United States. Navy. Atlantic Fleet. Battleship Force

William N. Tilchin organizes, explains, and defends the diplomacy of President Theodore Roosevelt. Tilchin lays out the three guiding principles of Roosevelt’s foreign policy: that the United States needs to engage with the global community; that power must be behind the nation’s diplomacy; and the United States should cultivate a close relationship with Great Britain. Tilchin also examines Roosevelt’s style of diplomacy with an emphasis on his personal direction and informality, and he describes the precepts of “big stick diplomacy.” Tilchin also divides Roosevelt’s foreign policy into three periods during his presidency, and he cites specific examples of Roosevelt’s management of various crises and events from the acquisition of the Panama Canal to the voyage of the Great White Fleet. Tilchin highlights Roosevelt’s careful and continual cultivation of a relationship with Great Britain, and he examines Roosevelt’s legacy by looking at the foreign policy undertaken by succeeding administrations in the twentieth century. 

Photographs of Roosevelt as assistant secretary of the navy, army officer, and president appear in the text as does a photograph of Secretary of State George P. Schultz.

Carl Cavanagh Hodge examines Theodore Roosevelt’s ideas and policies regarding naval policy in the context of international relations and a naval arms race in the first decade of the twentieth century. Hodge emphasizes Roosevelt’s reading and use of the ideas of naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan, and he compares American naval plans with those of Great Britain and Germany. Hodge frames Roosevelt’s policies within the context of friendly relations with Great Britain, an increasingly assertive Germany, and the rising power of Japan, especially in the wake of the Russo-Japanese War. Hodge highlights the acquisition and construction of the Panama Canal and the voyage of the Great White Fleet as key parts of Roosevelt’s overall naval strategy. He notes Roosevelt’s embrace of the battleship as a means of engaging other nations’ fleets abroad, and he asserts that Roosevelt saw the fleet as an important symbol of American power. 

Eight photographs, including those of Roosevelt and Mahan, and one illustration supplement the article. A text with the mission statement of the Theodore Roosevelt Association appears in the endnotes. 

Genna Rollins provides a brief history of the Great White Fleet dispatched by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907. Rollins notes the reasons behind the cruise, lists some of its port calls, and highlights the importance of the cruise to the United States’ relations with Japan. Rollins also gives notices about a number of events and museum exhibits planned to commemorate the sailing of the fleet, which includes a lecture and exhibits and programs at four museums, including one in Australia. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2007

William N. Tilchin examines the foreign policy of President Theodore Roosevelt. Tilchin asserts that Roosevelt was not interested in practicing coercive, economic diplomacy, and he identifies the nations that Roosevelt saw as friendly, such as Great Britain, and those he treated cautiously, Germany and Japan. Tilchin looks at how Roosevelt undertook his diplomacy, identifying five elements of “big stick diplomacy,” such as strengthening the United States Navy. Tilchin identifies discrete episodes or crises in Roosevelt’s presidency, and he describes how Roosevelt resolved them, including the mediation of the Russo-Japanese War, Germany’s attempt to bully Venezuela, and the revolt in Panama. He highlights Roosevelt’s dispatch of the Great White Fleet, his reluctance to invoke the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, and his diplomacy during Morocco’s dispute with Germany.

A photograph of Roosevelt with Emperor William II of Germany, and pictures of the Great White Fleet and Secretary of State Elihu Root supplement the text, as does a political cartoon of Roosevelt.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

John A. Gable examines the influence that Theodore Roosevelt’s service as a Rough Rider in the Spanish-American War had on the rest of his career. Gable argues that Roosevelt’s service was vital to his election as Governor of New York and as Vice President. He also contends that it made Roosevelt a more effective and convincing Commander-in-Chief as President, but Gable also believes that the power of the Rough Rider image overshadowed Roosevelt’s considerable talents as a writer and intellectual. Gable concludes by asserting that Roosevelt’s record as a Rough Rider made him the last member of a “Heroic Line” in American history stretching back to the Revolutionary War. 

A photograph of Roosevelt in his Rough Rider uniform appears in the article.

Henry J. Hendrix reviews Kenneth Wimmel’s Theodore Roosevelt and the Great White Fleet: American Sea Power Comes of Age and finds it disappointing because it is “somewhat shallow” in its treatment of the times and figures that marked the rise of American naval power at the turn of the twentieth century. Hendrix notes the importance of Alfred Thayer Mahan, Theodore Roosevelt, and others to the creation of a modern American fleet. 

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2000

William N. Tilchin surveys the major works on President Theodore Roosevelt’s foreign policy from 1956 to 1986, looking at nine books and one article. Tilchin provides detailed reviews of eight of the books, and highlights the discussion of diplomacy in the ninth. In doing so, Tilchin addresses the historiography of Roosevelt and his foreign policy, and he demonstrates how Roosevelt’s reputation as a diplomat grew from the low point it reached with Henry F. Pringle’s biography of 1931. Tilchin touches on the major international crises and issues of Roosevelt’s presidency, including the Philippine American War, the creation of the Panama Canal, and the voyage of the Great White Fleet. The essay is supported by 183 endnotes and includes a listing of publications about Roosevelt’s diplomacy not addressed in the text.

