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President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt Essay

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Theodore Roosevelt: Domestic Affairs

When Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office in September 1901, he presided over a country that had changed significantly in recent decades. The population of the United States had almost doubled from 1870 to 1900 as immigrants came to U.S. cities to work in the country's burgeoning factories. As the United States became increasingly urban and industrial, it acquired many of the attributes common to industrial nations—overcrowded cities, poor working conditions, great economic disparity, and the political dominance of big business. At the turn of the twentieth century, Americans had begun to look for ways to address some of these problems. As chief executive, Roosevelt felt empowered by the people to help ensure social justice and economic opportunity through government regulation. He was not a radical, however; TR believed that big business was a natural part of a maturing economy and, therefore, saw no reason to abolish it. He never suggested fundamentally altering American society or the economy to address various economic and social ills. In fact, he often stated that there must be reform in order to stave off socialism; if government did not act, the people would turn to more extreme measures to seek remedies. In addition, TR was a politician who understood the need to compromise in order to implement his ideas. Coming into office following William McKinley's assassination, Roosevelt pledged to maintain the fallen President's policies so as not to upset the nation in a time of mourning. And even when he began to chart his own course, Roosevelt knew that he had to work with congressional Republicans to get the G.O.P. nomination for President in 1904.

The Great Regulator

One of Roosevelt's central beliefs was that the government had the right to regulate big business to protect the welfare of society. However, this idea was relatively untested. Although Congress had passed the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890, former Presidents had only used it sparingly. So when the Department of Justice filed suit in early 1902 against the Northern Securities Company, it sent shockwaves through the business community. The suit alarmed the business community, which had hoped that Roosevelt would follow precedent and maintain a "hands-off" approach to the market economy. At issue was the claim that the Northern Securities Company—a giant railroad combination created by a syndicate of wealthy industrialists and financiers led by J. P. Morgan—violated the Sherman Antitrust Act because it was a monopoly. In 1904, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the government and ordered the company dismantled. The high court's action was a major victory for the administration and put the business community on notice that although this was a Republican administration, it would not give business free rein to operate without regard for the public welfare.

Roosevelt then turned his attention to the nation's railroads, in part because the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) had notified the administration about abuses within the industry. In addition, a large segment of the population supported efforts to regulate the railroads because so many people and businesses were dependent on them. Roosevelt's first achievement in this area was the Elkins Act of 1903, which ended the practice of railroad companies granting shipping rebates to certain companies. The rebates allowed big companies to ship goods for much lower rates than smaller companies could obtain. However, the railroads and big companies were able to undermine the act. Recognizing that the Elkins Act was not effective, Roosevelt pursued further railroad regulation and undertook one of his greatest domestic reform efforts. The legislation, which became known as the Hepburn Act, proposed enhancing the powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission to include the ability to regulate shipping rates on railroads. One of the main sticking points of the bill was what role the courts would play in reviewing the rates. Conservative senators who opposed the legislation, acting on behalf of the railroad industry, tried to use judicial review to make the ICC essentially powerless. By giving the courts, which were considered friendly to the railroads, the right to rule on individual cases, the ICC had less power to remedy the inequities of the rates. When Roosevelt encountered this resistance in Congress, he took his case to the people, making a direct appeal on a speaking tour through the West. He succeeded in pressuring the Senate to approve the legislation. The Hepburn Act marked one of the first times a President appealed directly to the people, using the press to help him make his case. The passage of the act was considered a major victory for Roosevelt and highlighted his ability to balance competing interests to achieve his goals.

Square Deal

Roosevelt believed that the government should use its resources to help achieve economic and social justice. When the country faced an anthracite coal shortage in the fall of 1902 because of a strike in Pennsylvania, the President thought he should intervene. As winter approached and heating shortages were imminent, he started to formulate ideas about how he could use the executive office to play a role—even though he did not have any official authority to negotiate an end to the strike. Roosevelt called both the mine owners and the representatives of labor together at the White House. When management refused to negotiate, he hatched a plan to force the two sides to talk: instead of sending federal troops to break the strike and force the miners back to work, TR threatened to use troops to seize the mines and run them as a federal operation. Faced with Roosevelt's plan, the owners and labor unions agreed to submit their cases to a commission and abide by its recommendations. Roosevelt called the settlement of the coal strike a "square deal," inferring that everyone gained fairly from the agreement. That term soon became synonymous with Roosevelt's domestic program. The Square Deal worked to balance competing interests to create a fair deal for all sides: labor and management, consumer and business, developer and conservationist. TR recognized that his program was not perfectly neutral because the government needed to intervene more actively on behalf of the general public to ensure economic opportunity for all. Roosevelt was the first President to name his domestic program and the practice soon became commonplace, with Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom, Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, and Harry S. Truman's Fair Deal.

Conservation

Roosevelt was the nation's first conservationist President. Everywhere he went, he preached the need to preserve woodlands and mountain ranges as places of refuge and retreat. He identified the American character with the nation's wilderness regions, believing that our western and frontier heritage had shaped American values, behavior, and culture. The President wanted the United States to change from exploiting natural resources to carefully managing them. He worked with Gifford Pinchot, head of the Forestry Bureau, and Frederick Newell, head of the Reclamation Service, to revolutionize this area of the U.S. government. In 1902, Roosevelt signed the Newlands Reclamation Bill, which used money from federal land sales to build reservoirs and irrigation works to promote agriculture in the arid West. After he won reelection in his own right in 1904, Roosevelt felt more empowered to make significant changes in this domain. Working with Pinchot, he moved the Forest Service from the Department of the Interior to the Department of Agriculture. This gave the Forest Service, and Pinchot as head of it, more power to achieve its goals. Together, Roosevelt and Pinchot reduced the role of state and local government in the management of natural resources, a policy that met with considerable resistance. Only the federal government, they argued, had the resources to oversee these efforts. Roosevelt used his presidential authority to issue executive orders to create 150 new national forests, increasing the amount of protected land from 42 million acres to 172 million acres. The President also created five national parks, eighteen national monuments, and 51 wildlife refuges.

Roosevelt and the Muckrakers

The emergence of a mass-circulation independent press at around the turn of the century changed the nature of print media in the United States. Instead of partisan publications that touted a party line, the national media was becoming more independent and more likely to expose scandals and abuses. This era marked the beginning of investigative journalism, and the reporters who led the effort were known as "muckrakers," a term first used by Roosevelt in a 1906 speech. One of the best examples of Roosevelt's relationship with the muckrakers came after he read Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, which described in lurid detail the filthy conditions in the meat packing industry—where rats, putrid meat, and poisoned rat bait were routinely ground up into sausages. Roosevelt responded by pushing for the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. Both pieces of legislation endeared him to the public and to those corporations that favored government regulation as a means of achieving national consumer standards.

Roosevelt was the first President to use the power of the media to appeal directly to the American people. He understood that his forceful personality, his rambunctious family, and his many opinions made good copy for the press. He also knew that the media was a good way for him to reach out to the people, bypassing political parties and political machines. He used the media as a "bully pulpit" to influence public opinion.

On Race and Civil Rights

Theodore Roosevelt reflected the racial attitudes of his time, and his domestic record on race and civil rights was a mixed bag. He did little to preserve black suffrage in the South as those states increasingly disenfranchised blacks. He believed that African Americans as a race were inferior to whites, but he thought many black individuals were superior to white individuals and should be able to prove their merit. He caused a major controversy early in his presidency when he invited Booker T. Washington to dine with him at the White House in October 1901. Roosevelt wanted to talk to Washington about patronage appointments in the South, and he was surprised by the vilification he received in the Southern press; he did not apologize for his actions. Although he appointed blacks to some patronage positions in the South, he was generally unwilling to fight the political battles necessary to win their appointment. One incident in particular taints Roosevelt's reputation on racial issues. In 1906, a small group of black soldiers was accused of going on a shooting spree in Brownsville, Texas, killing one white man and wounding another. Despite conflicting accounts and the lack of physical evidence, the Army assumed the guilt of the black soldiers. When not one of them admitted responsibility, an irritated Roosevelt ordered the dishonorable discharge of three companies of black soldiers (160 men) without a trial. Roosevelt and the white establishment had assumed the soldiers were guilty without affording them the opportunity for a trial to confront their accusers or prove their innocence.

Sidney Milkis

Professor of Politics University of Virginia

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Theodore roosevelt presidency page, theodore roosevelt essays, life in brief, life before the presidency, campaigns and elections, domestic affairs (current essay), foreign affairs, life after the presidency, family life, the american franchise, impact and legacy.

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History Resources

Many essays pertaining to Theodore Roosevelt and his times have been published on the Gilder Lehrman Institute website and in History Now , the online journal of the Gilder Lehrman Institute. Selected essays are available here, to provide historical perspective for teachers, students, and general readers.

The first two essays are open to everyone for free. The rest of the essays are available by subscription to History Resources (free for K–12 teachers and students in the free Gilder Lehrman Affiliate School Program; to join visit this page: Affiliate School Program ).

• “The Square Deal: Theodore Roosevelt and the Themes of Progressive Reform” by Kirsten Swift , History Now 17 (Fall 2008): Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Era An overview of progressivism, focusing on the historical context for the rise of this diffuse and complex movement
• “The United States and the Caribbean, 1877–1920” by Jason Colby A discussion of the change in the relationship between the United States and the Caribbean region that was closely tied to the transformation of the United States to an industrial and imperial power
• “The Progressive Era to the New Era, 1900-1929” by Daniel T. Rodgers
• “Theodore Roosevelt: The Making of a Progressive Reformer” by Kathleen Dalton , History Now 17 (Fall 2008): Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Era
• “‘The Politics of the Future Are Social Politics‘: Progressivism in International Perspective” by Thomas Bender , History Now 17 (Fall 2008): Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Era
• “The Spectacles of 1912” by Patricia O’Toole , History Now 17 (Fall 2008): Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Era
• “The Jungle and the Progressive Era” by Robert W. Cherny , History Now 16 (Summer 2008): Books That Changed History A close look at the muckraking journalism of the Progressive era and at the conditions in factories, government, and cities
• “The Transnational Nature of the Progressive Era” by Daniel T. Rodgers , History Now 30 (Winter 2012): American Reform Movements An exploration of how American solutions to the problems of urbanization, immigration, and environmental protection were often modeled on various European efforts to improve conditions in their own countries
• “Empire Building” by Robert W. Cherny
• “The Politics of Reform“ by Julie Des Jardins
• “The Dillingham Commission and the ‘Immigration Question,’ 1907−1921” by Robert Zeidel , History Now 52 (Fall 2018): The History of US Immigration Laws A discussion of the 1917 Literacy Test Act and the 1921 Quota Act and the changing context for immigration produced by industrialization and the rise in xenophobia

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Home > Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Projects > ESSAYS > 1818

Master's Essays (1922 - )

San francisco, the japanese, and theodore roosevelt.

Kimberley Pepper , Marquette University

Date of Award

Degree type.

Master's Essay - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

First Advisor

John V. Kofas

Second Advisor

Thomas E. Hackey

In 1900, due to anti-Japanese attitudes on the West Coast, especially in California, the federal government, in conjunction with the government of Japan passed a Gentleman's Agreement. Basically this agreement stated that Japanese laborers (coolies) would not be permitted to come directly from Japan to the United States. At the time this agreement was reached there were approximately 12,000 Japanese in California. By 1901 the number of coolies coming to the United States from Japan had dropped by one-half. However, this was only a temporary reprieve. While the numbers coming directly from Japan had dropped dramatically, the number of Japanese laborers coming from places like Hawaii and Canada were gradually increasing. By 1905 it was obvious that the Gentleman's Agreement was not working. The Californians felt that something needed to be done, but there was no legislation coming out of Congress, and President Theodore Roosevelt was very pro-Japanese. Thus, he was not willing to try anything that would risk the Japanese friendship which the United States had enjoyed since Admiral Perry first touched the shores of this island nation.

An Essay Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Recommended Citation

Pepper, Kimberley, "San Francisco, the Japanese, and Theodore Roosevelt" (1988). Master's Essays (1922 - ) . 1818. https://epublications.marquette.edu/essays/1818

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Home — Essay Samples — History — The New Deal — A Comparison of Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt

A Comparison of Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt

• Categories: The New Deal Theodore Roosevelt

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Published: Aug 1, 2024

Words: 712 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

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Theodore roosevelt: the adventurous teddy, franklin roosevelt: the architect of the new deal, implications and reflections.

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Collection Theodore Roosevelt Papers

Provenance of the theodore roosevelt papers.

How did the Theodore Roosevelt Papers come to the Library of Congress? This essay, originally written for the Index to the Theodore Roosevelt Papers (Washington, D.C., 1969), vol. 1, pp. v-xii, tells the story. The author was Paul Heffron, Specialist in 20th-Century Political History, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.

Two years before his untimely death on January 6, 1919, Theodore Roosevelt gave to the Library of Congress a large body of his personal papers. One would expect a man of Roosevelt's intellectual background to be solicitous about the care and preservation of his papers. Long before he occupied the White House, he was the author of such respected works as The Naval War of 1812 , the Life of Thomas Hart Benton , Gouverneur Morris , and The Winning of the West . 1 As a historian and biographer he recognized the indispensability of original source material for a full and accurate chronicle of the age in which he lived. Indeed, in defending the first two volumes of his major historical work, The Winning of the West , against a hostile critic, Roosevelt described his methods of historical research in a letter to the New York Sun of October 10, 1889:

The fact is simply that in preparing my book I wrote to some hundreds of men all over the country, requesting information on different points . . . . Some of my chapters . . . are based mainly, though by no means exclusively, on the old Tennessee historians. . . . In other chapters . . . the old writers are a hindrance rather than a help, and I had to carefully unravel their errors, show the inaccuracy of their statements and for the first time give the real history, basing it on the original documents in the American Archives, the Campbell MSS, the Virginia State Papers etc. 2

Despite the demands of high public office and an unusually active life, Roosevelt's interest in history remained undiminished. To authors whose books stimulated him he wrote letters of appreciation and critique. The historical profession acknowledged his own contributions to scholarship by electing him President of the American Historical Association in 1912. In his presidential address "History as Literature" he emphasized again the necessity of careful research in the presentation of historical events:

History can never be truthfully presented if the presentation is purely emotional. It can never be truthfully or usefully presented unless profound research, patient, laborious, painstaking, has preceded the presentation. . . . The vision of the great historian must be both wide and lofty. But it must be sane, clear and based on full knowledge of the facts and of their interrelations. 3

Just as it was in character then for one who both made and wrote history to provide for the preservation of his papers, so too was the repository a natural selection. The Library of Congress, by virtue of an Executive order issued by President Roosevelt on March 9, 1903, received in transfer from the Department of State the papers of George Washington, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and Benjamin Franklin. 4 One can justifiably surmise that the opportunity for comparative studies of American Presidents and statesmen which this transaction provided was not lost on a President so conscious of the claims of history. Moreover, Roosevelt's personal friendship with the Librarian of Congress, Herbert Putnam, gave an added dimension to his interest in the national library. The complete story of the papers and the unusually close relationship of Theodore Roosevelt to the Library of Congress begins with his accession to the Presidency in September 1901.

One of the first tasks which confronted the new President was the compilation of his Annual Message to Congress. Scarcely a month after assuming office, he invited Mr. Putnam to forward suggestions on the Library of Congress for possible inclusion in the message. The Librarian promptly responded with a draft of his ideas on what aspect of the Library the President might stress. It was accompanied by a word of explanation to George B. Cortelyou, the President's secretary.

I do not, of course, venture to propose this as a precise draft. It is doubtless too long. As I have explained, a few lines this year might be of more value than a column next. Also, the first mention appropriately comes in a year when the Library is really beginning its wider service as a national library–the first year of a new century. 5

The keynote of Mr. Putnam's memorandum to the President was the national character of the Library of Congress and its obligation to set standards and provide leadership for the public library system of the United States. "The Library is already familiarly entitled the 'National Library of the United States.’ If it is not such there is none other which is." 6

In essence, the President incorporated the Librarian's theme in the message. 7 Presidential recognition of the Library was a source of great satisfaction to Mr. Putnam. Many years later in receiving the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Association's Distinguished Service Medal, the Librarian reflected on Roosevelt's contributions to the Library of Congress:

The development of the Library to which the citation refers–from one limited in scope and service to national in both, and in some valid senses an institution of learning– that development was forecast by him in his first message to Congress; – the only Presidential Message, so far as I know, containing any reference to the institution. It was he whose authority initiated that long procession to it from the State Department of the groups of manuscripts–the papers of the Continental Congress, of various of the Presidents, which, culminating with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and what they have drawn to it from other sources, including his own surpassing collection have made it the richest repository of source material for American History. 8

Throughout his Presidency, Roosevelt and Putnam talked and corresponded about books. A glimpse into the intellectual world of a President is afforded in this inquiry:

My dear Mr. Putnam: As I lead, to put it mildly, a sedentary life for the moment I would greatly like some books that would appeal to my queer taste. I do not suppose there are any histories or any articles upon the early Mediterranean races. That man Lindsay who wrote about pre-historic Greece has not put out a second volume, has he? Has a second volume of Oman's Art of War appeared? If so, send me either or both; if not, then a good translation of Niebuhr and Momsen [sic], or the best modern history of Mesopotamia. Is there a good history of Poland? 9

The Librarian satisfied the President's taste for historical literature by regularly sending him lists of new acquisitions from which he in turn would select the works he wished sent to the White House. Roosevelt also maintained an active interest in acquisitions. He strongly advised purchase of the Yudin Russian library and by executive action facilitated its movement to the United States. His involvement with the Library was extensive. The whole correspondence with Herbert Putnam reveals a unique combination of personal and official ties binding the 26th President to the Library of Congress.

Theodore Roosevelt returned to private life on March 4, 1909, at the age of 50. With him to his beloved Sagamore Hill at Oyster Bay, N.Y., went the papers representing his seven years as Chief Executive. The Colonel's life over the next decade was strenuous and varied, if not altogether satisfying in terms of public service. There were the hunting and scientific expeditions to Africa and South America, journalism, and another Presidential campaign. During these years he amassed an extremely large collection of papers; in fact, his papers for the post-Presidential period are fully three times as great as for 1901-9.

The Library of Congress hoped, if not assumed, that the papers in time would join its Presidential collections. It is not certain when Library officials made a direct invitation or request or if, in fact, a formal request was made. Mr. Putman may have solicited the papers orally on the basis of his friendship. At some point, however, Gaillard Hunt, Chief of what was then called the Manuscripts Division, had discussed the subject with his friend James R. Garfield, a close associate and political adviser of the former President.

Thus, the immediate circumstances surrounding Roosevelt's decision to offer his papers to the Library are not known. But on December 5, 1916, he explained what he had in mind in regard to his papers in a letter to Herbert Putnam:

Mrs. Roosevelt and I have been talking over the disposition of my great mass of papers. They include, in immense numbers, copies of my letters and of letters to me while I was President; also letters from sovereigns, etc., etc. If I sent them to you, could they be catalogued and arranged, and permission given to me, or any of my representatives, to examine them at any time, with a clear understanding that no one else was to see them until after my death? 10

The letter was received in the Library on December 9. Upon inquiry Mr. Hunt assured the Librarian that it was feasible to comply with Mr. Roosevelt's request, although the size of the collection was of some concern. It was at this time that Mr. Hunt revealed something of the background: "This is the result of a request I made to James Garfield some time ago." 11

Thus assured, the Librarian responded on the same day:

Your note of the 5th reaches me only this morning. The inquiry it makes is most welcome, for we have earnestly hoped that in due course your papers would join the other notable collections in our custody. We would receive them with the greatest satisfaction, would arrange and classify them promptly, and would prepare such catalogues of them as would facilitate their use by yourself or any accredited representative; and during your lifetime, or until you yourself should relax the restriction, would permit no access to them on the part of any other person save the officials of the Manuscript [sic] Division engaged in the above work upon them. We have precedent for such an arrangement, and satisfactory experience of it. We believe that it would prove satisfactory to you also; assuring the present safety of the collection yet guarding it against unwarrantable present use. If you are prepared to make an immediate or early decision and transfer, would it not be a convenience to you if Dr. Hunt should go on and personally attend to the casing and shipment? If so, he would of course be glad to, and I to have him. 12

The Librarians proposal was agreeable to the Colonel: "I should particularly like to have Dr. Hunt come on. What time is convenient for him?" 13

This letter was referred to the Chief of the Manuscripts Division, who advised Mr. Putnam:

Suppose you telegraph him and ask him when I can see him tomorrow morning? I think a few minutes with him would clear the way. It would not be necessary to go to Oyster Bay. A packer and an assistant can do that part, I opine. All we want is to know how much material there is and what would be a convenient time for the packing. Of course, I must explain to him our arrangements here and get him to agree. 14

A telegram was dispatched on the 19th: "Mr. Hunt could call upon you in New York tomorrow or any other day you indicate." 15

On the following day Roosevelt's secretary wired that the Colonel would see Mr. Hunt at his Metropolitan magazine office on December 21. The two men met as scheduled, and Mr. Hunt explained exactly what the Library was prepared to do with the papers. They would be given a separate compartment, locked, the key to be kept in the Librarian's safe. Furthermore, the Library would give the papers an arrangement sufficiently effective to enable any desired items to be found; and access would be restricted to those having Roosevelt's permission. 16

For his part, the former President was explicit as to the disposition of the papers. A memorandum in the files spells out his wishes:

He said he was anxious to have all of his papers put in a safe place, and that he could not afford himself, to make the proper arrangement of them; that they comprised highly confidential papers, that they could not be made public during his life, but that he was willing and desirous that they should be arranged by myself; that he had full confidence in the Library, and the arrangements which I indicated would be eminently satisfactory to him. He named Monday, January 8, as a time when it would be convenient for the packer to call at Oyster Bay, when he or Mrs. Roosevelt would point out the papers to him, so that he could make a calculation of the number of boxes that would be necessary to hold them. It would be convenient for him if the packer returned the next day, and packed the papers for shipment to Washington. 17

Mr Putnam confirmed the Library's commitment concerning the papers in a letter of December 22 to the Colonel:

Here they will be given an effective arrangement, in locked compartments, with a separate key which will be kept in a safe in my office; and no one will be allowed access to the papers except at your direction, but the Chief of the Manuscript [sic] Division shall be allowed access to them, exclusively for the purpose of proper care and arrangement. 18

The response was prompt and enthusiastic: "Fine! That suits me absolutely." 19

Although Mr. Hunt did not examine the collection personally, we have a description of the papers in their initial state from the shipper. Most of them were stored in a bank at Oyster Bay. They were contained in six unusually large and heavy cases which were in such poor condition that the shipper found it necessary to rehabilitate them in his own office before forwarding them to Washington. That this segment was not the whole body of Roosevelt papers was also revealed to Mr. Putnam by the shipper:

Colonel Roosevelt told me that he had some other papers, but he was not quite ready to deliver them to me at that time, he would ship them direct to you himself. 20

A week later the first six boxes arrived. Mr. Hunt suggested to the Librarian that in acknowledging receipt he also ask whether the Library could expect an additional installment. In announcing the arrival of the papers to Colonel Roosevelt, however, Putnam made no mention of subsequent installments:

The six cases of your papers from Oyster Bay have arrived and are safely in our custody. We receive them gladly and hold them upon the understanding expressed in your letter to me of December 5 and my response to you of December 9, 1916. I understand that they are locked. When the keys shall have reached us, Mr. Hunt can proceed to the classification and arrangement of them. 21

To this news the Colonel again returned a typical answer:

The Lord only knows where the key is. Break the cases open, and start to work on them! 22

The Theodore Roosevelt Papers, or more precisely a first installment, were now safely a part of the national manuscript collection.

It would be many months before the boxes were opened. America's entrance into World War I in April was the immediate reason. Gaillard Hunt left the Library for wartime service in the State Department, and it was his interpretation of the original agreement that no one else had access to the Roosevelt Papers. John C. Fitzpatrick, Acting Division Chief in the absence of Mr. Hunt, was concerned over the unorganized state of the papers. An unexpected visit of Mr. Roosevelt, he feared, would not only be embarrassing to the Library, but also:

A state of mind might be created that would operate against our receiving the remainder of the Roosevelt papers. I understand that the five boxes that we have are only a part–not more than half–of the entire collection. 23

With the Librarian's approval, Mr. Fitzpatrick called Mr. Hunt's attention to the situation in a memorandum of December 1, 1917:

Dr. Putnam thinks I had better call to your mind the matter of the Roosevelt papers. We received a bunch of keys to the boxes from Mrs. Roosevelt, the other day, together with a brief list of the contents of the boxes; and in a memorandum regarding the keys, I mentioned that nothing had been done, looking to the opening of the papers and arranging them on the shelves of the Manuscript [sic] Division. This, I seem to remember, was to be done by you, but the Librarian says that he would dislike to be caught in an awkward situation by Mr. Roosevelt's sudden appearance at the Library, when he would find that nothing had been done with the papers. I am not anxious to do the job, but would gladly do it, to save wreck and ruin in the Manuscript [sic] Division. Could I undertake to open the boxes, and put the stuff in a general arrangement on the shelves–realizing, of course, the conditions of the deposit, and being careful to adhere to them? 24

From the State Department Mr. Hunt saw no need for alarm:

The papers are now perfectly safe and unless Mr. Roosevelt himself wishes to refer to any of them, there is no immediate necessity for their arrangement. The understanding with Mr. Roosevelt was that I, myself, would arrange them. It was not regarded as proper or safe that any one else should have access to them. If Mr. Roosevelt makes inquiry, he will be satisfied when informed that the papers are in your custody, locked up and inaccessible to any one, and that I am engaged in war work and not available for historical purposes. 25

There matters stood until September 1918, when Roosevelt asked of Putnam:

Will you give my friend, J. B. Bishop, full access to my papers? I'll be very grateful if you will help him in every way possible. 26

This request, of course, was granted and the boxes were at length opened. Joseph Bucklin Bishop, New York newspaperman and for a time apparently literary executor of the papers, was embarked on a two-volume biography. Although his initial use of the papers was limited, Mr. Fitzpatrick noted:

In the near future he will require the use of all the papers, so this Division will open all the cases, and store the papers, according to the box classification, in the special manuscript cases set aside for these papers. 27

Shortly after the papers were opened to Mr. Bishop, a curious letter came to the Librarian which throws an interesting sidelight on the provenance of the Roosevelt Papers. It came from William Marshall Bullitt, Solicitor-General of the United States in the Taft administration:

Dear Dr. Putnam: Two years ago I urged on Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt that she give Roosevelt's Presidential papers to the Congressional Library, as they already had so many Presidents' papers and it was the fitting place for their permanent preservation. Last night Mrs. Roosevelt told me that she had never thought of it until I urged her to do so, and that she had very promptly sent them to you; but recently she has learned that nothing had been done to make them available for use by students or investigators and she almost regretted having followed my advice. As I have spoken so eloquently of the advantages to future historians of having them easily accessible at Washington, I feel a sense of responsibility about it, and I bring the matter to your attention. It would be discouraging if donors of papers of real value should feel that their gifts were not made accessible as that is the only excuse for a family parting with them. I hope some day to be able to help you get the Cleveland papers. 28

The Librarian could not allow this well meaning but quite erroneous impression to go uncorrected:

I know of course that you are not at Louisville, but far afield. I must not, however, omit acknowledgment of your note of the 21st. I read it with appreciation of the interest that it expresses, but with some little bewilderment for this reason: That the Roosevelt Papers are here under a strict injunction against their present use by any person except at the express instance of President Roosevelt, and thus far only one such person has presented himself with such a credential. Our general disposition, therefore, not merely to permit but to encourage the use of such collections by investigators, is necessarily suspended as it is in the case of a few other collections that have been deposited with us under some such tempting stipulations. 29

The direct negotiations between the former President, Mr. Putnam, and Mr. Hunt, already described, sufficiently refute the Bullitt version. Since Bishop was the authorized biographer and he had access, it seems unlikely that Mrs. Roosevelt was disturbed because the papers were not available to historians in general. It is possible that Bishop had commented to her that the papers were unarranged and from this fact grew the misunderstanding.

To return to the completeness of the collection, it will be recalled that Roosevelt had promised additional papers at the time of the original shipment. Only one such addition came during his lifetime. It was a group of papers from the Metropolitan office. Other segments came seriatim in the years immediately following his death, mainly through the diligence and cooperation of Mr. Bishop. On January 17, 1919, he informed Mr. Fitzpatrick that the final installment was on the way:

Three additional packing-cases of letters etc. will reach the Library soon, completing the collection of T. R.'s correspondence. As his literary executor I have them in charge and will advise with you about their arrangement. His death was literally a terrible blow to me. 30

The papers arrived on January 23 and Mr. Fitzpatrick noted:

This completes the collection of Roosevelt Papers, which begins with 1897 and ends with 1918. The deposit was begun by Mr. Roosevelt himself, in January, 1917, and has been completed by Mr. Joseph Bucklin Bishop, his literary executor. 31

Manuscript curators will not be surprised to learn that Fitzpatrick's statement was premature. Initial searches of attic and hayloft are often hasty and incomplete. Such was the case here. Apparently unable to locate certain items, Bishop returned to Oyster Bay. On March 22 he wrote to Fitzpatrick:

I have found the missing papers of the Roosevelt files. They were in the hayloft of the barn at Oyster Bay! They fill four large cases and will be sent to the Library next week. They are in bundles like those sent last–but I think they are in better shape and are accurately marked on the outside. They cover about two years–1910 to 1912–and I am wondering if the boxes in which you have placed the others will hold them. I hope you will be able to have them arranged before I go to Washington again, which will not be for three or four weeks; for I wish to go through them before I take up the others. 32

This addition was duly received by the Library; as described by Fitzpatrick to Bishop it included correspondence and material for the years 1909-14. Fitzpatrick also reported certain missing alphabetical files, some of which seem to have been found and sent later. 33 Mrs. Roosevelt informed Charles Moore, Acting Chief of the Division, on July 18, that she had found more letters covering the years 1911-12. 34 These were received in August and may have included the missing files mentioned by Fitzpatrick.

