Happy Birthday TR
On October 27, 1858 (165 years ago today) Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was born in a four-story brownstone at 28 East 20th Street, in New York City. His parents were Theodore "Thee" Roosevelt, Sr. and the former Martha Stewart "Mittie" Bulloch. He went from being a very sickly child, to become President of the United States. TR, as he was known, was famous for his exuberant personality, his boundless energy, his range of interests and achievements, his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" style and persona.
Roosevelt suffered from asthma as a child, too ill to even go to school. He was home schooled and studied natural history. To overcome his physical weakness, he embraced what he called "a strenuous life. The future president, who hated being called "Teddy", attended Harvard University, where he studied biology, was a boxer, and developed an interest in naval affairs. In 1881, one year out of Harvard, he was elected to the New York State Assembly, where he became a leader of the reform or "progressive" faction of his Republican Party. The book he wrote in 1882 entitled The Naval War of 1812 created his professional reputation as a serious historian, but he would not limit his writing to just one subject. He also wrote books about hunting, the outdoors, current political issues, and frontier history.
On Valentine's Day of 1884, tragedy struck when Roosevelt's first wife Alice, and his mother Martha both died on the same day. Devastated, he temporarily left politics and went to the frontier, becoming a rancher and a Deputy Sheriff in the "Badlands" of the Dakotas. When the severe winter of 1886-1887 wiped out his herd of cattle and most of his $80,000 investment, he returned to New York City, where he ran for mayor in 1886, finishing third with 60,000 votes. He rebounded from his doldrums, marrying his childhood friend Edith Carow in 1886. He then served as a Civil Service Commissioner and became President of the Board of New York City Police Commissioners in 1895. During his two years in this post, Roosevelt brought in significant reforms to the police department, which was previously reputed to be one of the most corrupt in America.
The Spanish-American War broke out in 1898 while Roosevelt was Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He promptly resigned and formed the Rough Riders - a volunteer cavalry regiment that fought in Cuba. Returning home as a war hero, he was elected Governor of New York in 1898 and in 1900 was nominated for vice president on a ticket with President William McKinley, Jr. in 1900 on a platform of high tariffs, the gold standard, imperialism, prosperity at home and victory abroad.
In 1901, President McKinley was assassinated and Roosevelt became President. The new President attempted to move the Republican Party toward Progressivism, including trust busting (trusts were what we would call monopolies) and increased regulation of businesses. Roosevelt became the first person elected to a term in his own right in 1904 after having ascended to the Presidency from the Vice-Presidency upon the death of his predecessor. He won the largest percentage of the popular vote since the uncontested election of 1820. Roosevelt coined the phrase "Square Deal" to describe his domestic agenda. As President he promoted the conservation movement and on the world stage, Roosevelt was characterized by his slogan, "Speak softly and carry a big stick". He was the force behind the completion of the Panama Canal and he sent the US Fleet on a world tour to demonstrate American power. He also negotiated an end to the Russo-Japanese War, for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize.
At the end of his second term, Roosevelt promoted his friend William Howard Taft for the 1908 Republican nomination. He toured Africa and Europe. On his return in 1910 he broke bitterly with President Taft on a number of issues including the government's approach to big business. In the 1912 election Roosevelt tried unsuccessfully to block Taft's renomination. He decided to run for president as a third party candidate for the Bull Moose Party that stood for progressive reforms. During the campaign he was shot while speaking in Milwaukee, but chose to finish his speech with the bullet in his chest before getting medical attention. In the election, he got more votes than Taft, but lost the election to Democrat Woodrow Wilson.
After losing the 1912 election, Roosevelt led a major expedition to the Amazon jungles but contracted diseases which ruined his health. When the US entered the first world war in 1917, he asked President Woodrow Wilson to allow him to raise a regiment to fight in France. Wilson politely declined the offer. Theodore Roosevelt's youngest son Quentin, a pilot with the American forces in France, was shot down behind German lines in 1918 at the age of 20. Quentin's death saddened him greatly.
