TLS as president, one page, 7 x 8.75, White House letterhead, August 8, 1908. Letter to Colonel Archibald "Archie" Rogers, in full: “I send you, strictly for your own information, a copy of a letter I have just received from Herbert Parsons. This is one of the most puzzling situations I have ever had to face. I am trying to get at the feeling of the Republicans; but it really looks as if there is an almost equal division among men who say that they won’t stand for anybody but Hughes for Governor and among men who say that they will bolt the ticket outright if he is nominated. There are a number of individuals in each camp who insist that if their desire is not met they will even bolt the National ticket. Your daughter is a dear. We were all so glad to have her here.” In very good to fine condition, with some creasing in the margins. Accompanied by the referenced copy of the Herbert Parsons letter, and the original White House mailing envelope.
Honoring a promise he had previously made, Roosevelt did not run for a third term in the election of 1908, and this letter appears to find the president tasked with finding his successor. His personal favorite, Secretary of State Elihu Root, was too physically weak, and Roosevelt was no longer fond of Charles Evans Hughes, then governor of New York. Instead, he looked to former Circuit Court Judge and Secretary of War William Howard Taft, who went on to easily defeat Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan. Interestingly, during Taft's presidency, a rift developed between the two, with Roosevelt championing the progressive and Taft the conservative wings of the Republican party. This ended with Roosevelt forming the 'Bull moose' and both men losing to Woodrow Wilson in the election of 1912.
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