In a letter of October 16, 1920, to Fitzpatrick, the biography now finished, Bishop referred in a somewhat offhand way to still more Roosevelt papers. We also learn from this same letter that he had taken home some material from the Library's collection in researching for the book:

I have sent by American Railway Express, prepaid, today a box of Roosevelt material to be placed with the others in the Library. Most of it was at his home in Oyster Bay, notably the box of correspondence with Hay, but some of it, mainly copies of letters etc., was taken from the files in the Library by me. The letters to and from authors were all at Oyster Bay. . . . My book is out as you know, and I feel as I imagine a woman must feel who has been safely delivered of twins. 35

Mr. Fitzpatrick commented:

Your problem was practically the problem of Sparks with Washington and Bigelow with Franklin. Being the first, you were overwhelmed by an embarrassment of riches; but, like both of these historians, no matter how many come after you, filling in the gaps you were forced to leave, your work will be the foundational basis–the starting point–of every future life of Roosevelt, which must be developed from your volumes, no matter what the viewpoint of the future authors. . . . 36

In the preface to his work, Bishop has given us an insight into Roosevelt's intimate involvement in its writing. Five years before his death Roosevelt had asked Bishop to write the history of the period which covered his public career. Begun in the early spring of 1918, the study was completed through 1905 at the time of the President's death. From Bishop's own testimony it was virtually co-authored:

At different stages of the work I went over with him what I had written and had the inestimable advantage of his suggestions, obtaining from him incidents and anecdotes which added immeasurably to the interest and historical value of the narrative, making it virtually his own. . . . While in a few instances, in order to maintain the continuity of the narrative, the present record overlaps the Autobiography, it really supplements and completes it, and the two works together constitute authentically the Life and Letters of Theodore Roosevelt as designed by himself. 37

With the authorized account of Roosevelt's public career in print, historians would now anticipate their own study of the papers for an independent evaluation of the man and the period. Access, however, remained restricted, and the collection was still not complete. Nearly two years after his volumes appeared, Bishop apprised Charles Moore of still another group of papers:

I spent yesterday at Oyster Bay with Mrs. Roosevelt. She spoke to me of a mass of Theodore's papers that are in the garret of the house and which should be disposed of in some way. They are the letter-books and public documents of his career as Governor. With them are a dozen more large scrap books which contain press clippings covering the entire period of his public service from the time he entered public life till he became President. I went through all these documents while writing his life. Of their value I need not speak. Without them I could not have written the story of the beginnings of his public career. Is there room for these in the Library of Congress? And should they be placed there? You are the best judge on these points. I should think they could be contained in one of the alcoves like those in which Theodore's Presidential papers are stored, although I do not remember exactly how voluminous they are or much space they would occupy, for it is several years since I saw them. 38

Moore hastened to assure Bishop that there was room and counseled against any dispersion of the papers:

The Library of Congress will make room for all the Roosevelt papers it can lay its hands on. In our judgement here, it will be a great mistake to have the papers separated. 39

Bishop evidently advised Mrs. Roosevelt along these lines for a few weeks later she sent the material to the Library. It was an important addition, filling a gap while Roosevelt was Governor and Vice President.

With this accession the greatest bulk of the Theodore Roosevelt Papers was in the Library of Congress. Valuable additions, however, were made in subsequent years by Mrs. Roosevelt and other members of the Roosevelt family to whom the Library and the Nation are greatly indebted for their sense of historical values and public-spirited generosity. Especially significant was the gift of Mrs. Alice Roosevelt Longworth in 1958 of the seven volumes of her father's diaries for the years 1878-84. These priceless items supplied information on Roosevelt's college days and his ranching experience in the Dakotas. The Library is indebted also for augmentation of the collection and assistance in its arrangement to the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Association, an organization founded shortly after the President's death. For a period of seven years the association provided funds for the indexing and organization of the papers. Hermann Hagedorn, executive director for many years, was indefatigable in his search for Roosevelt letters in private hands. In the early years it was his thought that the house at Oyster Bay would become a major center of original research on the life and times of Theodore Roosevelt. Mr. Hagedorn envisioned something in the nature of a Presidential library:

I want to gather together a library to which historical students from all over the country will come for authoritative information about Theodore Roosevelt and his time. . . . I think it would be a real advantage to have students make their researches in the place where Roosevelt lived for almost fifty years. Roosevelt still overshadows Oyster Bay, and I suspect that he always will overshadow it. I think it would be good for students of Roosevelt's life to live and work there for weeks and months at a time. 40

Although Hagedorn's expectation was never fully realized, Sagamore Hill and the birthplace at 28 East 20th Street, New York City, have been important to scholars for their fine collections of Rooseveltiana, manuscripts, and related material. An important subsidiary Roosevelt collection is at Harvard University. For many years over 120 scrapbooks covering 1895-1909, an integral part of the original Roosevelt Papers, were at this repository on loan. These were rejoined to the Library's collection in 1968.

The Theodore Roosevelt Papers, organized and available to readers for many years, constitute one of the largest Presidential collections in the Library of Congress, numbering approximately 250,000 items. 41 It is unfortunate, although not unusual, that there are gaps in the papers. With the exception of the diaries, the papers are sparse for the period prior to 1887. Roosevelt in the days before the widespread use of the typewriter rarely made copies of his outgoing letters, and during his early career was unsystematic in his retention of incoming correspondence. Many original letters have been retrieved, however, and are found in the collection, including a substantial group to John Hay, reclaimed by Roosevelt himself. The discrepancy in the quantity of material for the Presidential and post-Presidential periods is curious. As previously mentioned, the papers for the latter period are considerably more voluminous. When the papers originally came to the Library the White House material was arranged in two series: Confidential File, and President's Personal File. The most satisfactory explanation for the small quantity from the Presidential years is that the executive staff systematically removed routine and unimportant documents from these files. 42

Despite lacunae and omissions, inevitable marks of the human factor, the Roosevelt Papers remain an extremely rich source of primary source material. In the diaries, letterbooks, general and special correspondence, speeches, executive orders, press releases, and scrap books, the investigator will find not merely the key to an understanding of the thought and actions of Americas first modern President, but also a mirror of the political, social, economic, and intellectual currents of a new and in many ways revolutionary era, truly described as The Era of Theodore Roosevelt.

