With the
assassination of President McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, not
quite 43, became the youngest President in the Nation's
history. He brought new excitement and power to the
Presidency, as 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 in 1858 into a wealthy family,
but he too struggled--against ill health--and in his triumph
became an advocate of the strenuous life.
In 1884
his first wife, Alice Lee Roosevelt, and his mother died on
the same day. 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 Carow in December 1886.
During
the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt was lieutenant colonel of
the Rough Rider Regiment, which he led on a charge at the
battle of San Juan. He was one of the most conspicuous heroes
of the war.
Boss Tom
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 spectacularly as a "trust buster" by forcing
the dissolution of a great railroad combination in the
Northwest. Other antitrust suits under the Sherman Act
followed.
Roosevelt
steered the United States more actively into world politics.
He liked to quote a favorite proverb, "Speak softly and
carry a big stick. . . . "
Aware of
the strategic need for a shortcut between the Atlantic and
Pacific, 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.
He won
the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating the Russo-Japanese War,
reached a Gentleman's Agreement on immigration with Japan, and
sent the Great White Fleet on a goodwill tour of the world.
Some of
Theodore Roosevelt's most effective achievements were in
conservation. He added enormously to the national forests in
the West, reserved lands for public use, and fostered great
irrigation projects.
He
crusaded endlessly on matters big and small, exciting
audiences with his high-pitched voice, jutting jaw, and
pounding fist. "The life of strenuous endeavor" was
a must for those around him, as he romped with his five
younger children and led ambassadors on hikes through Rock
Creek Park in Washington, D.C.
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 than I have led; a happier
life in every way."
-
Theodore
Roosevelt