When President Theodore Roosevelt Is To Receive and Accept the Republican Nomination in 1904, He Wants a Jew to Be Seen At His Side

Roosevelt named the first Jewish and second Catholic Cabinet secretaries, and thus introduced more religious diversity into his administration than had any previous president

Cornelius N. Bliss was chairman of the Republican committee in New York in 1887 and 1888, and contributed much to the success of the Benjamin Harrison ticket in his state in the 1888 election. He served as treasurer of the Republican National Committee from 1892 to 1904. He turned down the offer of becoming Secretary of the Treasury under President McKinley, but accepted the post of Secretary of the Interior, maintaining that position until 1899. While in office, Bliss focused on forestry and Indian affairs. Offered by McKinley the vice presidential slot in his 1900 reelection campaign, he declined, so the nod went instead to Theodore Roosevelt. In 1904, Bliss was Roosevelt’s campaign manager.

Roosevelt’s express opinion was that prejudice was anathema to republican ideals. He hated anti-semitism, denounced it in the United States, and as President intervened with the governments of Rumania and Russia on behalf of their Jewish populations and protected the Jews of North Africa from oppression and from unfair restrictions. His sentiments led to led him to friendships with Jewish business and political leaders of the day.

Oscar Straus was a Democrat who was appointed by President Cleveland to be U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, and served from 1887 to 1889. He returned to Turkey as ambassador from 1898 to 1899, and while in that post called for the establishment of a national Jewish homeland. He subsequently became a friend and advisor of Theodore Roosevelt, who as President, in 1902, named Straus to the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. Straus changed parties and became a Republican to support Roosevelt in his election bid in 1904. In 1906, TR appointed him Secretary of Commerce and Labor, making Straus the first Jew to hold a cabinet position. He would remain in that post for the rest of the Roosevelt administration.

Jacob Schiff was a senior partner in the firm of Kuhn, Loeb and Company, and was second only to J. Pierpont Morgan for his influence on Wall Street. He was also a great philanthropist and active in Jewish causes. He became acquainted with Theodore Roosevelt through New York politics, and in 1904 he let Bliss know that, although nominally a Democrat, he could be counted on to contribute to Roosevelt’s election campaign. He notified of this TR directly, offering his help in securing Roosevelt’s presidential nomination. TR responded to Schiff that he was working hard on his acceptance speech, and that the Democrats this year were not to be trusted. Over the course of TR’s term as president, he and Schiff exchanged scores of letters and telegrams on such diverse subjects as trusts, aid to Jews in Russia, offers of Schiff to be of assistance, and scheduling of personal meetings.

James Speyer was a noted Wall Street banker, and also a Jew. In 1904, in the same manner as Schiff, he notified Bliss that, although nominally a Democrat, he could be counted on to contribute to Roosevelt’s election campaign. On one occasion, TR expressed a desire to help Speyer with one of his philanthropies, showing the nature of that relationship.

Interestingly, Roosevelt also named the second Catholic Cabinet Secretary – Charles Bonaparte – so it is a simple fact to state that TR introduced more religious diversity into his administration than had any previous president. And the following letter shows it was no accident.

On June 23, 1904, Theodore Roosevelt was nominated by the Republican Party as its candidate for the presidency. A committee was appointed by the convention to officially notify Roosevelt of his nomination, which committee was headed by House Speaker Joseph Cannon. Roosevelt and Bliss determined to select an assemblage to see and hear him receive the notification and accept the nomination. In putting together that elite group, TR wanted a clear statement of inclusion for all three major religions in America, not just the dominant Protestants.

Typed letter signed, on White House letterhead, Oyster Bay, July 14, 1904, to campaign manager Bliss, giving instructions to include Jews in the assembly. “Do you know if Oscar Straus intends to support me or not? I do not know what effect Parker’s telegram, and the hysterics with which it affected the entire neurotic crowd, may have on him. It seems to me that if we could have one or two of our good Jewish friends out here to see me notified, it would be all right, as both Protestants and Catholics will be present. How would Straus, Jacob Schiff and James Speyer do? Would three be too many? They all three have been genuine friends. They would also represent the business element.” Roosevelt need not have worried about Straus’s support, as he had it. Two years later Straus was in his Cabinet.

We obtained this letter directly from the Bliss descendants, and it has never before been offered for sale.

Roosevelt was formally notified of his nomination on July 27, 1904, at his home at Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay. There were 54 prominent Republicans and Roosevelt supporters present in the committee and assemblage of witnesses. In a brief speech of acceptance, TR reviewed the most conspicuous acts of his administration, and stated, “We face the future with our past and our present as guarantors of our promises; and we are content to stand or to fall by the record which we have made and are making.”