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Theodore Roosevelt

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{{Officeholder
|name=Theodore Roosevelt
|image=630px-Theodore Roosevelt by John Singer Sargent 1903in 1918.jpg
|party=[[Republican]]
|spouse=Alice Hathaway Lee<br/>Edith Kermit Carow
}}
}}
'''Theodore Roosevelt''' was the 26th [[president of the United States of America]], 1901-19091901–1909, leader of the [[Republican party]] and (in 1912-161912–16) the Progressive Party. Roosevelt is best known for his remarkable personality and commitment to democratic process. He was strongly committed to law and order, active leadership, civic duty and individual self-responsibility; he was more concerned with the process of change than its direction.
A strong and vigorous man both personally and in politics, it was through Roosevelt that the world identified America with cowboy values of courage, initiative and hardiness while it watched Roosevelt expand American influence in world affairs.
Roosevelt enlarged the presidency because he made it a "bully pulpit" for national uplift and inspiration. He preached as much as he politicked. He felt responsible for the well-being and morals of the whole country. He set an example of how a large, strenuous life could be led, and he invited others to renew their energies and apply them to public causes. He strongly endorsed motherhood and criticized women who had careers while neglecting motherhood.<ref>See "Theodore Roosevelt on Motherhood and the Welfare of the State," ''Population and Development Review,'' Vol. 13, No. 1 (Mar., 1987), pp. 141-147 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1972126 online]</ref>
In the contest between [[Conservation conservation and environmentalism]], Roosevelt supported the conservation and optimum use of natural resources and opposed the environmentalists of the day, such as [[John Muir]].[[Image:Theodore Roosevelt by John Singer Sargent 1903.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Painting by John Singer Sargent]]
==Family==
The Roosevelts could trace their family to Claes Martenssen van Rosenvelt, an immigrant from Zealand, Holland ([[Netherlands]]) who came to America in 1649, settling in New Amsterdam ([[New York City]]). Theodore was born on October 27, 1858, the second child of a very successful New York businessman, Theodore Roosevelt, Sr., and his wife Martha Bulloch, a Southern belle from Georgia. His early childhood was marked by frequent illness and asthma, of which his father spent many an evening bundling up "Tedie" - as young Theodore was often called - and taking him out for carriage rides in the fresh air. By age 10 his father would have enough of the possibility of his son growing into an unhealthy weakling and forced on him a regimen of weights and daily physical exercise.
[[Image:Schoolpic.jpg|thumb|100px|left|Young Theodore Roosevelt]]
===Education===
Roosevelt was home schooled by tutors and his parents. He was solid in geography (thanks to his careful observations on all his travels) and very well read in history, strong in biology, French and German, but deficient in mathematics, Latin and Greek. He became one of the outstanding naturalists of the era, specializing in very careful study of birds.<ref>Brands (2001) p. 49–50</ref> He attended [[Harvard]] College, graduating in 1880 "magna cum laude". He lived very well—his annual $4000 allowance was higher than the president of the college—the days of equalitarian houses were decades in the future. His father's sudden death in 1878 was a stunning blow; Roosevelt redoubled his efforts.<ref>His inheritance was worth $8000 a year, about triple what the average doctor or lawyer earned.</ref> In academics he did well in science, philosophy and rhetoric courses, as well as German; but fared poorly in Latin and Greek. Harvard did not have majors, but he took all the advanced biology he could. Classmates considered him an odd bird—he kept snakes in his room and knew all about them. He also dressed in the latest fashions and kept his own horse and buggy. A crack shot, he brought his friends along on hunting parties to the north woods. The perfect gentleman, he was invited into the best clubs. Roosevelt joined [[Delta Kappa Epsilon]] [[fraternity]].
Roosevelt had amazing powers of concentration. He had a photographic memory and developed a life-long lifelong habit of devouring books, memorizing every detail. He was an unusually eloquent conversationalist who, throughout his life, sought out the company of the smartest men and women. He could multitask in extraordinary fashion, dictating letters to one secretary and memoranda to another, while browsing through a new book. During his adulthood, a visitor would get a not-so-subtle hint that Roosevelt was losing interest in the conversation when he would pick up a book and begin looking at it now and then as the conversation continued.
[[Image:Alice Lee.gif|thumb|right|Mrs. Alice Roosevelt]]
 
===First marriage===
==President==
When President McKinley was fatally shot by an [[anarchist]] in 1901, Roosevelt automatically became President and was reelected against a challenge by the Democratic candidate Alton B. Parker in [[United States presidential election, 1904|1904]].
[[Image:Tr2006.jpg|thumb|290px|''Time'' July 3, 2006]]
{{main|Political positions of Theodore Roosevelt}}
 
In 1901, President McKinley was fatally shot by [[Leon Czolgosz]], an [[anarchist]]. Roosevelt automatically became President. He was reelected in [[United States presidential election, 1904|1904]] against a challenge by the Democratic candidate Alton B. Parker.
Roosevelt redefined the modern presidency by drawing attention to the office through his dynamic personality, thus creating a 'public obsession' over his executive actions and attracting a permanent public eye toward the presidency that endowed it with new power.
