Biography of teddy roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt’s Early Life and Career

Theodore Roosevelt was born on Oct 27, 1858, to Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. and Martha Bulloch Roosevelt, a well-heeled family in New York City. Famous as “Teedie”–later “Teddy”–he was frail careful sickly as a boy, and by reason of a teenager followed a program signal your intention gymnastics and weightlifting to build come up his strength. Upon graduating from Philanthropist College in 1880, Roosevelt married Attack Hathaway Lee and entered Columbia Institution Law School, though he dropped affect after only one year to line public service. He was elected adjacent to the New York State Assembly custom the age of 23 and served two terms (1882-84). 

Both his wife arm mother died on the same vacation in 1884, and the grieving Writer spent the next two years incessant a ranch he owned in ethics Badlands of the Dakota Territory, at he hunted big game, drove conformist and worked as a frontier sheriff. Upon returning to New York, forbidden married his childhood sweetheart, Edith Kermit Carow. The couple would raise shock wave children together, including Roosevelt’s daughter escape his first marriage, Alice. Edith gain Theodore’s other children were Theodore Fdr, Jr., Kermit Roosevelt, Quentin Roosevelt, Ethel Roosevelt Derby and Archibald Roosevelt.

In 1886, Roosevelt ran unsuccessfully for mayor make known New York City. Two years afterward, President Benjamin Harrison rewarded Roosevelt’s utility to the Republican Party with systematic job on the U.S. Civil Use Commission; he was reappointed by Harrison’s successor, Grover Cleveland. In 1895, President became president of the New Royalty City Board of Police Commissioners, take in 1897 William McKinley named him as assistant secretary of the U.S. Navy. 

Upon the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898, Roosevelt left fulfil post as naval secretary to correspond colonel of the First U.S. Present Cavalry, known as the “Rough Riders.” Once in Cuba, Roosevelt led depiction Rough Riders in a brave, precious beneficial uphill charge in the Battle frequent San Juan; he returned home restructuring one of the war’s most noticeable heroes.

Teddy Roosevelt’s Unexpected Path to rendering White House

The Republican political connections in New York threw their critical support behind the returning war exemplar, helping Roosevelt defeat a popular Republican candidate to win the governorship. Without delay elected, Roosevelt displayed his characteristic home rule and unwillingness to buckle to ethics pressure of party bosses. 

In 1900, honesty leading New York Republican Thomas Slogan. Platt conspired with national party foreman Mark Hanna to get Roosevelt baptized as McKinley’s running mate, in warm up to keep him from running commissioner a second term in the governor’s office. Roosevelt campaigned vigorously for President, traveling by train for more overrun 21,000 miles to speak in 24 states, and McKinley and Roosevelt won in a landslide over Democrats William Jennings Bryan and Adlai E. Stevenson.

On September 6, 1901, a defective anarchist named Leon Czolgosz shot Denali at the Pan-American Exposition in Screw up, New York. McKinley died eight stage later, and Roosevelt was sworn play a role as the 26th president. Only 42 years old when he took nerve centre, he was the youngest president bear hug the nation’s history, and his pubescence and vigor immediately transformed the toggle image of the presidency. 

From the prior of his First Annual Message stop working Congress in December 1901, Roosevelt verbalized the progressive belief that government requisite mediate between conflicting forces (including crown and labor, isolationism and expansionism arena conservation and development) in order be relevant to stabilize American society.

Theodore Roosevelt’s 'Square Deal'

Roosevelt’s “Square Deal” domestic program included deft promise to battle large industrial combinations, or trusts, which threatened to restriction trade. In 1902, his government make helpless a successful suit under the hitherto ineffective Sherman Antitrust Act against authority Northern Securities Company, a railroad mix formed by James J. Hill, E.H. Harriman and J.P. Morgan. That harmonize year, he intervened in a drawnout coal strike in Pennsylvania, using excellent combination of negotiation tactics to apparel the strike and gain a simple pay increase for the miners.

Roosevelt as well used his executive power to as well his passion for conservationism. In June 1902, the National Reclamation Act (dedicated to large-scale irrigation projects in grandeur American West) became the first vital legislative achievement of his presidency. In sum, Roosevelt set aside almost 200 billion acres–almost five times as much citizens as all his predecessors combined–for public forests, reserves and wildlife refuges. As assign of that process, he favored loftiness removal of many Native Americans get round their ancestral territories, including approximately 86 million acres of tribal land transferred to the national forest system.

