Theodore Roosevelt
With the assassination of President McKinley, Theodore
Roosevelt, not quite 43, became the youngest President in the Nation's history. He brought new excitement
and power to the Presidency, as he vigorously led Congress and the American public toward
progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy.
He took the view that the President as a "steward of the people" should take whatever
action necessary for the public good unless expressly forbidden by law or the Constitution."
I did not usurp power," he wrote, "but I did greatly broaden the use of
executive power."
Roosevelt's youth differed sharply from that of the log cabin Presidents. He was born
in New York City in 1858 into a wealthy family, but he too
struggled--against ill health--and in his triumph became an advocate of the strenuous life.
In 1884 his first wife, Alice Lee Roosevelt, and his mother died on the same day.
Roosevelt spent much of the next two years on his ranch in the Badlands of Dakota Territory.
There he mastered his sorrow as he lived in the saddle, driving cattle,
hunting big game--he even captured an outlaw. On a visit to London, he married Edith Carow
in December 1886.
During the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt was lieutenant colonel of the
Rough Rider Regiment, which he led on a charge at the battle of San Juan. He was one
of the most conspicuous heroes of the war.
Boss Tom Platt, needing a hero to draw attention away from scandals in New York
State, accepted Roosevelt as the Republican candidate for Governor in 1898. Roosevelt
won and served with distinction.
As President, Roosevelt held the ideal that the Government should be the great
arbiter of the conflicting economic forces in the Nation, especially between capital and
labor, guaranteeing justice to each and dispensing favors to none.
Roosevelt emerged spectacularly as a "trust buster" by forcing the dissolution of a
great railroad combination in the Northwest. Other antitrust suits under the Sherman Act
followed.
Roosevelt steered the United States more actively into world politics. He liked to
quote a favorite proverb, "Speak softly and carry a big stick. . . . "
Aware of the strategic need for a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific, Roosevelt
ensured the construction of the Panama Canal. His corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
prevented the establishment of foreign bases in the Caribbean and arrogated the sole
right of intervention in Latin America to the United States.
He won the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating the Russo-Japanese War, reached a
Gentleman's Agreement on immigration with Japan, and sent the Great White Fleet
on a goodwill tour of the world.
Some of Theodore Roosevelt's most effective achievements were in
conservation. He added enormously to the national forests in the West,
reserved lands for public use, and fostered great irrigation projects.
He crusaded endlessly on matters big and small, exciting audiences with his
high-pitched voice, jutting jaw, and pounding fist. "The life of strenuous endeavor" was a
must for those around him, as he romped with his five younger children and led ambassadors
on hikes through Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C.
Leaving the Presidency in 1909, Roosevelt went on an African safari, then jumped back
into politics. In 1912 he ran for President on a Progressive ticket. To reporters he once
remarked that he felt as fit as a bull moose, the name of his new party.
While campaigning in Milwaukee, he was shot in the chest by a fanatic. Roosevelt
soon recovered, but his words at that time would have been applicable at the time of
his death in 1919: "No man has had a happier life than I have led; a happier life in
every way."