Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the
United states Was the youngest
President in the nations history. he took
office at the age of 42. Roosevelt had
been vice President for only six
months when president William McKinley was
assassinated. He vigorously led
Congress and the American public toward
progressive reforms and a strong
foreign policy. He took The view that the
president as a "steward of the
people" should take whatever action
necessary for the public good unless
expressly forbidden by law or the
constitution. "I did not usurp power, " he
wrote, "but i did
greatly broaden the use of executive power." Roosevelt's
youth differed
sharply from that of the log cabin Presidents. he was born in
New York city on
October 27,1858 into a wealthy family, but he too
struggled--against ill
health. When Theodore was about 12, his father told
him that he would need a
strong body to give his mind a chance to develop
fully. The next year, while on
a trip to Maine, Theodore was tormented by two
mischievous boys. He felt ashamed
because he was not strong enough to fight
back. Roosevelt's father built a
gymnasium in the family home, and Theodore
exercised there regularly. He
overcame his asthma and built up unusual
physical strength. Roosevelt studied
under tutors until he entered Harvard
University in 1876 at the age of 18. He
earned good grades in
college. Roosevelt graduated from
Harvard in 1880. In October
1879, Roosevelt met Alice Hathaway Lee. Roosevelt
courted Alice during his
senior year at Harvard. They married on his 22nd
birthday. A double tragedy
struck on Feb. 14, 1884. Alice Roosevelt died two
days after the birth of a
daughter. On the same day, Roosevelt's mother died if
typhoid fever.
Roosevelt spent much of the next two years on his ranch in the
badlands of
Dakota Territory. There he mastered his sorrow as he lived in the
saddle,
driving cattle, hunting big game--he even captured an outlaw. On a visit
to
London, he married Edith Kermit Carow in December 1886. During
the
Spanish-American War, Roosevelt recruited men for a cavalry regiment.
This unit
became the First Volunteer Cavalry Regiment. Under Roosevelt s
command, it won
fame as the Rough Riders. He led the Rough Riders on a charge
at the Battle of
San Juan. Roosevelt was one of the most conspicuous
heroes of the war. Twenty
years later he declared:"San Juan was the great day
of my life. Thomas C.
Platt, needing a hero to draw attention away from
scandals in New York State,
accepted Roosevelt as the Republican candidate
for governor in 1898. Roosevelt
won and served with distinction. As
president, Roosevelt held the ideal that
the Government should be the great
arbiter of the conflicting economic forces in
the nation, especially between
capital and labor, guaranteeing justice to each
and dispensing favors to
none. Roosevelt emerged spectacurlarly as a "trust
buster" by forcing the
dissolution of a great railroad combination in the
northwest. During
Roosevelt's presidency, the government filed suits against 43
other
corporations. In major cases, the government ended John D. Rockerfeller's
oil
trust and James B. Duke's tobacco trust. Roosevelt steered the united
States
more actively into world politics. He liked to quote a favorite
proverb ,
"Speak softly and carry a big stick, you will go far. Aware of
the
strategic need for a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean,
Roosevelt
ensured the construction of the Panama Canal. His corollary to the
monroe
Doctrine prevented the establishment of foreign bases in the
Caribbean and
arrogated the sole right of intervention in Latin America to
the United States.
Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating the
Russo-Japanese War. He was
the first American to win a Nobel Prize. He
reached a Gentleman's agreement on
immigration with Japan. In 1907, Roosevelt
decided to display American naval
power. He sent 16 new battleships on a
good-will tour of the world. These ships
became known as the Great White
Fleet because they were painted white. Roosevelt
viewed the tour as a part of
"big stick" diplomacy. Some of Theodore
Roosevelt's most effective
achievements were in conservation. He added about 150
million acres to the
national forests and in 1905 established the United States
Forest
Service. he also set up five new national parks. By executive order,
he
created the first 51 federal bird reservations and the first four national
game
preserves. The Roosevelt children and their friends became known as
the
"White House Gang." The President sometimes joined in the
children's
games. One day, he heard thet the gang was preparing an "attack"
on
the White House. he sent a message to the children through the War
Department,
ordering them to call off the "attack." Leaving the Presidency
in
1909, Roosevelt went on an African safari, then jumped back into
politics. In
1912 he ran for president on a Progressive ticket. To
reporters he once remarked
that he felt as fit as a bull moose, the name of
his new party. While
campaigning in Milwaukee, he was shot in the chest by a
fanatic. Roosevelt soon
recovered, but his words at that time would have been
applicable at the time of
his death in 1919: "No man has had a happier life
then I have led; a
happier life in every way."