ABSTRACT
CENTER STAGE: HOW THEODORE ROOSEVELT AND THE ROOSEVELT FAMILY
CAPTIVATED AMERICA, 1884-1909
by Gina M. Farmer
Theodore Roosevelt and his family offer a unique opportunity for exploring how the rise of print
media coverage at the turn of the twentieth century impacted the ways in which the family was
constructed as American celebrities. Theodore Roosevelt became a recognized personality
because of his involvement in national politics and was depicted as embodying muscular, athletic
masculinity in political cartoons. Americans initially took interest in the Roosevelt family
because of their relation to Theodore Roosevelt, but eventually both the individual members as
well as the Roosevelt family as a whole stood on their own as celebrities. This thesis argues that
the press coverage of Theodore Roosevelt and his immediate family created an image of a First
Family with whom other Americans could sympathize. Sources used in this thesis include
newspaper and magazine articles, political cartoons, photographs, and the personal letters of the
family.
CENTER STAGE: HOW THEODORE ROOSEVELT AND THE ROOSEVELT FAMILY
CAPTIVATED AMERICA, 1884-1909
A Thesis
Submitted to the
Faculty of Miami University
in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts
Department of History
by
Gina M. Farmer
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio
2013
Advisor: Dr. Mary Kupiec Cayton
Reader: Dr. Kimberly Hamlin
Reader: Dr. Kathryn Burns-Howard
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... iii
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1
-Why the Roosevelts? ..................................................................................................................... 5
Chapter 1: “Bone, Muscle, and Grit” ......................................................................................... 8
-Definitions of “New Masculinity” ................................................................................................. 9
-Early Life ..................................................................................................................................... 11
-Dakotas ........................................................................................................................................ 13
-San Juan Hill and Spanish American War................................................................................... 15
-Reception ..................................................................................................................................... 16
-Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 28
Chapter 2: “A Bully Family” ..................................................................................................... 30
-Transitions in Family Life ........................................................................................................... 31
-Financial Insecurities ................................................................................................................... 33
-Children ....................................................................................................................................... 35
-Girls ............................................................................................................................................. 36
-Camping and Hunting .................................................................................................................. 38
-Football ........................................................................................................................................ 41
-Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 46
Chapter 3: Democratizing the First Family ............................................................................. 50
-Family Pictures ............................................................................................................................ 53
-Illnesses ....................................................................................................................................... 59
-Coming Out Parties ..................................................................................................................... 62
-Alice’s Wedding .......................................................................................................................... 64
-The Youngest: Archie and Quentin ............................................................................................. 66
-Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 67
Epilogue ....................................................................................................................................... 70
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 74
ii
LIST OF FIGURES
Chapter 1
Figure 1A: “Theodore Roosevelt in a sculling outfit,” 12.
Figure 1B: “Make him Harmless,” and “Made Harmless at Last,”18.
Figure 1C: Joseph Keppler, “Little Roosevelt! The Grand Old Party Must Be Hard Up!,”
19.
Figure 1D: Louis Dalrymple, “The Brave Little Giant-Killer,” 20.
Figure 1E: “WITH ROOSEVELT’S ROUGH RIDERS IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS,”
22.
Figure 1F: Frederick Remington, “The Storming of San Juan – The Head of the Charge –
Santiago De Cuba, July 1,” 23.
Figure 1G: Ernest Jean Delahaye, Colonel Roosevelt in Cuba – The Taking of San Juan
Hill, 25.
Figure 1H: Horace Taylor, “Republicanism Down to Date,” 26.
Figure 1I: Horace Taylor, “Teddy to the Rescue of Republicanism!,” 27.
Chapter 2
Figure 2A: R.D. Handy, “WILL HE GET THROUGH THE LINE?,” 44.
Figure 2B: C.K. Berryman, “THE KIND OF FOOTBALL HE’D LIKE TO SEE,” 45.
Figure 2C: W.A. Ireland, “ROOSEVELT AND FOOTBALL,” 47.
Chapter 3
Figure 3A: “Roosevelt family portrait at Sagamore Hill,” 54.
Figure 3B: “Kermit, Ethel, and Ted with guinea pigs,” 56.
Figure 3C: “Archie on a bike,” 57.
Figure 3D: “[Quentin (?)] at White House. About 1902-4,” 57.
Figure 3E: “Ethel Roosevelt at the White House,” 58.
iii
Acknowledgements
I would like to take the time to thank several individuals and institutions, without whom/which
this thesis would not have been possible. First, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Mary
Cayton, who pushed me when necessary, but always made me feel like I could finish strong. I
also extend my appreciation to my committee members, Dr. Kimberly Hamlin and Dr. Kathryn
Burns-Howard, for graciously agreeing to be a significant part of the whole process. I would
also like to thank Wallace Dailey, the former curator of the Theodore Roosevelt Collection at
Harvard University, and the rest of the Houghton Library staff for allowing me to view personal
letters and drawings of the Roosevelts and for being extremely helpful during the whole research
process. Images and quotations from the collection were used by permission. Finally, I would
like to thank my fellow graduate students at Miami University, the only people in the world who
can appreciate the unique journey that befell us upon our acceptance into the program.
iv
INTRODUCTION
On February 12, 1884, Theodore Roosevelt was informed that his wife, Alice Hathaway
Lee Roosevelt, had given birth to a daughter a few days earlier than expected. He rushed back to
New York City from Albany in order to greet his new family. On his way, however, he was
notified that his wife had become seriously ill. When he arrived at the Roosevelt house on 57th
Street, he not only found his wife semi-comatose, but also his mother, Martha Bulloch
Roosevelt, on the verge of death. On February 14, within hours of each other, Theodore
Roosevelt lost both his mother and his wife. His grief was so overwhelming that he resigned his
seat in the New York Assembly, left his daughter, Alice (named after her mother) in the care of
his older sister, Anna “Bamie” Roosevelt, and headed west to North Dakota to take solace in the
wilderness of his ranch.1
Melancholy as it is, this account inaugurates the otherwise cheerful family life and
escalating political career of Theodore Roosevelt. Though Roosevelt secluded himself in the
Dakotas in order to process his grief, he returned to New York after two years to pursue his
passion for politics. Each successive political position led to more press coverage, which
enabled Theodore Roosevelt to be a recognizable figure for the American public. In time,
Roosevelt married his childhood friend, Edith Kermit Carrow, and fathered an additional five
children. Eventually the whole Roosevelt family was infected with the celebrity of Theodore
Roosevelt as President of the United States. The press attempted to normalize the First Family,
though by nature of their position, the Roosevelts were anything but normal.
Theodore Roosevelt was a member of the long line of New England Roosevelts who
emigrated from Holland in the later seventeenth-century. Theodore’s grandfather was Cornelius
Van Schaack Roosevelt, a wealthy business man and real estate mogul in New York City.
Cornelius’s fortune enabled him to leave each of his five sons one million dollars upon his death
1
There are a plethora of Roosevelt biographies that share this story and other significant episodes in the Theodore
Roosevelt narrative. The most influential is Herman Hagedorn, The Roosevelt Family of Sagamore Hill (New York:
The Macmillan Company, 1954). Also see Allen Churchill, The Roosevelts: American Aristocrats (New York:
Harper & Row Publishers, 1965); Peter Collier and David Horowitz, The Roosevelts: An American Saga (New
York: Simon and Schuster, 1994); H.W. Brands, T.R.: The Last Romantic (New York: BasicBooks, 1997); Betty
Boyd Caroli, The Roosevelt Women (New York: BasicBooks, 1998); and Linda Donn, The Roosevelt Cousins:
Growing Up Together, 1882-1924 (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001).
1
in 1871.2 Theodore’s father, the first Theodore Roosevelt, was a well-known and equally welladmired philanthropist in the city and donated his time, energy, and income to hospitals and
homes for destitute boys. The prestige of the Roosevelt family in Manhattan came out of the
desire of its members to help the “deserving poor,” members of the lower classes who were not
completely beyond the charity of their privileged neighbors.3
Theodore Roosevelt, the younger, was raised with an older sister, Anna “Bamie”
Roosevelt, and two younger siblings, Corrine Roosevelt and Elliott Roosevelt. As a child,
Theodore suffered from a severe case of asthma. Theodore Sr. encouraged his son to strengthen
his body through daily physical exercises. The Roosevelt home was fitted out with a gymnasium
so that young “Teedie” could transform and train his body to do as he willed.4
Theodore was educated at home by a private tutor.5 Eventually, he was admitted to
Harvard University. Harvard was considered a rich man’s university because of the high cost of
tuition and associated fees. Most of the graduates at the time of Roosevelt’s admission had
business or law degrees, epitomizing the aura of a university designated for the wealthy.
However, even at Harvard, a new sort of athletics craze took over the campus. The aggression
and competition of organized sport was believed to help prepare men for the hardships they
would face upon graduation.6 Theodore Roosevelt participated on the school’s boxing and
rowing teams. Roosevelt graduated from Harvard in 1880.
A few months after his college graduation, Theodore Roosevelt married Alice Hathaway
Lee. He immediately began consulting with New York architectural firm Lamb and Rich to
build a house on Long Island after Alice had approved of the location. He originally named the
house “Leeholm,” but after Alice’s death in February 1884, the house was re-christened
2
Caroli, The Roosevelt Women, 5.
Ibid., 8.
4
“Teedie” is a family nickname for Theodore Roosevelt. He did not like to be called “Teddy.”
Harold Howland, Theodore Roosevelt and His Times: A Chronicle of the Progressive Movement, Vol. 47 in The
Chronicles of America Series, ed. Allen Johnson et al. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1921), 2.
5
Ibid., 3.
6
Kim Townsend, Manhood at Harvard: William James and Others (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996),
93, 95, 102. Townsend talks about the athletics craze at Harvard but does not put a specific date on the movement.
Her analysis of the importance of sports at the university covers the years from the 1870s to the early 1900s (97120). She does mention that a perceptible growth in the number of athletes at Harvard occurred during the 1880s
after Theodore Roosevelt had graduated (111-112).
3
2
“Sagamore Hill,” a method of putting the past away in order to accommodate a new future.7 It
was to be the house that Edith Carrow Roosevelt and all of the Roosevelt children would come to
know as home.8
As Sagamore Hill was constructed, Theodore Roosevelt began his long involvement in
American politics. Roosevelt was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1881 and was reelected in 1883. Although politics was not considered a respectable career for a man of
Roosevelt’s lineage, he wanted to use his skills in debate and compromise to benefit the common
man, much as his father had used the family’s money to support the working classes of New
York City.
Baby Alice Lee Roosevelt was born in February 1884, but the tragedy of her mother’s
death and that of Theodore’s mother a few days later spurred Roosevelt to flee to North Dakota
and live in the wilderness. This experience seemed to be the culmination of Roosevelt’s
childhood desire to refashion himself into a man to be respected and his body into a bastion of
strength. His days were filled with hunting excursions and physical labor on ranches.
Eventually the walls of Sagamore would herald his time in the Bad Lands with trophies of the
kills he made in the form of mounted heads. However, even the strenuous life of the Bad Lands
could not keep Roosevelt away from his responsibilities on the East Coast. In 1886, Theodore
Roosevelt moved back to New York and began courting his childhood friend, Edith Kermit
Carrow.
Theodore Roosevelt was a strong believer in the romantic, Victorian notion that the
consummation of a marriage represented an eternal bond between husband and wife, a notion
that would have forbade him to remarry.9 Nevertheless, he did remarry in London in December
1886, so that Alice could have a mother and Theodore a companion. Edith Carrow Roosevelt
was a step-mother to young Alice immediately but became a mother in her own right in
September 1887. Theodore Roosevelt Jr., nicknamed “Ted,” added to the joys of the young
family now established at Sagamore Hill.
7
Hermann Hagedorn, The Roosevelt Family of Sagamore Hill, 2. Hagedorn explains that Roosevelt may have
created the name after a Native American Chieftain named Sagamore Mohannis who lived on Long Island in the
colonial period.
8
Hagedorn, The Roosevelt Family of Sagamore Hill, 6.
9
Carol Felsenthal, Alice Roosevelt Longworth (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1988), 33-34.
3
President Benjamin Harrison appointed Theodore Roosevelt to the post of Civil Service
Commissioner in 1888. Under his supervision, the Civil Service witnessed the same enthusiasm
for reform that Roosevelt had brought to the New York State Assembly. He quickly navigated
party politics in order to inhibit the spread of the spoils system for political appointees.
Roosevelt served as Civil Service Commissioner for six years until 1895, when he was asked to
be the New York City Police Commissioner. With his penchant for social justice, Roosevelt
walked the streets of Manhattan at night, sometimes accompanied by the noted photographer,
Jacob Riis. Both men strived to make life easier for the working poor. Ultimately, Theodore
Roosevelt spent two years of his political career fighting corruption in the New York police force
while simultaneously making the city he loved a better place to live for all economic classes.10
Three more children graced the Roosevelt household during the years of Theodore’s
tenure in Washington and New York. Kermit Roosevelt was born in 1889, Ethel in 1891, and
Archibald “Archie” Roosevelt in 1894. In 1897, Edith was pregnant once more as the family
again moved to Washington D.C., this time to accommodate Theodore Roosevelt’s appointment
as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Quentin Roosevelt, the last of the Roosevelt brood, was born
there in November of 1897.
The next four years of Theodore Roosevelt’s life were full of service in various
governmental positions. He was only Assistant Secretary of the Navy for a year before he
resigned his post in order to fight in the Army during the Spanish-American War of 1898. The
story of his campaign up San Juan Hill in Cuba made national headlines, and his popularity
soared. On his return to the U.S., he was approached by Lemuel Ely Quigg, member of Tom
Platt’s Republican political machine, who asked Roosevelt if he would consider running for the
governorship of New York.11 Roosevelt consented and served as governor until 1900, when he
permitted himself to be added as the nominee for Vice President to incumbent William
McKinley’s presidential ballot. McKinley won the election but was assassinated only six months
into his second term; Roosevelt was sworn in as President of the United States on September 14,
1901. In just four whirlwind years, Theodore Roosevelt went from a man of local popularity to
a man with international clout.
10
11
Howland, Theodore Roosevelt and His Times, 27, 39, 40-47.
Ibid., 53-55.
4
Why the Roosevelts?
New print media technologies allowed Theodore Roosevelt’s actions and image, as well
as those of his family, to be widely disseminated to the American public. The author of the
article titled “Our Many-Sided President,” in Current Literature, declared that Roosevelt was
the most bewritten and bepictured man in the country…Here is Scribner’s featuring his
bear-hunt, McClure’s doing the same with Charles Wagner’s visit to the White House,
the Ladies’ Home Journal laying stress upon Dr. Lyman Abbott’s analysis of the
President’s character…, the Metropolitan with an illustrated article on his prestige in the
West, and a multitude of other periodicals, good, bad, and indifferent, describing,
moralizing, quoting on the same subject.12
The amount of press coverage discussed in this one article suggests the degree to which
Theodore Roosevelt was intently followed in national publications. His image, and eventually
those of his wife and children, was captured in the newspapers and magazines of the early
twentieth century.
Roosevelt’s actions and personality appealed to the press at a time of great change in the
production of print media. Inventions of new mechanical cylinder printing presses and more
efficient typesetting machines enabled news outlets to print more newspapers at a lower cost,
which were then consumed by a larger audience.13 These media changes, dubbed the “Graphic
Revolution” by cultural critic Daniel Boorstin, provided the means to manufacture the first
modern celebrities. Celebrities could not exist before the Graphic Revolution because there was
no way to propagate their image to hundreds of thousands of individuals across a national and
international geographic plane. The increase of print media at the end of the nineteenth century
allowed for an individual to be publicly consumed by others who did not share the same physical
12
“Our Many-Sided President,” Current Literature 39, no. 5 (Nov 1905): 560. Accessed through American
Periodicals, November 1, 2012.
13
For more information on the development of print media in America from the mid-nineteenth century to the early
1900s, see Warren Chappell and Robert Bringhurst, A Short History of the Printed Word, 2nd ed. (Point Roberts,
Washington: Hartley and Marks Publishers Inc., 1999), 194, 213-216. For discussion on the rise of sensationalism
in the press during the same time, see John B. Thompson, The Media and Modernity (Stanford: Stanford University
Press, 1995), 76-77; and Harold A. Innis, The Bias of Communication (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008),
160, 179.
5
space. Political and cultural leaders now had to consider a larger audience and manage their
“visibility” through new media outlets.14
Theodore Roosevelt’s persona and its representation in the press would not have been
possible without the unique cultural landscape associated with the rise of print media in America.
Roosevelt was a favorite subject for photographers, cartoonists, and news journalists and
eventually his exploits and image were widely circulated across the United States. When he
became president, the Roosevelt family was displayed in the press mostly in a laudatory manner,
with newspapers declaring that they were the models of American virtue. The media attention to
Roosevelt and his family serves as a lens for studying how new print technologies contributed to
the celebrity status of the First Family.
This study examines the ways in which the Roosevelt family became the focus of media
attention in the early twentieth century and the transformation of one somewhat unusual family
into a type of the ideal American family. Historical articles from the New York Times, the
Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, Harper’s Weekly and the Ladies’ Home Journal
provided messages and photographs of Theodore Roosevelt and his family that displayed the
Roosevelts as typical, upstanding American citizens. In addition, political cartoons and
photographs serve to illustrate physically the larger historical claims concerning Roosevelt’s
public persona as one characterized by masculinity and sports enthusiasm.
Also of vital importance for creating a more intimate picture of the Roosevelts’ life were
personal letters written to individual family members. Some of the letters used in this thesis
were preserved in published volumes, begging the question why some letters were published to
be consumed and why others may not have been deemed appropriate or advantageous to
distribute to a larger audience. Though these letters offer few instances where Theodore
Roosevelt or his children mention anything that would have tarnished the Roosevelt reputation, it
would be foolish to disregard them completely because they do offer a unique and personal,
14
Daniel Boorstin, The Image (New York: Vintage Books, 2012), 13, 47, 57. Thompson, The Media and Modernity,
126, 134-137. For critiques of the celebrity culture brought about by the Graphic Revolution, see Walter Benjamin,
“The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” in Illuminations ,ed. Hannah Arendt (New York:
Schocken Books, 1968); and Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer, “The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass
Deception,” in Dialectic of Enlightenment, trans. John Cumming, 120-167 (New York: Herder and Herder, 1972).
6
though perhaps not complete, look into the family’s dynamics. For all of the primary sources, I
have retained the original spelling and grammar of the authors.
Theodore Roosevelt’s public quest to achieve a masculine physique served as the initial
foray of the media’s love affair with the Roosevelts. As Roosevelt gained a national political
presence, his domestic life became a source of interest to the American press. The Roosevelts’
private family life was utilized to exhibit domestic trends in the first decade of the twentieth
century. Print media normalized the Roosevelts so that the American public came to view their
First Family as the quintessential family next door. The amount of media interest that the
Roosevelt’s garnered, and that coincidentally led to their celebrity status, can be seen also in the
experience of successive First Families of the twentieth century
7
CHAPTER 1: “BONE, MUSCLE, AND GRIT”
On April 10, 1899, Theodore Roosevelt gave a speech to the Hamilton Club of Chicago,
emphasizing the need for Americans to fight and uphold the ideals of democracy in order to
prepare the United States for the twentieth century. He wanted “to preach, not the doctrine of
ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife.”1
The speech went on to explain the necessary contributions of ordinary individuals to the
enterprising spirit of industrialization, the fighting spirit of warfare and national sense of duty to
the greatness of America. Fresh from a victory over Spain in the Spanish-American War of
1898, Roosevelt urged his listeners to not be placated with one battle for justice, but rather to
continue to pursue national superiority in an increasingly globalized era. At the end of his
speech, Roosevelt directly challenged the American people to establish themselves as worthy of
their world standing:
Let us therefore 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
strive, moral or physical, within or without the nation, provided we are certain that the
strife is justified, for it is only through strife, through hard and dangerous endeavor, that
we shall ultimately win the goal of true national greatness.2
While Roosevelt’s speech in Chicago was clearly oriented toward a national sense of
duty, it also reflected his own personal struggles. His desire to build his body into one of power
and endurance resembled his desire to see the army and the navy well-armed and prepared for
war. Roosevelt’s long hours of exercise to improve his physical image emerged in his pleading
for individuals to shirk lives of luxury and idleness. “The Strenuous Life,” became one of
Theodore Roosevelt’s most popular catchphrases and well-remembered speeches. The American
people, especially American men, sympathized with Roosevelt’s personal aspirations and wished
to see them projected onto a national scale.3 Qualms about personal and national masculinity
1
Theodore Roosevelt, “The Strenuous Life” (April 10, 1899), in The Strenuous Life: Essays and Addresses, by
Theodore Roosevelt (New York: The Century Co., 1901), 1.
2
Ibid., 20-21.
3
“The Strenuous Life,” was used for a variety of purposes. For example, historians T.J. Jackson Lear and John
Higham offer insight as to how other members of various demographic groups might have interpreted and used
8
during the late nineteenth century facilitated a new perception of manliness in the United States.
Theodore Roosevelt, through his vociferous entreaties to the public as well as his personal
experiences, ultimately came to embody the new ideas of masculinity for his time.
Definitions of “New Masculinity”
In the late 1870s through to the 1890s, middle-class American men felt the need to
challenge the behavioral guidelines of their sex that had constructed gender norms throughout
the nineteenth century. Men who came of age in the decades prior to the twentieth century felt
the need to distance themselves from the perceived effeminacy of their middle-class lifestyle.
The self-made manhood that dictated male behavior in America for much of the nineteenth
century was a battle for men to distinguish themselves from young boys. Self-made men were
marked by their maturity, their knowledge and success in business, and their reserved demeanor.
The new nineteenth-century masculinity was conditioned on the ideas of apparent threats to
white male hegemony in the world of business and politics. The increase of immigration,
movements for racial and gender equality, combined with economic downturns led men to
question their own self-worth, as well as their collective worth as men. Instead of differentiating
themselves from boys, as their fathers had done, white middle-class men at the end of the
nineteenth century believed that they needed to separate themselves from women and ethnic
immigrants. They were forced to reinvent older notions of masculinity in order to reaffirm their
place in society. Rather than act as reserved gentlemen, men began to express themselves
through “strength, appearance, and athletic skill.” Historians now refer to the outward
expression of manliness as “passionate” masculinity.4
Roosevelt’s speech for their own gain. Lear’s No Place of Grace (New York: Pantheon Books, 1981) describes
specific audiences and their interpretations of the speech: artisans focused on “individual regeneration” a notion
which for them meant “greater efficiency in modern life” (96); militarists desired to be “aggressive,” a
demonstration that they were “really alive” (102); the middle class was intent on instilling “class revitalization”
against immigrants and the lower class (108); and sports enthusiasts and others tired of the monotony of mental
labor believed that “action [was] a means to fight self-doubt and neurasthenia” (222). Higham’s essay, “The
Reorientation of American Culture in the 1890s,” in his Writing American History: Essays on Modern Scholarship
(Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1970), argues that “The Strenuous Life” and strenuousness in
general was used to revitalize primitive virtues and that imperialists used the vocabulary to call for another frontier
(86). Even though there are many interpretations of “The Strenuous Life,” I am using the term in the way Roosevelt
seems literally to have intended it, as an appeal for more physical action and civic duty.
4
E. Anthony Rotundo, American Manhood: Transformations in Masculinity from the Revolution to the Modern Era
(New York: Basic Books, 1993), 6. For more information on changes in masculinity, see Mark C. Carnes and Clyde
Griffen, comps. Meanings for Manhood: Constructions of Masculinity in Victorian America (Chicago: The
University of Chicago Press, 1990); Kristin L. Hoganson, Fighting for American Manhood: How Gender Politics
9
Changes in the work force nullified the self-made manhood model that had flourished in
the nineteenth century. Men’s labor competition with women challenged the separate spheres
ideology where women were increasingly being hired for public occupations such as store clerks,
secretaries, teachers, and nurses.5 At the turn of the century when more and more women were
vying for a public presence in politics and in the work force, men needed to redefine and
reestablish themselves as separate beings free from femininity.
Another way for men to differentiate themselves from women during this time was by
reverting back to “boy culture,” a world resplendent with aggression, competition, and
athleticism. Men emphasized their “primal” and “primitive” instincts as another way to
differentiate themselves from women.6 Instead of following the genteel rationality of their
fathers, younger generations began to embrace their old boyish vices as virtues. Masculinity was
no longer an archetype of control and moderation, but rather an embodiment of desire and selfaggrandizement. Men were eager to set themselves even further apart from the world of women
and threw themselves into athletic training, journeys through the wilderness, military fervor, and
competitive forms of leisure.
Fraternal organizations like boys clubs became more popular at the end of the nineteenth
century. The clubs fostered male camaraderie and were a safe haven where men could exhibit
emotion to other men without eliciting the stigma of homosexuality.7 Clubs were also beneficial
in passing down the lessons of masculinity to successive generations. Organizations such as the
Boy Scouts, as well as structured club sports, helped to generate masculine goals for boys from
an early age.8
Redefining manliness also had an impact on contemporary views of religion. Christianity
was remodeled to exemplify some of the aggressive ideals associated with passionate
masculinity. “Muscular Christianity” redefined religious doctrine in the 1880s. Jesus became
Provoked the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars (New Haven, Ct: Yale University Press, 1998); Gail
Bederman, Manliness and Civilization: A Cultural History of Gender and Race in the United States, 1880-1917
(Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1995); and Michael S. Kimmel, Manhood in America: A Cultural
History (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006).
5
Rotundo, American Manhood, 220-221.
6
Bederman, Manliness and Civilization, 22; Rotundo, American Manhood, 227, 262.
7
Mark C. Carnes, “Middle-Class Men and the Solace of Fraternal Ritual,” in Carnes and Griffen, Meanings for
Manhood, 37-66.
8
Rotundo, American Manhood, 241.
10
revered for his strength, hard work, and leadership skills instead of his tenderness, love, and
acceptance, features associated with women.9 Muscular Christianity complemented the strength
craze because physical strength came to be a signifier of strength of character.10
Overall, white middle-class men at the end of the nineteenth century felt a need to prove
their manliness through outward manifestations of their masculinity. Physical strength and
aggression became external displays of the true man within. But manhood had to be practiced; it
was not inborn.11 The emphasis on proving one’s masculinity was a product of intense effort and
practice, usually through meticulous physical exercise or participation in manly activities, such
as hunting or organized sports. The man who epitomized the new version of masculinity at the
end of the nineteenth century was Theodore Roosevelt.12 As Roosevelt moved up in his political
career, increasing press coverage of his actions and his political potential showed a more
muscular Roosevelt adorned in battle uniform or hunting gear, ready to challenge anyone who
stood in his way.
Early Life
Theodore Roosevelt was encouraged by his father to exercise his body as a method to
physically combat the excessively strong asthma attacks that plagued his youth. Sometimes,
though, Roosevelt’s attacks were so strong that he had to be sent out of the city to a more
healthful climate. On one such trip to Maine, Roosevelt was in a stagecoach with two
unaccompanied boys who began to pick on him because of his small size. The altercation turned
somewhat violent, but both of the unnamed travelers easily outmaneuvered young Roosevelt and
prevented him from beating them with his fists. According to Roosevelt, this episode taught him
that it was imperative that he learn how to defend himself properly. His loss fueled his flame for
physical fitness.13
9
Susan Curtis, “The Son of Man and God the Father: The Social Gospel and Victorian Masculinity,” in Carnes and
Griffen, Meanings for Manhood, 72-76.
10
Rotundo, American Manhood, 224.
11
Kimmel, Manhood in America, 81, 84.
12
Allan Churchill, The Roosevelts: American Aristocrats (New York: Harper & Row, 1965), 202.
13
Harold Howland, Theodore Roosevelt and His Times: A Chronicle of the Progressive Movement, Vol. 47 in The
Chronicles of America Series, ed. Allen Johnson et al. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1921), 3-4.
11
Roosevelt continued his proclivity for exercise into his college years. One picture of
Roosevelt on the Harvard rowing team shows him as a very muscular young man, as evidenced
by his bare chest. He crosses his arms in the photo while he sits and stares intently at the
camera.14 Perhaps the intensity of his gaze was meant to challenge anyone who might accuse
him of frailty, or maybe the sun was in his eyes causing him to squint. Regardless of the intent
Figure 1A: “Theodore
Roosevelt in a sculling
outfit,” ca. 1877, Theodore
Roosevelt Collection,
Houghton Library, Harvard
University.
or cause for his facial expression, Roosevelt clearly looks as though he was in peak physical
condition from all of the hours he spent rowing and boxing as part of a team. But Roosevelt also
challenged himself physically through various pursuits in order to increase his strength and build
14
“Theodore Roosevelt in a sculling outfit,” ca. 1877, 520.12-002, Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Houghton
Library, Harvard University.
12
up his confidence.15 Observers recognized his athleticism as a young man, and it became a wellknown character attribute, one that was satirized in political cartoons and lauded in newspaper
articles.
Dakotas
Theodore Roosevelt bought two ranches in the Dakota territory (in what would one day
become North Dakota) in 1883. He described the unforgiving scenery of the Badlands in his
autobiography, speaking of the “scorching midsummer sun” and the “blinding blizzards” that
plagued the ranch hands.16 He also explained that the land lived up to the true meanings of
wilderness: “The country is yet unsurveyed and unmapped; the course of the river itself, as put
down on the various Government and railroad maps, is very much a mere piece of guesswork.”17
The unforgiving Badlands comprised exactly the type of environment that would cure him of any
effeminate qualities. His days were filled with herding cattle, hunting wild game, and an
occasional run-in with some criminals. Several men stole Roosevelt’s boat from his Elkhorn
Ranch in 1886. Roosevelt and his two ranch hands from Maine built a raft and sailed down the
semi-frozen river to retrieve the boat. According to Roosevelt in a letter to Henry Cabot Lodge,
“We kept [the thieves] with us nearly a week, being caught in an ice jam; then we came to a
ranch house where I got a wagon, and I sent my two men on down stream with a boat, while I
took the three captives overland a two days journey to a town where I could give them to the
Sheriff.”18 The thieves were handed over to authorities and Roosevelt was rewarded $50 for his
participation in their capture.19
Much of the meat that Roosevelt ate at his ranch was thanks to his own hunting-“usually
antelope or deer, sometimes grouse or duck, and occasionally, in the earlier days, buffalo or
elk.”20 Sometimes on round-up trips, Roosevelt would impress the other riders by killing some
antelope and sharing it with the group. Roosevelt did have a proclivity for shooting wild game.
15
Edward J. Renehan, Jr., The Lion’s Pride: Theodore Roosevelt and his Family in Peace and War (New York:
Oxford University Press, 1998), 12.
16
Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, an Autobiography (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1922), 93.
17
Theodore Roosevelt, Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail,2nd ed. by John Gabriel Hunt (New York, Gramercy
Books, 1995), 111.
18
Theodore Roosevelt to Henry Cabot Lodge, 16 April 1886, in Theodore Roosevelt: Letters and Speeches, ed.
Louis Auchincloss (New York: Literary Classics of the United States, 2004), 20.
19
“Theodore Roosevelt the Rancher,” on National Park Service: Theodore Roosevelt National Park, accessed
November 4, 2012, http://www.nps.gov/thro/historyculture/theodore-roosevelt-the-rancher.htm.
20
Roosevelt, Autobiography, 96.
13
Multiple hunting excursions in the Badlands allowed him to embody his passion. On June 17,
1884, Roosevelt wrote to his older sister, Bamie, that he had killed an antelope whose head
would look good on “our famous hall at Leeholm.”21 Three months later he declared that he had
killed “three grizzly bear, six elk (three of them have magnificent heads and will look well in the
‘“house on the hill”’) and as many deer, grouse and trout as we needed for the table…I was more
anxious for the quality than for the quantity of my bag. I have now a dozen good heads for the
hall.” The first bear he shot was nine feet tall and weighed roughly 1,000 pounds. Roosevelt
killed the bear with a single shot between the eyes.22 The walls of Sagamore Hill (and eventually
the collection of the Smithsonian Institute) pay tribute to his skill. The mounted heads were
physical manifestations of Roosevelt’s strength and athletic ability. They represented his
struggle as he successfully reinvented himself in the Badlands.23 Roosevelt’s prowess for hunting
and ranching were nationally recognized, as evidenced through illustrations and cartoons in print
media.
Some of the other perils that Roosevelt faced on the ranch included firefighting and raids
by settlers and Native Americans. Although these incidents were undoubtedly tiring, Roosevelt
enjoyed his time in the Dakota territories. “I do not believe there ever was any life more
attractive to a vigorous young fellow than life on a cattle ranch in those days,” he claimed. “It
was a fine, healthy life, too; it taught a man self-reliance, hardihood, and the value of instant
decision – in short, the virtues that ought to come from life in the open country. I enjoyed life to
the full.”24 When Roosevelt was living in the White House, cowboys and ranch hands from his
days in the West were more than welcome to stop in for a visit.25 Any reminders of his rugged
ranch life were appreciated in Washington.
Overall, Roosevelt transformed himself while out west. When he first travelled to the
Dakotas, he was “frail” and asthmatic, but when he returned east in 1886, Bill Sewall, one of the
ranch hands from Maine, described him as “husky as almost any man I have ever seen who
wasn’t dependent on his arms for his livelihood. He weighed one hundred and fifty pounds, and
21
Theodore Roosevelt to Anna Roosevelt Cowles, 17 July 1884, in Letters From Theodore Roosevelt to Anna
Roosevelt Cowles, 1870-1918 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1924), 57-58.
22
Theodore Roosevelt to Anna Roosevelt Cowles, 20 September 1884, in Letters, 66, 67-68.
23
Herman Hagedorn, The Roosevelt Family of Sagamore Hill (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1954), 5.
24
Roosevelt, Autobiography, 95.
25
Ibid., 119.
14
was clear bone, muscle, and grit.”26 The strenuous life out on the ranch solidified Theodore
Roosevelt’s manhood and masculinity for all who knew him, and stories and images of it were
circulated widely in the national press for those who did not.
San Juan Hill and Spanish American War
As Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt was a huge advocate for war
with Spain in 1898. Even before hostilities rose to a breaking point, Roosevelt expressed his
desire that the United States interfere in the Gulf of Mexico. “We ought to drive the Spanish out
of Cuba,” he wrote in 1896, “and it would be a good thing, in more ways than one, to do it.”27
The explosion of the battleship Maine off the coast of Cuba ignited a spark among the new
masculine men; they desired to have their moment of valor as their fathers had had during the
Civil War. Americans believed that Spain had launched the first attack with the Maine incident
and so felt that they were justified in declaring war. President William McKinley was hesitant to
fight and received much criticism from those men who felt that pacifism was a blight on the
American sense of duty. War with Spain would show the world that America and her men had
real courage.28 A war to police the Western Hemisphere was both a war of values and a war to
demonstrate the newly formed sense of modern American masculinity.29
Theodore Roosevelt resigned his post as Assistant Secretary of the Navy in order to join
the army as Lieutenant-Colonel of the First United States Volunteer Cavalry. He organized his
own unit and the public dubbed them the Rough Riders.30 All in all, there were about 23,000
applicants for the Rough Riders unit, but Roosevelt and his Colonel, Leonard Wood, could only
accept 1,000 men for their division. Even Western legend Buffalo Bill Cody, being too old to
join the cause himself, sent some of his best shooters to join the famous outfit.31 The applicants
were varied; men from the Ivy League schools of Harvard, Princeton, and Yale signed up in
droves, as well as men from the western territories. All were eager to join in the fight of their
generation. As Roosevelt remembered the enthusiasm, he quipped that
26
Howland, Theodore Roosevelt and His Times, 7.
Theodore Roosevelt to Anna Roosevelt Cowles, 30 March 1896, in Letters, 179.
28
Hoganson, Fighting for American Manhood, 69-70.
29
Bederman, Manliness and Civilization, 8.
30
Theodore Roosevelt, The Rough Riders: An Autobiography (New York: Literary Classics of the United States,
2004), 15.
31
Renehan, The Lion’s Pride, 27-28.
27
15
they all sought entry into the ranks of the Rough Riders as eagerly as if it meant
something widely different from hard work, rough fare, and the possibility of death; and
the reason they turned out to be such good soldiers lay largely in the fact that they were
men who had thoroughly counted the cost before entering, and who went into the
regiment because they believed that this offered their best chance for seeing hard and
dangerous service.32
Men across America felt the need to prove their masculinity on the battlefield, striving for an
honor-bound sense of duty and patriotism even in the face of death.
On July 1, 1898, Theodore Roosevelt’s moment of war glory had finally arrived. His
men had been marching toward Santiago, Cuba, in the last push for victory. The Rough Riders
were ordered to “move forward and support the regulars in the assault on the hills in front,” by
Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Haddox Dorst.33 Although Roosevelt was meant to push his men
forward from a rear position, he ended up leading his troops on horseback into battle, clearly
making himself a target for enemy fire. Roosevelt led his Rough Riders and a few platoons of
regulars up Kettle Hill, rushing the Spanish instead of firing from a safe distance. Eventually,
Roosevelt was forced to dismount his horse and run up the hill on foot, in the same manner as his
men, with bullets falling all the while. Once the troops summited Kettle Hill, they fired upon the
Spanish troops who were under siege at San Juan Hill. After the Spanish retreated to their
trenches, Roosevelt launched another attack to push them out of their positions, once again
leading his men in the face of death.34
Reception
Theodore Roosevelt left the United States in 1898 with a fairly successful political career
and a somewhat tame public presence. Illustrations of Roosevelt before his presidency show the
physical evolution of a man intent on morphing his physicality to better demonstrate his
masculinity. He had been the subject of several political cartoons from earlier in his career as a
New York State Assemblyman in 1884. Images from Puck magazine show a young, thin,
Roosevelt cutting the claws off of Tammany Hall “tiger,” showing his aptitude for eliminating
32
Roosevelt, The Rough Riders, 20.
Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Haddox Dorst quoted in The Rough Riders, 102-103.
34
Roosevelt, The Rough Riders, 94-128.
33
16
political corruption at the state level.35 In 1887, Roosevelt was once again the center of a cartoon
entitled “Little Roosevelt! The Grand Old Party Must Be Hard Up!” in Puck magazine. A
young and, once again, thin Roosevelt is being fitted with bronzed armor by notable Republican
politicians as if they were preemptively anointing him as an eventual party leader. However, the
publication title suggests that Republicans must be in great need of a figurehead if they would
put so much hope on an untested, twenty-eight year old politician who had just lost an election
for mayor of New York City.36 While Theodore Roosevelt may have appeared too scrawny to
fill out the regal attire of a political party figurehead in 1887, a few short years yielded a
significant change in his presentation in print media.
As Civil Service Commissioner, Roosevelt was finally portrayed as a muscular man,
wielding a giant sword of “Civil Service Rules,” about to challenge the giant named “Spoils
System.” In a cartoon published in Puck in 1889, Roosevelt’s shoulders are broad, his chest and
arms bulky, and he is clothed not in the suits of a bureaucrat but the vest, hat, and gloves of a
rancher. Even though it is clear in the cartoon that Roosevelt desires to kill the Spoils System
giant, he is tethered by a cautious President Benjamin Harrison, afraid that the Civil Service
Commissioner will be too eager in his task. The giant, a colossal being clothed in mythic Trojan
attire with the pelts of wild animals belted to his side and holding onto a huge wooden club,
looks derisively down at Roosevelt and says, “Calm yourself, Theodore – if you go too far,
you’ll find yourself jerked back mighty sudden!” referring to Harrison’s leash.37 What is
significant about this cartoon is that Roosevelt is no longer the sickly looking youth, but rather a
hardened politician, intent on using his newly acknowledged strength to fight for reform. The
representation of Roosevelt in rancher clothing, always wearing a big, cowboy-like hat, was a
definitive quality in popular images until he recreated a new identity through battle.
35
Freiderich Gratz, “Make him Harmless,” and “Made Harmless at Last!,” Puck, February 20, 1884, and March 26,
1884 respectively, in Bully! The Life and Times of Theodore Roosevelt, Rick Marschall (Washington DC: Regnery
Publishing, Inc., 2011), 56. See Figure 1B.
36
Joseph Keppler, “Little Roosevelt! The Grand Old Party Must Be Hard Up!,” Puck, 1887, in Bully!, 74-74. See
Figure 1C.
37
Louis Dalrymple, “The Brave Little Giant-Killer,” Puck, 1889, in Bully!, 94. See Figure 1D.
17
Figure 1B: Freiderich Gratz, “Make him Harmless”, and “Made Harmless at Last!,” Puck, February 20, 1884, and March 26,1884.
18
Figure 1C: Joseph Keppler, “Little Roosevelt! The Grand Old Party Must Be Hard Up!,” Puck, 1887.
19
Figure 1D: Louis Dalrymple, “The Brave Little Giant-Killer,” Puck, 1889.
20
When he came back to America after the brief Spanish-American War, Roosevelt
experienced national renown.1 Photos of Roosevelt’s Rough Riders appeared in national
magazines such as Harpers Weekly. In the June 4, 1898 issue, Harpers Weekly had a display of
seven photographs of the Rough Rider unit with Roosevelt among them. The photos were taken
at San Antonio, Texas, before the volunteers were shipped out to Cuba. Two of the close-up
shots of Roosevelt show a man in uniform who is ready for combat. In the middle of the page,
Roosevelt is astride one of his horses, reigns in hand, feet in stirrups, with a big riding hat on his
head, facing the camera head-on. His gaze is steady, focused, almost as if his will to achieve the
ultimate form of earthly glory will enable him to do so.2 These images are telling in the sense
that they were published before the Rough Riders had made a name for themselves in battle. The
outrageous outpouring of applications for the volunteer regiment probably gave credence to the
continuing national attention in the press. However, the early and continuous coverage of
Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough Riders undoubtedly primed the media for his triumphant
homecoming.
Caricatures of Theodore Roosevelt changed significantly after the battle of San Juan
Ridge. Newspapers such as The New York Herald and The New York World, along with popular
magazines like Judge and Puck, prominently featured Roosevelt and his Rough Riders as heroes
of the hour. In these illustrations, Roosevelt is typically seen riding a galloping horse, usually at
the front of all other people represented in the background. He is wearing his Rough Rider
uniform, complete with large hat, once again resembling that of a cowboy. He is also usually
brandishing a sword, leading the charge into battle. In Frederick Remington’s drawing entitled,
“The Storming of Jan Juan – The Head of the Charge – Santiago De Cuba, July 1,” an unnamed
man (though most likely Roosevelt), has his arms raised, one holding a wide-brimmed hat and
the other wielding a long, thin sword, urging his fellow soldiers to move forward through enemy
trenches toward a building, probably full of Spanish munitions, in the background.3 There are
several enemy soldiers wounded or dying on the field of battle, suggesting that the path to
victory is treacherous, but assured. The men heed their leader’s direction and charge up the hill,
1
Renehan, The Lion’s Pride, 4.
“WITH ROOSEVELT’S ROUGH RIDERS IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS,” Harper’s Weekly, June 4, 1898.
Accessed through HarpWeek, November 7, 2012. See Figure 1E.
3
Frederick Remington, “The Storming of San Juan – The Head of the Charge – Santiago De Cuba, July 1,”
Harper’s Weekly, August 6, 1898. Accessed through HarpWeek, November 11, 2012. See Figure 1F.
2
21
even under the threat of death.
Figure 1E:
“WITH
ROOSEVELT’S
ROUGH
RIDERS IN SAN
ANTONIO,
TEXAS,”
Harper’s Weekly,
June 6, 1898.
22
Figure 1F: Frederick Remington, “The Storming of San Juan – The Head of the Charge – Santiago De Cuba, July 1,” Harper’s Weekly, August 6, 1898.
23
Several years later, Roosevelt’s role in the taking of Kettle Hill, part of the San Juan
Ridge, was commemorated in a painting by Ernest Jean Delahaye. Colonel Roosevelt in Cuba –
The Taking of San Juan Hill, shows Roosevelt in the center of the canvas pointing towards some
dilapidated brick buildings on the summit of a steep hill. Roosevelt is clad in his uniform,
complete with his hat. His left hand is on his hip, his right pointing towards the battle, his sword
hanging from his belt behind his legs. His men look harried but determined to stop the enemy’s
advances.1 Although the image of Roosevelt is too small for much discernible detail, his overall
presence in the painting is one of complete authority. Free from the chaos of the ensuing battle,
Roosevelt stands in a calm, barren landscape, devoid of any scenery to detract from his authority.
The other soldiers may not be directly looking at Roosevelt, but they heed his direction
nonetheless as they charge up the hill with their weapons drawn. Colonel Theodore Roosevelt
commanded his troops in a pivotal battle, an act heroic enough to commemorate on canvas four
years after the charge on July 1, 1898.
Not all of the representations of Theodore Roosevelt lauded his actions in Cuba. The
Verdict, a short-lived New York publication the main intent of which was to thwart President
McKinley’s reelection, in particular showed Roosevelt as an advocate for imperialism. Horace
Taylor’s cartoon, “Republicanism Down to Date,” shows Roosevelt dressed as Napoleon
Bonaparte, or at least with a hat that looks similar to Napoleon’s, behind a huge black cannon
that says “Imperialism.” The cannon is shoved into Uncle Sam’s back, pushing him forward.2
Obviously, Taylor sees the Republican Party as responsible for getting the United States
involved in international imperialism, with Roosevelt as a national party member and governor
of New York, and jingoist to boot, leading the way.
In another Horace Taylor illustration for The Verdict a month later, Theodore Roosevelt
is pictured riding a horse (with glasses to match his own), wearing fringed, buckskin chaps and a
buttoned down shirt, reminiscent of the earlier ranchman Roosevelt had been before the war. He
is galloping from the Executive Mansion at Albany on a road towards Ohio, according to a sign
post. Roosevelt has on a floppy hat and has two guns, one in each hand, shooting at scarecrows
1
Ernest Jean Delahaye, Colonel Roosevelt in Cuba – The Taking of San Juan Hill, reproduced in Harper’s Weekly,
August 30, 1902, accessed November 11, 2012. See Figure 1G.
2
Horace Taylor, “Republicanism Down to Date,” The Verdict, September 25, 1899, accessed November 11, 2012,
http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/mmh/USCartoons/Verdict/HT/25Sept1899.cfm. See Figure 1H.
24
Figure 1G: Ernest Jean Delahaye, Colonel Roosevelt in Cuba – The Taking of San Juan Hill, reproduced in Harper’s Weekly, August 30, 1902.
25
Figure 1H: Horace Taylor, “Republicanism Down to Date,” The Verdict, September 25, 1899.
26
Figure 1I: Horace Taylor, “Teddy to the Rescue of Republicanism!” The Verdict,
October 30, 1899.
27
titled “Anarchy” and “Treason.” The reigns of the horse are held between Roosevelt’s big, white
teeth. Taylor’s caption sums up the irony of Theodore Roosevelt’s political popularity: “Teddy
to the Rescue of Republicanism!”1 Clearly the artist sees Roosevelt as a huge threat to the
democratic system, causing “anarchy” with his bizarre method of governing and his abnormal
background in ranching. Despite the obvious negative connotations of these two images by
Horace Taylor, it is significant to note that the image of Roosevelt on horseback, or carrying
weapons, or wearing his military or ranchman uniform, were used by Taylor in a way similar to
previous artists in order to distinguish Roosevelt as a unique persona.
Conclusion
The unusual experiences of Theodore Roosevelt defined how he was characterized by the
media. Born into a wealthy, established family of New York society, Theodore Roosevelt did
not settle for the easy life of luxury. Instead he made it his goal to overcome obstacles, come
face-to-face with danger, and even challenge the certainty of death. His reputation for risktaking was legendary.2 His tenacity grew to epitomize the new culture of manliness at the end of
the nineteenth century. His early episodes of chronic asthma taught Roosevelt to meticulously
train his body to overcome frailty. Hour after painstaking hour, Roosevelt exercised his muscles
and used them for all physical activities, but for hunting, rowing, and boxing in particular. His
bodily transformation was an outward manifestation of his inner manliness.
Determined to prove himself as a dutiful American citizen, Roosevelt took his Harvard
degree out West, the last geographic area where feminine civilization of the East had not yet
come to rule. There was still land to explore, animals to tame, and justice to be served; there the
American spirit could create new solutions to old problems. Frederick Jackson Turner’s
“Frontier Thesis” proclaimed the Western frontier closed in 1893, nine years after Roosevelt
bought his two ranches in the Dakota Territory. Roosevelt was perhaps one of the last men to
travel west and live as an adventurer, a life of which many men of the time only dreamed.
Theodore Roosevelt also proved his masculinity on the battlefield. Even though his
volunteer regiment included wealthy, white, upper-middle class men, many of whom also
1
Horace Taylor, “Teddy to the Rescue of Republicanism!” The Verdict, October 30, 1899, in Bully!, 144. See
Figure 1I.
2
Renehan, The Lion’s Pride, 22.
28
graduated from Ivy League institutions, the Rough Riders were heralded for their courage on
Kettle Hill in Cuba. Without their fearless leader driving them forward, putting himself at the
head of the regulars, the regiment might have disbanded in chaos under Spanish artillery.
Roosevelt’s audacity in disobeying orders ingratiated him with his men who recognized that
though their Lieutenant-Colonel may have been eccentric, he undoubtedly cared for their success
and pushed them to be victorious.
The popular images of Theodore Roosevelt in magazines and newspapers stressed the
physical masculine qualities that Roosevelt exemplified. Muscular arms, a robust torso,
weapons, animals, big hats and a rancher or soldier uniform differentiated Roosevelt from other
subjects in the cartoons and photographs. His attire especially indicated that the American
people would have recognized Roosevelt based purely on his experiences in Dakota and in Cuba.
While not all of the publications lauded Roosevelt’s behavior, the fact that his exploits as an
underling politician were editorialized in the national media shows that Theodore Roosevelt was
known, and arguably appreciated, for his masculine qualities. Theodore Roosevelt would
continue to be known for his masculine qualities as his political career moved him into the
highest political office of the land and his family life into the public eyes of the American press.
