United States, West

Letter from Arthur T. Morse to Theodore Roosevelt

Arthur T. Morse wrote Theodore Roosevelt during his presidency and has decided to write again regarding William H. Taft. Morse feels the Republican Party accepted Taft’s platform at the last Republican National Convention, but as soon as Taft was inaugurated, he changed course. The nomination of 1912 is between Taft and Robert M. La Follette, and unless there is a deadlock and the party turns to him, Roosevelt needs to stay out of the game and not make the same mistake he made in the last election.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-12-16

Letter from Luther F. Eggers to Theodore Roosevelt

Luther F. Eggers tells Theodore Roosevelt he has been a lifelong Republican, fought in the Civil War, and lived among the Rough Riders in Arizona before leaving to practice law in California. Eggers judges that the all Western states will support Roosevelt, unlike William H. Taft, and urges Roosevelt to accept the nomination.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-12-17

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William H. Taft

President Roosevelt tells William H. Taft that his playing golf is causing a public stir, and he hopes Taft will avoid it until after the election. Roosevelt agrees with Jones on the religious topic, and sends a letter from John Sleicher with an article by Charles M. Harvey, which might garner support among Jewish voters. Roosevelt feels the East will see a mostly positive political outcome, with the railroad situation being handled fairly and a top man being put in charge at the Chicago headquarters.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-14

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frank H. Hitchcock

President Roosevelt sends Chairman of the Republican National Committee Frank H. Hitchcock an important letter from Daniel J. Keefe. It seems settled that Governor Charles Evans Hughes of New York will be renominated, alleviating fears about the East, but they must organize quickly around “the right type of man” for the West at Chicago.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-11

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Arthur Hamilton Lee

President Roosevelt is looking forward to visiting Arthur Hamilton Lee while in England. If Roosevelt visits in the fall he would be pleased to visit Lee’s hunting lodge, and he details his experiences in deer stalking and fox hunting. Roosevelt agrees with Lee on international athletics and finds that such competition often ends in an unhealthy bitterness. Roosevelt will read The Quarterly, in particular the article on Germany, and he has things to say to Lee in person rather than on paper.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-09-17

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William H. Taft

President Roosevelt tells Secretary of War Taft that he admires his willingness to sacrifice his own interests for a principle, but encourages him to avoid talking about delicate subjects where his words could be twisted. Roosevelt is glad that Taft understands the situation with another potential presidential candidate, Governor Charles Evans Hughes, remarking that he has a “distinct strength with the people.” The president believes that Taft will get the majority of the delegates in the West on the first roll and that the majority of people in New England are for Taft. Finally, Roosevelt notes that the New York papers are “almost insane” in regard to his actions, suggesting that Judas Iscariot and Benedict Arnold were “pretty good citizens by comparison.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-19

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Allen White

President Roosevelt shares his thoughts regarding the upcoming presidential election and the land fraud case against Idaho Senator William Edgar Borah with William Allen White. Roosevelt outlines his personal reasons for supporting Secretary of War William H. Taft for president as well as the political considerations necessary to secure his nomination. In the case of Borah, Roosevelt would like White to come to Oyster Bay to discuss the matter with him and Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte; Roosevelt thinks it would look bad for Borah to come himself, and asks White to bring Borah’s lawyers on August 9.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-07-30

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Ethan Allen Hitchcock

President Roosevelt tells Secretary Hitchcock that his order was intended to “withdraw the coal lands from coal entry merely,” and had been fashioned after consulting with Forest Service Chief Gifford Pinchot and Geological Survey Director Charles D. Walcott. He notes that the ordered has been misinterpreted at some point I the Department of the Interior’s chain of command to forbid all homestead and other land entries, which was not his intent. Roosevelt asks Hitchcock to correct the order so that it only pertains to coal lands in Alaska and other states and territories, and asks him to issue the order to relevant land offices on Monday morning.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-15

Letter from William H. Taft to Theodore Roosevelt

Secretary of War Taft tells President Roosevelt that letters from the east suggest that New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes is going to run for president and that he will be supported by the opponents of Roosevelt’s administration. Taft encourages Roosevelt to make a second statement indicating what is “Roosevelt and anti-Roosevelt” and believes that “we could beat Hughes” because of support in the west, some of the south, and some of New England.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-12

Letter from Laura d’Oremieulx Roosevelt to Theodore Roosevelt

Laura d’Oremieulx Roosevelt hopes that President Roosevelt is still able to make arrangements for Oliver Wolcott Roosevelt to go out west in the summer. She reports on the health issues the family has been experiencing and hopes the new year will bring Roosevelt continued health and happiness.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-16

Letter from Brooks Adams to Theodore Roosevelt

Brooks Adams writes to President Roosevelt to express his concern and offer advice in regards to Roosevelt’s attempt to “force through a new policy” that is opposed by titans of industry, finance, and the press. Adams also details how opponents support making Joseph Benson Foraker president by capitalizing on the Brownsville Affair. Adams’s primary advice for Roosevelt is to fight relentlessly at every opportunity to eventually force a popular vote on the issue.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-01-06

Teddy, the buster

This poem details the events of President Roosevelt’s life and presidency, calling him “buster in war and buster in peace.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-10-26

Will it come to this when the president pays his own way?

President Roosevelt stands in line with several other people at a railroad station “ticket office.” A sign reads, “next train leaves 10.13 for the West.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-05-18

‘The state? I am the state!’

President Roosevelt wears clothing with a number of states on it as well as “Alaska” and the “Philippines.” He holds “the big stick” and stands on a “Constitution of United States” door mat with a tag that reads, “my private door mat. T. R.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-02-19

Theodore Roosevelt with Rough Rider friends

Scenes of Theodore Roosevelt in a western setting. The man on Roosevelt’s immediate left appears to be Albert B. Fall, Senator from New Mexico (1913-1921). Four unidentified men, two wearing Western hats, may be Rough Riders. A woman is barely visible directly behind Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound

Creation Date

1910-1920

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frederick Jackson Turner

Civil Service Commissioner Roosevelt believes that his views about the fundamental unity of the Westerners does not differ widely from Professor Turner’s views, although they both emphasize different points. Roosevelt has incorporated Turner’s remarks into a chapter he is writing, most likely referring to his book The Winning of the West.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1895-04-26

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frederick Jackson Turner

Police Commissioner Roosevelt responds to Professor Frederick Jackson Turner’s review of his fourth volume (most likely referring to The Winning of the West), explaining that he was not able to conduct a more thorough historical investigation because he was busy with other work. He argues that his judgment was sober in relation to his views of Thomas Jefferson.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1896-11-04

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frederick Jackson Turner

Police Commissioner Roosevelt believes that Professor Frederick Jackson Turner was correct about the inadvisability of the tone Roosevelt used when writing about Thomas Jefferson. Roosevelt compliments Turner’s article in The Atlantic Monthly and discusses the West. He asks Turner to let him know in advance when he plans to visit New York so that they can have lunch.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1896-12-15

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frederick Jackson Turner

Civil Service Commissioner Roosevelt plans to use Professor Turner’s pamphlet “On the Frontier” when writing the third volume of Winning of the West. He notes that Turner has “put into definite shape a good deal of thought which has been floating around rather loosely.”

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1894-02-10

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Frederick Jackson Turner

Civil Service Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt discusses Professor Frederick Jackson Turner’s review of two volumes of The Winning of the West. Although Roosevelt planned to write about the Yazoo land claims in the fourth volume, Turner’s criticism has led him to believe that he did not put enough emphasis on the proceedings of the different land companies in his previous volumes. Roosevelt asks where he can find descriptions of land companies in the Canadian archives. He notes that he was not able to use the Draper manuscripts for the first two volumes, although he has since been able to obtain copies of the originals.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1895-04-02