FDRination of President McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, not quite 43, became the youngest President in the Nation’shistory. He brought new excitement and power to the Presidency, as he vigorously led Congress and the American public toward progressive reforms and a strongforeign 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 bylaw or the Constitution. ” I did not usurp power,” he wrote, “but I did greatly broaden the use of executive power. ” Teddy’s years as a child were not all gasping forbreath. Teddy was a very curious child. He loved to go outside into the woods and watch and study birds and the surrounding wildlife.
He liked to record data about theanimals, and enjoyed experimenting. When he grew up, he wrote books about nature, and went on trips to the mountains of New York often. Teddy and his fatherbelieved Teddy could overcome his sickness. Mr. Roosevelt set up a gym in the Roosevelt’s house. Teddy worked out more and more, and after a while began to getstronger.
But none of this happened overnight. When Teddy went to Harvard for college, he and a friend published a book called “Summer Birds of The Adirondacks. “During college, Teddy also was deeply saddened when his father died on February 9, 1877. On October 27, 1880, Theodore Roosevelt walked down the aisle. He gotmarried to Alice Lee.
Theodore also went to Columbia University Law School. He also wrote a book called “The Naval War of 1812. ” He went to balls and opera’s. And was a very busy man. In 1883, Theodore went West for a year.
When came back from the trip, a new baby girl was born. Unfortunately, soon after the baby wasborn, on February 14, in the early morning, Teddy’s beloved mother died. If that were not enough, Alice died of Kidney Disease that afternoon. Teddy, still grieving fromthe loss of Alice and his mother, went to the Dakota Territories for several years.
He later said that he wouldn’t have been the same if it wasn’t for the years he spent inthe Dakota Territories. ” When he got back from the Dakota’s he married Edith Carow. In the Spanish-American war in 1898, Theodore was the commander of acavalry known as “The Rough Riders. ” His work there helped him become elected as the Governor of New York the same year. 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 thewar. 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 inthe Nation, especially between capital and labor, guaranteeing justice to each and dispensing favors to none. Roosevelt emerged spectacularly as a “trust buster” byforcing the dissolution of a great railroad combination in the Northwest.
Other antitrust suits under the Sherman Act followed. Roosevelt steered the United States moreactively 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 Atlanticand Pacific, Roosevelt ensured the construction of the Panama Canal. His corollary to the Monroe Doctrine prevented the establishment of foreign bases in theCaribbean 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, healso reached a Gentleman’s Agreement on immigration with Japan, and he sent the Great White Fleet on a goodwill tour of the world. Some of Theodore Roosevelt’smost effective achievements were in conservation. He added enormously to the national forests in the West, reserved lands for public use, and fostered great irrigationprojects. 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 thePresidency 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 onceremarked 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 soonrecovered, 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 everyway. ” Vocab. List: Monroe Doctrine: a U.
S. foreign policy that opposes European intervention in the political affairs of the Western hemisphere. It was first laid down byPresident James Monroe in 1823, who stated that “the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintained, arehenceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers. .
. . We should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system toany part of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. ” In return, the U.
S agreed not to interfere in the internal affairs of Europe. The Monroe Doctrine wasat the center of debate regarding U. S. involvement in World War I and World War II, and was also invoked during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, when the SovietUnion installed nuclear missiles in Cuba-a violation of the Monroe Doctrine. However, analysts claim that the Monroe Doctrine is now declining in importance.Assassination: The act of assassinating; a killing by treacherous violence 01/29/97Bibliography:
