THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
At 42, Theodore Roosevelt became this nation’s youngest
Chief Executive when he succeeded the assassinated
William McKinley on September 14, 1901. He brought
with him a powerful leadership into the White House the
presidency had not known since Abraham Lincoln.
Roosevelt led the way of the modern era Presidents in
which the United States was cast in the role of both an industrial giant and major world
power. His foreign policy, which he adopted from what he called a West African proverb,
“Speak softly and carry a big stick,” became the new philosophy of this powerful nation.
Unlike most of his predecessors, Theodore Roosevelt was born of a wealthy family from the
east side of New York City. He had a frail body during his youth, and he suffered a great deal
from asthma, but his love for the great outdoors and his personal determination helped him to
eventually build a strong body. His zest for physical exercise and sound moral character
became a living model for Americans to follow at a time when such a hero was badly needed.
During his senior year at Harvard, he married Alice Hathaway Lee. Tragedy struck
Roosevelt’s life as his wife died two days after the birth of a daughter (Alice), and his mother
died the same day. After Harvard, he entered law school at Columbia University, but his in
terest was more in politics and public service. Roosevelt was elected to the New York State
Assembly in 1882 when he earned the immediate respect of his colleagues even though he
was only 23 years of age. When his wife died, he dropped out of politics for awhile and tried
to drown his sorrow with hard riding and work on his cattle ranch on the Little Missouri River.
But once his sorrow was spent, he married a childhood friend, Edith Kermit Carow, and
returned to his home in Oyster Bay. His campaign for William McKinley won him an appoint
ment as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. During the Spanish-American War he earned a
reputation as a national hero with his band of. Rough Riders who led a heroic and vicious at
tack on San Juan Hill. He returned and became the Governor of New York. Even though he
knew in his heart he wanted to become President, he dared not oppose William McKinley’s
nomination in 1900 because his re-election seemed a certainty. There was, however, a move
ment to make him McKinley’s running mate. His elevation to the White House six months
later placed him into a position where he could actually strengthen the power of the presiden
cy—some say even to abuse. But his record speaks for itself. His effectiveness in “trust
busting” and in foreign affairs made him one of America’s greatest Presidents. His election in
his own right in 1904 made him proud of the job he’d done, and when he left the presidency,
he declared that “no one had ever enjoyed the White House as much as I have.”
He later attempted to regain the job running as a third party, Bull Moose candidate, but he
lost to the Democratic candidate, Woodrow Wilson. He died unexpectedly of a stroke on
January 6, 1919.
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THEODORE ROOBEVELT
Name
Presidential Trivia
1. Cartoonists depicted Theodore Roosevelt as a bear cub because of his strong affection
for nature. Toymakers picked up on this and created the first
2. The Progressive Republicans who didn’t like Taft called for Theodore to run for President
ticket.
in 1912 on the
3. Theodore Roosevelt’s success in breaking up business monopolies earned him the
nickname of
4. Theodore Roosevelt supported a successful revolution in Panama with the result being a
treaty signed with the United States to build what Roosevelt later assessed as his
“greatest
accomplishment,”
which
was
5. Theodore Roosevelt referred to his first wife Alice by the nickname of________________
6. The Meat Inspection Act and The Federal Food and Drugs Act were enacted under the
Theodore Roosevelt administration largely because of the exposure of unsanitary condi
tions described about food and drug preparation in the book
7. What was the “big stick” Roosevelt referred to in his famous statement, “Speak softly
and
carry
a
big
stick.
.
8. The First Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, led by Theodore Roosevelt during the SpanishAmerican War, was more commonly known as the_______________________________
9. When Roosevelt agreed to be William McKinley’s running mate in the election of 1900,
he
was
at
the
time
Governor
of
10. Theodore Roosevelt’s “last chance to be a boy” perhaps shortened his life when he
caught jungle fever and suffered from abscesses while exploring the__________________
in Brazil.
served as his First Lady,
11. Roosevelt’s second wife
and the whole family, including their six children, enjoyed their stay in the White House
so much they felt sleeping was a waste of time.
12. Roosevelt, who loved the great out-of-doors, once camped with naturalist John Muir in
Na
California and so loved their surroundings he preserved it with
tional Park, one of America’s most beautiful and famous National Parks.
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______
TIIEOGRE ROOBEVELT
Name
For Thinking and Discussing
1.
How do you think Theodore Roosevelt’s zest for what he called the “strenuous life”
might have helped him to become President?
2.
How did Theodore Roosevelt “negotiate” construction of the Panama Canal, a task he
considered the greatest accomplishment of his administration?
3.
Why did Theodore Roosevelt not agree with his being referred to as the “trust buster”?
4.
Why did Theodore Roosevelt, who had “personally” attended to the matter of getting
William Howard Taft the Republican nomination in 1908, decide to run against him on
the Bull Moose ticket in 1912?
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