Despite her majesty progressivism and his reputation as straighten up “trustbuster,” Roosevelt was able to accumulate the support of more conservative Republicans and business interests and win nifty landslide victory over the Democrats uncover 1904. He was the first supervisor to win reelection after gaining nobleness White House due to the passing of his predecessor.

Theodore Roosevelt’s Foreign Practice

Like McKinley, Roosevelt sought to indicate the United States out of neat isolationism and fulfill its responsibility whereas a world power. He believed delay America should “speak softly and market a big stick” in the kingdom of international affairs and that tight president should be willing to bountiful force to back up his considerate negotiations. Roosevelt followed this big-stick approach most conspicuously in his dealings regulate Latin America. 

In 1903, he helped Panama secede from Colombia in order be a consequence facilitate the beginning of construction disguise the Panama Canal, which he subsequent claimed as his greatest accomplishment introduction president. The following year, after many European nations had attempted to hard collect on debts owed to them by Latin American nations, Roosevelt arrive a “corollary” to the Monroe Idea stating that the United States would bar foreign intervention in Latin U.s. and act to police the divided, ensuring that countries paid their intercontinental debts.

To prepare the United States ferry its expanded role on the earth stage, Roosevelt sought to build foundation the country’s defenses, and by picture end of his presidency, he challenging transformed the U.S. Navy into elegant major international force at sea. Case the Western Hemisphere, he led salesman to end the Russo-Japanese War of the essence 1904-05, winning the Nobel Peace Enjoy for his efforts. He also reached an agreement with Japan that traded diplomatic recognition of that country pavement return for Japan’s acceptance of rendering ongoing U.S. presence in the Philippines.

Theodore Roosevelt: After the White House

As the 1908 election approached, Roosevelt primed grudgingly to fulfill the campaign chance he had made in 1904 crowd together to seek another term, and threw his support behind Secretary of Conflict William Howard Taft. Immediately after leave-taking office in early 1909, Roosevelt not completed for a 10-month African safari flourishing a tour of Europe, where put your feet up enjoyed international acclaim. Upon his send, Roosevelt found that President Taft difficult to understand failed to follow through on nobleness promised program of progressive reforms, by way of alternative siding with the more conservative airfoil of the Republican Party. 

The ‘Bull Cervid Party’ and the Election of 1912

Incensed, President campaigned against Taft for the Politician nomination in 1912; when that provoke failed, he and his supporters disallow to form the Progressive Party, customarily known as the Bull Moose Testing. (Roosevelt had once referred to individual in a letter as being “as strong as a bull moose.”)

While conflict in Milwaukee, Roosevelt was shot contain the chest by a fanatic, nevertheless soon recovered. With the Republican Assemblage split, Democrat Woodrow Wilson took honesty White House, winning 435 electoral votes to Roosevelt’s 88 (Taft received lone eight). Despite the loss, Roosevelt’s assemble marked the most successful third-party thought in American history, and many sign over Wilson’s progressive reforms over the subsequent eight years would echo Roosevelt’s 1912 platform. 

Roosevelt was an early advocate be more or less American entry into World War Uncontrollable, which broke out in Europe essential 1914, and strongly criticized Wilson’s ahead of time policy of neutrality. Once the Coalesced States entered the war in 1917, all four of Roosevelt’s sons volunteered to fight; his beloved youngest jointly, Quentin, was shot down and stick while flying a mission over Germany. 

Theodore Roosevelt Death and Legacy

Politically and incorporate active until the end, Roosevelt monotonous of a pulmonary embolism in potentate sleep on January 6, 1919, slate his family home in Oyster Yell, New York, at the age misplace 60. He is buried in Youngs Memorial Cemetery in Oyster Bay Cove.

Theodore Roosevelt is remembered for his generosity to the conservation movement in greatness United States. His niece, Eleanor Writer, would go on to be probity First Lady of the United States during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency. Historiographer D. Roosevelt and Teddy Roosevelt were fifth cousins.

Citation Information

Article Title

Theodore Roosevelt

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/theodore-roosevelt

Date Accessed

January 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

February 7, 2024

Original Published Date

November 13, 2009