This indispensable reference tool on TR originally was published in 1941 by the TRA—then known as the Roosevelt Memorial Association. The TRA—in cooperation with New York State’s Temporary Commission to Commemorate the Centennial of the Governorship of Theodore Roosevelt—subsequently republished the Cyclopedia in 1989 in a print version and as a CD-ROM. The TRA made the Cyclopedia available online, but after we launched our new website, it took time to add the voluminous amount of content, and make it searchable. We are happy to bring the Cyclopedia back. The Theodore Roosevelt Association, in cooperation with New York State’s Temporary Commission to Commemorate the Centennial of the Governorship of Theodore Roosevelt, has published this CD-ROM to mark the 100th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt’s term as Governor of New York, from December 31 1898 until December 31, 1900, and to spread knowledge about TR’s career and beliefs.

This edition includes the Theodore Roosevelt Cyclopedia, along with 2 volumes of TR’s gubernatorial papers, Public Papers of Theodore Roosevelt, Governor, 1899 and Public Papers of Theodore Roosevelt, Governor, 1900, important works in understanding not only TR’s years as Governor of New York but also his entire career and his philosophy of life and government.

The Theodore Roosevelt Cyclopedia, edited by Albert Bushnell Hart and Herbert Ronald Ferleger, was first published in 1941, and then republished in 1989 in a new edition with introduction, bibliography, and TR chronology. The TR Cyclopedia is now out of print. The Theodore Roosevelt Cyclopedia gives Roosevelt’s thoughts and opinions, in his own words, alphabetically by subject, from “Abbey Theatre” to “Youth.” This reference book contains well over 4000 quotations. The material added for the 1989 edition includes an introduction explaining the origins and contents of the TR Cyclopedia; an annotated bibliography listing principal biographies, monographs, published collections of TR’s works and letters, and bibliographical guides and catalogues (as of 1989); and a chronology of TR’s life.

The official papers of Governor Theodore Roosevelt were published by New York State in 1899 and 1900 in two volumes. Only some of the material in these volumes was reprinted in subsequent editions and collections of Roosevelt’s writings and papers, and the original volumes have become rare collectors’ items. The two volumes include all of TR’s messages, vetoes, reports, and other official papers as Governor as well as many of his speeches. This material provides documentation of a gubernatorial administration notable for conservation, the regulation of business, and reform in general.

In short, this gubernatorial centennial CD-ROM contains much that is both of value and not readily available.

On May 8, 1998, at Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay, New York, TR’s home, Governor George E. Pataki of New York signed a proclamation establishing the Temporary Commission to Commemorate the Governorship of Theodore Roosevelt. The proclamation stated: “...At the dawn of another century, as we recall Theodore Roosevelt’s vibrant life and robust populist legacy longingly, with both admiration and affection, it is uniquely fitting that we mark the anniversaries and achievements of his career during the pivotal years of 1898 through 1900 in a manner that brings his story into sharper focus...” This CD-ROM is part of the Commission’s efforts to bring TR’s “story into sharper focus.”

Bernadette Castro, Commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, and Charles Gargano, Chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation, were appointed Co-Chairs of the New York Temporary Commission to Commemorate the Governorship of Theodore Roosevelt, and Theodore Roosevelt, IV served as Honorary Chair. (See list of the members of the Commission.) The Commission developed a multi-faceted program to observe TR’s gubernatorial centennial, including the launching of two nature study centers named for TR, setting up a “TR Historic Trial” of sites to visit in New York State associated with TR, the publication of articles, pamphlets, and other educational materials, and the production of this CD-ROM.

The Theodore Roosevelt Association extends thanks to the following for help in producing this CD-ROM: Governor George E. Pataki of New York; Commissioner Bernadette Castro; Charles Markis, National Park Service Site Supervisor of the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site, New York City; Dr. Betty Boyd Caroli; Dr. Robert Mackay, Executive Director of the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities; Linda E. Milano; Austin O’Brien from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation; and all the members of the gubernatorial centennial commission. Special thanks are due to the Homeland Foundation of New York for a generous grant to help cover the costs of this CD-ROM; and to the Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc., Westport, Connecticut, for permission to reproduce the copyrighted 1989 edition of the Theodore Roosevelt Cyclopedia.

The Kansas editor William Allen White wrote in his foreword to the first edition of the Theodore Roosevelt Cyclopedia: “Well, here is his teaching from A to Izzard. We can’t go wrong if we follow it. We are likely to go badly astray if once more we think we know better.” That seemed clearer in the 1940s than it had when Theodore Roosevelt died; and there are many who think that TR’s life and example and teachings remain relevant to Americans, and indeed to free peoples everywhere, as we enter the twenty first century.