on the political situation in New York, specifically focusing on the upstate region. Overall indications are that the Republicans will be very successful in the state, with the Democrat Alton B. Parker failing to inspire support in rural voters there. It is likely that Elihu Root will be nominated as the Republican gubernatorial candidate, although he has expressed that he is not interested in the nomination.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-08-14
In light of the Democrats attacking him for his stance on race issues, President Roosevelt is taking an active hand in the Maryland elections. He would like to see Stevenson A. Williams elected governor and has met with a number of Maryland Republicans at the White House to achieve party unity and elect Williams. In particular, former Postmaster General James Albert Gary and Governor Lloyd Lowndes had lunch with him in the White House. Lowndes’s name has been mentioned in connection with the vice presidency.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-10-12
Harry Stillwell Edwards recounts a recent conversation with Walter H. Johnson, a Republican leader in Georgia, regarding political appointments in the state. He believes that generally, the men appointed should be locally acceptable. However, in cases where men who have reapplied for the position and have proven efficient and well-qualified are not as acceptable locally, the President has decide between the people’s opinion or the quality of the service matters more.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-12-06
Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary thanks W. J. Oliver for his letter and asks for more information about the situation in Tennessee.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-05-01
Theodore Roosevelt’s secretary informs Edward Menkin that Roosevelt is unable to assist since he has not interfered with any government affairs since leaving the White House.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-05-18
Theodore Roosevelt thinks the White combination is sound and that Garfield will advise wisely. He agrees with Norman Hapgood about reciprocity, but does not think he will be able to avoid supporting it. Although the treaty is not perfect, it is a move in the right direction.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-02-10