29
CHAPTER 2: “A BULLY FAMILY”
Just months before the Presidential election of 1904, Theodore Roosevelt exposed some
personal doubt as to his chances of winning the Presidency on his own accord. Despite massive
popular approval and a lack-luster Democratic candidate, Roosevelt wrote to his older sister,
Bamie, about his possible, if unlikely, loss. In his letter on July 30, 1904, he explained that “the
next three months will be wearing at times. I have no idea what the outcome will be, and I know
that…it will be impossible for me to tell.” He seemed to put on a brave face as he explained that
even if he lost, he had given his children a name that they could be proud of, and that he had also
done his duty to his country. He ended his letter with more than a touch of sentimentality,
curious for a president, but not altogether unknown in Roosevelt’s correspondence with his
closest sister;
So, while if defeated, I shall feel disappointed, yet I shall also feel that I have had far
more happiness and success than fall to any but a very few men; and this aside from the
infinitely more important fact that I have had the happiest home life of any man whom I
have ever known.1
According to all current and available sources both published and unpublished, Theodore
Roosevelt and the rest of the Roosevelt family did have a relatively happy family life before and
during Roosevelt’s tenure as president.2 It is interesting to see how Theodore Roosevelt
managed to balance his external image of masculinity with his domestic duties as father to six
rambunctious children. Even before his term as president, Roosevelt concerned himself with
raising his sons and daughters to face their fears and participate in outdoor activities, a modern
1
Theodore Roosevelt to Anna Roosevelt Cowles, 17 July 1884, in Letters From Theodore Roosevelt to Anna
Roosevelt Cowles, 1870-1918 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1924), 261, emphasis mine.
2
Obviously, the issue of available sources comes in to play here. Edith Roosevelt personally burned many of the
letters between Theodore and herself so that they would never be published. Most Roosevelt scholars believe this
was so that their love would remain personal and intimate. However, we cannot be sure of the content of those
letters. Another important issue regarding letters is the number of them that have been published. Several volumes
of letters from Theodore Roosevelt to relatives (Anna Roosevelt Cowles, Kermit Roosevelt, his children, etc.) were
almost certainly made public in order to positively sway the public’s opinion of Roosevelt. Kathleen Dalton, author
of Theodore Roosevelt: A Strenuous Life claims that Roosevelt suspected that his letters would be published and
made especial effort to construct them in a pleasing way (5-7). His famous picture letters to his children may have
only been drawn with the public in mind. I believe that these letters are valuable and do serve a purpose in
examining the intimate life of the Roosevelts. They are almost certainly biased so that the reader begins to
appreciate the Roosevelts as perhaps a typical American family, but they also provide an intimate view of how
Roosevelt desired to construct his own image.
30
model of fatherhood that was just beginning to catch on in America in the late nineteenth
century. While the Roosevelt family was elevated to the public stage in 1901, the family
dynamic was already in motion before they entered the White House.
Transitions in Family Life
The Roosevelt family lived during a time where domestic roles were rapidly changing.
Respectable middle and upper-class Victorian Americans encouraged moral restraint from both
sexes. The self-made men of the early nineteenth century were more focused on work outside of
the home, an emphasis which meant they had less time to be involved in their children’s lives.
The role of the father was more disciplinarian and a career mentor rather than playmate. The
separate spheres ideology discouraged men from being too involved in the home for fear of
risking their masculine qualities of authority and respectability. 3 As the nineteenth century came
to a close, middle-class husbands and fathers began to take more interest in their domestic duties.
Historian Margaret Marsh uses the phrase “masculine domesticity” to describe the ways in which
fathers could aid the women of the family in raising the children and in taking an interest in the
running of the house.4 No longer were fathers simply disciplinarians; they also began to show
affection for their children.5 Theodore Roosevelt typifies this more active father figure at the
beginning of the twentieth century. Whether or not he was aware of the trend toward more
affectionate fathers is unclear, but his attentiveness to his own children and their desire to live up
to his expectations show a common fondness and sense of respect between parent and child.
Theodore Roosevelt’s role as a father aligned with the notion of masculine domesticity because
of the efforts he made to become his children’s playmate and role model.
In opposition to middle-class men, Victorian women were limited in their gendered roles
to work that dealt with domestic tasks and moral guidance in the private sphere. The creation of
separate spheres gave women a safe environment in which to rely on each other for emotional
support and practical advice. Topics such as relationships with men and the trials of marriage
3
E. Anthony Rotundo, American Manhood: Transformations in Masculinity from the Revolution to the Modern Era
(New York: Basic Books, 1993), 26-29
4
Margaret Marsh, “Suburban Men and Masculine Domesticity, 1870-1915,” in Mark C. Carnes and Clyde Griffen,
comps. Meanings for Manhood: Constructions of Masculinity in Victorian America (Chicago: The University of
Chicago Press, 1990), 112.
5
Robert L. Griswold, ““Ties that Bind and Bonds that Break”: Children’s Attitudes toward Fathers, 1900-1930,” in
Small Worlds: Children and Adolescents in America, 1850-1950, ed. Elliott West and Paula Petrik (Lawrence,
Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1992), 263.
31
and birth were discussed among women in the household, safe from male judgment.6 Mothers,
the primary care givers of their children, oftentimes handled household problems on their own so
that they would not burden their husbands after a day at work.7 Children (and adult women)
were hindered from extreme physical activity through articles of clothing that inhibited
movement. In the late nineteenth century, young women chose to break away from some
Victorian traditions. While men were busy trying to redefine themselves as animalistic,
masculine, athletic creatures, women were trying to reposition themselves as more active
participants in the world outside of the home. The changes in women’s roles were not only seen
through their appearance in society but also through their physical activity and their style of
dress. Athleticism became an important skill for both sexes fostering healthy competition as
well as an attention to a person’s bodily wellbeing. Fashion emphasized the importance of this
new freedom of movement and liberated women from constraining corsets that forced them into
a life of passivity, as well as psychological and physical confinement. 8
Another notable change from Victorian parenting to parenting practices of the twentieth
century was in the ways children were allowed to play. For the majority of the nineteenth
century, white, middle-class parents encouraged their children to play with toys that were
deemed appropriate for their sex; boys were given toys that conditioned them for outdoor
activities, such as toy guns and sporting equipment, while girls were usually given fragile dolls
to take care of indoors. Victorian parents believed that differentiating toys for the separate sexes
would somehow condition their children to emulate the cultural gender roles expected of them as
adults.9 The modern parenting of the twentieth century saw a more relaxed approach toward
children’s play. Both boys and girls were encouraged to be more physically active, and there
was less concern with girls partaking in play that had been traditionally reserved for boys. Girls
could now be active outside because adults thought that physical activity would make young
6
Carol Smith-Rosenberg, Disorderly Conduct: Visions of Gender in Victorian America (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1985), 60, 64.
7
Victoria Bissell Brown, “Golden Girls: Female Socialization Among the Middle Class of Los Angeles,” in West
and Petrick, Small Worlds, 238.
8
For discussions of the “new woman,” see Carol Smith-Rosenberg, Disorderly Conduct, 176; Jean V. Matthews,
The Rise of the New Woman: The Women’s Movement in America, 1875-1930 (Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2003), 13-14,
44, 98; and Harvey Green, The Light of the Home: An Intimate View of the Lives of Women in Victorian America
(New York: Pantheon Books, 1983), 150-153.
9
Karin Calvert, Children in the House: The Material Culture of Early Childhood, 1600-1900 (Boston: Northeastern
University Press, 1992), 111-113.
32
women “more rational and vigorous.” As long as children’s play was productive and capable of
teaching educational and/or moral lessons and building character, Progressive parents were more
willing for their children to choose their own sources of entertainment.10
Edith Roosevelt fits in with the traditional Victorian roles for women, as she was
frequently alone with her six children while Theodore was away on business or hunting trips.
She fulfilled her womanly duty to procreate and instill in her children moral responsibility. It is
possible that Edith may have been dissatisfied with her role in the Roosevelt family, but her
remaining personal letters do not indicate her longing for more freedoms. Edith actually burned
most of her correspondence with Theodore before she died, eradicating for future historians an
important written record of their relationship. Edith Roosevelt was undeniably a crucial member
of the Roosevelt family, but the lack of more of her personal records and her aversion to media
attention unfortunately permits her to be overshadowed by her infamous husband.
Though the Roosevelts came from a long line of New York aristocracy, publicity
covering Theodore Roosevelt’s quest for external masculinity along with his role within his
immediate family may have endeared him and his family to common Americans. Perhaps it is
not too much to claim that the Roosevelts were made to convey “the new normal” for white,
middle-class American families in the Progressive Era.
Financial Insecurities
Although the first Theodore Roosevelt inherited a sizable fortune from his father, New
York real-estate mogul Cornelius Van Schaack Roosevelt, and the second Theodore Roosevelt
inherited money after his father’s death, Theodore and Edith Roosevelt constantly worried about
the financial situation of their growing family. Theodore used most of his inheritance to buy
land and cattle out west and the rest to build Sagamore Hill. Roosevelt recognized that he was
too flippant with money to be in control of the family’s finances, so Edith took control of the
budget upon their marriage. Edith even put Theodore on a daily allowance of $20 because he
was prone to spending whatever he had in his pocket without any obvious desire to save.11
Edith’s management became increasingly important as Roosevelt changed public service jobs
10
Brown, “Golden Girls”, West and Petrik,” in Small Worlds, 233; Howard Chudacoff, Children at Play: An
American History (New York: New York University Press, 2007), 99-100.
11
Dalton, Theodore Roosevelt, 123.
33
that sometimes came with pay cuts or unforeseen changes in their cost of living.12 For instance,
as Civil Service Commissioner for the United States government, Roosevelt wrote of a financial
mistake that his brother-in-law had discovered in household expenses: “Douglas blandly wrote
me that there had been a mistake as to my income and expenditure, and that I was $2500
behind!” In an effort to remedy the situation, Roosevelt admitted that “we are going to do
everything possible to cut down expenses this year; if again we run behind I see nothing to do
save to leave Sagamore; and I think we will have to do this anyhow in a few years when we
begin to educate the children.”13 It is clear that the Roosevelts had less disposable income than
their lifestyle in Washington would have suggested. To run two households year round would
have been extremely stressful for any family.
To complicate matters further, Roosevelt’s beloved ranches in the Dakotas suffered from
huge financial setbacks during the 1890s. Several harsh winters killed off most his cattle and
nearly bankrupted the family.14 These events, along with Roosevelt’s acceptance of the New
York City Police Commissioner position, left the Roosevelts with an honorable name, but almost
no wealth to show for it. This is not to suggest that the Roosevelts were by any means poor. The
family was capable of employing a nanny, a cook, a gardener, and perhaps a couple of other
house servants.15 While undoubtedly extravagant according to the standards of a majority of
families in America, the Roosevelt household and its staff most likely resembled that of other
respectable middle to upper-middle class homes by 1900.
Financial insecurity may have affected Theodore Roosevelt’s own sense of his personal
masculinity. His suggestion of having to sell his family’s cherished home implies that his
occupational decisions may have led his wife and children to financial ruin. At the end of his
letter to Bamie on December 17, 1893, he revealed that “the trouble is that my career has been a
very pleasant, honorable and useful career for a man of means; but not the right career for a man
12
Theodore Roosevelt to Anna Roosevelt Cowles, Sagamore Hill, 13 October 1889, in Letters, 107-108.
Theodore Roosevelt to Anna Roosevelt Cowles, Washington DC, 17 December 1893, in Letters, 131-132.
14
“Theodore Roosevelt the Rancher,” on National Park Service: Theodore Roosevelt National Park, accessed
November 4, 2012, http://www.nps.gov/thro/historyculture/theodore-roosevelt-the-rancher.htm
15
Betty Boyd Caroli, The Roosevelt Women (New York: BasicBooks, 1998), 193; and Theodore Roosevelt III, All in
the Family (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, The Knickerbocker Press, 1929), 15, 24, 57.
13
34
without the means.”16 He acknowledged the utility of public service but admitted to his apparent
foolishness in entering into service careers without enough money to provide for his family.
The financial worries of the Roosevelts were not unique for Americans at the time. The
depressions of the 1870s and 1890s, along with the competition for jobs among the middleclasses in an occupational environment undergoing tremendous social change, meant that many
white middle-class men were bringing home less disposable income than the comfortable
lifestyle associated with the middle classes would have suggested.17 Theodore and Edith
Roosevelt’s difficulties resembled the financial insecurities of many twentieth-century
Americans, a possible contributing factor to their media constructed image of average American
citizens.
Children
After living in the Dakotas and the private acres of Sagamore Hill, living in Washington
D.C. must have been a real adjustment for Theodore Roosevelt, a man accustomed to pursuing
physical activity at his leisure. However, on December 31, 1893, Roosevelt wrote Bamie
explaining just how he managed to fit in his notorious workouts amid the demands of his job as
Civil Service Commissioner: “For exercise I occasionally put on my knicker-bockers and take a
scramble up Rock Creek, or else go for a more solemn walk with [Henry] Cabot [Lodge]; and I
am just taking the three elder children out for their Sunday morning climb.”18 One might think
that Roosevelt’s children mentioned in this letter were young adolescents, eager to go out and
exercise with their father before their teenage years distracted them from family outings. In
reality the “three elder children” to whom Roosevelt was referring were Alice, who was nine
years old at the time, Ted, who was six, and Kermit, who had just turned four only the previous
October. Ethel, the youngest Roosevelt child in 1893, was only two years old. Not only was
Roosevelt accompanied by three children under the age of ten, but he also implied that their
“Sunday morning climb” was a weekly ritual. It is clear that Roosevelt not only wanted, but
expected, all of his children, regardless of age or sex, to be physically active alongside him. As a
16
Theodore Roosevelt to Anna Roosevelt Cowles, Washington DC, 17 December 1893, in Letters, 131-132.
Harvey Green, The Light of the Home: An Intimate View of the Lives of Women in Victorian America (New York:
Pantheon Books, 1983), 107. Green discusses the ornate decorations of the middle-class during the Gilded Age in
juxtaposition to the simpler decorations of wealthy Americans.
18
Theodore Roosevelt to Anna Roosevelt Cowles, Washington DC, 31 December 1893, in Letters, 133-134.
17
35
figure of new masculinity, Theodore Roosevelt raised his children to take an interest in hobbies
that he viewed as necessary in living a strenuous life.
Girls
The Victorian customs of limiting women’s physical activity were fading by the 1890s.
An article called “THE ADVANTAGES OF EXERCISE FOR WOMEN,” in Harper’s Bazaar
in 1897 claimed that “There is nothing more conducive to a girl’s health than being in the air and
sunshine, where she may develop her muscles, expand her lungs and lay up a store of vitality.”
The health and character benefits gained through exercise were later explained. Exercise was
thought to direct a young woman’s “energy” toward behavior that would occupy her time in
pleasurable pursuits instead of “mischievous escapades.” Athletic involvement also “serv[ed] to
strengthen the character by developing qualities in which women are often deficient,” such as
“self-reliance,” making “quick decisions,” and the cultivation of “a cool head, a quick eye and
muscles under control,” characteristics historically not associated with femininity.19 The article
was meant to encourage respectable women to pursue physical activity that had been scorned by
the wealthy middle and upper classes. It addressed the physical and mental benefits of exercise,
though arguably in the form of a backhanded compliment, and represented the trend that young
women were becoming and should become more involved in sports from which they had been
barred because of their gender. Whether he read it or not, Theodore Roosevelt obviously agreed
with the arguments discussed in this article, as shown by his encouragement for his own
daughters to become more physically active in their own lives.
As young children, Alice and Ethel Roosevelt received very similar initiations into
physical activity as their brothers. In addition to their Sunday morning climbs, Alice and her
brothers engaged in other outdoor activities with their father. Roosevelt describes one occasion
where he took the three oldest children sled-riding in the winter of 1893, an activity that they
“thoroughly enjoyed.”20 On the Fourth of July that same year, Alice surprised her father by
declaring that she wanted to look more like a boy. Theodore explained in a letter to Bamie that
“Alice, envying Ted’s appearance, announced a strong desire that she too might have her hair cut
and wear trousers,” indicating that she may have begun to realize that there were different codes
19
C. de Hurst, “THE ADVANTAGES OF EXERCISE FOR WOMEN,” Harper’s Bazaar, February 6, 1897, p.108.
Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Harper’s Bazaar (1867-1912), March 23, 2013.
20
Theodore Roosevelt to Anna Roosevelt Cowles, Washington DC, 9 January 1893, in Letters, 124-125.
36
of behavior for young men and young women and was yearning for the freedom of boyhood.21
From the letter it is not clear whether Roosevelt allowed Alice to wear boy’s clothes or cut her
hair, although it seems unlikely. A measure that drastic would surely have led to a follow-up
letter to Bamie detailing Alice’s exploits as a tomboy.
In her autobiography, Crowded Hours, Alice Roosevelt recollected summer swims at
Sagamore Hill. She explained that Edith and Theodore taught the children how to swim,
sometimes by throwing their children into very deep water so that they could learn naturally.
