Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt was born to a rich family in New York City. He was
always sick as a young man and due to lung problems he had to sleep sitting up. He
also had a what doctors called a weak heart and very poor eyesight. While young, he
spent his time indoors reading. His favorite subjects were history and zoology (the
study of animals).
By his teens, he became healthier and wanted to live an energetic lifestyle.
He boxed and sailed on boats, but his favorite activities involved nature. He loved
hiking, mountain climbing and especially hunting. Throughout his entire life he
always read many books and also wrote many things.
When he graduated from Harvard College he had already published a history
book about the War of 1812 (still used today) and gained a reputation for being very
popular and charismatic (a charismatic person is someone that others want to
follow). At the young age of 23, Theodore Roosevelt was chosen by the Republican
Party to run for the State Assembly, and he won. After a few years, he became sick
of the politics and moved out to North Dakota and lived as a cowboy - - he was even
sheriff of his town!
When he moved back to New York he became the Police Commissioner of
New York City. He made sure that police officers were not corrupt (corrupt is when
people in power do favors for people and get money/bribes). He also tested police
officers every year to make sure that they were in shape. He also became known for
going to dangerous places in the middle of the night to make sure that his police
officers were doing their job.
In 1898 when the Spanish-American War broke out, Roosevelt quit his job
and got volunteers to fight in the war. Many were his friends from out west, as well
as friends from Harvard. During the war, Roosevelt’s army was known as the
“Rough Riders”. They made two brave charges up heavily defended hills at the
Battle of San Juan Hill in Cuba against the Spanish- - this battle was very important
in winning the war and Theodore Roosevelt won the Medal of Honor, America’s
highest award for bravery.
When Roosevelt returned home he won the election for governor of New
York. However, President William McKinley chose him as his Vice President. As
you already know, William McKinley was assassinated and Theodore Roosevelt
became the 26th President of the United States of America.
Most presidents since the Civil War had become friendly with big businesses
and businessmen. These presidents had allowed these businesses to grow and do
whatever they wanted. Roosevelt did not trust these big businesses and he feared
that they were growing too rich and powerful. He did not want government to take
over businesses, but he had several problems with the big businesses:
1.) They were treating workers very badly.
2.) Products were unsafe.
3.) Businesses (oil, railroads) became so big they controlled the entire market
and could charge whatever price they wanted (monopolies/trusts), this
means that there was no competition to keep the price low.
Roosevelt broke these businesses into pieces so that there would be competition.
He made sure that workers and their families would be paid if they were hurt at
work. Also, he created the Pure Food and Drug Act that checked food and medicine
to make sure it was healthy before people consumed it.
Going back to his youth, Roosevelt was still a lover of nature. He became
worried that the Industrial Revolution would ruin the great wilderness out in the
west. He set aside thousands and thousands of miles of land in the west as national
parks. This meant that the land could never be turned into cities and the resources
there could never be used by factories. He created 150 national forests, bird
reserves and other protected places. Without Roosevelt, none of these places would
exist today.
When it came to other countries, Roosevelt had one famous saying, “Speak
softly and carry a big stick.” This means, be ready for war, but don’t start one. He is
probably best remembered for buying land for the Panama Canal. The Panama
Canal would allow people to travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific much quicker.
Roosevelt thought that this would make America safer as well because the navy
ships could quickly go from coast to coast. He also helped end a bloody war
between the Russians and Japanese by getting them to sit down and talk about their
problems. For this he won the Nobel Peace prize. He is the only person to have ever
won the Medal of Honor (war bravery) and the Nobel Peace Prize (bringing peace
to the world).
Roosevelt’s new style of presidency started what is called, “The Progressive
Era”. The Progressive Era was a time when the government tried to gain power
back from businesses and the rich and help the poor and middle class. For example,
Roosevelt began the first income tax (when the government takes money from the
money you make at your job). This tax was mostly on the very rich to help pay for
many things.