===Domestic policy===
Roosevelt was the chief leader of the [[Progressive Era|Progressive movement in politics]]—which in 21st century terms includes both liberal and conservative values. He he tried to move the dominant Republican Party into the Progressive camp. He distrusted wealthy businessmen and dissolved 40 monopolistic corporations as a "trust buster". He did not disagree with trusts and capitalism in principle but was only against their corrupt, illegal practices. His "[[Square Deal]]" promised a fair shake for both the average citizen, including regulation of railroad rates and pure foods and drugs and the businessmen. As an outdoorsman, he promoted the conservation movement, emphasizing efficient use of natural resources.
In his last two years in office (1907-1908), Roosevelt moved left, attacking big business and suggesting the courts were biased against labor unions.
====Pure food and drugs====
{{main|Pure Food and Drug Act|Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906}} Widespread outrage followed publication in 1906 of [[Upton Sinclair]]'s novel, ''The Jungle,'' which detailed the horrible conditions in Chicago’s Chicago's packinghouses. Roosevelt sent sociologists Labor Commissioner Charles P. Neill and social workers worker James Bronson Reynolds<ref>[http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1906/06/05/page/4/article/conditions-in-stockyards-described-in-the-neill-reynolds-report Conditions in Stockyards Described in the Neill-Reynolds Report], [[Chicago Tribune]]</ref> to investigate the meat-packing industry in Chicago. Their report to the president was 'revolting,' but since Roosevelt feared the impact on ranchers and European meat importers, he withheld the Neill-Reynolds report from publication. Sinclair was so upset that he provided specific information to newspapers. Roosevelt then had the commissioners put their report in writing and sent it to Congress. This led to a hearing before Congress; witnesses were asked about seeing a dead hog slide partway into a men's privy. Although Sinclair was a Socialist and his main interest was in the stockyard workers, not consumers, the turmoil over tainted meat helped move Congress to enact the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. The act itself had been drawn up by experts in the Department of Agriculture and remains in effect in the 21st century.<ref>James Harvey Young, "The Pig That Fell into the Privy: Upton Sinclair's 'The Jungle' and the Meat Inspection Amendments of 1906." ''Bulletin of the History of Medicine'' 1985 59(4): 467-480</ref>
====Coal strike====
[[Image:Coal-TR.JPG|thumb|300px|left|Roosevelt teaches the childish coal barons a lesson; 1902 editorial cartoon]]
====Railroad regulation====
{{main|Elkins Act|Hepburn Act}} Roosevelt worked closely with Congress to pass important laws (such as the 1903 Elkins Act and the 1906 Hepburn Act), that regulated railroad rates for the benefit of shippers and consumers. Ultimately, while injuring these bills injured the railroads (which were assumed to be so rich that they could always pay). The new laws retarded the growth of the South, which the railroads could no longer afford to subsidize.<ref>Albro Martin, "The Troubled Subject of Railroad Regulation in the Gilded Age - a Reappraisal." ''Journal of American History'' 1974 61(2): 339-371 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1903953 in JSTOR]</ref>  
====Antitrust====
:{{Main article|Sherman Anti-Trust Act}}
Roosevelt expressed an antitrust image within a pro business framework. Critics who have measured Roosevelt's success by the number of antitrust suits he brought or won miss the essentially rhetorical purposes of his involvement with corporate America. His primary emphasis involved the promotion of the proper attitude in corporate leaders and the general public regarding the role of big business in American society. This Roosevelt did in two ways. First, he argued metaphorically for the necessity of corporations and the restraint of muckraking journalists. Second, along with employing metaphors to chastise big business, Roosevelt assumed the role of moral guardian and preached to corporate leaders to adhere to an ethical standard in business. For Roosevelt, corporate America could be effectively regulated only by its leaders' sense of morality and spirit of public service.<ref>Dorsey, Leroy G., "Theodore Roosevelt and Corporate America, 1901-1909: a Reexamination," ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' 1995 25(4): 725-739</ref>
 
====Executive Orders====
Roosevelt was the first President to issue over 1000 [[Executive Order]]s. According to Dr. Graham G. Dodds, a professor of political science at Concordia University,<ref>[https://www.concordia.ca/artsci/polisci/faculty.html?fpid=graham-dodds Graham Dodds, PhD]</ref> Roosevelt issued almost as many executive orders as all of his predecessors combined.<ref>{{cite bookmain|title=Executing the Constitution: Putting the President Back Into the Constitution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qgzmexCI734C&pg=PA53 |year=2006|publisher=State University Political positions of New York Press|pages=53|isbn=9780791481905Theodore Roosevelt#Executive_Orders}}</ref>
Prior to Rooseveltbelieved that good policy could come from a multitude of quarters from within the government, even if it lacked congressional approval. During his presidency, only one President Roosevelt issued over 200 1000 executive orders, [[Grover Cleveland]]a first for any American president.(Cleveland issued a total of 253)<ref name=executiveorders>[httphttps://www.presidencysmithsonianmag.ucsb.educom/datahistory/how-theodore-roosevelts-executive-orders.php -reshaped-countryand-presidency-180962908/ The Debate Over Executive Orders: Washington - ObamaBegan With Teddy Roosevelt’s Mad Passion for Conservation]</ref> Of the first 25 Presidents in totalIn many instances, 1262 executive orders were issued. Roosevelt issued 1081.<ref name=executiveorders /> Members of congress eventually got tired of Roosevelt's excesses in using executive orders to create policy. On February 25th, 1907, Senator Charles W. Fulton, a Republican from Oregon, added an amendment to the 1907 Agricultural Appropriations Bill<ref>[http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev7_007136.pdf Siuslaw National Forest], '''PDF'''</ref> declaring these activities as falling under the authority use of congressional power, not executive power. Congressional leaders concluded that the president Executive Orders was out of controldirectly linked with his conservation views.<ref>{{cite book|title=Theodore Roosevelt: Preacher of Righteousness|url=[https://books.google.com/books?id=UiYRkL4GqP4CbD8EDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA178 |year=2008|publisher=Yale University Press|pages=178|isbn=9780300145144}}PA101 Theodore Roosevelt, Conservation, and the 1908 Governors' Conference]</ref>