Alice recalled some particular trying moments at Oyster Bay.
I could swim perfectly well but I hated to dive. I can see Father treading water a few feet
away from the float, upon the edge of which I crouched trembling, saying, “Dive, Alice;
now, dive!” in a voice of increasing sternness. I would…plop in after minutes of
hesitation, terror of him finally overcoming my terror of the water. The family used to
say that after a diving lesson my tears made a perceptible rise in the tide.22
Although this memory portrays Theodore Roosevelt as an insensitive father, forcing his young
daughter to jump against her will, it is indicative of his desire for his children to overcome their
own fears, a trait that he himself stimulated as a frail child.
In addition to other forms of exercise, the girls were taught how to ride horses, one of the
very few forms of exercise in which their mother participated.23 Ethel wrote to her brother
Kermit about coming home from school so that he could go riding with the family out to Dr.
Rixey’s farm on November 16, 1902.24 In another letter to Kermit, Ethel described riding with
their father by herself. Later she expressed the added surprise of receiving stilts in which to walk
around the White House but admitted that she “can not walk up and down stairs with them well
though.”25 In March, Ethel wrote to Kermit about her gym class and how much she was enjoying
21
Theodore Roosevelt to Anna Roosevelt Cowles, 17 July 1884, in Letters From Theodore Roosevelt to Anna
Roosevelt Cowles, 1870-1918 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1924), 129-130.
22
Alice Roosevelt, Crowded Hours (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1933), 5.
23
Theodore Roosevelt to Kermit Roosevelt, White House, 5 October 1902, in Letters to Kermit, 18.
24
Ethel Roosevelt to Kermit Roosevelt, White House, 16 November 1902, folder ECD/Kermit Roosevelt 1902 in
Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard University.
25
Ethel Roosevelt to Kermit Roosevelt, White House, 13 January 1903, folder ECD/Kermit Roosevelt Jan-Mar
1903, in Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard University.
37
a new exercise that they were trying, calling it “splendid.”26 Clearly, the desire for a “strenuous
life” full of physical activity was instilled into Theodore Roosevelt’s daughters as well as his
sons.
Swimming and horseback riding were both considered suitable exercises for young
women. In an article by Dr. Emma E. Walker in the Washington Post in 1905 entitled
“SWIMMING AND RIDING AS SPORTS FOR GIRLS,” the author lauds both activities as
physically stimulating and full of health benefits. Both swimming and riding exercise the lungs
and the legs and allow the body to be “invigorated and rejuvenated.” The article stressed that
swimmers should avoid eating right before and right after swimming, and “never swim when you
are tired.” Despite the utility of horseback riding, Dr. Walker cautioned women about using a
man’s saddle because “it is claimed, with good reason, that considerable injury may be caused by
this method of riding,” and that women should instead opt to ride side saddle.27 It is clear from
this article that Alice and Ethel’s exercises were shared among other girls at the time. Though
girls were encouraged to pursue physical activity, it appears that the literature pertaining to
women’s exercise was very cautionary in order to protect the female athlete from unnecessary
competition, overexertion or possible injury. This caution was probably due to the relative
newness of the women’s athletic craze. However, the fact that young women were being
encouraged by outside sources to pursue exercise, even if somewhat limited by slow changing
gender expectations, gives credence to the claim that Alice and Ethel Roosevelt’s physical
activities were important to their athletically vigorous father.
Camping and Hunting
Where better to display the “primal” instincts associated with new masculinity than out in
the wilderness? Camping became a great way to juxtapose man’s desire to control nature with
nature’s power over man. In an 1896 article by the Chicago Daily Tribune entitled “Hints on
Camping Out,” the author described the camping craze that had overcome the people of Chicago
and provided useful tips about appropriate dress, proper gear, and the correct procedures for
26
Ethel Roosevelt to Kermit Roosevelt, White House, 11 March 1903, folder ECD/Kermit Roosevelt Jan-Mar 1903,
in Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard University.
27
Dr. Emma E. Walker, “SWIMMING AND RIDING AS SPORTS FOR GIRLS,” Washington Post, August 6,
1905, p. SP4. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1996), March 23,
2013. I am unable to find any biographical information about Dr. Emma E. Walker except that she was a frequent
writer for the Ladies Home Journal and Washington Post about health issues and nutrition.
38
making a fire and finding suitable drinking water for the duration of the camping trip. The most
important part of the article stressed that “what the average man longs for is the tent, and the bed
of fragrant boughs, and the appetite that nothing but camp life gives,” because the most restful
type of vacation, according to the article, was for man and his family to “go back to old Mother
Nature for his recreation.”28 Clearly Chicagoans with the means to retreat outside the city limits
were more and more likely to choose outdoor recreation, even if their excessive/fashionable gear
did not exactly qualify them as “roughing it” in the wilderness.
Of course, Theodore Roosevelt was imbued with a penchant for camping during his
hunting trips as a young man and his foray into ranching as a widower. He imparted his love for
the outdoors to his children, especially to his sons. In his published accounts of the Roosevelt
family life, Ted alluded to the all-male camping trips that would become legendary in the
American press.29 An apprehensive opening of a New York Times article on July 19, 1905,
declared that “the wherea-bouts of the President of the United States to-night is more uncertain
that at any time since his bear hunting ex-peditions in the wilds of the Rocky Mountains this
Spring.” The author placated the audience later by claiming that the President had merely taken
a group of ten young men camping somewhere along the coast of Long Island. After providing a
list of all of the boys in attendance, the author went on to describe the purpose of the expedition:
“the dominat-ing idea of these excursions is merely to give the President’s children the healthy
outdoor life the President enjoyed for so many years in the West, and to have everybody in the
party get an object lesson in ‘roughing it.’”30 A week later another article in the Times printed
that Roosevelt and his sons and nephews had again gone on an overnight camp. The author
alluded to rumors that Mrs. Roosevelt and other ladies had accompanied the men, but ultimately
claimed that “the statement was without foundation.”31 Even though women were encouraged to
go camping in the “Hints on Camping Out” article previously mentioned, Theodore Roosevelt
28
“HINTS ON CAMPING OUT: American Summer Recreation More Popular than Ever,” Chicago Daily Tribune,
July 5, 1896, 18. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune (1849-1989), February 19,
2013.
29
Theodore Roosevelt III, All in the Family, 101.
30
“ROOSEVELT OFF CAMPING WITH TEN YOUNGSTERS: Flotilla of Four Bound for the Cape of Happy
Chance,” New York Times, July 19, 1905, 1. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York
Times (1851-2008), November 3, 2012.
31
“ROOSEVELT CAMPING AGAIN: The President Spent the Night with Sons and Nephews,” New York Times,
July 27, 1905, 1. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2008),
November 3, 2012.
39
seemed eager to keep up the tradition of all-male camping trips up Long Island Sound,
excursions that would toughen up the young men who accompanied him.
As a testament to his own penchant for shooting wild animals, Theodore Roosevelt made
sure that each of his six children received their very own gun. On one occasion, Roosevelt
brought home a new rifle for his oldest son, Ted, when Ted was nine years old. It was too dark
outside to practice when Ted received the rifle, so Roosevelt let Ted shoot the rifle into a ceiling
at Sagamore Hill, making him promise not to tell Edith of their shenanigans.32
The boys were eager to follow their father out into the woods to shoot at live targets,
whereas the girls were content to fire and aim at man-made boards. While it may seem odd that
Roosevelt allowed his daughters to own and operate their own guns, evidence from the time
period suggests that women were more than capable of accurately shooting at targets. A
shooting contest in Pinehurst, North Carolina, in 1904, for example, gave a trophy to “Mrs. M.C.
Beebe of Pittsburg, Penn., shooting with a handicap of 75.”33 Women’s participation in shooting
contests may have promoted shooting exercises for young women in America.
Roosevelt took immense pride in his boys’ hunting escapades. On November 29, 1896,
Roosevelt once again wrote to Bamie about the children’s excursions, explaining that Ted had
gone on a ten-mile hike with Roosevelt and his friend when they ended up treeing a possum.
Kermit came out to witness the possum’s demise, making it “the first time he had ever seen a
fellow shot,” and reported that he “much approved of it.”34
When the boys grew older, Roosevelt made sure that each of them was required to go
hunting, usually in the West, just as their father had done twenty years before.35 On August 29,
1902, Ted travelled with a railroad president to Chicago to catch another train to the Black Hills
of South Dakota.36 In the winter of 1903, both Ted and Kermit went hunting with the son of
32
Joan Paterson Kerr, A Bully Father (New York: Random House, 1995), 46 quoted in Edward J. Renehan, Jr., The
Lion’s Pride: Theodore Roosevelt and his Family in Peace and War (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998),
73-74.
33
“WOMEN IN SHOOTING MATCH: Mrs. Beebe Wins Pistol Contest at Pinehurst – Many Players on the Golf
Links,” New York Times, February 7, 1904, 18. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York
Times (1851-2009), February 19, 2013.
34
Theodore Roosevelt to Anna Roosevelt Cowles, Sagamore Hill, 29 November 1896, in Letters, 198-199.
35
Herman Hagedorn, The Roosevelt Family of Sagamore Hill (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1954), 263.
36
“Trip of Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.” New York Times, August 30, 1902, 1. Accessed through ProQuest Historical
Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2008), November 3, 2012.
40
Roosevelt’s ranch-hand and hunting guide in Maine.37 Archie also made a hunting trip to the
West in 1910. Roosevelt recognized that Archie’s hunting experience was probably full of more
fun and gaiety than his own ordeal in the Dakotas. In a letter to Ted, Roosevelt explained that “I
think the Black Hills have changed a good deal since your day, and even since Kermit’s and that
[Archie] is merely having a bunny time with a Groton playmate.”38 The most famous of the
hunting expeditions was Theodore’s trip with Kermit to Africa in the spring of 1909. Kermit and
Roosevelt were avidly followed as they shot big game on their safari, even though Roosevelt was
no longer president.
Football
Later, other organized sports became the talk of the Roosevelt household. When Ted was
sent to Groton for secondary schooling, he joined the football team. Edith Roosevelt wrote a
letter to Emily, her sister, about one of Ted’s more violent injuries: “On Friday came a note from
Mr. Peabody to say that Ted had broken his collar bone…[He] is hurt…and I am not inclined to
regret because [Ted] is out of football for the season.”39 This letter shows that Edith was not
altogether fond of her son’s choice to try out for the football team. Ted’s injuries were more
pronounced when he began playing football at Harvard. In the New York Times article,
“ROOSEVELT NOSE STRAIGHT: President's Son Helped by Blow in a Football Game,” on
November 25, 1905, the author commented that Ted was lucky in his most recent injury during
the Harvard-v-Yale game to have the crook in his nose straightened after a rough tackle.40
Unfortunately for Edith, Kermit followed in his brother’s footsteps when he went to
Groton a few years later. Concerned about Kermit’s adjustment to school, Theodore wrote to
Kermit on September 25, 1902, asking whether he had tried out for the football team.41 A year
later, Roosevelt congratulated Kermit on making the football team but went further to add some
37
“ROOSEVELT BOYS TO HUNT: Will Go Into the Maine Woods with the Sons of Men Who Guided the
President.” New York Times, February 24, 1903, 1. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New
York Times (1851-2008), November 3, 2012.
38
Theodore Roosevelt to Theodore Roosevelt Jr., New York, 23 August 1910, in Container 3, TRJr/LOC, quoted in
Renehan, The Lion’s Pride, 73.
39
Edith Kermit Carrow Roosevelt to Emily Carrow, Washington DC, Monday, 21 (presumably October 1901), file
28, letter box 11, bMS AM 1834.1 (305), Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard University.
40
“ROOSEVELT NOSE STRAIGHT: President's Son Helped by Blow in a Football Game.” New York Times,
November 25, 1905, 1. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2008),
November 3, 2012.
41
Theodore Roosevelt to Kermit Roosevelt, Washington DC, 25 September 1902, in Letters to Kermit, 17.
41
personal insight about his masculine vision for his sons. He explained to Kermit that he thought
that organized sports took up too much time in college life; however,
I do like to feel that you are manly and able to hold your own in rough, hardy sports. I
would rather have a boy of mine stand high in his studies than high in athletics, but I
would a good deal rather have him show true manliness of character than show either
intellectual or physical prowess; and I believe you and Ted both bid fair to develop just
such character.42
Although he did not explicitly state what “true manliness of character” was, Roosevelt’s
insistence that involvement in the tough sport of football showed that exercise was key to
achieving this manliness of character. Sometimes Roosevelt pushed his sons too hard with his
determination that they live up to his expectations for him. Ted was so overwhelmed with
pressure to follow his father’s teachings that he became ill at Groton, seemingly the result of a
nervous breakdown.43 Roosevelt obviously did not want to make his son and namesake ill;
nevertheless, all of the Roosevelt boys felt a keen desire to prove their masculinity the way that
their father had. His sons may not have achieved true manliness yet, but their roles on their
respective football teams indicated that they were on the correct path to doing so.
Roosevelt’s amusement with the game of football was evident within his own family, but
it eventually became recognized on a national level. College and university presidents met on
several different occasions in 1905 with President Roosevelt at a conference at the White House
in order to discuss necessary changes to football in order to make the game safer for the players.
In 1905 alone, eighteen players were killed in college football, and 159 were “seriously
injured.”44 With no overarching governing body to regulate the sport, Cornell University’s
president Jacob Gould Schurman expressed his belief that “the only person in the country able to
bring about the reforms was President Roosevelt.”45 Schurman was quoted further saying that
other college presidents were not able to lead reform discussions but that everyone involved did
42
Theodore Roosevelt to Kermit Roosevelt, Washington DC, 2 October 1903, in Letters to Kermit, 42-43.
Hagedorn, Roosevelt Family of Sagamore Hill, 50; Dalton, Theodore Roosevelt, 223-224.
44
“FOOTBALL SAFER; LESS MEN KILLED: Record of 11 Dead and 103 Injured is Marked Decrease from
Carnage of Last Year,” Chicago Daily Tribune, November 25, 1906, 1. Accessed through ProQuest Historical
Newspapers: Chicago Tribune (1849-1989), May 7, 2013.
45
“ONLY ROOSEVELT CAN CHANGE GAME: Cornell’s President Declares Executive Fitted to Urge Football
Reforms,” Chicago Daily Tribune, October 12, 1905, 2. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers:
Chicago Tribune (1849-1989), May 7, 2013.
43
42
“unite in praise to President Roosevelt for his interest in this important matter, and the reforms
which under his initiation are bound to ensue.”46 On December 4, 1905, another White House
conference was held between Harvard’s football coach and Roosevelt. The author of the article
“FOOTBALL CONFERENCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE: Harvard’s Coach Meets President to
Discuss Game,” in the New York Times claimed that Roosevelt desperately wanted more safety
requirements and precautions for college football since there had been so many casualties,
causing some of the American public to call for an end to the sport.47 Roosevelt’s collaboration
with university presidents did have a marginally positive impact on the sport: there were only
eleven deaths and 103 injuries in the 1906 season, as opposed to the eighteen deaths and the 159
injuries in the 1905 season before the conferences could have an effect.48 President Roosevelt’s
interest and interference into the game of football provided ample material for satirists to utilize
in their drawings.
Several political cartoons emphasized Theodore Roosevelt’s fascination with football by
caricaturing him as a football player or referee. In R.D. Handy’s illustration in the Duluth News
Tribune, Roosevelt is clad in a helmet and padding (most likely made out of leather), running
with a football toward an elephant and a donkey who attempt to block him from scoring a
touchdown. The goal post in the background has a flag that says “Third Term,” and the caption
that goes with the cartoon says “WILL HE GET THROUGH THE LINE?” suggesting that
Roosevelt is trying to run away from a third term. He carries a football emblazoned “Private
Life,” despite proponents of both parties trying to stop his flight.49
46
Ibid.
“FOOTBALL CONFERENCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE: Harvard’s Coach Meets President to Discuss Game,”
New York Times, December 5, 1905, 11. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times
(1851-2009), May 7, 2013.
48
“FOOTBALL SAFER; LESS MEN KILLED,” Chicago Daily Tribune, November 25, 1906, 1. Accessed through
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune (1849-1989), February 19, 2013.
49
R.D. Handy, “WILL HE GET THROUGH THE LINE?,” Duluth News Tribune, in T.R. in Cartoon, by Raymond
Gros (Akron, Ohio: The Saalfield Publishing Co., 1910), 84. As a general point of clarification, Gros’s compilation
of various political cartoons from around the world, while enlightening, does not include publication dates for the
individual cartoons. Since the book was copyrighted in 1910, it is safe to say that all of the cartoons were published
before 1910. This particular cartoon was most likely published in the months leading up to the election in 1908,
before William Howard Taft was nominated as the Republican candidate for the presidency. My analysis of the
cartoon may be incorrect: perhaps the elephant and the donkey are really trying to stop Roosevelt from seeking a
third term. But the image shows Roosevelt clearly running away from the goal post labeled “Third Term.” The
only disconcerting part for me is the Democratic donkey’s effort to block Roosevelt. Roosevelt was indeed
extremely popular and some of his policies were more closely aligned with the Democratic platform than the
Republican, but it does seem extremely odd that the donkey would want Roosevelt to seek a third term. My only
47
43
Figure 2A: R.D. Handy, “WILL HE GET THROUGH THE LINE?” Duluth
News Tribune.
explanation is that the donkey represents some of the close friends of Roosevelt within the Democratic Party, or
maybe the more conservative Democrats. See Figure 2A.
