Theodore Roosevelt was the twenty-sixth president of the United States. He was also the youngest person to ever serve as president when he succeeded to the presidency upon President William McKinley's assassination in 1901. Following are ten key facts that are important to understand when studying the life and presidency of Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858, in New York City to a wealthy family. His father had a huge impact on his life. He loved traveling to Europe and Egypt as a young man.
In his youth, Roosevelt was quite sickly. He suffered from asthma and other illnesses. However, he fought against this and exercised and boxed to build up his health.
Roosevelt married Alice Hathaway Lee, the daughter of wealthy banker George Cabot Lee and Caroline Haskell Lee. His wife died tragically at the age of twenty-two, two days after the birth of their daughter, Alice. His daughter would later be married in the White House East room while Roosevelt was president in 1906.
On December 2, 1886, Roosevelt married his long time acquaintance Edith Kermit Carow in London. Together, they had four sons and one daughter. Edith was a very active first lady. In fact, she remodeled the White House and arranged the wedding of her stepdaughter, Alice.
Theodore Roosevelt became the youngest member of the New York State Assembly at the age of 24 and served there until 1884. He tried cattle ranching in Dakota in 1885 by had returned to New York City by 1886. He served as a U.S. civil service commissioner from 1889 to 1895. He was the head of the New York City police board from 1895 until 1897, fighting corruption at every level. In 1897, he became the assistant secretary of the navy.
When America went to war with Spain, Roosevelt left government service to join the U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment to fight in the Spanish-American War. His regiment became known by the nickname “Rough Riders.” He served from May through September 1898, distinguishing himself and rising to the rank of colonel. On July 1, 1898, Roosevelt and the Rough Riders charged up Kettle Hill, routing Spanish troops from San Juan Hill. This was a major victory for america. Roosevelt resigned from the military after hostilities ended.
After the war, Roosevelt served as the governor of New York from 1898 to 1900. In 1901, he was nominated as vice president under William McKinley. They won the election. However, President McKinley was assassinated soon after taking office, and Roosevelt became president on September 14, 1901. At the age of forty-two, he was the youngest man to ever become president.
In 1904, Roosevelt ran again and easily won the presidency with 336 out of 476 electoral votes.
Roosevelt has the distinction of being the first full term president of the twentieth century. He was able to bring in many many changes and reforms that are still important today. One of his key programs was lmaking sure that America controlled a canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in Panama. To help assure American contol, the US aided Panama in gaining independence from Colombia. Once independent, the United States created a treaty with Panama to gain the canal zone in exchange for $10 million plus annual payments that continue even now.
In terms of foreign policy, Roosevelt espoused “Big Stick Diplomacy” based on his famous quote, “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.” Therefore, he added the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine that stated that America had a responsibility to intervene, with force if necessary, in Latin America to enforce the Monroe Doctrine.
Roosevelt was also involved in world events. He helped mediate peace after the Russo-Japanese War which led to his being awarded the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize.
In terms of immigration issues, Roosevelt made an agreement with Japan in 1907 known as the Gentleman's Agreement. According to this agreement, Japan agreed to slow the immigration of laborers to America. The United States would in exchange not allow a law to be passed that would impact Japanese immigration as the Chinese Exclusion Act had done with Chinese immigration.
One of Roosevelt's nicknames while in offices was "Trust Buster" because of his effort to reform business and enact progressive legislation. He used antitrust laws to fight corruption in many industries including oil and railroads.
It was also during Roosevelt's term that the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act were passed. These reforms dealth with issues that were revealed in the meat packing indusries by Upton Sinclair in a novel called The Jungle.
Roosevelt collected another nickname while in office, the "Great Conservationist." Even though he was a big-game hunter, he felt it important to preserve natural habitats and wildlife for future generations. He was greatly influenced by John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club, and set aside more than 125 million acres in national forests.
Even though Roosevelt had pledged that he would not seek another term in office, he found that he disagreed with his successor William Howard Taft. Therefore, he decided to run again for president in 1912. He failed to gain the Republian nomination so decided to form his own third party, the Bull Moose Party. While campaigning, a man named John Schrank attempted to assasinate Roosevelt. However, he had a folded speech and a steel spectacle case in his pocket that kept the bullet from killing him. He went ahead and gave the speech, even though the bullet was lodged in him. Because he provided another Republican candidate for voters, his entry split the vote and allowed Democrat Woodrow Wilson to take the presidency.
Roosevelt died on January 6, 1919, of a coronary embolism at the age of 60. Because of his achievements and larger than life stature among other thing, he was chosen to be carved on Mount Rushmore along with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln.
1. Was a Sickly Youth
Theodore Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858, in New York City to a wealthy family. His father had a huge impact on his life. He loved traveling to Europe and Egypt as a young man.