===Moving left===
[[File:TR-Farewell.jpg|thumb|320px|Roosevelt moves left in his 1908 Farewell Address]]
Roosevelt moved left in 1907-08, criticizing the courts, promoting labor unions and attacking big business. The Republican leadership in Congress ignored his radical proposals and waited for his successor-Taft-to take over the White House.
 
====View of the Constitution====
Roosevelt's administration marked the shift to a more activist conception of the presidency, in peace as well as war,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pyle|first1=Christopher H.|last2=Pious|first2=Richard M.|title=The President, Congress, and the Constitution: Power and Legitimacy in American Politics|date=1984|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-0029253809|pages=68–69}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/serials/files/policy-report/2002/11/chapman.pdf |title=TR: No Friend of the Constitution |work=Cato Institute |date=November/December 2002 }}</ref> and was both internationalist and aggressive in asserting Presidential power.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dumbrell|first1=John|last2=Barrett|first2=David M.|title=The Making of US Foreign Policy|date=1997|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0719048227|pages=56–57}}</ref> He would write in his Autobiography:
<blockquote>I declined to adopt the view that what was imperatively necessary for the Nation could not be done by the President unless he could find some specific authorization to do it. My belief was that it was not only his right but his duty to do anything that the needs of the Nation demanded unless such action was forbidden by the Constitution or by the laws. Under this interpretation of executive power I did and caused to be done many things not previously done by the President and the heads of the departments. I did not usurp power, but I did greatly broaden the use of executive power. In other words, I acted for the public welfare, I acted for the common well-being of all our people, whenever and in whatever manner was necessary, unless prevented by direct constitutional or legislative prohibition.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Roosevelt|first1=Theodore|title=Theodore Roosevelt, an Autobiography|date=1913|publisher=Charles Scribner's sons|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Io4fAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA357|pages=}}</ref></blockquote>
This view came to be known as the [[Stewardship Theory]],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dodds|first1=Graham G.|title=Take Up Your Pen: Unilateral Presidential Directives in American Politics|date=May 2, 2013|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|isbn=978-0-8122-4511-0|pages=31–33}}</ref> by [[William Howard Taft]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Taft|first1=William H.|title=Our chief magistrate and his powers|date=1916|publisher=Columbia University Press|url=https://archive.org/details/ourchiefmagistra00taftuoft|pages=139–140}}</ref>
 
====Eugenics====
As was common during the [[Progressive Era]], Roosevelt came to believe in the doctrines of [[Eugenics]]. He wrote about the dangers of "race suicide",<ref>[http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/toonsbytopicracesuicide.html Theodore Roosevelt : Political Cartoons : "Race Suicide" Controversy]</ref><ref>[When some eugenists wrote about "race", they meant "Human Race" and not racial superiority]</ref> in that people were not having enough children.
 
Common with eugenists, he did believe in sterilization. In an article titled "Twisted Eugenics", he wrote that "I wish very much that the wrong people could be prevented entirely from breeding; and when the evil nature of these people is sufficiently flagrant, this should be done. Criminals should be sterilized and feeble-minded persons forbidden to leave offspring behind them."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=qbsRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA32 The Outlook, Volume 106]</ref> Additionally, he wrote a letter to Charles Davenport expressing the same sentiment. He wrote: "Society has no business to permit degenerates to reproduce their kind. It is really extraordinary that our people refuse to apply to human beings such elementary knowledge as every successful farmer is obliged to apply to his own stock breeding."<ref>[https://www.dnalc.org/view/11219-T-Roosevelt-letter-to-C-Davenport-about-degenerates-reproducing-.html T. Roosevelt letter to C. Davenport about "degenerates reproducing"]</ref>
 
Roosevelt's eugenic beliefs have at times been misunderstood, and can be best categorized as Neo-Lamarkist.<ref>Thomas G. Dyer, ''Theodore Roosevelt and the Idea of Race'' (1980), p. 160</ref>
===Foreign Policy===
Roosevelt's administration was marked by an active approach to foreign policy. He followed four basic principles: 1) #promoting broadly defined American interests worldwide, 2) #building American military and naval power and control over strategic points (especially the Panama canal and its approaches), 3) #cooperation with the British, and 4) #there was a social contract between the nation's citizens and its government, such that civilized nations had a right of intervention in cases in which such a contract had been broken. His foreign policy was well suited for the challenges of the world; he anticipated later attitudes and developments well into the 20th century and even the 21st century, as exemplified by [[John McCain]] in 2008.<ref>M. Patrick Cullinane, "Invoking Teddy: the Inspiration of John Mccain's Foreign Policy." ''Diplomacy & Statecraft'' 2008 19(4): 767-786</ref> He combined a credible realist and internationalist approach with great attention to detail and full appreciation of the importance of diplomatic finesse.
====Civilization and modernization====
By identifying and working with two talented junior officers in the Navy Department, Albert Lenoir Key and [[William S. Sims]], Roosevelt assembled an ad hoc staff on naval policy. This staff funneled technical information to Roosevelt that allowed him to dominate policy discussions with Congress and the senior Navy staff. The president annoyed his admirals by micromanaging their responsibilities and ignoring the chain of command.<ref>Peri E. Arnold, "Policy Leadership in the Progressive Presidency: the Case of Theodore Roosevelt's Naval Policy and His Search for Strategic Resources". ''Studies in American Political Development'' 1996 10(2): 333-359</ref>
Roosevelt dramatically increased the size of the navy, forming the new warships into a "[[Great White Fleet]]" for display purposes and sending it on a world tour in 1907. This display was designed as a show of force to impress the Japanese and even more to motivate Americans to support naval power and be aware of the new role in the Pacific. Yet, the ships were almost forced to return because of the inadequacy of American ports in the Pacific.<ref>James R. Reckner, "The Rebirth of the Fleet." ''Naval History'' 2007 21(6): 16-25 online at [[EBSCO]]; Edward S Miller,''War Plan Orange'' (1991)</ref>
====Britain====
Typical of his eagerness for closer cooperation with London was Washington's support for Britain in the [[Boer War]], despite public opinion that favored the underdog Boers. the British reciprocated, so that in settling the boundary dispute between Canada (controlled by Britain) and Alaska, the British sold out the Canadians to gain American favor—a stunning shock to the Canadians.
====Mediator====
''The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War'' by James Bradley shows that Teddy Roosevelt made it clear that he will get Japan to take Korea by closing the US embassy in Seoul, but won a Nobel Peace Prize for arranging a meeting place between Russia and Japan.
 
Balance of power considerations shaped Roosevelt's role as the successful mediator who ended the 1904-05 war between Russia and Japan. Japan had clearly won, but was not allowed to grab too much, thus allowing Russia to keep a certain power base in the region. Roosevelt justified his actions as consistent with American interests and American values. Moral principles in politics and diplomacy, Roosevelt claimed, help make clear the inescapable tension between ideals and reality. The moral problem persists, he thought, because diplomacy involves choices often obscured by faulty perception, controlled by national interests and complicated by multiple purposes and goals.<ref>Greg Russell, "Theodore Roosevelt's Diplomacy and the Quest for Great Power Equilibrium in Asia." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' 2008 38(3): 433-455</ref>
<blockquote>
''“Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.”'' The phrase was initially used by Roosevelt to explain his relations with domestic political leaders; later the phrase was associated with him and came to refer particularly to his foreign policy with Latin America.<ref>[httphttps://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/65006/Big-Stick-Policy Big Stick Policy.]</ref>
</blockquote>
In particular, Roosevelt understood the strategic significance of the [[Panama Canal]], which opened up the Pacific Coast and Asia to cheap shipping and made it possible for the Navy to move rapidly between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
A central issue was which route the canal would take; across Nicaragua and Costa Rica or through the Panama region of Columbia. Intense lobbying resulted in the Congressional decision to follow the Panama route. However, the Colombian Senate rejected the terms of the American Hay-Herran Treaty (1903) and tried to extort more money from the Americans. Roosevelt rejected Colombia's devious strategy and blocked Colombia from suppressing an insurrection in Panama against Colombia. With the success of the revolution, the United States initiated a treaty with the now independent Panama and began construction of the canal, which was completed in 1914.<ref>David McCullough, ''The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914'' (1978) [httphttps://www.amazon.com/Path-Between-Seas-Creation-1870-1914/dp/0671244094/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250828638&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]</ref>
==Break with Taft==
[[Image:PamphletFrontPageProgressivePartyPlatform1912.jpg|thumb|right|190px|The Platform of Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive Party]]
When Roosevelt's term was up he decided not to run again but chose Secretary of War [[William Howard Taft]] as his successor.
