Description:

Teddy Roosevelt TLS Celebrating "the right type of American citizens" & Their Efforts to Curtail Race Suicide

A 1p typed letter signed by sitting 26th U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) as "Theodore Roosevelt" near the center. Roosevelt has also made several typographical corrections by hand in black ink, with the addition of two commas in the second line. Written at Oyster Bay, Roosevelt's Summer White House on the northern shore of Long Island, New York, on September 10, 1903. Typed in blue ink on a single leaf of stationery with "White House, / Washington." embossed at the letterhead. Expected toning, paper folds, and grime near the edges. Isolated scattered pinholes and a rusted ring impression in the upper left hand corner. Else very good to near fine. 7.125" x 8.875."

Roosevelt wrote this letter to Ellis D. Robb (1869-1943), the Mayor of Eldora, Iowa, a small city located in central Iowa about halfway between Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. Mayor Robb had contacted President Roosevelt to inform him that a local couple, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Claude, had just welcomed their seventeenth child. President Roosevelt's response to Mayor Robb's news--this exact letter--was published in newspapers in New York, Little Rock, Minneapolis, and Reading, Pennsylvania to name a few. (See the September 3, 1903 article from the "New York Sun" attached.)

President Roosevelt wrote Mayor Robb in part:

"I am much obliged to you for your letter. May I through you extend to Mr., and above all, to Mrs. Claude my heartiest congratulations and good wishes? They are the right type of American citizens…"

Roosevelt was one of the most prominent proponents of the early twentieth-century theory of "race suicide." Race suicide was a concept advanced by American sociologist Edward A. Ross in 1900 to describe the disappearance of the "American race" through declining birth rates among whites of old-stock European ancestry. As white Americans stopped reproducing, immigrants continued to breed, and in alarming volume. Observers feared that these demographic trends would fundamentally change the racial composition and national character of the United States.

To combat the extinction of white America, Roosevelt lobbied for procreation as a civic duty. This is what Roosevelt meant, then, when he praised the Claudes as "the right type of American citizens." As for couples who voluntarily abstained from having children, Roosevelt railed against them as self-centered, morally bankrupt, and socially irresponsible. For Roosevelt, maintaining population levels was one of the most important issues facing the country.

Race suicide is dismissed as alarmist propaganda today, promoting eugenics at worst and propagating nativism at best. Yet it was a widely held view in the early 1900s and one that resonated with the public.

Mayor Robb relocated from Eldora, Iowa to Atlanta, Georgia in the 1920s, where he became a prolific autograph collector and scrapbooker. Over 40 scrapbooks containing autographs, correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, and other items of ephemera collected by Ellis D. Robb are in the collection of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Robb actively collected autographs between 1920-1943.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE!

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

We do our own in-house worldwide shipping!

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. We offer several shipping options, and remain one of the few auction houses who proudly provides professional in-house shipping as an option to our clients. All items will ship with signature required, and full insurance. Most items are sent via Federal Express, with P. O. Box addresses being sent through USPS. We insure through Berkley Asset Protection with rates of $.70 per $100 of value, among the lowest insurance rates in the industry. Our shipping department cameras document every package, both outgoing and incoming, for maximum security. In addition, we compare our shipping and handling rates against those of other auction houses, to ensure that our charges are among the lowest in the trade.

Upon winning your item(s), you will receive an invoice with our in-house shipping and handling fees included. ***We will ship to the address as it appears on your invoice, unless you inform us otherwise, immediately upon your receipt of invoice***

International shipments: In order to comply with our insurance provider, all international shipments will be sent via Fed Ex and customs paperwork will show a value of $1.00. International buyers should contact our office directly with any questions regarding this policy.

Third Party Shipping Option: If a third party shipper is preferred, the buyer is responsible for contacting them directly to make shipping arrangements. For your convenience, we have provided some recommended shippers. For your protection, we will require a signed release from you, confirming your authorization for us to release your lots to your specified third party Please copy and paste this following link into your browser: http://universityarchives.com/UserFiles/ShippingInfo.pdf. At that point, our responsibility and insurance coverage for your item(s) ceases. Items picked up by third party shippers are required to pay Connecticut sales tax. Items requiring third party shipping due to being oversized, fragile or bulky will be denoted in the item description.

Please see our full terms and conditions for names of suggested third party shippers.


After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 10 business days following receipt of full payment for item.


Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Wilton, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

February 16, 2022 10:30 AM EST
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000