Transcript Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt
A Strenuous Life
David C. Hanson
Virginia Western Com. College
"I have never in my
life envied a human
being who led an
easy life; I have
envied a great
many people who
led difficult lives
and led them well."
“The highest form of success comes to the man
who does not shrink from danger, from
hardship, or from bitter toil, and who out of
these wins the splendid ultimate triumph….
Let us boldly face the life of strife, resolute to
do our duty well and manfully; resolute to
uphold righteousness by deed and by word;
resolute to be both honest and brave, to serve
high ideals, yet to use practical methods.
Above all, let us shrink from no strife, moral or
physical… provided we are certain that the
strife is justified.”
--TR, The Doctrine of the Strenuous Life (1899)
Whether in his exploits
with Western cowboys
and outlaws, leading the
Rough Riders in Cuba,
rattling Wall Street
plutocrats, or battling
political adversaries in
Congress, Roosevelt
always enjoyed a good
fight.
During his presidency,
Roosevelt maintained an
active life of horseback
riding, tennis, hiking,
swimming, hunting, polo,
rowing, wrestling, boxing,
and judo. He often led
visiting foreign dignitaries to
the White House on
strenuous swims in the
Potomac and hikes in
Washington's Rock Creek
Park. Among family and
friends he was famous for
challenging outdoor romps.
Teddy was the
second of four
children born into a
wealthy New York
family on October
27, 1858. His
father, Theodore
Roosevelt, Sr., was
a successful
businessman and
prominent
philanthropist.
Young “Thee” was a
bookish and sickly
child. To overcome
severe asthma, at the
urging of his father,
he began a strenuous
regimen of exercise
and outdoor activity
that would become a
lifelong obsession.
Teddy was studying at
Harvard when his
father unexpectedly
died of cancer at age
47. He overcame his
grief, graduated Phi
Beta Kappa in 1880,
and married Alice Lee.
In 1882 he was elected
to the New York
Assembly.
Politics was considered
unseemly for someone of
Roosevelt's social class,
but he inherited a strong
commitment to public
service from his father,
and he enjoyed the
combativeness. Young Mr.
Roosevelt quickly earned a
reputation for integrity,
tenacity and courage
through his efforts on
behalf of "good
government."
In 1884 his wife gave birth
to a daughter named Alice
(after her mother); within
days both TR’s wife (just 23
years old) and his mother
died. Emotionally
devastated, he wrote in his
diary: "The light has gone
out of my life." (He never
wrote or spoke of Alice
again.) When the legislative
session ended, Roosevelt
sought relief in the great
escape of the 19th century:
the West.
From 1884 to 1886
Roosevelt lived the
rough life of a rancher
in the Badlands of
Dakota Territory.
Though the typical
Eastern dude in some
respects--with his
fancy cowboy outfit,
eyeglasses, books,
clean language and
hygiene--he soon
gained the respect of
the other ranchers.
Roosevelt spent entire
days in the saddle and
was physically
transformed,
developing a deep tan,
broad shoulders, a
powerful chest, and a
purposeful walk. The
western experience also
deepened his love of the
great outdoors.
Roosevelt sold his ranch
in 1886 and returned to
New York. After an
unsuccessful bid for
mayor, he married Edith
Carrow and became a
successful historian.
Then in 1889 he was
appointed to the U.S. Civil
Service Commission. In
1895, at the age of 36, he
was appointed New York
City Police Commissioner.
Roosevelt campaigned
for William McKinley in
1896, leading to a
presidential
appointment to the
position of Assistant
Secretary of the Navy
in 1897. In 1898 the
U.S. went to war
against Spain, and
Roosevelt became a Lt.
Colonel of the First U.S.
Volunteer Cavalry.
On July 1, 1898, Col.
Roosevelt led the
“Rough Riders” to
victory in the Battle
of San Juan Hill.
Roosevelt was
nominated for the
Congressional Medal
of Honor (awarded
posthumously 100
years later).
A “certified war
hero,” Roosevelt was
elected Governor of
New York and then
nominated to
become McKinley’s
vice president in
1900. McKinley’s
assassination in
September 1901
made Roosevelt an
accidental president.
At age 42, skeptics called him the “Boy
President.” He brought his wife Edith and six
children to the White House. Roosevelt wasted
no time establishing himself as a strong and
independent president.
His achievements in
domestic affairs
included trustbusting; helping
settle the 1902 coal
strike; and passage
of the Elkins Act,
Hepburn Act, Meat
Inspection Act, Pure
Food and Drug Act,
and Newlands Act.
Many historians
consider conservation
of natural resources to
be Roosevelt’s most
important legacy in
domestic affairs. He
established 51 wildlife
refuges, 150 national
forests, 5 national
parks, and 18 natural
monuments (230
million acres).
His achievements in
foreign affairs include:
the Panama Canal,
adding “teeth” to the
Monroe Doctrine,
sending the Great
White Fleet around the
world, and mediating
the Russo-Japanese
War (for which he was
awarded the Nobel
Prize in 1905).
Roosevelt
considered the
Panama Canal to be
his most important
achievement in
foreign affairs. It
was also the most
controversial
demonstration of his
famous saying:
“speak softly and
carry a big stick.”
After seven years
as the nation’s
President, Theodore
Roosevelt retired
from politics and
went on an African
safari in 1909
(“a splendid
adventure”),
followed by a
European tour.
In 1912 Roosevelt
came out of
retirement to
challenge President
Taft for the Republican
nomination. TR won
most of the primaries
but was denied the
nomination; so he ran
as the Progressive
“Bull Moose”
candidate.
During the 1912
campaign, TR was
shot in the chest by
a would-be
assassin. He
survived… but lost
the election to
Democrat Woodrow
Wilson (Taft
finished third).
In 1913 Roosevelt led
an expedition into the
Brazilian jungle (“my
last chance to be a
boy”), exploring an
uncharted river through
the Amazon rainforest.
He nearly died from an
infected wound, malaria
and dysentery. (The
Brazilian government
named the river Rio
Roosevelt in his honor.)
Roosevelt’s physical
health never fully
recovered from his
Brazilian adventure,
but he remained
active in national
politics. In countless
articles and speeches,
he advocated
progressive reform
and military
preparedness.
From the onset of the
Great War in Europe
(1914) until the
reluctant entry of the
U.S. in 1917, Roosevelt
chided President
Wilson for “cowardice.”
All four of his sons
volunteered for military
service. The youngest,
Quentin, was killed in
an aerial dogfight.
Theodore Roosevelt
died quietly in his
sleep on January 9,
1919, at the age of
sixty. Vice President
Thomas Marshall said
it best: Death had to
take him while
sleeping. If he had
been awake there
would have been a
fight.”
"The worst of all fears
is the fear of living.”
“I don't think any
President ever
enjoyed himself more
than I did. Moreover,
I don't think any exPresident ever
enjoyed himself
more....”
“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who
points out how the strong man stumbles or
where the doer of deeds could have done better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in
the arena, whose face is marred by dust and
sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs
and comes up short again and again, because
there is no effort without error or shortcoming,
but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great
devotions, who spends himself for a worthy
cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the
triumph of high achievement, and who, at the
worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring
greatly, so that his place shall never be with
those cold and timid souls who knew neither
victory nor defeat.” --Theodore Roosevelt (1910)