44
Another cartoon shows Theodore Roosevelt excitedly watching two football players
labeled “House” and “Senate,” both scrambling over the football labeled “Legislation.”
Roosevelt is wearing a suit and a top hat and is accompanied by a small furry bear (recurrent in
Roosevelt cartoons after Roosevelt’s unsuccessful bear hunt in Mississippi gave rise to the
“Teddy” bear). The bear is jumping on a cushiony surface. The caption reads “THE KIND OF
FOOTBALL HE’D LIKE TO SEE,” implying that Roosevelt would love nothing more than for
the House and the Senate to compete in passing his proposed legislation.50
Figure 2B: C.K.
Berryman, “THE
KIND OF
FOOTBALL
HE’D LIKE TO
SEE,” Washington
Evening Star.
50
C.K. Berryman, “THE KIND OF FOOTBALL HE’D LIKE TO SEE,” Washington Evening Star, in T.R. in
Cartoon, 119. See Figure 2B.
45
In another cartoon, Roosevelt is wearing a sweater with a big “H” on it, presumably for
Harvard, as he looms larger than life over a pile of football players scrambling to come up with a
hidden football. Roosevelt has a whistle in his mouth and is carrying his “Big Stick” in his left
hand. His sweater sports a tag that says “Referee.” The pile of football players is contained by
the words “Massed Plays,” while a man walks toward the pile carrying two buckets: one says
“Arnica” and one says “Dope.”51 The cartoon could be referring to a number of instances during
Roosevelt’s presidency. Perhaps the pile of players represents politicians. Or maybe the players
are members of the international community and Roosevelt has to act as a referee between them,
much as he did in his peace negotiations between Russia and Japan in 1905. Another possible
explanation is that the cartoon refers to Roosevelt’s conferences with university presidents
suggesting that they make the sport of football safer in order to avoid fatal injuries.52 Regardless
of the context, what is clear is that Roosevelt was nationally recognized as a supporter of
football, a sport venerated (and sometimes scorned) for its excessive roughness and brutality,
traits that align with the passionate masculinity of the late nineteenth century. These three
cartoons portray the football field as representations of Roosevelt’s political career, one that
Americans from Duluth, Minnesota, Washington D.C., and Columbus, Ohio could appreciate.
Conclusion
While Theodore Roosevelt was creating an image of pure masculinity for himself, he was
also simultaneously attempting to inculcate in his children the same types of values that would
enable them to adhere to his tenets of the strenuous life. The fact that Roosevelt paid a large
amount of attention to his two daughters indicates that he desired to teach all of his children,
regardless of sex, to fend for themselves and combat the languid lifestyle of traditional
domesticity. This fact is important because it is clear that fathers were encouraged to befriend
51
W.A. Ireland, “ROOSEVELT AND FOOTBALL,” Columbus Dispatch, in T.R. in Cartoon, 283. The labels on
the buckets probably refer to arnica cream which was a common pain reliever in the early 1900s. Dope is also
probably a pain reliever. Also, the quote at the bottom of this cartoon is most likely fabricated, or at the very least,
comes from a different source than Roosevelt’s Harvard address in 1907. Upon studying said Harvard address,
Roosevelt’s catchphrase, “Don’t flinch, don’t foul, and hit the line hard,” appears nowhere within the text.
However, that particular phrase does appear in a different collegiate address a year earlier when Roosevelt spoke at
Georgetown College’s commencement. The article “DON’T FLINCH, HIT HARD, THE PRESIDENT’S
ADVICE,” in the New York Times from June 15, 1906 ends with the “Don’t flinch, don’t foul,” line, but does not
include the first sentence of the quote used beneath the cartoon. Neither the Harvard address nor the Georgetown
address shed light on the man carrying the Arnica and Dope buckets in the cartoon. See Figure 2C.
52
Conference recounted in Christopher Klein’s “How Teddy Roosevelt Saved Football,” History Channel, accessed
January 26, 2013, http://www.history.com/news/how-teddy-roosevelt-saved-football . Also see fns. 44-48.
46
Figure 2C: W.A. Ireland, “ROOSEVELT AND FOOTBALL,”
Columbus Dispatch.
47
their sons however, it is not certain that they were willing or able to do so with their daughters.53
Roosevelt’s interest and attention to all of his children exhibited the characteristics of the
historical label of masculine domesticity.
Although masculine domesticity applies to some aspects of Roosevelt’s approach to
fatherhood, it does not explain all of them. Roosevelt openly admitted that Edith needed to
control the family’s finances because he was incapable of saving money, suggesting that he was
not fully in control of every facet of his home life. Also, Roosevelt’s frequent career changes
meant that he was often away from his family for weeks or months at a time. He was not able to
be a devoted father during his times of absence, a fact which may explain his proclivity to play
so heartily with his children when he was available.
Even though Roosevelt did his best to befriend his children, he also pushed them to
achieve more than they might otherwise have hoped, adding tremendous pressure to their young
lives. Alice’s recollection of diving into the water and Ted’s nervous breakdown indicate that
Roosevelt may have been overzealous in his approach to manly parenting.
Despite some shortcomings in Theodore Roosevelt’s role as a father, it is clear that he did
try to attend to all of his children, albeit probably more to his sons than to his daughters. His
ideas of achieving outward masculinity are reflected in his endeavors to teach his children how
to ride horses, shoot guns, and play football. Like any ideal father, Roosevelt felt that it was his
duty to prepare his children for the harsh reality of the real world. His lessons in hard work and
resolve were most certainly meant as a way for his sons and daughters to have direction for their
actions. Roosevelt’s reasoning for his particular method of fatherhood, pushing his children to
achieve more and not be satisfied with societal expectations of them, is summed up in his letter
to Kermit in the last year of his presidency:
In this life, no matter how much energy and ability and foresight we show, we are often
certain to be trampled upon by men and events. We are often defeated under
circumstances where all our courage and ability do not enable us to cope…The only way
53
Margaret Marsh, “Suburban Men and Masculine Domesticity, 1870-1915,” in Carnes and Griffen, Meanings for
Manhood, 112, 122.
48
to come out ahead is not wantonly to court defeat where by the exercise of ordinary
prudence and forethought and skill and resolution it is possible to be sure of victory.54
54
Theodore Roosevelt to Kermit Roosevelt, White House, 15 March 1908, in Letters to Kermit, 236-237.
49
CHAPTER 3: DEMOCRATIZING THE FIRST FAMILY
Around her nineteenth birthday, Ethel Roosevelt took a trip to see the American continent
without her family, most likely out west where her brothers had gone before her. In a letter to
Theodore Roosevelt, Ethel wrote of camping and of the various people she encountered on her
trip. Even though Ethel was writing to her father in August of 1910, a year and a half after
Roosevelt left the White House, she remarked that “I make a great hit as your daughter. It’s
extraordinary to see how interested everyone is in you.”1 Although probably written as an
offhanded comment, Ethel Roosevelt unintentionally revealed that Americans were still familiar
with their former president and that they were also very much aware of, and perhaps concerned
about, the actions of his children. It is almost certain that Ethel was treated very well on her
camping trip and that her treatment may have been the result of her parentage.
Theodore Roosevelt’s family had been one of the most boisterous in Washington in the
early twentieth century, and the press had been quick to publish pictures and stories regarding the
actions of the First Family. Newspapers from 1901 to 1909 were filled with President
Roosevelt’s politics but were also just as likely to reveal a comical anecdote of one of his six
children. Over the course of his presidential tenure, each individual Roosevelt family member
became a celebrity in his or her own right. News coverage of the family’s parties, illnesses, and
activities in Washington and around the country served to evoke American sympathy and
support for the members of the First Family.
Why Are the Roosevelts Different?
The occupants of the White House have always been the subject of media attention. Both
praise and scrutiny have followed the president and his family since George Washington first
took the oath of office, even if he never actually lived in the famed residence. The First Family
of America becomes a public entity as soon as the inauguration is over; their personalities, pets,
fashions, and feuds are almost impossible to keep private. According to one historian, “The
American people will examine even mundane aspects of a [presidential] relative’s life and often
turn them into national models of behavior worth emulating – or not emulating,” and use the
1
Ethel Roosevelt to Theodore Roosevelt, c. August 1910, folder ECD/Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt
Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard University.
50
family members as symbols for personal and/or national triumphs or pitfalls.2 In this respect, it
is clear that every occupant of the White House has received the attention of the media simply by
association with the office that put them there. In the one hundred-odd years of the history of the
White House to 1901, Theodore Roosevelt’s family had several unique characteristics that may
have made the press more interested in the first First Family of the twentieth century.
Of the historical realities about the Roosevelts in the White House that separated them
from their First Family predecessors, one of the most obvious is that the family constituted the
largest First Family in American history; Theodore, Edith, Alice, Ted, Kermit, Ethel, Archie, and
Quentin, made eight permanent occupants, not to mention their various pets. Not only were the
Roosevelts the largest First Family, but Theodore Roosevelt was (and still is) also the youngest
person to ever hold the office of President of the United States. The American public was eager
to see how such a man, largely untested in national politics, would perform in the highest office
of the land. The fact that he had six rambunctious children made Theodore Roosevelt all the
more appealing to the press.
Roosevelt was also extremely popular in his own right. In an article published by The
Ladies’ Home Journal, author Lyman Abbott, a Congregationalist minister turned editor,
publisher and Progressive, expressed his own beliefs about why Theodore Roosevelt was the
most popular American president to date. He explained that of the seven previous presidents
who had been elected for two terms of office, “no one of these men had a more widespread
popularity in his lifetime than Mr. Roosevelt. Whether Mr. Roosevelt’s will be as enduring as
Thomas Jefferson’s and Abraham Lincoln’s only time can show. But it has overleaped all the
bounds which are common impediments to popular esteem.” The rest of the article described
how Roosevelt made himself palatable to the American public. In a section of the article entitled
“Why Americans Believe in the President,” Abbott declares that “they believe in him because of
his idealism, his courage, his self-control, his patient, practical temper, his democratic
sympathies. They believe in him and trust him because he believes in them and trusts them.”3
Theodore Roosevelt clearly won the affections of the American public on his own, but his family
2
Carl Sferrazza Anthony, America’s First Families: An Inside View of 200 Years of Private Life in the White House
(New York: Touchstone by Simon & Schuster, 2000), 15.
3
Lyman Abbott, “Why the President is So Popular,” The Ladies’ Home Journal, October 1905, Vol. XXII, p. 11.
Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Ladies Home Journal, February 6, 2013.
51
life, though not discussed in Abbott’s article, was not a hindrance to his popularity. The press
coverage that individual Roosevelt family members garnered could only aid in the President’s
likability.
The eight members of the Roosevelt family needed to be housed comfortably in
Washington but were distressed to see that the dilapidated “Executive Mansion” did not have
enough private living space or bedrooms to accommodate the large family. Edith Roosevelt
headed the restoration of the Executive Mansion, separating the public rooms from the private
ones, and advocating for the creation of the West Wing where presidential duties could be
performed without becoming onerous to the family. The renovation lasted roughly six months
and cost $467,105.60 in 1902.4
Despite Theodore Roosevelt’s national popularity and the various demographic qualities
that differentiated the family from previous occupants of the White House, Theodore and Edith
Roosevelt desired that their family would be treated (and maybe constructed to resemble or
model) any other American family at the turn of the twentieth century. The Roosevelts went out
of their way to present themselves as regular American citizens. For starters, they re-christened
the Executive Mansion with the less formal name of the “White House,” making the impression
that the President was not part of an aristocracy that prided itself on pompous residences. The
“White House” was a nod to democratic and egalitarian ideals.5 Secondly, the Roosevelt boys
went to public schools. Alice had refused a public or private education, opting instead for a tutor,
while Ethel went to a private religious day-school in Washington DC.6 Making the decision to
have most of their children educated alongside other American children reinforced the egalitarian
image that the Roosevelts desired. Other evidence that the Roosevelts could be considered
“normal” American citizens included exposes on the numerous pets of the Roosevelt White
House, family illnesses, fashion, and personal triumphs, all of which were subjected to neverending media attention. It appears that Theodore and Edith Roosevelt consciously sought to
protect their family from being corrupted by too much popular attention. However, the
American press also added to the artifice that the Roosevelts were just a more well-recognized
4
William Seale, ed. The White House: Actors and Observers (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2002), 120.
Tom Lansford, “Edith Roosevelt and the 1902 White House Renovation,” in Life in the White House, ed. Robert P.
Watson (Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 2004), 261.
6
Carol Felsenthal, Alice Roosevelt Longworth (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1988), 53, and Herman Hagedorn,
The Roosevelt Family of Sagamore Hill (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1954), 248.
5
52
version of the family next door. America’s First Family was fashioned as exactly the type of
upstanding family that any citizen would be proud to know.
Family Pictures
There are several family pictures of the Roosevelts that have the children arranged
around their parents. One in particular, taken in 1903 at their Sagamore Hill home, shows all of
the Roosevelts: Edith and Theodore Roosevelt are sitting; Alice is in the back, center; Ted and
Kermit surround their oldest sister; Ethel is on the far right next to Edith; Quentin on the far left
next to Theodore; and Archie on Theodore’s knee in the center.7 The time and the context in
which these photographs were taken is very important in deciphering larger cultural ideologies.
The mere fact that the Roosevelt children are surrounding their parents, who occupy the center of
the picture, indicates that the photograph was taken before white Americans were plagued with
fear at the thought of race suicide. When white Americans began to take interest in their
declining birth rates, larger families started to arrange family portraits in a row by height. The
differences in the children’s height showed both the number of children in a family as well as the
frequency with which they were born.8 Although it is well known that Theodore Roosevelt was
an ardent advocate for the increase in, and advancement of, Caucasian Americans, the
photographs of his family taken in the early twentieth century convey that he may not have
concerned himself with more conscious ways of displaying and arranging his family to align
with his beliefs.
An important photography craze occurred during the early twentieth century where
photographers were keen on taking photos of children with their toys and/or pets. On January
25, 1903, an article called “The Art of Photographing Children,” appeared in the Chicago Daily
Tribune. The article, complete with eight photographs and two illustrations of amiable children,
insisted that the only way to guarantee an attractive, “natural,” looking picture of a child was to
practice “unconscious photography.” The photographer could distract the child with toys or a
story and then choose a particular moment to take a picture, rather than have the child fix his or
her attention on a toy bird next to the cameraman, which produced “an unnatural stare.” The
7
“Roosevelt family portrait,” ca. 1903. 541.51-001, Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard
University. See Figure 3A.
8
Laura L. Lovett, Conceiving the Future: Pronatalism, Reproduction, and the Family in the United States, 18901938 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2007), 95.
53
Figure 3A: “Roosevelt family portrait at Sagamore Hill”, ca. 1903.
article guaranteed that a quality photo of a child could be obtained if the child was made to feel
at ease.9 Several years later another article published in the Chicago Daily Tribune explained
that in Chicago, children were more willing to be the subject of photographs when they could act
naturally with their dolls, boats, blocks, cats, or dogs. The article contained twenty-six separate
photographs of children alongside their precious playthings. The author explained that “when
children are taken with their toys and pets[,] they look as happy and contented as children can
look…they are no longer shy nor dread the camera. For the toy or pet…awakens a great variety
9
“The Art of Photographing Children,” Chicago Daily Tribune, Jan 25, 1903, A5. Accessed through ProQuest
Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune, February 19, 2013.
54
of expressions, moods, and positions difficult to be awakened any other way.”10 Chicago’s
photographers seemed pleased with the more personal turn toward recognizing the true meaning
of childhood. This new method of photography was demonstrated in the personal photographs of
the Roosevelt family.
There are a few photographs taken of the Roosevelt children with their toys and pets that
have been kept in the Theodore Roosevelt Collection at Harvard University. A photo of Ethel,
Kermit and Ted Roosevelt at Sagamore Hill shows them playing with their pet guinea pigs.11
Two more photographs show Archie and Quentin riding a bicycle and a tricycle, respectively, at
the White House.12 Still another family photograph shows Ethel Roosevelt on the White House
lawn reading a book in her lap.13 None of these family photographs show the Roosevelt children
smiling, but perhaps the unending media attention to the Roosevelts made the family weary of
posed pictures.
