Wright, Luke E. (Luke Edward), 1846-1922

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Charles J. Bonaparte

President Roosevelt agrees with Attorney General Bonaparte, and says that they should appoint Milton Dwight Purdy at once. Roosevelt does not want to be dictated to by Senator Knute Nelson as to who he is able to appoint. He is unsure about the wisdom of putting another Tennessee Democrat in the administration when there are already several people from the area in the administration. Roosevelt asks Bonaparte’s opinions about several people.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-06-23

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry L. Stimson

President Roosevelt was very amused to receive Henry L. Stimson’s letter, and explains that he can hardly see a thing without his glasses. When Stimson approached Roosevelt on the beach, Roosevelt thought he must have been just another picnicker or vacationer, and had no idea who Stimson actually was. Roosevelt asks if Stimson and his wife could come for lunch on Saturday.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-06-23

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Lee Higginson

President Roosevelt thanks Henry Lee Higginson for the letter, and says he will show it to Luke E. Wright. He tells Higginson to come visit with Perkins whenever he can, and if there is room he will have them spend the night. Otherwise, he will take them to lunch.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-06-24

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Cabot Lodge

President Roosevelt promises to take up the ship business that Senator Lodge mentioned with Luke E. Wright. Roosevelt has heard of Lodge’s great success as chairman of the Republican National Convention, and thanks him for it. President Roosevelt also reflects on the upcoming presidential election, and thinks that the Republican party is in good shape, although there are some areas that could be more secure. He has begun preparations for the African safari he is planning to take once he leaves office, and hopes to be able to make it a scientific expedition rather than just a vacation. Roosevelt wants to “remain a man of action as long as possible,” even after leaving the presidency.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-06-24

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Lyman Abbott

President Roosevelt denies the rumors of his seeking renomination at the convention, and points out that he has steadfastly supported Secretary of War William H. Taft. He also tells Lyman Abbott that he approves of the articles on immigrants that Edward Alfred Steiner has written in The Outlook. Roosevelt has tried to make his Cabinet representative of all types of Americans.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-05-29

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Owen Wister

President Roosevelt writes to Owen Wister about a letter Roosevelt received from Judge J. M. Dickinson. Dickinson suggested that while the race question may never be settled, he believes that Roosevelt has helped quiet it for a time. Roosevelt believes that this is a common view in the South. He asserts that while many problems still remain in race relations and universal suffrage, the current situation has improved upon the past.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-05-03

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to J. Ellen Foster

President Roosevelt is pleased that J. Ellen Foster is visiting the Philippines, and asks her to report back to him anything she finds out about family and social life there. He would like to know how the Filipinos’ economic and educational welfare has been impacted by American occupation. He encloses a letter of introduction to General Luke E. Wright, the Governor-General of the Philippines.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-03-31

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Leslie Combs

President Roosevelt tells Leslie Combs his plans regarding placing people in government positions. He hopes that Combs will read his Lincoln Day address once it is published.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-01-12

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to James W. Hardison

President Roosevelt thanks James W. Hardison and the Albert Sidney Johnston Camp of Confederate Veterans for the invitation. Roosevelt will stop in Paris, Texas, during his trip to San Antonio, Texas, if possible. Roosevelt informs Hardison he had family who fought on both sides during the Civil War and mentions two recent appointments he has made of the descendants of Confederate veterans.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-22

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Silas McBee

President Roosevelt is disappointed by Luke Lea’s letter sent to him by Silas McBee. While the president is pleased about what Lea says regarding Roosevelt’s attitude concerning “social equality,” the president has concerns about several other portions in Lea’s letter. Roosevelt disagrees with almost everything Lea says about politics in Tennessee. First, the president has tried to appoint good leaders, even if they have not been Republicans, something Lea thinks Roosevelt is not doing. Second, Lea believes men should be allowed to hold office no matter what their color, another policy Roosevelt has already been pursuing. Finally, Roosevelt says the campaign buttons in question had the opposite effect Lea mentioned. The president tells Abbott he can show Lea Roosevelt’s letter if he wishes.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-15