In his youth, Roosevelt was quite sickly. He suffered from asthma and other illnesses. However, he fought against this and exercised and boxed to build up his health.
2. Married Alice Hathaway Lee and Edith Kermit Carow
Roosevelt married Alice Hathaway Lee, the daughter of wealthy banker George Cabot Lee and Caroline Haskell Lee. His wife died tragically at the age of twenty-two, two days after the birth of their daughter, Alice. His daughter would later be married in the White House East room while Roosevelt was president in 1906.
On December 2, 1886, Roosevelt married his long time acquaintance Edith Kermit Carow in London. Together, they had four sons and one daughter. Edith was a very active first lady. In fact, she remodeled the White House and arranged the wedding of her stepdaughter, Alice.
3. Became Heavily Involved in New York Politics at a Young Age
Theodore Roosevelt became the youngest member of the New York State Assembly at the age of 24 and served there until 1884. He tried cattle ranching in Dakota in 1885 by had returned to New York City by 1886. He served as a U.S. civil service commissioner from 1889 to 1895. He was the head of the New York City police board from 1895 until 1897, fighting corruption at every level. In 1897, he became the assistant secretary of the navy.
4. Was a Rough Rider During the Spanish-American War
When America went to war with Spain, Roosevelt left government service to join the U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment to fight in the Spanish-American War. His regiment became known by the nickname “Rough Riders.” He served from May through September 1898, distinguishing himself and rising to the rank of colonel. On July 1, 1898, Roosevelt and the Rough Riders charged up Kettle Hill, routing Spanish troops from San Juan Hill. This was a major victory for america. Roosevelt resigned from the military after hostilities ended.
5. Was the Youngest Man to Become President
After the war, Roosevelt served as the governor of New York from 1898 to 1900. In 1901, he was nominated as vice president under William McKinley. They won the election. However, President McKinley was assassinated soon after taking office, and Roosevelt became president on September 14, 1901. At the age of forty-two, he was the youngest man to ever become president.
In 1904, Roosevelt ran again and easily won the presidency with 336 out of 476 electoral votes.
6. Ushered in the Twentieth Century
Roosevelt has the distinction of being the first full term president of the twentieth century. He was able to bring in many many changes and reforms that are still important today. One of his key programs was lmaking sure that America controlled a canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in Panama. To help assure American contol, the US aided Panama in gaining independence from Colombia. Once independent, the United States created a treaty with Panama to gain the canal zone in exchange for $10 million plus annual payments that continue even now.
7. Practiced 'Big Stick Diplomacy'
In terms of foreign policy, Roosevelt espoused “Big Stick Diplomacy” based on his famous quote, “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.” Therefore, he added the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine that stated that America had a responsibility to intervene, with force if necessary, in Latin America to enforce the Monroe Doctrine.
Roosevelt was also involved in world events. He helped mediate peace after the Russo-Japanese War which led to his being awarded the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize.
In terms of immigration issues, Roosevelt made an agreement with Japan in 1907 known as the Gentleman's Agreement. According to this agreement, Japan agreed to slow the immigration of laborers to America. The United States would in exchange not allow a law to be passed that would impact Japanese immigration as the Chinese Exclusion Act had done with Chinese immigration.
8. Created the Square Deal
One of Roosevelt's nicknames while in offices was "Trust Buster" because of his effort to reform business and enact progressive legislation. He used antitrust laws to fight corruption in many industries including oil and railroads.
It was also during Roosevelt's term that the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act were passed. These reforms dealth with issues that were revealed in the meat packing indusries by Upton Sinclair in a novel called The Jungle.
9. Was a Great Conservationist
Roosevelt collected another nickname while in office, the "Great Conservationist." Even though he was a big-game hunter, he felt it important to preserve natural habitats and wildlife for future generations. He was greatly influenced by John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club, and set aside more than 125 million acres in national forests.
10. Ran for the Bull Moose Party in 1912
Even though Roosevelt had pledged that he would not seek another term in office, he found that he disagreed with his successor William Howard Taft. Therefore, he decided to run again for president in 1912. He failed to gain the Republian nomination so decided to form his own third party, the Bull Moose Party. While campaigning, a man named John Schrank attempted to assasinate Roosevelt. However, he had a folded speech and a steel spectacle case in his pocket that kept the bullet from killing him. He went ahead and gave the speech, even though the bullet was lodged in him. Because he provided another Republican candidate for voters, his entry split the vote and allowed Democrat Woodrow Wilson to take the presidency.
Roosevelt died on January 6, 1919, of a coronary embolism at the age of 60. Because of his achievements and larger than life stature among other thing, he was chosen to be carved on Mount Rushmore along with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln.