Theodore Roosevelt Essay, Research Paper
The second of the four kids of Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. and Martha Bulloch Roosevelt,
Theodore Roosevelt ( afterlife TR ) , was nicknamed & # 8220 ; Teedie & # 8221 ; . TR suffered from asthma and awful myopia, conditions which his male parent urged him to supplant by stating, & # 8220 ; You have the head, but non the organic structure ; you must do your body. & # 8221 ; To assist his boy, Theodore Sr. built a gym at their place where & # 8220 ; Teedie & # 8221 ; developed a fundamental law, which would subsequently be referred to as & # 8220 ; strong as a Bull Moose & # 8221 ; . In his young person, Theodore ( who disliked being called Teddy ) , traveled with his household throughout Europe where he perfected his bid of French and German.
At this clip, the Civil War raged between the Northern and Southern provinces. Martha Bulloch, a Southerner
by birth and heritage, played a decisive factor in Theodore Sr. & # 8217 ; s determination to engage an ground forces replacement
( rather common in those yearss ) . It is alleged that instead than battle against his brothers-in-law, Theodore Sr. chose to alternatively concentrate his wealth and connexions on securing supplies for and administering the logistics of
presenting those supplies to the Union Army. It is further acknowledged that this determination was a impulsive force for TR to enlist to contend in the Spanish American War ( possibly as a manner to go even greater than his male parent, whom TR held in the greatest of regard ) .
An recreational bird watcher, TR would frequently kill little birds for strictly scientific intents ; thenceforth dissecting and embalming them. A few original specimens survive today and can be seen at the
Theodore Roosevelt National Historic Birthplace. TR & # 8217 ; s instruction was via private coachs, which was rather common for an person of his socioeconomic place. A rapacious reader with a photographic memory,
TR had no problem finishing his surveies and was finally admitted to the Harvard College in 1876,
at age 18.
At Harvard, TR majored in scientific discipline, yet received the majority of his instruction in history and literature. He was admitted to the esteemed Porcellian Club, the O.K. Club, The Big Six Club, and was a staff member of
The Harvard Advocate. His athletic chases included rowing, pugilism, horseback equitation, and bivouacing. TR was an attentive and slightly enthusiastic pupil who participated energetically during talks. In one case, a professor of his is quoted as stating: & # 8220 ; See here, Roosevelt ; I am the one instruction this class! & # 8221 ;
In 1878, TR met Alice Hathaway Lee, the girl of a outstanding Boston household. After a drawn-out wooing and a matrimony proposal slight, Alice and TR were married on October 27, 1880. Around this same clip, Theodore Sr. died of tummy malignant neoplastic disease on February 9, 1878. The decease of his male parent dealt a oppressing blow to a 20 one twelvemonth old TR who all of a sudden found himself caput of his household. Heartbroken yet resolute, TR graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard in 1880 and was quickly admitted to Columbia University & # 8217 ; s
School of Law. Besides in 1880, TR joined the Republican Party Club of New York. In 1881 he embarked on a vacation/honeymoon to Europe where amongst his many out-of-door escapades he climbed the Matterhorn.
Upon his return from Europe, Roosevelt decided to give his life to political relations, particularly after his
local Republican Club nominated him to a State Representative campaigning. Leaving Columbia University, he won the election easy, therefore going, at age 23, the youngest State Representative in the history of
New York. TR made his grade in State political relations by exposing the corrupt relationship between a New York Supreme Court Justice and railway baron Jay Gould. With his whirlwind enthusiasm and ciphering head, TR was easy reelected in 1882 and 1883, finally being elected the youngest Speaker of the Assembly in the history of New York.
In 1882, TR published his seminal work, The War of 1812, which espoused the care of a strong naval forces as a pressing affair of national security. In 1883, TR invested portion of his heritage in a on the job spread in the Dakota Territory bordering the Little Missouri River, near the metropolis of Medora. Naming the constitution
The Elkhorn Ranch, he left his belongings in charge of Will Dow and Bill Sewall, two experienced ranch custodies. In April 1884, TR was appointed Chairman of the Committee on Cities, whose attempts resulted in critical alterations in the Charter of New York City.
It seemed that nil could halt TR & # 8217 ; s comet from lifting even higher and faster. In 1884, nevertheless, TR & # 8217 ; s life fell wholly apart. After the joyful birth of Alice Roosevelt Lee on February 12, his married woman was diagnosed with Bright s disease and died two yearss subsequently, on Valentine & # 8217 ; s Day. TR & # 8217 ; s female parent, Martha, was besides really badly ; holding caught typhoid febrility, she excessively died subsequently that same eventide of February 14, 1884. In desperation and disconsolate, TR wrote in his diary & # 8220 ; the visible radiation has gone out of my life. & # 8221 ; The neonate was left in the attention of TR & # 8217 ; s sister Anna ( dearly called Bamie ) . Despite his heartache, TR proceeded to reason his responsibilities as Chairman of the New York Delegation to the 1884 Republican National Convention.
Still disconsolate and unwilling to return to his place in New York, TR contracted the house of Joseph Wood & A ; Sons to construct a new place for him and pamper Alice atop a hill overlooking Oyster Bay in Long Island. Originally named Leeholm, in award of Alice Lee Roosevelt, the house would finally be renamed Sagamore Hill. Leaving baby Alice in the attention of Bamie, TR ventured west and tried his manus at ranching in the Dakotas ; trusting the desolate landscape would assist him get the better of his intense heartache. Digesting the contempt and twits of western bullies who called him & # 8220 ; four eyes & # 8221 ; and & # 8220 ; tenderfoot & # 8221 ; , TR finally gained everyone & # 8217 ; s regard by threshing each wrongdoer with both his crisp humor or steel fists, depending upon the wrongdoer and the discourtesy committed. No 1 came to cognize the wrath of TR better than Mike Finnegan and his pack of stealers who, after stealing TR & # 8217 ; s fishing boat, were chased for two hebdomads through the Dakota Badlands and were finally apprehended by the & # 8220 ; tenderfoot fellow from up East. & # 8221 ;
Throughout this clip, TR besides embarked on a long-distance wooing of his childhood friend,
Edith Kermit Carow. In 1885, TR published his experiences in the Dakotas in a book titled
Hunting Trips of a Ranchman. In 1886, TR ran as the Republican campaigner for Mayor of New York City,
but was defeated by Abram S. Hewitt ; coming in 3rd out of three campaigners. Merely when things couldn & # 8217 ; t acquire worse, a awful snowstorm over the winter of 1886-1887 wiped out TR & # 8217 ; s full cowss herd back in the Dakotas. Heartbroken, financially ruined, and disconsolate, he embarked on a trip to Europe and married Ethel on December 2, 1886, in London, England. The twosome would finally hold five kids: Theodore, Kermit, Ethel, Archibald, and Quentin. Edith besides raised Alice Roosevelt, nicknamed Princess Alice by the imperativeness. This would turn out to be the turning point in the life of Theodore Roosevelt.
Not being a really good man of affairs, and with his political yearss seemingly over, TR dedicated himself to composing professionally. In 1888 entirely he published three books: Gouverneur Morris, Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail, and Essays in Practical Politics. In 1889, he published the first two volumes of the seminal
The Winning of the West, with the last two volumes published in 1894 and 1896. In 1888, nevertheless, his enthusiastic and indefatigable candidacy for Republican Presidential campaigner Benjamin Harrison was rewarded with an assignment to the U.S. Civil Service Commission, an office in which he served for six old ages. TR & # 8217 ; s attempts in reforming the U.S. Civil Service are still felt today. TR continued to compose extensively, particularly since his meager wage was non plenty to back up his turning household. In 1891 he published
The History of New York, and in 1893 he published The Wilderness Hunter, followed the following twelvemonth by
Hero Tales from American History.
In 1894, nevertheless, his brother Elliott, a chronic alky, died. Unfortunately, TR & # 8217 ; s boy Kermit would inherit his Uncle & # 8217 ; s alcohol addiction, which led to Kermit & # 8217 ; s self-destruction. Elliott is possibly more celebrated for being the male parent of Eleanor Roosevelt, the prime American Lady of Politics, and married woman of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In 1895, TR received an invitation from New York City Mayor William Strong to go a Commissioner of the New York City Police Board. Vacating his committee in Washington, D.C. , TR returned to New York and quickly set out to reform the constabulary force. Amongst his many reforms still felt today are the constitution of the first Police Academy in the U.S. , the usage of bike patrols, and the constitution of civil service reforms for enlisting and publicity of officers. TR was celebrated for masking himself and policing the streets of New York City at dark trusting to catch a sleeping & # 8220 ; beat hook & # 8221 ; or other police officers carry oning themselves disgracefully ( accepting payoffs, etc. ) . Along with the good imperativeness provided by his journalist friend ( and & # 8216 ; midnight rambles & # 8217 ; comrade ) Jacob Riis, TR finally took over the Presidency of the New York Police Board. It is a admiration he found clip to compose and publish American Ideals in 1897!
Matching TR & # 8217 ; s good imperativeness with his personal appeal gained him a national repute for tireless honestness ;
traits valued by freshly elected President William McKinley who appointed TR, in 1897,
Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Shortly after taking his assignment, the U.S.S. Maine, anchored off Havana, Cuba, ( at that clip a Spanish ownership ) blew up killing 234 U.S. crewmans. Naturally, hawks in the US blamed and demanded war against Spain, who denied all duty for the calamity. A pupil of military personal businesss and international political relations, TR knew that the key to winning the brewing struggle with Spain would be to command the seas. When TR & # 8217 ; s boss, Secretary Long, out of the blue went out of town, TR lost no clip and cabled Admiral Dewey who was stationed in Hong Kong at the clip. TR ordered Dewey to lade coal and canvas for the Philippines instantly ; and added that should war be declared, and so Dewey must, at all costs, prevent the big yet aged Spanish fleet from go forthing Manila Harbor. On April 20, 1898, the US declared war on Spain. Admiral Dewey followed TR & # 8217 ; s instructions and sank the full Spanish Fleet in less than 4 hours, get downing the struggle with his ill-famed call, & # 8220 ; You may fire when ready, Gridley & # 8221 ; . On May 6, TR resigned his station and began piecing the U.S. First Volunteer Cavalry, more famously known as the Rough Riders.
TR assembled the Rough Riders from a assorted aggregation of Eastern intellectuals, Western bullies, jocks, authors, ranch custodies, Native Americans, Hispanics, and any other qualified person who wished to function his state. The Rough Riders trained at Fort Sam Houston, and proceeded towards Tampa Bay, Florida, where they would ship towards Cuba aboard The Yucatan. Upon making the shores of Cuba,
the voluntaries marched towards the hills of San Juan, where on July 1, 1898, they charged victoriously up Kettle Hill in the face of terrible enemy fire, losing one 4th of its eventuality. Theodore Roosevelt would finally be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his courage on that twenty-four hours. However, the comparative awkwardness of the full Cuban operation led to the expressed dissatisfaction of several officers, climaxing in the ill-famed Round Robin Telegram, a papers detailing the failures and open misdirection of the struggle. Traveling alongside the Rough Riders were high journalists such as Frederic Remington and Richard Harding Davis ; journalists who are at least partially responsible for TR & # 8217 ; s lift to national prominence ( which included a publicity for TR to full colonel ) .
With complete triumph over Spain, the Rough Riders and their commanding officer returned to the United States, debarking at Montauk Point, New Y
ork, on August 15, 1898. Before the unit disbanded, the Rough Riders awarded their Colonel a statue made by Frederic Remington, “The Bronco Buster” , as a item of their grasp. His meteor now accomplishing near critical mass, TR accepted his party’s nomination for the Governorship of New York. TR’s firebrand attack to political relations necessarily clashed with the State’s political foremans, peculiarly Mark Hanna and Thomas Platt. These two foremans decided that the best manner to be rid of TR would be to “bump him up” into a place of political neutrality: The Vice Presidency. Hence, at the Republican National Convention of 1900, the State machine foremans for nomination as William McKinley s running mate put his name Forth. Unhappy but ever loyal to the party, TR accepted his destiny with surrender and campaigned successfully for the McKinley-Roosevelt ticket of 1900.
Having assumed the Vice Presidency, Theodore was resigned to the fact that his political aspirations had possibly peaked. During the startup, political foreman Mark Hanna ; who had been discerning about TR & # 8217 ; s fall ining the 1900 Republican ticket ; is quoted as stating: & # 8220 ; Do you recognize that the lone thing standing between that lunatic and the White House is a slug? An highly prescient statement, President McKinley was so shot by Leo Colgosz on September 13, 1901. Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as the state & # 8217 ; s
26th President at the Wilcox Mansion near Buffalo, New York, on September 14, 1901.
Upon presuming the presidential term, Theodore Roosevelt sought to reconstruct the self-respect and prestigiousness of the office heretofore tarnished by the dirts environing the Grant and Hayes disposals, every bit good as the & # 8220 ; do-nothing & # 8221 ; presidential terms of Garfield, Harrison, Arthur, and Cleveland. He sought to turn the Presidency into a & # 8220 ; bully pulpit & # 8221 ; from where the state & # 8217 ; s main executive could proactively act upon national policy. Losing no clip, in 1902 TR instructed Philander Knox to raise the Sherman Anti-Trust Act against the Northern Securities Company, a railway trust illicitly offering cargo discounts to & # 8220 ; particular & # 8221 ; clients. In 1902, TR besides initiated the Forest, Land, and River Reclamation Policy, the Isthmian Canal Act, settled a disabling Coal Strike, and enforced the Monroe Doctrine in Venezuela ; therefore showing an epoch of U.S. foreign policy described as gunboat diplomatic negotiations.
In 1903, Congress supported the Panamian insurgence against their Colombian Masterss, climaxing in the acknowledgment of the Republic of Panama and subsequent building of the Panama Canal by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers led by General Goethals. That twelvemonth besides saw the creative activity of the Department of Commerce and the Bureau of Corporations, the passage of the Elkins Rebate Act, and the Cuban Reciprocity Treaty which lowered sugar and baccy duties.
In 1904, the U.S. Senate ratified a Treaty with Panama, which granted the U.S. ageless rights to the Canal Zone. In February, the Russo-Japanese War erupted. Later that twelvemonth, TR received and accepted the Republican nomination for President. Running against Alton B. Parker, T.R. was elected with 71 % of the popular ballot and 58 % of the Electoral College.
1905 saw TR being elected in his ain right, everlastingly taking the label of & # 8220 ; inadvertent president & # 8221 ; . This same twelvemonth, TR successfully negotiated the Portsmouth Treaty efficaciously stoping the Russo-Japanese War, outlined the declaration to the Algeciras Conference, and created the U.S. Forest Service. TR besides expanded his & # 8220 ; large stick & # 8221 ; construct of diplomatic negotiations, telling U.S. Marines to prehend the imposts houses in the state of Santo Domingo ; ruled by a corrupt government, which was in danger of being ousted militarily by its European creditors. TR & # 8217 ; s actions, although criticized, are by and large viewed as a strong and univocal avowal of the rules outlined in the Monroe Doctrine and its Roosevelt Corollary.