==Conservation==
More than any president before or since, Roosevelt insisted that conservation of natural resources be high on the agenda. As a world-class hunter and explorer, he mobilized support among American hunters, fishermen and outdoorsmen. He promoted both the national park system and the national forest system. Long before becoming President, Roosevelt believed that large sections of land ought to be under the control of the federal government. In 1892 he wrote: :We need, in the interest of the community at large, a rigid system of game laws rigidly enforced, and it is not only admissible, but '''one may almost say necessary''', to establish, '''under the control of the State''', great national forest reserves, which shall also be breeding grounds and nurseries for wild game.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/wilderneshunt02roosrich/page/n6 The Wilderness Hunter], 1892, p. 270</ref>
[[File:TR-Conservation.jpg|thumb|320px|Roosevelt was a leader in Conservation, fighting to end the waste of natural resources]]
In the early 20th century there were three main positions. The laissez-faire position held that owners of private property—including lumber and mining companies, should be allowed to do anything they wished for their property.  The conservationists, led by Roosevelt and his ally [[Gifford Pinchot]], said that was too wasteful and inefficient. In any case, they noted, most of the natural resources in the western states were already owned by the federal government. The best course of action, they argued, was a long-term plan devised by national experts to maximize the long-term economic benefits of natural resources.  The third position, led by the Sierra Club, held that nature was almost sacred, and that man was an intruder. It allowed for limited tourism (such as hiking), but opposed automobiles in national parks. It strenuously opposed timber cutting on most public lands and vehemently denounced the dams that Roosevelt supported for water supplies, electricity and flood control.  Especially controversial was the Hetch Hetchy Dam in Yosemite National Park, which was built after Roosevelt had left politics. The dam still stands despite efforts by members of the Reagan and George W. Bush administrations as well as the Sierra Club to demolish the dam. Nancy Pelosi and the California Democratic Party have been staunch critics of these proposals, as the reservoir is used for a back up water supply for Pelosi's district (Don Pedro Reservoir is the main source).
==Race and Ethnicity==
Roosevelt was keenly sensitive to the issues surrounding race and ethnicity, particularly the heated debated on immigration restriction. He considered himself Dutch, not Anglo-Saxon . He welcomed the vitality of new immigration, while holding that America's first responsibility was to its literate, native-born, working poor. In balancing these competitive goals, the president backed legislation that limited the immigration of poverty- and disease-stricken people regardless of ethnicity. He blocked harsh anti-Japanese efforts in California, but negotiated an informal agreement whereby Japan would no longer send immigrants.  During World War I he attacked certain "[[hyphenated American]]s," especially German-Americans and Irish-Americans, saying they put loyalties to their homeland above American interests.<ref>The German-Americans did not support Germany, but did want the U.S. to remain neutral. The Irish Catholics were so hostile to Britain that they did not want the U.S. to support it.</ref> In recent years, he has been criticized for referring to blacks<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=eFJFAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA229 Presidential addresses and state papers]</ref> as "the backward race" and whites as "the forward race".<ref>[http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2015/02/racist-american-presidents/teddy-roosevelt The (Not So) Secret Racist Moments of American Presidents]</ref><ref>[http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/teddy-roosevelt-discusses-americas-race-problem Teddy Roosevelt discusses America’s race problem]</ref> 
===Historian of the frontier===
In ''The Winning of the West,'' a four-volume history of westward expansion, Roosevelt developed the thesis that the western experience shaped and created a new ethnic group or people (what he called a "race"), the true American people. His ideas helped shape the popular culture, especially since his own cowboy persona exemplified all the strengths of the new people. Meanwhile, Professor [[Frederick Jackson Turner]] developed his famous [[Frontier Thesis]], based in part on Roosevelt’s Roosevelt's ideas. Turner’s Turner's views came to dominate professional historiography and shaped the teaching of history for a century–and is still influential in the 21st century. Roosevelt and Turner shared the view that the frontier was the most significant force in America's cultural and political development, but Turner stressed the complex social and political processes simulated by the frontier, while Roosevelt emphasized that national growth and progress came from the West. Turner envisioned political problems that could befall America if cheap land resources were exhausted. Roosevelt saw a new, highly capable cohort of ruling elites growing out of the conquest of the frontier and leading America to new frontiers.<ref>Richard Slotkin, "Theodore Roosevelt's Frontier Hypothesis," ''European Contributions to American Studies'' 1989 16: 44-71</ref>
==Patriotism==
==Turn to the left==
[[Image:Youre No George Washington Mr Roosevelt.jpg|thumb|250px|right|A cartoon satirizes Theodore Roosevelt reversing his promise not to seek a third time in office.]]