His latter years are the subject of author David Pietrusza's excellent book entitled TR's Last War: Theodore Roosevelt, the Great War and a Journey of Triumph and Tragedy (reviewed here in this community). Many believed that Roosevelt would take another run for the Presidency in the election of 1920. But early in the morning of January 6, 1919, Roosevelt unexpectedly died in his sleep from a blood clot. Upon receiving word of his death, his son Archie telegraphed his siblings, simply saying, "The old lion is dead." Woodrow Wilson's vice president, Thomas R. Marshall, said: "Death had to take Roosevelt sleeping, for if he had been awake, there would have been a fight." His face, alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, is carved in the granite rock of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Roosevelt suffered from asthma as a child, too ill to even go to school. He was home schooled and studied natural history. To overcome his physical weakness, he embraced what he called "a strenuous life. The future president, who hated being called "Teddy", attended Harvard University, where he studied biology, was a boxer, and developed an interest in naval affairs. In 1881, one year out of Harvard, he was elected to the New York State Assembly, where he became a leader of the reform or "progressive" faction of his Republican Party. The book he wrote in 1882 entitled The Naval War of 1812 created his professional reputation as a serious historian, but he would not limit his writing to just one subject. He also wrote books about hunting, the outdoors, current political issues, and frontier history.
On Valentine's Day of 1884, tragedy struck when Roosevelt's first wife Alice, and his mother Martha both died on the same day. Devastated, he temporarily left politics and went to the frontier, becoming a rancher and a Deputy Sheriff in the "Badlands" of the Dakotas. When the severe winter of 1886-1887 wiped out his herd of cattle and most of his $80,000 investment, he returned to New York City, where he ran for mayor in 1886, finishing third with 60,000 votes. He rebounded from his doldrums, marrying his childhood friend Edith Carow in 1886. He then served as a Civil Service Commissioner and became President of the Board of New York City Police Commissioners in 1895. During his two years in this post, Roosevelt brought in significant reforms to the police department, which was previously reputed to be one of the most corrupt in America.
The Spanish-American War broke out in 1898 while Roosevelt was Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He promptly resigned and formed the Rough Riders - a volunteer cavalry regiment that fought in Cuba. Returning home as a war hero, he was elected Governor of New York in 1898 and in 1900 was nominated for vice president on a ticket with President William McKinley, Jr. in 1900 on a platform of high tariffs, the gold standard, imperialism, prosperity at home and victory abroad.
In 1901, President McKinley was assassinated and Roosevelt became President. The new President attempted to move the Republican Party toward Progressivism, including trust busting (trusts were what we would call monopolies) and increased regulation of businesses. Roosevelt became the first person elected to a term in his own right in 1904 after having ascended to the Presidency from the Vice-Presidency upon the death of his predecessor. He won the largest percentage of the popular vote since the uncontested election of 1820. Roosevelt coined the phrase "Square Deal" to describe his domestic agenda. As President he promoted the conservation movement and on the world stage, Roosevelt was characterized by his slogan, "Speak softly and carry a big stick". He was the force behind the completion of the Panama Canal and he sent the US Fleet on a world tour to demonstrate American power. He also negotiated an end to the Russo-Japanese War, for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize.
At the end of his second term, Roosevelt promoted his friend William Howard Taft for the 1908 Republican nomination. He toured Africa and Europe. On his return in 1910 he broke bitterly with President Taft on a number of issues including the government's approach to big business. In the 1912 election Roosevelt tried unsuccessfully to block Taft's renomination. He decided to run for president as a third party candidate for the Bull Moose Party that stood for progressive reforms. During the campaign he was shot while speaking in Milwaukee, but chose to finish his speech with the bullet in his chest before getting medical attention. In the election, he got more votes than Taft, but lost the election to Democrat Woodrow Wilson.
After losing the 1912 election, Roosevelt led a major expedition to the Amazon jungles but contracted diseases which ruined his health. When the US entered the first world war in 1917, he asked President Woodrow Wilson to allow him to raise a regiment to fight in France. Wilson politely declined the offer. Theodore Roosevelt's youngest son Quentin, a pilot with the American forces in France, was shot down behind German lines in 1918 at the age of 20. Quentin's death saddened him greatly.
His latter years are the subject of author David Pietrusza's excellent book entitled TR's Last War: Theodore Roosevelt, the Great War and a Journey of Triumph and Tragedy (reviewed here in this community). Many believed that Roosevelt would take another run for the Presidency in the election of 1920. But early in the morning of January 6, 1919, Roosevelt unexpectedly died in his sleep from a blood clot. Upon receiving word of his death, his son Archie telegraphed his siblings, simply saying, "The old lion is dead." Woodrow Wilson's vice president, Thomas R. Marshall, said: "Death had to take Roosevelt sleeping, for if he had been awake, there would have been a fight." His face, alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, is carved in the granite rock of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota.