United States, West

Civil Service Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt was pleased to discover that Professor Frederick Jackson Turner was the reviewer for The Winning of the West. Roosevelt agrees that there are new fields for research in Western history, although he “has always been more interested in the men themselves than in the institutions through and under which they worked.” He admires Turner’s pamphlet and hopes that Turner will write a serious work on the subject. Thanking Turner for his references to the Canadian Archives, he notes that the land companies were perhaps “more important on paper” than in their actual effects. Roosevelt mentions that he is a busy man and that he is tempted to “get entirely out of political life.”

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1895-04-10

Theodore Roosevelt, dressed as a cowboy, stands on the Western United States and has lassoed a spire arising from the “White House” with a rope labeled “Popularity.” His belt is labeled “Stability.” His gun holster is labeled “For political game.” Flying out of his saddle bag are speeches: “Stand Pat with Prosperity Speech, Prosperity Speeches, Clean Political Speeches, Common-Sense Speeches, Sound-Money Speech, Stick to Republican Prosperity, and Business Should not be Disturbed by Political Fanatics.” Caption: If our strenuous President perseveres in the line he has chosen for himself it will eventually land him at the WHITE HOUSE for another FOUR years.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-04-25

President Roosevelt thanks Frédéric Mistral for sending him a copy of Mistral’s book Mireille. Roosevelt wishes Mistral success in his ventures in the West, stating that the U.S. is a nation of wealth-seekers, but that the nation also needs to value the non-material things of life.

3 copies: On the back of the first copy is a handwritten note stating that the letter was printed for press-work and that the G.O.P. could not consider him for a cabinet position. Copy 3 has a note commenting that it was no wonder Mistral admired Roosevelt.

Collection

Harvard College Library

President Roosevelt thanks Frédéric Mistral for sending him a copy of Mistral’s book, Mireille. Roosevelt states that the United States is a nation of wealth-seekers, but that the nation also needs to value the non-material things of life. The second page is a note, written in a hand other than Roosevelt’s, containing a quote concerning the nature of poetry. This item is a copy of the original December 15, 1904, letter.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1905-12-01

Three copies of a letter President Roosevelt wrote thanking Frédéric Mistral for sending him a copy of Mistral’s book Mireille. Roosevelt wishes Mistral success in his ventures in the West, stating that the United States is a nation of wealth-seekers, but that the nation also needs to value the non-material things of life. The first copy has a note at the bottom commenting that it was no wonder Mistral became a friend of Roosevelt’s.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1905-12-15

President Roosevelt writes to Secretary of State John Hay about his tour of the western states. He describes the people and towns as greeting him enthusiastically. Roosevelt also gives short reminisces of his years out west as a cattle rancher. He mentions opening the World Fair in St. Louis, his impression of the Pacific Coast states, the status of many Rough Riders and the violence of frontier life.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1903-08-09

In this excerpt from a letter to his sister, Anna Roosevelt Cowles, Theodore Roosevelt writes of a visit from Henry Cabot Lodge, ending with a comment concerning the importance of the Western states in the upcoming presidential election.

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1896-06-28

Theodore Roosevelt writes to his sister Anna about Arthur Hooper ending their German tutoring sessions. Roosevelt will be in New York soon and is eager to hear about Anna’s trip out West. After having been away from home for a month, he longs for “petting and spoiling.”

Collection

Harvard College Library

Creation Date

1878-04-07

A man representing the West chooses between two side show acts, President Roosevelt and former president Grover Cleveland.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-03-21

A bear sits with a collar labeled the Western Vote 1904. The collar is chained to a post with a hands off sign posted by President Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-03-20

President Roosevelt is shown leading a group of animals labeled after different Western states. Caption: When Teddy comes marching home again he’ll have a new story to tell.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-03-31

President Roosevelt rides up on a horse to the homestead of Miss West. Item is regarding the Western vote in 1904. Caption: But This Young Lochinvar Came Out of the East.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-04-01

President Roosevelt is shown riding the Republican elephant and trying to brand a cow labeled Western Vote with “TR”.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-04-03

President Roosevelt races to keep feeding speeches to the fire below a cauldron labeled presidential campaign.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-04-03

Typed excerpt from “In Cowboy Land,” Chapter IV of Theodore Roosevelt’s Autobiography. Roosevelt describes the “wild west” as he experienced it in the North Dakota badlands, including toil and hardship but also “the glory of work and the joy of living.”

Collection

Dickinson State University

Creation Date

1913

President Roosevelt addresses the crowd at the dedication of the Roosevelt Dam in Arizona and tells them about how the dam came to be. He knows the value of irrigation to the west, and through hard work, he was able to convince the east of the necessity of irrigation. Roosevelt congratulates all of the people involved with the construction of the dam and reflects on the honor of having the dam named after him. He considers the two material achievements he is most proud of in his administration to be the construction of the Panama Canal and the irrigation work in the western United States. Roosevelt also further reflects on what it means to be a citizen and the duty of Americans.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1911-03-18

Vice President Roosevelt asks Gifford Pinchot if there is an opportunity for the son of Jacob A. Riis to go on “some government trip” out West as a handyman. The boy does not require “any but the smallest wages,” and would like the chance to go on an outdoor government trip.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1901-04-16

President Roosevelt responds to Representative Williams’s claim that he does not understand the South. Although Roosevelt is “greatly puzzled” by some difficulties he has encountered in the South, he has tried to treat the Southern States fairly. Roosevelt believes there are no issues with what he has done in the South but how he has been misrepresented in the South. The president is fine if people disagree with his policies, but he does not like when the facts are misrepresented. He mentions statements made by Alabama Senator John Tyler Morgan and Williams himself that were incorrect. Roosevelt does not appreciate the application of base motives to the president of the United States, and believes if the people of the South have been misled, it is because Southern leaders have misled them. Roosevelt also does not appreciate white men in the South trying to get their vote to count more than those in the North, and believes African American men should be judged by the same tests as “ignorant, vicious and shiftless whites.” Roosevelt closes by saying that what the South “really needs” is for her leaders to tell the truth.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-05

On behalf of Theodore Roosevelt, his secretary thanks Robert John Wynne for his letter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-09-19

Theodore Roosevelt regrets that he must decline Governor Woodruff’s invitation to attend a church dedication in Brooklyn. The schedule for his campaign trips will not allow it.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1912-08-28