About 1907, Roosevelt turned more to the left in domestic policy, and in his 1912 campaign he called for movement toward what would later be called a "welfare state." His move to the left annoyed conservatives and fueled the split in the GOP that exploded in 1912, with Roosevelt on the losing side. His "'''New Nationalism'''" and his chivalry predisposed him toward an enlarged protective state, along with his admiration for what the British were doing at the time.<ref>[[David Lloyd George]] and [[Winston Churchill]], key leaders of the British [[Liberal Party]], started the welfare state in Britain, 1908-11, with unemployment insurance and old age pensions; American conservatives accepted these policies by the 1950s..</ref> Roosevelt preached the manly protection of the family and a state led by manly men who insisted on protecting all women and children. He believed that "the ruin of motherhood and childhood by the merciless exploitation of the labor of women and children is a crime of capital importance." His solution was to support labor's right to bargain collectively and to denounce employers who mistreated women and child workers.<ref>Kathleen Dalton, ''Theodore Roosevelt: A Strenuous Life'' (2004)</ref>
===Direct Election of Senators===
The direct election of senators(which later became the [[17th amendment]]) was an important initiative for progressives of the era, representing a major shift in policy from the [[Founding Fathers]] [[Constitutional Republic]] to a form of direct [[Democracy]], with Roosevelt being among the supporters of the idea. He spoke frequently<ref>{{cite book |first1=Theodore |last1=Roosevelt |title=Who is a Progressive? |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BIwxAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA809 |pages=8–9, 15 |date=April 3, 1912 }}</ref> on the campaign trail<ref>{{cite book |first1=Theodore |last1=Roosevelt |title=A Charter of Democracy: Address by Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, Ex-president of the United States, Before the Ohio Constitutional Convention on February 21, 1912 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qb4ZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA9 |year=1912 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |pages=9 }}</ref> about the issue, and it is included in the platform of the [[Bull Moose Party]].<ref>{{cite book |first1=Theodore |last1=Roosevelt |title=Progressive Principles: Selections from Addresses Made During the Presidential Campaign of 1912 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qLYJAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA315 |year=1913 |publisher=Progressive national service |pages=315 }}</ref>
==Conservative or liberal?==
Metaphorically, there were 15 different Roosevelts; conservatives admire 10 of them, liberals admire 10, with some overlap. Conservatives are more apt to admire his patriotismpatriotic speeches, masculinity and foreign military achievements, his stress on national greatness, his buildup of the nation's military forces, his resolution of the [[Coal strike of 1902|1902 Coal Strike]] without forcing business to recognize the unions, his attacks on hyphenated Americans (people with divided loyalty in wartime), and his bold histories of the frontier. Liberals are more likely to admire his domestic agenda of trust-busting and hostility to big business, his promotion of liberal programs in 1907-8 and 1912, his revival push for the income tax and support for the death tax, support for popularly electing senators, support for price controls, his excessive use of executive orders to get around congress, and his break with the GOP in 1912 when he denounced it as too conservative. [[Ronald Reagan]] noted in 1972, "I admire 'Teddy' greatly and quote him often."<ref>Text in Ronald Reagan [httphttps://books.google.com/books?id=ZrRc_ABenS8C&pg=PP1&dq=inauthor:ronald+inauthor:reagan&lr=&num=30&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES#PPA266,M1 ''Reagan: A Life in Letters'' (2004) p 266]</ref>
Conservation was always high on Roosevelt's agenda. His optimal use policy has largely been adopted by conservatives and businessmen, while the Sierra Club and related groups reject Roosevelt's policies.
Everyone admires his amazingly dynamic style and willingness to confront the issues of the day by bringing everyone to the negotiating table, his settlement of the war between Japan and Russia (which led to Roosevelt's winning the Nobel peace prize), and his building of the Panama Canal (though liberals complain he was too rough with Colombia).
 
==Assassination attempt==
On October 14, 1912, John Flammang Schrank attempted to murder Roosevelt. His attempt failed, with Roosevelt recognizing that since he was not coughing up blood, the bullet did not reach his lung. Roosevelt proceeded to give the speech which he was intending, despite warnings from health officials. The title of the speech was "''Progressive Cause Greater Than Any Individual''". He opened the speech, informing the crowd of the attack. He said "Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot, but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose". The bullet from Schrank had pierced a metal eyeglass case as well as the speech transcript he was carrying.
 
At the time, it was not considered safe to remove the bullet, so Roosevelt carried the bullet in his chest for the rest of his life.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0106.html Theodore Roosevelt Dies Suddenly at Oyster Bay Home; Nation Shocked, Pays Tribute to Former President; Our Flag on All Seas and in All Lands at Half Mast], [[The New York Times]]</ref>
== Sidelights ==
===Football reform===
Both Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson took an intense interest in the controversy over the reform of college football to make the game more efficient and less brutal. In the 1890s and early 1900s, football faced widespread harsh criticism over injuries and the exaggerated role of athletics in college life. Roosevelt and Wilson, loyal followers of Harvard and Princeton, had defended football in the 1890s. In the fall of 1905, however, Roosevelt called a conference of football experts at the White House to discuss brutality and unsportsmanlike conduct. Thereafter, Roosevelt worked behind the scenes to bring about sufficient reform to preserve football and insure ensure that it would continue to be played at Harvard. In the years 1909-10, when college football again faced an injury crisis, Woodrow Wilson, president of Princeton University worked with the presidents at Harvard and Yale to make reasonable reforms. Both Roosevelt's and Wilson's approaches were consistent with their strategies for national political change. In the years that followed the reforms on the gridiron, football evolved rapidly into the 'attractive' game that Wilson had advocated and a far less brutal game than the unruly spectacle that Roosevelt had tried to control.<ref>John S. Watterson, "Political Football: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and the Gridiron Reform Movement." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' 1995 25(3): 555-564</ref>
==Religion and character==
Roosevelt's personal experience with the Church was a happy one—and he grew great strength from it. As he confessed to his friends, "after a week of wrestling with perplexing problems, it does so rest my soul to come to the House of the Lord and to sing—and to mean it—Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty.
