Creating the Modern American Soul

I. Building American Pride

A. Creating American English--Roosevelt's obsession with simplifying spelling had as much to do with creating a uniquely American style of English as it did with the idea of making spelling simpler and more phonically reasoned. Many in Congress complained that the President was overstepping the bounds of his oath of office when he directed the Government Printing Office to print this simplified speller, and "Rusevelt"--or should it be "Butt-in-sky"?-- became the object of some ridicule.

B. American Art

1. Frederick Remington--Remington's idealized western art found a ready patron in the White House

2. Literature-- The Roosevelts championed American literature, including Roosevelt's school chum Owen Wister, William Dean Howells, Henry James, Edith Wharton, and Mark Twain

3. Folk Music--encourage John Lomax to collect cowboy song as a form of  folk music, and wrote the forward for the subsequent book. Roosevelt also championed Native American chants and African American spirituals as "authentic American music

4. History--Roosevelt, although not a trained historian in the modern sense, wrote numerous historical works himself, and served as an early president of the American Historical Association. Roosevelt also served as a regent on the board of trustees at the Smithsonian Institute, regularly supplying advice on how to improve the museum--but also taking an avid interest in promoting the museum to the public.

3. Arts and Crafts movement--found a fan in the White House. Roosevelt was in sympathy with the "democratization" impulse of much of the Arts and Crafts movement, and its emphasis and simplicity and natural beauty.

a. Elbert Hubbard--founded the Roycrofters, a firm the made "mission" style furniture and printed books on fine hand-made papers. Hubbard began this enterprise in imitation of British socialist William Morris, but quickly as the business became a success he became a defender of free enterprise

b. Gustav  Stickley--founded the magazine called The Craftsman  in 1901. In it, he advocated simplifying domestic architecture, and using materials and building plans that harmonized with its surroundings. Stickly employed an architect named Harvey Ellis to supply building plans for such a house, which Stickley then published in his magazine. Ellis went on to also design all of the furniture that Stickley sold in his magazine, and for which he is most famous today.

c. Frank Lloyd Wright--architect who created the best known variant of the "craftsman style" homes that Stickley advocated, which emphasized long horizontal lines, open interior spaces, and bands of windows grouped to allow the maximum amount of sunshine into the home

II. The Race Question

A. The Brownsville Affair--African American soldiers from companies B, C, and D of the 25th Regiment, United States Army, some recently returned from the Philippines, received a less than cordial reception from townspeople in Brownsville, Texas. After a  fight broke out between a soldier and a local  merchant, townspeople insisted the soldiers not be allowed in town.

1. Night of August 13-14  1906--a local bartender was killed and a police officer seriously wounded, and the local townspeople immediately accused the African American soldiers of instigating the assault. "Eyewitnesses" even produced spent shell casing, and claimed to have witnessed the shooting.

2. The Investigation--proved that the eyewitnesses  actually saw nothing, and the shell casing could not be linked by ballistic evidence to any weapons at Fort Brown. The officers in charge (white officers) testified that the soldiers were confined to barracks that night, and all were accounted for and none could have been in town. All possible suspect soldiers were questioned, and none could identify any soldier involved in this affair.

3. The Verdict--despite the lack of conclusive evidence, Roosevelt upheld the decision to dismiss all 167 soldiers accused of being involved in this  affair "without honor." This incident was re-examined in the early 1970s, and it was concluded that these soldiers were wrongly dismissed; Richard Nixon granted all 167 honorable discharges, and the sole living participant received a pension.

4. The Aftermath--after deciding not to run to run in 1908, when Roosevelt did run in 1912, he took the time to ask for African American votes, and to pledge to address African American concerns with segregation and its effects on their lives.