The undermentioned twelvemonth, 1906, was a monumental twelvemonth for TR. He won the Nobel Peace Prize ( donating the award money in 1918 to Soldiers & # 8217 ; Aid Society ) , established the Roosevelt Foundation for Industrial Peace, coined the phrase & # 8220 ; muckrake & # 8221 ; , created the Forest Homestead Act, signed the Hepburn Rate Act, created the Food and Drugs Act, traveled to Panama to see advancement on the Isthmian Canal undertaking, and signed the charter acknowledging Oklahoma into the Union as the 46th State. The twelvemonth was marred, nevertheless, by TR & # 8217 ; s dishonourable discharge of an full Black Infantry Troop stationed in Galveston, Texas. Members of the troop were charged with behavior unbecoming army forces and assorted other discourtesies. TR & # 8217 ; s dispatch order was reversed by Congressional order in 1972. The twelvemonth closed with the creative activity of the U.S. Antiquities Act, the mechanism through which many U.S. presidents have designated public lands as being & # 8220 ; untouchable & # 8221 ; .
In 1907, the Monroe & # 8217 ; s Doctrine rule of self-government for the Western Hemisphere gained international acknowledgment with the confirmation of the Santo Domingo Treaty. This same twelvemonth saw TR appoint the Inland Waterways Commission, host the Tennessee Coal and Iron Conference, and the seafaring of the U.S. Navy & # 8217 ; s Great White Fleet, which ushered in an unprecedented epoch of U.S. internationalism.
1908 saw TR sign the Employer & # 8217 ; s Liability Act, create the Grand Canyon and Muir Woods National Monuments, and present the first U.S. Postage Stamp ( cost= $ .01 ) . In 1909, TR ordered the U.S. Marines to subvert the Nicaraguan government ( besides in problem with its European creditors ) . Having chosen his replacement for the Presidency and confident that his pick, William Howard Taft, would go on his proactive political attack, TR saw his presidential term expire and embarked on a Smithsonian sponsored African Safari.
Accompanied on the campaign by his boy Kermit, TR collected 100s of specimens for the Smithsonian, and in 1910 published a book on his experiences titled African Game Trails. After his campaign, TR embarked on a circuit of Europe, presenting addresss at topographic points such as Guild Hall, in London, England, and go toing the funeral of England & # 8217 ; s King Edward. TR returned to the United States to great ostentation. TR besides quickly discovered that President Taft has & # 8220 ; betrayed & # 8221 ; the docket of the Roosevelt Administration, and in 1911 set out to elaborate his political point of views around the state with addresss such as The New Nationalism.
After neglecting to derive the Republican presidential nomination at the 1912 National Convention in Chicago, TR defected to the Progressive Party. During a run halt in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, TR was shot in the thorax by John Schrank, a madman set on assassinating the ex-president. The slug hit TR in the thorax, but the thick address manuscript TR was transporting in his chest pocket slowed its impact. Despite being shot, TR delivered his 90-minute address before a capacity crowd, declining to travel to the infirmary and insistence that it & # 8220 ; takes more than a slug to halt a Bull Moose. & # 8221 ; Despite his popularity and tireless candidacy, he however lost the 1912 election ; in the procedure dividing up the Republican ballot in half and presenting a de facto triumph to the Democratic campaigner, Woodrow Wilson. Despondent but resilient, TR accepted a place as an Columnist at Large with The Outlook magazine in New York. TR used his pen to size up and, when appropriate, knock President Wilson and his disposal & # 8217 ; s policies ; particularly those sing America & # 8217 ; s unpreparedness for the brewing belligerencies and balance of power displacements happening in Europe. Later that same twelvemonth, George S. Newett, the editor of the Michigan Iron Ore publication, who called the ex-president a rummy, attacked TR in print. TR sued the editor for libel, and won the instance.