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Thomas C. Carter

President Roosevelt thanks Thomas C. Carter, an ex-Confederate soldier, for his letter and says it is a “peculiar pleasure” when he is able to do something for an ex-Confederate soldier, giving several examples of former Confederate soldiers, wives, or offspring he has appointed to public offices.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-03

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William H. Taft

President Roosevelt sends Secretary of War Taft some correspondence which explains itself. Roosevelt and Taft will need to speak about Governor-General Luke E. Wright’s proposed bill for the Philippines, as well as Archbishop J. J. Harty’s objections to it. While Roosevelt admits he does “not think much of the Aglipayans,” and thinks “a great deal of Harty,” he wishes to be careful to do justice.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-11-04

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Joseph Bucklin Bishop

President Roosevelt finds amusement in the clipping from The World about the Evening Post, and he thinks it base and hypocritical for the Post to continue to support the candidacy of Alton B. Parker in light of such speeches as that of Henry Gassaway Davis. Roosevelt provides two quotations addressing the “colored issue” for inclusion in his speech and letter of acceptance. Roosevelt aims to make his points clear while at the same time making them in such a way as to cause minimal irritation in the south.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-10-12

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Byrne

President Roosevelt replies with interest to Major Byrne, explaining, in confidence, his position on race relations in the South. Roosevelt cites the Indianola post office affair, when African American postmistress Minnie M. Geddings Cox was driven out of town by a white mob, as an example of the “policy of retrogression” in the South. Roosevelt says, “On the one hand I wish by my action to avoid stirring up any bitterness; on the other hand, I must not act in a cowardly manner and make the apostles of lawlessness and of brutal disregard of the rights of the black man feel encouraged in their indignity. As always in life, I have to face conditions, not as I would like to have them, but as they actually are, and every course I take is beset with difficulties.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-09-14

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Joseph Gurney Cannon

President Roosevelt writes to Joseph Gurney Cannon, Chairman of the Notification Committee, to formally accept his nomination as the Republican presidential candidate and to approve the platform adopted by the Republican National Convention. In the letter, Roosevelt provides a comprehensive defense of his foreign and domestic policies and outlines what he believes are the major differences between the Republican and Democratic parties in the upcoming election. Roosevelt discusses, among other topics, his position on international relations, antitrust legislation, tariffs, the gold standard, pensions for Civil War veterans, the military, civil service, commerce, agriculture, taxation, and self-government in the Philippines.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-09-12

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Booker T. Washington

In his letter of acceptance, President Roosevelt will propose that the “colored question” at home should be approached in the same way that Secretary of War William H. Taft and Governor Luke E. Wright have approached it in the Philippines.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-29

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Byrne

President Roosevelt tells Major Byrne that tax revision cannot be undertaken by people who think that the tariff is unconstitutional “robbery.” He acknowledges a shared belief with Byrne that there are “grave inequalities” in the tariff, but he will not make promises he is unable to keep. Roosevelt cares too much about the “color problem” issue to make it a partisan battle, and holds up Democrats and ex-Confederates as examples to this end.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-31

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Booker T. Washington

President Roosevelt does not know whether he will say anything publicly about the fourteenth amendment, but encloses his position to Booker T. Washington. Roosevelt would like to give African Americans the same “fair treatment” that Secretary of War William H. Taft and Governor Luke E. Wright have given to Filipinos.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-18

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Silas McBee

President Roosevelt wrote to Secretary of War Taft as Silas McBee suggested. Roosevelt describes revisions made to a paragraph that contrasts the observation of the Fourteenth Amendment in the Philippines and in the continental United States. Roosevelt believes in giving fair treatment to every man regardless of their race.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-22

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Lyman Abbott

President Roosevelt tells Dr. Abbott that he might not mention the Fourteenth Amendment. He wants to highlight Alton B. Parker’s hypocritical attitude towards the Fourteenth Amendment and gives southern Democrat Luke E. Wright’s stance as an example of how “colored people should be treated here.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-08-18

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919