[Roosevelt] refrained from hunting, fishing, playing games, or transacting any sort of business on Sunday.<ref>[http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/life/Religion.htm THE RELIGION of THEODORE ROOSEVELT] Relative little has been written on Roosevelt 's religion, although a book, ''ROOSEVELT'S RELIGION'' by Christian Reisner, [httphttps://books.google.com/books?id=-rVEAAAAIAAJ&dq=ROOSEVELT%27S+RELIGION+by+Christian+Reisner&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=NaRpPqwPWv&sig=v-mVzmOukGfPAKjq6jZgfo4q3aM&hl=en&ei=x8-CSpiCOsaltgfD_rjMCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1 George Grant, "The courage and character of Theodore Roosevelt. A hero among leaders."], pp. 170,71</ref>
</blockquote>
Roosevelt provided ''Nine Reasons Why a Man Should Go to Church'',<ref>http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/life/Church9reasons.htm</ref> such as
:''He may not hear a good sermon at church. He will hear a sermon by a good man who, with his wife, is engaged all of the week in making hard lives a little easier.''
:''I advocate a man's joining in church work for the sake of showing his faith by his works.''<ref>''The Works of Theodore Roosevelt - National Edition'', H-BAR Enterprises</ref><ref>http://thinkexist.com/quotation/a_thorough_knowledge_of_the_bible_is_worth_more/164715.html</ref><ref>http://www.answers.com/topic/theodore-roosevelt</ref>
Various other quotes<ref>==Quotes== :''The Works of Theodore Roosevelt - National EditionAggressive fighting for the right is the noblest sport the world affords.'', H-BAR Enterprises</ref><ref>httphttps://thinkexistwww.goodreads.com/quotationquotes/a_thorough_knowledge_of_the_bible_is_worth_more/164715.html80958-aggressive-fighting-for-the-right-is-the-noblest-sport-the</ref> :''I have always believed that it would also be necessary to give the National Government complete power over the organization and capitalization of all business concerns engaged in inter-State commerce.''<ref>http[https://wwwbooks.answersgoogle.com/topic/theodore-rooseveltbooks?id=AUcOAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA560 Theodore Roosevelt, an Autobiography], p. 560</ref> help express Roosevelt's character and values.
:''A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.''
== See also ==
*[[American Antiquities Act of 1906]]
 == External links ==*[http://faithandfreedom.us/documents/20thcentury/bigstick.htm "Big Stick" Policy.[USS Theodore Roosevelt]] Faith & Freedom Network.
==Bibliography==
===Surveys===
* Buenker, John D. and Joseph Buenker, eds. ''Encyclopedia of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.'' (3 vol 2005), 1280pp; articles on all the major people, events and causes of Roosevelt’s Roosevelt's era
* Mowry, George. ''The Era of Theodore Roosevelt and the Birth of Modern America, 1900–1912.'' (1954) general survey of era
* Brands, H.W. ''T.R.: The Last Romantic'' (1998), scholarly biography [http://www.questia.com/read/98669157?title=T.R.%3a%20The%20Last%20Romantic online edition]
* Chessman, G. Wallace. ''Theodore Roosevelt and the Politics of Power,'' (1969), short biography by scholar
* Cooper, John Milton ''The Warrior and the Priest: Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt.'' (1983), well-written a dual scholarly biography [httphttps://www.amazon.com/Warrior-Priest-Woodrow-Theodore-Roosevelt/dp/0674947517/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220396273&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]* Dalton, Kathleen. ''Theodore Roosevelt: A Strenuous Life.'' (2002), full scholarly biography that stresses his late crusade for social welfare [httphttps://www.amazon.com/Theodore-Roosevelt-Strenuous-Kathleen-Dalton/dp/0679767339/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250752111&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Harbaugh, William Henry. ''The Life and Times of Theodore Roosevelt.'' (1963), full scholarly biography; good on politics
* Keller, Morton, ed., ''Theodore Roosevelt: A Profile'' (1967) excerpts from Roosevelt and from historians.