Roosevelt family photos were especially important in September of 1901 when Roosevelt
assumed the office of President of the United States. Immediately upon taking his oath of office,
Theodore Roosevelt and his family became the highlight of many major newspapers. On
September 15, 1901, the Chicago Daily Tribune wrote extensively about the first family; their
athletic activities, their school work, their talents. However, the Tribune made it clear that
Theodore and Edith Roosevelt were raising typical American children and that they were
“radically opposed” to revealing their private family life to the media.
Mrs. Roosevelt has on several occasions plainly expressed her disapprobation of anything
which would have a tendency to make her children think themselves of any importance to
the public. That they have profited by this sensible view of their position is
evident…They are reported on all hands to be simply hearty, healthy, young Americans,
10
“Photographing Children at Play With Joy and Pets Is Latest Fad in Chicago,” Chicago Daily Tribune, Nov 1,
1908, G4. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune, February 19, 2013.
11
“Kermit, Ethel, and Ted with guinea pigs,” ca. 1901, Roosevelt R500.R67-064, Theodore Roosevelt Collection,
Houghton Library, Harvard University. See Figure 3B.
12
Frances Benjamin Johnston, “Archie on a bike,” ca. 1902, 570.R67ar-002, Theodore Roosevelt Collection,
Houghton Library, Harvard University; “[Quentin(?)] at White House. About 1902-4,” ca. 1902-1904, R500.R67066, Theodore Roosevelt Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard University. See Figure 3C and 3D.
13
Francis B. Johnston, “Ethel Roosevelt at the White House,” ca. 1902, 570.R67e-002, Theodore Roosevelt
Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard University. See Figure 3E.
55
entirely without self-consciousness or even a suspicion of any right to fame on the score
of being their father’s children.14
On his first day in office, President Theodore Roosevelt’s children were already being marketed
as the epitome of American spirit and virtue.
Almost two weeks later, Harper’s Weekly printed a laudatory article on President
Roosevelt and his family, complete with pictures of Edith and all six children. Most of the
article detailed the accomplishments of America’s youngest-to-date president. At the end of the
piece, however, Harper’s Weekly echoed the earlier sentiments of the Chicago Daily Tribune by
entreating Americans to befriend the president and his family, declaring that “his whole family
stand for what is most patriotic, healthy, and dignified in Americanism… It is encouraging to
Americans all over the country to see such a man at their head, and such a family making the old
Figure 3B: “Kermit, Ethel,
and Ted with guinea
pigs,” ca. 1901.
14
“CHILDREN AGAIN IN THE WHITE HOUSE. President Roosevelt’s Family of Six Soon to Invade Historic
Structure,” Chicago Daily Tribune, Sept 15, 1901, 6. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago
Tribune (1849-1989), January 26, 2013.
56
Figure 3C: “Archie on bike at
White House,” ca. 1902.
Figure 3D: “[Quentin
(?)] on bike at White
House,” ca. 1902-1904.
The Theodore
Roosevelt Collection
labeled this photograph
with a question mark
next to Quentin’s name.
57
Figure 3E: “Ethel with book at White House,” ca. 1902.
White House bright and cheerful.”15 It would appear that the country’s print media had high
hopes for the new president and his large brood of children and held the Roosevelt family in high
regard. As Theodore Roosevelt lived out his tenure in the White House, the Roosevelt family
was followed in the media, despite Edith Roosevelt’s (and maybe Theodore’s as well. He never
flatly stated that he wanted to use his family for positive publicity) personal preference to keep
her family out of the limelight.
15
“President Roosevelt and his Family,” Harper’s Weekly, Sept 28, 1901. Accessed through HarpWeek, Nov 7,
2012 .
58
Illnesses
One of the more interesting expressions of concern in the Roosevelt family was the
attention of the media to each individual’s health. While it may seem natural for newspapers to
be anxious about the health of a president, particularly one who assumed his role after his
predecessor had been tragically assassinated, it seems rather curious that the health of each child
was considered headline news. The New York Times in particular gave an impressive amount of
media attention to the health and well-being of the Roosevelt children. This attention could have
been the result of more friends, family, and acquaintances of the Roosevelts in the New York
City area who would want close coverage of crucial illnesses, or may have served to inform a
broader, even transnational audience.
One of the first instances of the New York Times’s coverage of the health of the Roosevelt
children occurred through much of the first February of President Roosevelt’s tenure. On
February 8, 1902, the Times ran a story about Ted contracting pneumonia while away at school
in Boston. The newspaper interviewed the school’s president, who claimed that Theodore
Roosevelt had told him not to divulge any information on Ted’s health to the press, “because he
[President Roosevelt] considers his son as of no more consequence than the sons of scores of
other families represented at the school.”16 The Times ran another article the same day detailing
Edith Roosevelt’s travel plans to join her son and explaining the possibility of President
Roosevelt making a trip to Boston later in the week. The last two paragraphs of the article talked
about Ted’s “good constitution” and popularity at school.17 The author may have exaggerated
Ted’s influence at Groton, but the inclusion of his amicability portrays the agreeableness of Ted
specifically and the Roosevelt family in general.
The saga of Ted’s pneumonia continued for the next week. On February 9, a gloomy
article declared that Ted’s condition had become severe enough for Theodore Roosevelt also to
travel to Groton.18 Two days later, the ominous headline “THEODORE ROOSEVELT, JR.,
16
“PRESIDENT’S SON ILL WITH PNEUMONIA: Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., Caught Cold and Serious Symptoms
Developed,” New York Times, February 8, 1902, 1. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New
York Times, November 12, 2012.
17
“Front Page 6 – No Title,” New York Times, February 8, 1902, 1. Accessed through ProQuest Historical
Newspapers: The New York Times, November 12, 2012.
18
“PRESIDENT ON WAY TO HIS SON’S BEDSIDE: Young Theodore’s Condition Worse Last Night,” New York
Times, February 9, 1902, 1. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times, November
12, 2012.
59
HAS DOUBLE PNEUMONIA” covered the front page.19 On February 12, the Times explained
that Ted was still very sick, but that he was improving. The newspaper also made note that King
Edward of England had sent an “expression of sympathy and hope for the speedy recovery”
telegram to President Roosevelt.20 Finally, on February 14, it was announced that the
“PRESIDENT’S SON IS SAFE” and was recovering from the worst of his illness.21 While
Ted’s illness was the cause for the publicity, many of the previous articles followed the actions
of the president as he had visited his son, eaten his meals, and met with doctors. Edith Roosevelt
was a dutiful mother who rarely left her son’s bedside. Ted was a largely passive figure in the
articles. His condition spurred the headlines, but the stories covered the movements of his father.
Almost all of the titles of the newspaper articles refer to Ted as the “President’s son” rather than
use his own name, which being the same as his father’s would have been just as recognizable.
While the people of New York City may have genuinely been concerned with the fate of Ted, it
appears that the Times felt it best to include as much information about the elder Theodore
Roosevelt in addition to the updates on Ted’s pneumonia.
A second serious illness plagued the Roosevelt family in 1907. On March 4, 1907, the
Chicago Daily Tribune and the New York Times published stories claiming that Archie Roosevelt
had contracted diphtheria.22 Each day the headlines fluctuated from predicting Archie’s fast
recovery to foreseeing a critical relapse. On March 5, the Washington Post quoted the United
States Surgeon General Presley Marion Rixey as saying that “Archie is getting along nicely. His
condition is not serious, and there is no reason for alarm.”23 Four days later, however, the New
York Times published a special article declaring that there was “FEAR FOR ARCHIE
ROOSEVELT,” as his quarantined room was lit at two o’clock in the morning. The article
19
“THEODORE ROOSEVELT, JR., HAS DOUBLE PNEUMONIA: President’s Family Physician Summoned
from New York,” New York Times, February 11, 1902, 1. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The
New York Times, November 12, 2012.
20
“PRESIDENT’S SON BETTER BUT STILL IN DANGER: The Crisis Expected Within the Next Thirty-six
Hours,” New York Times, February 12, 1902, 1. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York
Times, November 12, 2012.
21
“PRESIDENT’S SON IS SAFE: Mr. Roosevelt Leaves Groton for Washington,” New York Times, February 14,
1902, 1. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times, November 12, 2012.
22
“DIPHTHERIA IN WHITE HOUSE: Archie Roosevelt Stricken and Is Place in Quarantine,” Chicago Daily
Tribune, March 4, 1907, 1. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune, February 23,
2013; “DIPHTHERIA IN WHITE HOUSE: President’s Son Archie Quarantined in Southeast Corner,” New York
Times, March 4, 1907, 1. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times, February 23,
2013.
23
“ARCHIE IS RECOVERING: Condition of President’s Son Not Regarded as Serious,” The Washington Post,
March 5, 1907, 1. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post, February 23, 2013.
60
explained that there were four doctors attending to Archie, one of them being the US Surgeon
General, and that Edith Roosevelt was constantly near her sick son, as she had been with Ted.
The end of the article mentioned the “hundreds of telegrams” that had come in “from all parts of
the country and the President has been deeply affected by these evidences of sympathy of his
friends.”24 After a month of steady updates, Archie’s quarantine was finally lifted on March 29,
1907, certainly a relief to the Roosevelt family, but also, perhaps, for the country.25
One article in particular went above the duty to simply inform Americans of Archie’s
sickness. A New York Times article called, “Young Americans in the White House,” framed
Archie’s diphtheria in a poetic manner that emphasized the humanity of the First Family. The
author explained in the article that since Archie’s illness, a lit bedroom window all through the
night had indicated that all was not well in the President’s home; “That yellow patch of
light…flashed a signal which must touch the hearts and the sympathies of the people
everywhere. Rightly interpreted, it meant that not the President’s son but just a very sick little
boy lay there, watched over by an anxious father and mother, who were held by a fear and
sorrow common to high and low alike.”26 This article lays claim to the marketing of the
Roosevelt family as typical Americans, plagued by the same trials and tribulations that befell
citizens across all backgrounds. Archie Roosevelt’s sickness was indicative that the President
was not immune to worry or familial concern.
These two extremely serious illnesses demonstrate several historical contexts of the early
twentieth century that are different from those for First Families today. For one thing, diphtheria
and pneumonia were very deadly, and more often than not, resulted in fatalities, a fact that is still
true today, but not to the same degree.27 It is also clear that these two instances were only
24
“FEAR FOR ARCHIE ROOSEVELT: At 2 o’Clock This Morning Lights Are Burning in His Room,” New York
Times, March 9, 1907, 1. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times, November 3,
2012.
25
“Quarantine Off Archie Roosevelt,” New York Times, March 29, 1907, 9. Accessed through ProQuest Historical
Newspapers: The New York Times, February 23, 2013.
26
YOUNG AMERICA IN THE WHITE HOUSE: Archie and Quentin Roosevelt Bound to be “Just Boys,” in Spite
of the Unhappy Fate Which Makes Them the President’s Sons,” New York Times, Mar 17, 1907, SM 3. Accessed
through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times, February 23, 2013.
27
In the 1920s, more than 100,000 cases of diphtheria were reported each year, 206,000 in 1921 alone. The
mortality rate was highest for children under five and adults over 40. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
“Diphtheria,” Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, 11th Edition (The Pink Book), 80.
Accessed April 29, 2013. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/Pubs/pinkbook/downloads/dip.pdf. According to another
CDC report, the mortality rate for white Americans in 1930 for influenza and pneumonia was around 4,000/100,000.
61
brought to the nation’s attention because Ted and Archie were President Roosevelt’s children.
There would have been no national (and international) concern for the two boys if their father
had not been president. What is interesting, though, is the prolonged media attention given to
these illnesses. Weeks of almost daily updates from several newspapers seems to have been
overkill when national stories of labor strikes, talks of international wars, and the progress of the
Panama Canal were major events of the time. It would appear that a possible purpose for the
continued news coverage of Roosevelt family illnesses was an effort by the media to ingratiate
the family in the nation’s sentiments. Americans may have felt that the Roosevelts were
personal acquaintances after seeing them in their newspapers for months and years, creating a
pseudo-familiarity with the family. They also may have felt that Ted and Archie were
neighborhood boys whose lives were emotionally tied to their own. As the First Family, the
Roosevelts were idealized as mirrors of the best domestic interaction that America had to offer.
The health and wellbeing of the Roosevelt children may have been indicative of the health and
wellbeing of families at large.
Coming Out Parties
As the head of Washington DC society, the President’s family was closely watched
during events of high importance. Both Alice and Ethel Roosevelt were lucky enough to have
their “coming-out” parties at the White House. Each of the occasions received much attention in
the press providing details of the latest tastes in fashion and speculating how well the parties
would hold up to tradition.
On January 4, 1902, just months after Theodore Roosevelt assumed the presidency, Alice
Roosevelt was the belle of her own party. Her presentation to society was the first “coming-out”
party held in the White House since President Ulysses S. Grant’s daughter, Nellie, was presented
in 1873, almost thirty years prior. The Chicago Daily Tribune reported that the Grant reception
was “the gayest social event of the decade,” making allusion to the hope that Alice Roosevelt’s
reception would be considered the same. The article went on to describe Miss Roosevelt’s dress
I am not sure what the total number of pneumonia cases were during this time period for the population as a whole,
nor do I know how many people actually contracted pneumonia yet lived. In this article, however, the author does
note that until 1960, pneumonia was one of the five leading causes of death in America. U.S. Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare. Public Health Service. The change in Mortality Trend in the United States (March 1964),
by Iwao M. Moriyama, 14, 24. Accessed April 29, 2013.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_03/sr03_001acc.pdf
62
in white chiffon, the decorations in the various rooms, and the distinguished guests. Despite the
luxurious setting in the White House, Edith Roosevelt reportedly wanted Alice’s reception to be
as if “it had taken place in her own private home rather than in the White House. There was no
cotillion, and consequently no favors.” 28 The media coverage of Alice’s coming out party
probably satiated many young women’s appetites for life in society.
Ethel Roosevelt’s coming out party was held at the end of the Roosevelt administration.
Edith Roosevelt actually pushed Ethel’s party up so that she could have both of her daughters
come out at the White House, even though Ethel was a bit young to be out in society at the time.
A full year prior to the second debutante ball at the White House, a lengthy, foreshadowing
article appeared in the Chicago Daily Tribune, announcing what the nation could expect from the
party. It explained that
President and Mrs. Roosevelt are adverse to a formal coming out reception. Her [Ethel’s]
presentation to society formally would mean a social event of greater magnitude than any
that has been held in Washington for some time. The president and Mrs. Roosevelt do
not care to have Ethel made the center of such an affair. For this reason and because the
young girl herself does not care a great deal for society…the second Miss Roosevelt will
step into society without permitting any fuss to be made over her.29
The author of the article seems to have forgotten that Alice Roosevelt’s debut (and eventual
wedding, discussed later) had only occurred several years earlier, making the claim that Ethel’s
reception would be “a social event of greater magnitude” than the capital had seen “for some
time,” even though the same author refers to Ethel as “the second Miss Roosevelt,” “the new
Miss Roosevelt,” and “Miss Roosevelt II.” Regardless of this lapse of recent memory, it is clear
that the public was eager to have another White House debutante to celebrate before Theodore
Roosevelt left his position in Washington.
On December 29, 1908, a day after Ethel’s coming out party, the Chicago Daily Tribune
recounted the night’s events and claimed that Ethel’s reception was the “Gayest Party Since
28
“BALL IN THE WHITE HOUSE: MISS ROOSEVELT IS PRESENTED TO CAPITAL SOCIETY,” Chicago
Daily Tribune, January 4, 1902, 16. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune, January
26, 2013.
29
“Ethel Roosevelt, New White House Debutante,” Chicago Daily Tribune, November 10, 1907, G2. Accessed
through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune, January 26, 2013.
63
Sister’s Debut.” While the article did discuss the decorations of the White House, the majority
of the piece was dedicated not to the actions of Ethel, but to the numerous distinguished guests in
attendance. Unlike her sister’s news coverage, Ethel seems to be a passive center of attention.
Even though the article says that “it was Miss Ethel’s night,” it does not follow her whereabouts
throughout the night, nor really those of any of the Roosevelt family members. This piece was
very much intended to be a “who’s who” of Washington, not at all living up to the expectations
made in the article from November 10, 1907.30 Nevertheless, Ethel Roosevelt’s party was
significant enough to include in national publications and the attendance of Washington
socialites aided in the event’s publicity.
