Your TR Source
Theodore Roosevelt writes to James Stuart Blackton that his film, The Battle Cry of Peace, was well-received in Plattsburgh and by General Leonard Wood. Wood and Roosevelt both would like Blackton to attend an upcoming business men’s camp.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1915-08-27
Theodore Roosevelt sends his love and best wishes to former New Hampshire Governor Robert P. Bass’s wife, possibly related to her expecting her second child later that year. Roosevelt is going out west soon and asks if Bass and his brother, John Foster Bass, can arrange a lunch or dinner with him in August.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1913-07-07
Theodore Roosevelt recalls meeting “Whistling John” Willis when Willis had lost everything in a fire. He congratulates Willis on making his “way up” in life and compares Willis’s youth in the West to the Vikings. Roosevelt intends to visit the Panama Exposition and would be pleased to stop in Glasgow, Montana, to see Willis. He agrees that cattle country is turning into farming country and is glad that Willis is interested in protecting the mountain sheep and blacktail (mule) deer.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1915-02-22
Edward N. Brown is currently working as a Forest Ranger, but has heard that Theodore Roosevelt might be arranging a division of Rough Riders, and is interested in joining. He tells Roosevelt some of his history and credentials he has gained by working in the West, and feels that he would be a good fit. Even if Roosevelt cannot accept his application, he would appreciate a letter so that he can show his fellow rangers.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1911-03-18
President Roosevelt thanks Irene F. G. Wheelock for the book on Californian birds and expresses enthusiasm at increasing the knowledge base of western birds.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-02-23
President Roosevelt discusses with his son Ted the precarious situation of Japanese immigration in the West. Roosevelt hopes that the Japanese government will help to prevent mass immigration of Japanese to the United States, as he thinks this would bring about “the gravest kind of race trouble” that will force the American government to pass exclusion laws.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-02-13
President Roosevelt congratulates Governor Brooks of Wyoming on the third annual meeting of the Trans-Missouri Dry Farming Congress. Roosevelt is deeply interested in the development of agricultural resources in the arid parts of the western United States. He will do everything he can to aid Brooks in his work.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-02-16
President Roosevelt asks William Henry Grant, trustee of the Carnegie Institute, to consider John A. Lomax for a grant of $1,000 per year, for three years, to fund his research into “native ballads of the frontier.” This money would come from the Carnegie Fund.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-22
President Roosevelt asks Robert S. Woodward, as president of the Carnegie Institution, to consider funding the research of John A. Lomax into “frontier ballads.” A grant of $1,000 per year for three years from the Carnegie Institute would suffice.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-01-22
President Roosevelt congratulates Governor Hughes for his victory in the New York gubernatorial race. He also thanks Hughes for the work he did for the national campaign, in particular for his stumping tours in both New York and the West.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-11-06
President Roosevelt praises Governor Hughes’s efforts campaigning for William H. Taft and the Republicans in the West. Hughes’s actions, leaving New York and potentially jeopardizing his own re-election for the party, has gained him support. Roosevelt advises Hughes to continue his “aggressive hard-hitting” against William Jennings Bryan, and in particular to focus on the judiciary. Roosevelt believes that some people who oppose Taft because of his religion will support Hughes, while some foreigners who oppose Hughes will support Taft.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-10-14
President Roosevelt feels the same way as George Haven Putnam, and thinks that he would like to continue writing his history of The Winning of the West unless he began work on another, larger, history. In either case, he will discuss it with Putnam before deciding.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-14
President Roosevelt thanks David Gray for the letter, as well as the letter Gray wrote to Kermit Roosevelt and the interest he takes in him. Roosevelt is glad that Gray approves of his action in not seeking another term in the presidency. He believes people would have thought worse of him if he had gone back on his promise not to run.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-16
President Roosevelt agrees with Benjamin Ide Wheeler regarding the nomination of J. S. Sherman for Republican Vice-Presidential candidate. Roosevelt had hoped to get Jonathan P. Dolliver or Albert Baird Cummins if Herbert S. Hadley was not available. Roosevelt expects the Republicans to carry the United States east of the Mississippi, but is not sure about the states west of it.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-06-22
President Roosevelt tells Sir Wilfred Laurier, Prime Minister of Canada, about some discussions that he has had with William Lyon Mackenzie King, along with Secretary of State Elihu Root, Ambassador James Bryce, and Assistant Secretary of State Robert Bacon about the situation in Canada. Roosevelt says that feelings in western Canada are similar to those in California, Oregon, and Washington, and agrees that sending King to London to speak with the government of the British Empire seems wise. Roosevelt thinks it was admirable that they have had these discussions, and says that there is a likelihood of the United States and Canada working together for their own interests, while also behaving honorably towards Japan. Roosevelt enjoyed hearing from Laurier and meeting King, and is pleased about the steps bringing Canada and the United States closer together.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-02-01
President Roosevelt will contact Secretary of the Treasury George B. Cortelyou immediately on behalf of Edward King, Union Trust Company president. King is no doubt aware of the complaints of banks out west that the government deposits favored New York banks. Roosevelt asks if an emergency currency bill will help the situation.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-12-14
President Roosevelt tells James Taylor he will do whatever he can for his son. The president has sent Taylor’s request to Chief of the Forest Service Gifford Pinchot and has asked Pinchot to give Taylor’s son a position in a western state with a dry climate.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-12-11
President Roosevelt acknowledges that decontextualized parts of his message regarding the financial crisis may have been circulating on Wall Street, but he stands by what he has said and believes his policies should be permanent. Roosevelt also tells William Emlen Roosevelt that J. P. Morgan and George F. Baker were in favor of his financial measures.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-11-23
President Roosevelt tells Secretary of the Treasury Cortelyou that New York banks with government deposits must honor individual checks made by people in the western states trying to use them to pay internal revenue taxes as a way to prevent currency drain from the West.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-11-20
President Roosevelt describes his appreciation of the artist Frederic Remington to Arthur W. Little. Roosevelt appreciates Remington’s depiction of a “vanishing type of American life,” notably the soldiers, cowboys, ranchers, and Native Americans of the American West. Roosevelt also remarks on Remington’s mastery of not only sculpture but also painting and literature.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-07-17