* McCullough, David. ''Mornings on Horseback, The Story of an Extraordinary Family. a Vanished Way of Life, and the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt.'' (2001) popular biography to 1884 [httphttps://www.amazon.com/Mornings-Horseback-Extraordinary-Vanished-Roosevelt/dp/0671447548/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250752478&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]* Morris, Edmund. ''The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt'', to 1901 (1979); vol 2: ''Theodore Rex'' 1901–1909. (2001); Pulitzer prize for Volume 1. Biography; unusually well-written and well-researched [httphttps://www.amazon.com/Theodore-Roosevelt-Modern-Library-Paperbacks/dp/0375756787/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250752478&sr=1-4 vol 1 excerpt and text search]* O'Toole, Patricia. ''When Trumpets Call: Theodore Roosevelt after the White House.'' (2005). 494 pp. [httphttps://www.amazon.com/When-Trumpets-Call-Theodore-Roosevelt/dp/0684864789/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250752668&sr=1-16 excerpt and text search]
* Pringle, Henry F. ''Theodore Roosevelt'' (1932; 2nd ed. 1956), full scholarly biography [http://www.questia.com/read/270595?title=Theodore%20Roosevelt%3a%20A%20Biography online 1st edition]
* Putnam, Carleton ''Theodore Roosevelt: A Biography, Volume I: The Formative Years'' (1958), only volume published, to age 28; written by prominent conservative
* Barsness,John A. "Theodore Roosevelt as Cowboy: The Virginian as Jacksonian Man." ''American Quarterly,'' Vol. 21, No. 3 (Autumn, 1969), pp.&nbsp;609–619 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2711937 in JSTOR]
* Blum, John Morton ''The Republican Roosevelt.'' (1954). Influential essays that examine how Roosevelt did politics
* Brinkley, Douglas. ''The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America'' (2009), best coverage of Roosevelt and conservation [httphttps://www.amazon.com/Wilderness-Warrior-Theodore-Roosevelt-Crusade/dp/0060565284/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250752478&sr=1-1 excerpt and text search]
* Burton, David H. ''Taft, Roosevelt, and the Limits of Friendship,'' (2005) [http://www.questia.com/read/112015842?title=Taft%2c%20Roosevelt%2c%20and%20the%20Limits%20of%20Friendship online edition]
* Chace, James. ''1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft, and Debs - The Election That Changed the Country.'' (2004). 323 pp; popular account [httphttps://www.amazon.com/1912-Roosevelt-Debs-Election-Changed/dp/0743273559/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220396215&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
* Cutright, Paul Russell. ''Theodore Roosevelt: The Making of a Conservationist'' (1985)
* Dorsey, Leroy G., and Rachel M. Harlow, "'We Want Americans Pure and Simple': Theodore Roosevelt and the Myth of Americanism," ''Rhetoric & Public Affairs,'' Volume 6, Number 1, Spring 2003, pp.&nbsp;55–78 [http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/rhetoric_and_public_affairs/v006/6.1dorsey.html in Project Muse]
* Mowry, George E. "Theodore Roosevelt and the Election of 1910," ''The Mississippi Valley Historical Review,'' Vol. 25, No. 4 (Mar., 1939), pp.&nbsp;523–534 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1892499 in JSTOR]
* Oyos, Matthew M. "Theodore Roosevelt, Congress, and the Military: U.S. Civil-Military Relations in the Early Twentieth Century," ''Presidential Studies Quarterly,'' Vol. 30, 2000 [http://www.questia.com/read/5001752826?title=Theodore%20Roosevelt%2c%20Congress%2c%20and%20the%20Military%3a%20U.S.%20Civil-Military%20Relations%20in%20the%20Early%20Twentieth%20Century online edition]
* Pietrusza, David. "TR's Last War: Theodore Roosevelt, the Great War, and a Journey of Triumph and Tragedy" Guilford, CT: Lyons Press, 2018.
* Powell, Jim. ''Bully Boy: The Truth About Theodore Roosevelt's Legacy'' (2006). Denounces TR policies from libertarian perspective; poorly researched
* Rhodes, James Ford. ''The McKinley and Roosevelt Administrations, 1897-1909'' (1922) [http://www.questia.com/read/6404794?title=The%20McKinley%20and%20Roosevelt%20Administrations%2c%201897-1909 online edition]
* Roosevelt, Theodore. [http://www.bartleby.com/55/ ''Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography ''(1910)]''. online at Bartleby.com.
* Roosevelt, Theodore. ''The Works of Theodore Roosevelt'' (National edition, 20 vol. 1926); 18,000 pages containing most of TR's speeches, books and essays, but not his letters; a CD-ROM edition is available; some of TR's books are available online through [http://www.bartleby.com/people/RsvltT.html Project Bartleby]
* [httphttps://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/r#a729 Theodore Roosevelt books and speeches on Project Gutenberg]
* Roosevelt, Theodore. "Theodore Roosevelt on Motherhood and the Welfare of the State," ''Population and Development Review,'' Vol. 13, No. 1 (Mar., 1987), pp.&nbsp;141–147 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1972126 in JSTOR]
* Shaw, Albert, ed. ''A Cartoon History of Roosevelt's Career'' (1910) [httphttps://books.google.com/books?id=QEIOAAAAIAAJ full text and cartoons online]
== Notes References==<references{{reflist|3}} == External links ==*[http://faithandfreedom.us/documents/20thcentury/bigstick.htm "Big Stick" Policy.] Faith & Freedom Network.*[https://librivox.org/author/1471 Works by Theodore Roosevelt - text and free audio] - [[LibriVox]]*[http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5722/>Hear TR's Speech "The Liberty of the People"]
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