The article also contains three text boxes: one lists the leadership of the Theodore Roosevelt Association; another, “About the Author,” notes Tilchin’s work as a teacher and historian; and a third says that this issue of the journal “is dedicated to the people of the State of North Dakota.” A portrait of Roosevelt and a photograph of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt with elements of her air wing illustrate the article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

John A. Gable reviews two works in the “Book Reviews” section. Gable praises James B. Reckner’s history of the Great White Fleet and notes that the work favors the military and technological aspects of the cruise, and he emphasizes that the cruise served as an important test for the navy in many respects. Gable also favors Louis Auchincloss’s The Vanderbilt Era: Profiles of a Gilded Age which looks at how the fortune of the Vanderbilt family helped shape American art and architecture in a quest to create an “American Renaissance.”

Two photographs appear in the section: one of Reckner and one of the USS Theodore Roosevelt underway in the Mediterranean Sea with other ships of her battle group and planes from her air wing.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

A photograph of President Theodore Roosevelt reviewing the Great White Fleet appears on the front cover of this issue while the back cover features a photograph of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and the replica ship Godspeed on the day of the carrier’s launching.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1984-10-27

Edmund Morris asserts that Theodore Roosevelt was on a mission to strengthen the United States Navy from his time as Assistant Secretary of the Navy through his presidency. Morris highlights the sailing of the Great White Fleet and notes that the commissioning of USS Theodore Roosevelt fulfills Roosevelt’s wish to maintain peace through strength.  

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1986

Secretary of Defense Caspar W. Weinberger addresses the crowd assembled for the commissioning of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt on October 25, 1986. Weinberger traces Theodore Roosevelt’s interest in the United States Navy from his writing of the Naval History of the War of 1812 to his sending of the Great White Fleet while President. Weinberger also discusses the maritime strategy of the administration of President Ronald Reagan and argues that its policy mirrors that of Roosevelt’s with its emphasis on a powerful Navy and negotiating from a position of strength. Weinberger uses Roosevelt’s phrase “the just man armed” to describe the purpose of the Theodore Roosevelt.

Two photographs of Captain Paul W. Parcells, Commanding Officer of USS Theodore Roosevelt, with members of the ship’s crew, Weinberger, and members of the Roosevelt family, accompany the address. A photograph of the ship at dock in Newport News, Virginia, also appears in the address. 

Elihu Root discusses Theodore Roosevelt’s views on American foreign policy. Root argues that Roosevelt wanted to maintain peace, and that he always linked peace with justice. Root asserts that Roosevelt recognized that in order for the United States to be treated with respect it had to command that respect, and that Roosevelt used instruments of power such as the Great White Fleet to both preserve the peace and gain the respect of other nations.

There is no date, publication, or context provided for this article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

A lengthy historiographical essay examining Theodore Roosevelt’s desire to form and lead a division during World War I, and an accompanying piece by Roosevelt’s friend John Milliken Parker concerning his meeting with President Woodrow Wilson make up much of this issue of the Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal. A historiographical essay reviewing Roosevelt’s status as a subject of study in France, three book review essays, and the “News and Notes” section complete the issue.

A enlarged detail from a photograph of Theodore Roosevelt standing in the back of a car appears on the front cover while the back cover features a photograph of the Great White Fleet underway in San Francisco harbor in 1908.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

In the context of President Jimmy Carter’s work negotiating a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, William C. Sexton reviews President Theodore Roosevelt’s mediation of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 and argues that Roosevelt’s actions set the table for future presidents to act as peacemakers. He looks at Roosevelt’s actions during the negotiations, reviews some of his administration’s other accomplishments, and says that advances in technology like those pioneered by the Wright brothers added to America’s power and prestige.

A listing of the Officers of the Theodore Roosevelt Association is found on the second page of this article.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Notice about an exhibit opening of twelve paintings by artist Mort Kunstler that depict the American flag at various historical events. The exhibit at the Old Orchard Museum on the grounds of Sagamore Hill National Historic Site features a painting of President Theodore Roosevelt watching the sailing of the Great White Fleet.

An photograph of the exterior of the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Hall and the equestrian statue of Theodore Roosevelt at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City occupies the top half of the page.

James Buckheit provides a concise history of the voyage of the Great White Fleet from 1907 to 1909. He looks at President Roosevelt’s reasons for assembling and sending the Fleet with an emphasis on its visit to Japan. He notes the foreign policy achievements that stemmed from the Fleet’s trip, and he also describes the recruiting efforts the United States Navy undertook before the cruise to fill its ranks.  

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1976

Theodore Roosevelt was delighted by the recent letters from Maurice Francis Egan, American Minister to Denmark, both to himself and to his wife, Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt. He sends Egan a photograph to give to Captain Christian Magdalus Thestrup Cold, and says that both he and Edith liked the poem. Roosevelt looks forward to receiving some papers dealing with Russia, and says that he has been requested to visit.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-06-28

President Roosevelt thanks fellow Harvard man Otohiko Matsukata for the letter, and says that he believes relations between Japan and the United States are currently better than ever.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-12-16

This episode of the television program You Are There dramatizes the events of October 14, 1912, when John Flammang Schrank attempted to assassinate Theodore Roosevelt in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The program examines some elements of public opinion regarding Roosevelt’s decision to run for a third presidential term, in addition to mentioning several of Roosevelt’s main accomplishments and philosophies. The program was sponsored by the Prudential Life Insurance Company of America, and includes several advertisements for their services.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association

Creation Date

1957

The London Times relays reports from its correspondent in America regarding various issues and events in the United States. In particular, the correspondent provides updates on political policies and legislation, as well as events that have happened in Washington, D.C., and between the United States and countries abroad, such as Venezuela and Haiti.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-03-30