In 1913, TR embarked on an expedition to Brazil to map the class and happen the beginning of a river deep in the Amazon jungles so far chartless. The expedition was foremost proposed by Father John Augustine Zahm,
a reverend from the Univeristy of Notre Dame and longtime friend of TR. The expedition, dubbed the Roosevelt-Rondon South American Expedition of 1913-1914, was sponsored by the National Museum of History of New York, the National Geographic Society, and the authoritiess of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. The expedition members included: Kermit Roosevelt, Col. Candido Mariano district attorney Silva Rondon ( expedition leader sent by the Brazilian authorities ) , Leo Miller ( mammologist ) , Anthony Fiala ( logistics ) , Frank Harper ( TR & # 8217 ; s private secretary ) , George K. Cherrie ( naturalist/ornithologist ) , Lt. Joao Salustiano Lyra ( Brazilian uranologist ) , and about two twelve Brazilian camaradas, or portege bearers. To procure extra support for the expedition, every bit good as to be compensated for his clip, TR contracted with Scribner & # 8217 ; s magazine to compose a series of articles about the expedition, finally printing his history in the book titled
Through the Brazilian Wilderness. Confronting dangers runing from cataracts and rapids to aggressive Amazonians and the unfortunate slaying of an expedition member by another expedition member, the party finally completed their end and mapped what came to be known as the Rio Teodoro. During the expedition, many members of the expedition contracted tropical diseases such as malaria. TR himself became so ill that he is reputed to hold contemplated suicide. As a affair of fact, he carried with him a dosage of hemlock for merely such a intent. TR & # 8217 ; s illness was due to a leg hurt, which abscessed, doing TR to lose about 50 lbs. This leg hurt plagued him the remainder of his life, and may hold contributed to his decease.
Returning to the United States in 1914, TR found that the universe was being lacerate apart by the lifting struggle in Europe which culminated in the blackwash of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, therefore precipitating World War I. TR volunteered to raise a regiment to contend in Europe, but his attempts were rebuffed by President Wilson. In response, TR returned to his editorial responsibilities and engaged in tireless attempts to raise money and supplies for the war attempt. His boies, Ted Jr. , Kermit, Archie, and Quentin all served in the Army with differentiation. Unfortunately, Quentin, an aeronaut, was killed over Chemery, France, after his plane was shot down. The landing field near Sagamore Hill where Quentin trained was renamed Roosevelt field in his award, and it is the field from where Charles Lindbergh departed on his celebrated solo flight across the Atlantic.
Never retrieving from the heartache of losing his favourite kid, TR continued to compose books and columns. Unfortunately, the strain from his leg hurt accelerated his neglecting wellness. Theodore Roosevelt returned to his place and died in his slumber on January 6, 1919. His last words are reputed to hold been directed at his manservant, James Amos, when TR said, & # 8220 ; Please turn out the light. & # 8221 ; The official cause of decease was listed as a pneumonic intercalation brought on by the combined effects of inflammatory rheumatism and recurrent malaria. Archie Roosevelt, on impermanent leave to recover from a leg lesion, cabled his siblings still overseas with the simple message, & # 8220 ; The Old Lion is Dead. & # 8221 ; When the intelligence reached Washington, D.C. , the Vice President, Thomas R. Marshall, was reputed to hold said, & # 8220 ; Death had to take him kiping, for if Roosevelt had been awake, there would hold been a fight. & # 8221 ;
Despite his decease at age 60, Theodore Roosevelt & # 8217 ; s bequest lives on. His moral unity and strength of character are theoretical accounts, which should be emulated by everyone around the universe. Theodore Roosevelt was non merely one of the finest presidents the United States has of all time elected ; Theodore Roosevelt was besides a faithful hubby, a theoretical account parent, an enthusiastic citizen who sought to carry through something great for his state and the universe at big. TR was a fecund author and tireless candidate for the protection of basic human rights, a consummate politician who shaped the universe around him, ever establishing his actions on the American constructs of freedom, equal justness under the jurisprudence, and the chase of felicity. Theodore Roosevelt & # 8217 ; s bequest shall go on, and it is to his memory that we dependably dedicate this web site.