Alice’s Wedding
One of the most extravagant social events during Theodore Roosevelt’s tenure as
president was the marriage of his eldest daughter, Alice, at the White House. Alice Roosevelt’s
engagement to prominent Ohio Congressman Nicholas Longworth made national and
international news after they returned from their good-will East Asian trip in 1905. When Alice
and her fiancé went shopping in New York, the couple was swarmed with avid admirers to the
point of danger. The Chicago Daily Tribune covered Alice Roosevelt’s shopping escapades in
New York and the couple’s encounter with Longworth’s sister. One portion of the article
entitled, “MISS ALICE ALMOST MOBBED,” recounted Alice’s request for cameramen to stop
taking photos of her, claiming that “it is awfully annoying to be photographed every ten
seconds,” whereupon the cameramen continued to take pictures of the young bride-to-be. The
author of the article used some frightening vocabulary to describe the scenes of public
appearance for the couple; he described them as “fleeing” their “pursuers,” but reassured the
readers that both individuals remained “unmolested” by their run-in with cameramen and curious
citizens.31 In this regard, the anticipated wedding of Alice Roosevelt and Nicholas Longworth
was so enthralling for American readers that Alice and Nick were actually made to feel unsafe
from the attention and publicity. However, it is also clear from this article that the upcoming
30
“ETHEL ROOSEVELT BOWS TO SOCIETY: Gayest Party in White House Since Her Sister Was Introduced,”
Chicago Daily Tribune, December 29, 1908, 4. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago
Tribune, January 26, 2013.
31
“MISS ALICE ALMOST MOBBED: President’s Daughter Pleads with Camera Fiends in Vain,” Chicago Daily
Tribune, January 31, 1906, 1. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune, January 26,
2013.
64
wedding at the White House would garner even more media attention in the subsequent weeks of
1906.
Alice Roosevelt was the first bride to be married at the White House since Grover
Cleveland married his young wife, Frances, in 1886. Upon the wedding announcement, Alice
received hundreds of gifts, both extravagant and mundane, from average Americans, as well as
international royalty. For example, the Cuban government passed a bill allowing for $25,000 to
be used to purchase a wedding gift for Alice Roosevelt.32 A New York Times article claimed that
the motion was unanimously passed in the Cuban Senate as a token “of appreciation to her
[Cuba’s] unfailing friend Theodore Roosevelt, and that the wedding of his daughter afforded an
opportunity to demonstrate Cuba’s love for and appreciation of her illustrious father.”33
Ultimately, the gift was not accepted by Alice who instead received a string of pearls.34 A
wedding gift may have been a way for the Cuban government to show its appreciation for
Theodore Roosevelt, but it also demonstrated the willingness of a foreign power to cater to the
growing celebrity of a member of the Roosevelt family by lavishly supporting a family marriage.
A day after the wedding, the New York Times published an extremely detailed account of
the ceremony, the decorations, the guests, and much to the delight of women readers everywhere,
the fashion and style of the bride’s gown. The article took up the majority of three columns in its
explanation of the day’s events and conversations. In this particular article, President Roosevelt
did not seem to be the protagonist in the background. While his role of giving the bride away
was mentioned, he did not show up in the rest of the article: Alice Roosevelt Longworth was the
true star of her own wedding. The article concluded with a message that pushed aside the pomp
and hullabaloo of the actors in the wedding, stating that all of the guests would “carry away the
memory of the sweet, graceful girl whose happiness was so radiant, so contagious, and so
32
$25,000 in 1906 would be over $620,000 in 2012.
“$25,000 GIFT FROM CUBA FOR MISS ROOSEVELT: Senate Passes Bill to Purchase Wedding Present,” New
York Times, January 27, 1906, 1. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times,
November 3, 2012.
34
Alice Roosevelt, Crowded Hours (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1933), 110.
33
65
genuine, and the memory of the splendid scene in which she was the central figure,” an apt
declaration that could be applied to any bride on her wedding day. 35
The Youngest: Archie and Quentin
The two youngest Roosevelts spent their formative years under the surveillance of the
American press. Archie and Quentin Roosevelt were the most rambunctious of the Roosevelt
brood, a characteristic which naturally made them the center of many newspaper articles and
subsequent photographs. Even though these two young boys were constantly subjects of media
attention, Archie and Quentin endeared themselves as typical American boys to a loving and
understanding public.
One of the most beloved White House stories involved both Archie and Quentin while
Archie was sick with diphtheria in 1907. Noble A. Beans, one of the White House guards during
the Roosevelt administration, was remembered in his eulogy for “conniv[ing] in the shenanigans
of two of President Theodore Roosevelt’s sons,” when he allowed Quentin to sneak the family
pony, Algonquin, into the White House elevator. Quentin and Beans led Algonquin to the room
where Archie was recovering from diphtheria.36 Clearly Algonquin was an unconventional guest
for the private, second-story bedrooms of the White House, but no one could fault Quentin for
his desire to entertain his brother.
Even the solitude of Oyster Bay provided no respite from the press for Archie and
Quentin. On a Sunday morning at Sagamore Hill, Archie’s childhood antics ended up being a
source of entertainment for the country. On August 16, 1908, Archie was caught and
reprimanded for having “carved his initials and the name of his tutor…on the back of his father’s
pew,” at the Christ Episcopal Church in Oyster Bay. The article made it clear that Archie had
been scolded by the sexton of the church, and that President Roosevelt had confiscated the knife
Archie used. The president may have been reasonably distracted during the service not to have
noticed Archie’s whittling because Quentin Roosevelt was also up to something during this
particular Sunday. According to the same Times article, Edith Roosevelt had asked Quentin to
35
“THE EAST ROOM CEREMONY: Bride Turns from the Alter to Kiss Mrs. Roosevelt,” New York Times,
February 18, 1906, 1. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times, November 3,
2012.
36
“Noble Beans, Took Pony to White House,” The Washington Post, Times Herald, September 29, 1959, B2.
Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1996), March 23, 2013.
66
go look for her purse in the family’s car during the service, during which Quentin found the
purse and decided to purchase an “ice cream soda” from a local drug store. As this outing lasted
significantly longer than the act of searching through a car would have, President and Mrs.
Roosevelt were “restive” during Quentin’s absence, causing their attention to lapse and Archie to
be successful in his wood carving endeavors.37
The fascination for Theodore Roosevelt’s two youngest sons sheds light on the cultural
perceptions of how boys should behave in the early twentieth century. Historian Howard
Chudacoff explains the impact of recapitulation theory on the social consciousness of American
white, middle-class families. As an individual grew up, he or she (though most accurate for
males), would evolve through the stages of civilized man; as a young child, the individual would
show tendencies toward “savage” behavior, but would then become more refined as the child
grew older.38 Archie and Quentin’s rambunctious behavior was understood by Americans at the
time as boys simply playing the part of young boys, creating mischief and livening up dull social
situations without doing anyone any harm. Though they were the President’s sons, Archie and
Quentin exhibited the expected behavior for boys that were common across all demographics
and social standings.
Conclusion
“Neighbor Roosevelt’s Boys,” a telling article about the Roosevelt sons at home at
Sagamore Hill the first summer after their father was sworn into office, described the three oldest
male children as simultaneously loved by the community but also the chief causes of playful
mischief. The author explained that visitors to Oyster Bay would encounter “not a Roosevelt of
the White house hedged in by decorum, red tape, blue coated attendants, and all the formalities
surrounding the chief executive’s family, but a brown faced boy in blue jeans, who greets you
with a whoop and begs for a ride on the back of your surrey.”39 This article articulated the
common perception that the Roosevelt family was uncorrupted by Theodore Roosevelt’s
prominent occupation as President of the United States. Certainly the only reason any one would
37
“ARCHIE ROOSEVELT PUNISHED: Carves Initials on Church Pew and President Confiscates New Knife,”
New York Times, August 17, 1908, 1. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times
(1851-2008), November 3, 2012.
38
Chudacoff, Children at Play, 72.
39
Helen Rowland, “Neighbor Roosevelt’s Boys,” Chicago Daily Tribune, July 27, 1902, 44. Accessed through
ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune (1849-1989), March 24, 2013.
67
venture to Oyster Bay in the early twentieth century would be to visit the President when he was
not in Washington, but the author explained that the Roosevelt family did not live the life of
important dignitaries. Rather, the Theodore Roosevelts of Sagamore Hill were presented as
“neighbors,” common Americans who just happened to be the most important family in the
country.
The attempts of Theodore and Edith Roosevelt to keep their children out of the public
press and uncorrupted by endless media attention was futile. Their unique position as the
figureheads of the United States’ government elevated the whole family and exposed their
private lives for public consumption. Unlike the celebrity families of today, however, the
Theodore Roosevelts were constructed in a way to exemplify the social and cultural values of
twentieth-century Americans across the country. The ways in which the media covered the
family’s public and private events shows an obvious attempt to make the First Family seem like
the family next door. This is ironic since the fact that the Roosevelts were garnering so much
publicity because of their position in society made their actual experience diametrically opposed
to the popular conception of them as “normal” or average. However, the manner in which the
press followed the Roosevelt family made the First Family more accessible to the common
American. Alice and Ethel’s debutante parties mirrored the parties of hundreds of young teenage
girls coming out to society. Ted’s and Archie’s serious illnesses fostered compassion from
parents who could sympathize with the real fear of a death in the family. Archie and Quentin’s
comical escapades in the White House and at their Oyster Bay home reminded adults of the
gaiety of childhood. The wishes of Edith Roosevelt to keep her children from “think[ing]
themselves of any importance to the public…[or] of any right to fame on the score of being their
father’s children,” at the outset of her tenure as First Lady proved to be impossible.40 But instead
of causing her children to pride themselves on the public attention of the press, the media
succeeded in painting the Roosevelt family as raucous next-door neighbors who experienced the
same joys and pains as any other American family. Theodore Roosevelt and his family became a
symbol of modern American family values.
40
“CHILDREN AGAIN IN THE WHITE HOUSE. President Roosevelt’s Family of Six Soon to Invade Historic
Structure,” Chicago Daily Tribune, Sept 15, 1901, 6. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago
Tribune (1849-1989), January 26, 2013.
68
Theodore Roosevelt became an American celebrity in part because he capitalized on the
cultural need for men to redefine their gender at the end of the nineteenth century. Americans
initially took interest in the Roosevelt family because of their relation to Theodore Roosevelt, but
eventually both the individual members as well as the Roosevelt family as a whole stood on their
own as celebrities because they came to represent a family with the same trials, successes, joys,
and sorrows with which other Americans could sympathize. The First Families of the twentieth
century would have to navigate the perilous balance between public presence and private life in
their own way, but they may have used the Roosevelt family as a model for their relationship
with the press.
69
EPILOGUE
Theodore Roosevelt died during the night of January 6, 1919. His death was believed to
be caused by a blood clot in his lung. The next day’s newspapers were full of grieving and
lamentations. Several news articles stressed that though Roosevelt was an ex-President, he was
considered to be “the most typical American,” and “truly the typical American of his age.”1
Another article from the Times explained that the Oyster Bay community “appreciated”
Roosevelt “as a world figure, but he also was looked upon as as much of a fellow townsman as
the village blacksmith or any other local citizen.”2 Even in his death, Theodore Roosevelt was
painted by the press to epitomize a conventional, upstanding American citizen of the early
twentieth century.
This thesis has argued that although the Roosevelt family may have lived a relatively
happy and somewhat representative life, the press made it its business to depict them in that way,
sometimes to the point of generating inquisitorial publicity related to the First Family. After
Theodore Roosevelt’s tenure in the White House came to an end, the Roosevelt children really
did become ordinary private citizens and were faced with some harrowing life experiences
outside of the gilded protection of the White House.
Edith Roosevelt outlived her husband by almost thirty years. During that time she
travelled widely, visiting Europe, South America, South Africa, China, Siberia, the US West
Coast and Hawaii. Edith was a vital member of the Roosevelt family to the end, but her failing
health in the last decade of her life made it almost impossible for her to participate in social
events. Ethel and Archie took care of Edith in her final years. Edith Roosevelt died at Sagamore
Hill on September 30, 1948.3
1
“THEODORE ROOSEVELT DIES DURING SLUMBER; LOSS SHOCKS NATION,” The Washington Post,
January 7, 1919, 1. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Washington Post (1877-1922), June 2,
1919; and “CITY GRIEVES FOR COLONEL: Flags at Half Mast on Public Buildings and Courts and Aldermen
Adjourn,” New York Times, January 7, 1919, 1. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York
Times (1851-2009), June 2, 2013.
2
“EMBOLISM CAUSED DEATH: Blood Clot, Physicians Announce, Killed Col. Roosevelt in His Sleep,” New
York Times, January 7, 1919. Accessed through ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (18512009), June 2, 2013.
3
Betty Boyd Caroli, The Roosevelt Women (New York: BasicBooks, 1998), 201-203, 207, 369.
70
All four of the Roosevelt sons joined the military when the United States entered the
Great War in Europe in April, 1917. Archie Roosevelt was injured by shrapnel in the knee and
in the arm, earning him the French Cross, but ultimately he was discharged from service because
of his wounds.4 Kermit won the British War Cross, having served in the British military in
Africa and the Middle East, and Ted won the Chevalier Legion of Honour from France and the
Distinguished Service Cross from the U.S. Though the Roosevelts were honored in battle, not all
of them would return home from the front. Quentin Roosevelt, the youngest Roosevelt child,
was killed after his plane was shot down over Germany in July of 1918.5 The Roosevelt family
was never again whole at Sagamore Hill.
Archie Roosevelt married and had children, but fought a personal struggle with
depression after his service in World War I. At the age of forty-eight, Archie enlisted to serve in
World War II and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. He was wounded again in 1944 by a
grenade. Archie died of a stroke in 1979.6
Ethel Roosevelt married an accomplished doctor, Richard Derby, and eventually settled
near Sagamore Hill. Ethel served as a nurse during the war while her husband treated wounded
soldiers. Mr. and Mrs. Derby had four children, one son and three daughters, but their son died
of blood poisoning at the age of eight. Ethel became the caretaker of Edith Roosevelt before her
death and was a key member in the Theodore Roosevelt (Memorial) Association. She died in
1977 at the age of eighty-six.7
Kermit Roosevelt travelled with his father for a safari hunt in Africa immediately
following William Howard Taft’s inauguration. Kermit was also the only Roosevelt family
member to accompany Theodore on his epic journey to find the source of the Amazon River in
South America where both father and son contracted malarial diseases that would affect them for
the rest of their lives. Kermit was traumatically impacted by his service in the war. He became
4
Edward J. Renehan, Jr., The Lion’s Pride: Theodore Roosevelt and his Family in Peace and War (New York:
Oxford University Press, 1998), 175.
5
Ibid., 195-197.
6
Ibid., 232-233, 244.
7
Caroli, The Roosevelt Women, 349-350, 356, 369, 387.
71
an alcoholic and suffered from severe depression. Kermit Roosevelt committed suicide at Fort
Richardson Army base in Alaska on June 3, 1943.8
Ted Roosevelt was a successful businessman in New York City before he joined the army
and fought in the Great War. After his service, he held a variety of government positions
including Assistant Secretary of the Navy (the same position his father once held), and the
governorship of both the Philippians and Puerto Rico. When the U.S. entered World War II in
1941, Ted re-enlisted and was given the military title of Colonel at age fifty-four. He was then
promoted to Brigadier General in 1942. Ted died from heart problems a few weeks after his
involvement in the assault on the beaches of Normandy during the D-Day invasion.9
Alice Roosevelt, the oldest of the Roosevelt children, outlived all of her brothers and her
sister. Her marriage to Congressman Nicholas Longworth was not an easy one; Longworth was
a known playboy, and his affairs forced Alice to direct her attention to her own involvement in
politics rather than her duties as a wife and mother. Despite problems in her private life, Alice
remained a vital personality in Washington society for decades. Her attendance at political
parties determined their success and she was known for entertaining up-an-coming politicians,
such as the Kennedys and Richard Nixon. Alice died from old age on February 20, 1980, in
Washington at the age of ninety-six.10
A far cry from their alleged happy life in the White House, the Roosevelts experienced
much heartache during the twentieth century. Some of the more tragic aspects, such as
depression, affairs, and suicide, of the Roosevelt children perhaps might be attributed in part to
their exposure in the press from an early age. However, these tragedies could also be accredited
to war service, the negative stigma of divorce in America, incurable disease, and old age. A
family of this size, and in this specific time in American history, was bound to have experienced
at least a few of these events. What is almost certain, though, is that the Roosevelt sons all
joined the military because Theodore Roosevelt was such an ardent supporter of military service
and a citizen’s duty to his or her country in war time. The unfortunate consequences of Quentin,
8
Renehan, The Lion’s Pride, 41, 229-232.
Ibid., 66, 226-229, 233,236-239.
10
Carol Felsenthal, Alice Roosevelt Longworth (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1988), 117, 119-120, 227-228; and
Caroli, The Roosevelt Women, 407, 430-431.
9
72
Archie and Kermit serving in World War I were not foreseen by Roosevelt, but he may have
later blamed himself for Quentin’s death and Archie’s injuries.
Perhaps these circumstances did more to prove the “average”ness of the Roosevelts than
any of their actions in the White House. Plagued by emotional, physical, and mental ailments,
the Roosevelt family of Sagamore Hill struggled through some of life’s most difficult trials, but
they were the same trials that affected millions of American families across all ethnic and
economic backgrounds.
Being the children of a famous American president did not protect them from distress.
Notoriety only allowed other Americans to share in their pain.
73
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