Your TR Source
Theodore Roosevelt gave Peter V. Fernandes’ donation to the Progressive Headquarters. Roosevelt appreciates Fernandes’ letter, as he is a veteran of the Spanish War. Roosevelt also tells Fernandes that he is the type of American that Roosevelt tries to represent in public life.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-05-03
President Roosevelt addresses the Society of Sons of the American Revolution. He believes societies that “cultivate patriotism in the present by keeping alive the memory of the past” serve an important function in the United States. Roosevelt honors the men who fought in the American Revolution and the American Civil War, and calls on the audience to honor them not just by word, but by deed. Roosevelt also honors the Army and Navy, and American statesmen.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-05-02
President Roosevelt speaks at the reburial of William S. Rosencrans at Arlington National Cemetery. Roosevelt honors veterans of the American Civil War, like Rosencrans, without whom, “the work of Washington would have crumbled into bloody chaos.” Roosevelt asserts that without the work of the soldiers in the Civil War, the accomplishments of soldiers in the Revolutionary War would have meant nothing. Roosevelt also declares that it does not matter what rank one held in the army, as long as he did his duty.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-05-17
President Roosevelt speaks at the Hall of the Native Sons of the Golden West in San Francisco, responding to greetings from the Association of Pioneers, Mexican War Veterans, Native Sons of the Golden West, and Native Daughters of the Golden West. He discusses the deeds of the veterans and pioneers and thanks them for their service.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-05-13
President Roosevelt briefly thanks the veterans of the Spanish American War who escorted him in Oakland.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-05-14
President Roosevelt thanks the veterans who escorted him to the dock in Oakland. These are the service men whose example “we endeavored to follow.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-05-14
President Roosevelt addresses a crowd from the portico at the state capitol in Bismarck. He reminisces about his time in the Dakota region and the people he has come to know. Roosevelt speaks about the nation’s prosperity and how it can be affected by legislation and the character of the people.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-04-07
President Roosevelt greets a crowd in South Dakota. He praises the pioneers and the veterans, especially for their character. Roosevelt also speaks of the need for the “old pioneer virtues,” good laws, and education.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-04-25
President Roosevelt thanks a crowd in Fairmont for their greeting. He also thanks the veterans of the Civil War for their service. Roosevelt also congratulates the citizens on their crop diversification and their children.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-04-27
President Roosevelt speaks to a crowd in Fremont. He talks about the pioneers, the veterans of the Civil War, and the upbringing of the next generation.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-04-27
President Roosevelt greets an audience at the Capitol in Des Moines, Iowa. He speaks of the “invaluable work” done by Congressman Colonel Hull. He also thanks the veterans of the Civil War for their service and his comrades from 1898 and the fifty-first Iowa.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-04-28
President Roosevelt addresses the citizens of Keokuk, Iowa. He congratulates them on their “great and beautiful state…with such great natural advantages” and extends special thanks to veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic. He also speaks about General Curtis and the current problems facing the nation due to the “complexity of our industrial civilization.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-04-29
President Roosevelt addresses citizens at his first stop in Minnesota. He remarks on ex-Congressman and ex-Secretary Windon, whom Roosevelt knew personally. Roosevelt also addresses the veterans in the audience.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-04-04
African Americans and Civil War veterans appear among a crowd that passes a statue of Abraham Lincoln on their way to the Cotton States Exposition visible in the background, labeled “Prosperity.” In the left foreground is a large man labeled “Free Labor” standing with the tools of labor.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1895-10-23
Waves of veterans march through a memorial arch on “Decoration Day,” carrying banners that state, “We will continue to save the country, so long as there is a dollar in the Treasury” and “Army of Pensioners.” On the right, Uncle Sam is wearing tattered clothes and sits on a step with the U.S. Capitol in the background. He is holding out his hat labeled “Deficit” and a sign that states “I Am Busted.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1895-05-29
A very old soldier labeled “Pensioner War of 1812” walks with a much younger woman wearing her wedding dress, on their way to the church in the background to get married. Between them they hold a “Pension Certificate ‘And in Case of My Death Pay to My Widow’.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1898-02-09
A bloated Civil War veteran sits on a chair beneath a sign that states, “How the Fatman has grown. Number of Pensioners over 30 Years After the Close of the War 976,014. Number in waiting 200,000.” On display next to him is Uncle Sam sitting on a chair beneath a sign that states, “The Living Skeleton. He has run behind $46,000,000 in 5 months and the Fatman keeps on Worrying him.” At the base of the pedestal where they are sitting is a sign that states, “What it cost to raise Him. Pensions appropriation in 1866 $13,500,000… in 1897 $142,000,000. Unless policy is entirely changed it will soon require – $160,000,000.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1898-01-05
Print shows Puck talking to a veteran of the Grand Army of the Republic and gesturing toward a shark in the background wearing a military uniform, holding a gaff, and standing on the steps of the “Pension Agency” where a sign hangs that states “Pensions for Everybody. Apply Early. War Record Immaterial.”
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1899-08-09
Theodore Roosevelt praises the Armed Forces and veterans of the Civil War. He also praises Father Edward Vattmann and other speakers of the evening as proud examples of loyal Americans with German ancestry. He calls for all of the various ethnic groups in America to come together under one language and one flag and condemns pacifists and anti-war politicians like Senator Robert M. La Follette. Roosevelt says all able-bodied men should join the fight and that America needs to be better prepared for war in the future.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1917-09-26
President Roosevelt gives a brief speech from the balcony of the Columbia Club near the Sailors and Soldiers Monument, which had been completed in May of that year. Roosevelt celebrates the material well-being he has seen in Indiana but praises more the spirit to do and honor great deeds. He honors the memory of Union veterans of the American Civil War, affirms the place of the United States as a world power, and encourages the crowd to embrace a gospel of hope. If Americans stand up to difficulty, do their duty at home and abroad, and dare to be great, the nation will be “the greatest upon which the sun has ever shone.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-09-23