Voting--Law and legislation--U.S. states

Henry S. Pritchett, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, writes to President Roosevelt about “the Negro question.” Pritchett claims that Republican Reconstruction was a failure, and argues that the federal government should stop trying to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment, since legislative threats are not making the Southern states comply. He recommends that the Southern states be allowed to control their own voting laws, subject only to outside criticism without force. Pritchett admits the Southern states will immediately disenfranchise most African Americans, but that this will be fair since they will also disenfranchise ignorant whites. He believes Roosevelt will still be allowed to make some African American appointments pending approval of local white leaders. Pritchett encloses an article he wrote on the subject and pages from James Ford Rhodes’s history. Rhodes, a historian specializing in Reconstruction, adds a postscript to Pritchett’s letter saying he agrees with Pritchett’s recommendations and will discuss with Pritchett conversations he had previously on the subject with Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-06

Creator(s)

Pritchett, Henry S. (Henry Smith), 1857-1939; Rhodes, James Ford, 1848-1927

Attorney William H. Fleming appreciates President Theodore Roosevelt’s suggestion that the appointment of a commission would be most palatable if it comes from “some high class southern senator or congressman.” Fleming suggests Senator Alexander Stephens Clay, Congressman Clark Howell, or Congressman William Gordon Brantley for the task. Fleming commends Roosevelt’s caution in the matter and agrees to discuss it with him before the meeting of Congress. Fleming encloses an editorial he wrote about race hatred in Georgia that rebuts the claims of Hoke Smith and Congressman Thomas William Hardwick and discusses the disenfranchisement situation in Alabama.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-11-09

Creator(s)

Fleming, William H. (William Henry), 1856-1944

House Speaker Cannon writes to William Loeb to answer President Roosevelt’s request for information on whether the Pure Food Bill will be passed. Cannon notes that this and other bills are being considered by the House and expresses optimism about the passing of the Pure Food Bill.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-30

Creator(s)

Cannon, Joseph Gurney, 1836-1926

Andrew B. Humphrey expresses hope that there will be a Constitutional Suffrage Plank in the Republican National Convention’s platform supporting equity in elections, and including the provision that in states that exclude certain citizens from voting there will be a reduction in the number of representatives in the Electoral College.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-06-02

Creator(s)

Humphrey, Andrew B.