• The Naval War of 1812 (New York, Putnam, 1882, 498 p.); Life of Thomas Hart Benton (Boston, Houghton, Mifflin, 1887, 372 p.); Gouverneur Morris (Boston, Houghton, Mifflin, 1888, 370 p.); The Winning of the West (New York, Putnam, 1889-1896. 4 vols.). [ Return to text ]
• A handwritten draft of this letter is in the Theodore Roosevelt Papers, Library of Congress (hereinafter cited as Roosevelt Papers). [ Return to text ]
• Theodore Roosevelt, "History as Literature," American Historical Review , vol. 18, April 1913, p. 474-475. [ Return to text ]
• Report of the Librarian of Congress , 1903, p. 24-25. Additional papers from the Department of State were transferred to the Library by direction of another Executive order issued by Roosevelt on May 23, 1906. Included in this accession were the papers of John Henry, Jefferson Davis, and material relating to the Whiskey Rebellion. See Report of the Librarian of Congress , 1906, p. 26-27. [ Return to text ]
• Herbert Putnam to George B. Cortleyou, October 15, 1901. Roosevelt Papers. [ Return to text ]
• Putnam to Roosevelt, October 15, 1901. Roosevelt Papers. [ Return to text ]
• James D. Richardson, ed., A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents (New York, Bureau of National Literature, 1897-1917), vol. 14, p. 6676. [ Return to text ]
• Speech to Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Association, October 27, 1929. A copy of this speech is in the Herbert Putnam Papers, Library of Congress. Actually, Presidents Cleveland, Arthur, and Hayes had mentioned the Library of Congress in their messages, but only in connection with a new building. [ Return to text ]
• Roosevelt to Putnam, October 6, 1902. Roosevelt Papers [ Return to text ]
• Roosevelt to Putnam, December 5, 1916. Roosevelt Papers. [ Return to text ]
• Memorandum, undated. Manuscript Division files. [ Return to text ]
• Putnam to Roosevelt, December 9, 1916. Roosevelt Papers [ Return to text ]
• Roosevelt to Putnam, December 13, 1916. Roosevelt Papers [ Return to text ]
• Putnam to Roosevelt, December 19, 1916. Manuscript Division files. [ Return to text ]
• Memorandum, December 22, 1916. Manuscript Division files. [ Return to text ]
• Putman to Roosevelt, December 22, 1916. Roosevelt Papers. [ Return to text ]
• Roosevelt to Putnam, December 27, 1916. Roosevelt Papers. [ Return to text ]
• Gilbert Hennessy to Putnam, January 15, 1917. Roosevelt Papers. [ Return to text ]
• Putnam to Roosevelt, January 15, 1917. Roosevelt Papers. [ Return to text ]
• Roosevelt to Putnam, January 18, 1917. Roosevelt Papers. [ Return to text ]
• Memorandum, November 24, 1917. Manuscript Division files. [ Return to text ]
• Memorandum, Fitzpatrick to Hunt, December 1, 1917. Manuscript Division files. [ Return to text ]
• Memorandum, Hunt to Fitzpatrick, December 6, 1917. Manuscript Division files. [ Return to text ]
• Roosevelt to Putnam, September 21, 1918. Manuscript Division files. [ Return to text ]
• Memorandum, October 3, 1918. Manuscript Division files. [ Return to text ]
• Bullitt to Putnam, October 21, 1918. Manuscript Division files. [ Return to text ]
• Putnam to Bullitt, October 26, 1918. Manuscript Division files. [ Return to text ]
• Bishop to Fitzpatrick, January 17, 1919. Manuscript Division files. [ Return to text ]
• Memorandum, January 23, 1919. Manuscript Division files. [ Return to text ]
• Bishop to Fitzpatrick, March 22, 1919. Manuscript Division files. [ Return to text ]
• Fitzpatrick to Bishop, April 10, 1919. Manuscript Division files. [ Return to text ]
• Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt to Moore, July 18, 1919. Manuscript Division files [ Return to text ]
• Bishop to Fitzpatrick, October 16, 1920. Manuscript Division files. [ Return to text ]
• Fitzpatrick to Bishop, October 18, 1920. Manuscript Division files. [ Return to text ]
• Joseph Bucklin Bishop, Theodore Roosevelt and His Time (New York, Scribner, 1920), vol. 1, p. vii-x. [ Return to text ]
• Bishop to Moore, May 12, 1922. Manuscript Division files. [ Return to text ]
• Moore to Bishop, May 15, 1922. Manuscript Division files. [ Return to text ]
• Hagedorn to Moore, October 8, 1921. Manuscript Division files. [ Return to text ]
• Shortly after the United States entered World War II, a large segment of the Roosevelt Papers was sent to the Alderman Library at the University of Virginia. The papers were returned to the Library of Congress in September 1944. [ Return to text ]
• Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Association, Annual Report , 1926, p. 24. [ Return to text ]