Today’s post was written by David Langbart, archivist in Research Services at the National Archives at College Park, MD.
On November 30, 1908, Secretary of State Elihu Root and Japanese ambassador to the United States Baron Kogoro Takahira, in a process initiated by Takahira on October 26, exchanged diplomatic notes discussing the policies of the U.S. and Japan in the Far East – what has since been known as the Root-Takahira Agreement. The arrangement helped defuse growing tensions between the two countries, although the ambiguous language left open a definitive interpretation of the agreement. Some historians argue that the U.S. gave up its concern with the territorial integrity of China, although American officials at the time argued otherwise.
Given the significance of the notes, even though they did not constitute a treaty that required Senate approval, President Theodore Roosevelt and Secretary Root determined that the texts should be shared with that body. The Department of State, had, after all, already shared that information with the governments of Great Britain, Russia, France, Germany, and China.
On December 2, Root, who probably drafted them himself, sent President Roosevelt a memorandum along with a draft transmittal letter to the Senate. Roosevelt annotated and returned Root’s memorandum and draft two days later.
Roosevelt lined out several words – “and for any expression of views which that body may see fit to make” – and scrawled at the bottom of the page: “Dear Elihu- Why invite the expression of views with which we may not agree? TR”.
That remains good advice in some situations, even today.
Source: Secretary of State Elihu Root to President Theodore Roosevelt, December 2, 1908, as annotated by President Theodore Roosevelt, file 16553/26, 1906-1910 Numerical File (NAID 654171), RG 59: General Records of the Department of State. The notes themselves are printed in FOREIGN RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES and are available online.