The Everything Theodore Roosevelt Book

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Authors: Arthur G. Sharp

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THE

THEODORE

ROOSEVELT

BOOK

The Extraordinary Life of an American Icon

Arthur G. Sharp, MA
Foreword by Dr. William N. Tilchin,
Editor of the
Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

The Everything Theodore Roosevelt Book

Dear Reader,

I met Theodore Roosevelt several years ago in a college classroom. Well, I didn’t meet him in the true sense of the word. TR was the subject of the class, not a member. But, after the semester ended, I vowed to learn more about his life because he was such a fascinating character. Doing the research for this book gave me the chance to do that and pass some of what I learned on to you.

The course was “The Politics of Theodore Roosevelt.” As the title implies, the emphasis was on his political philosophies and methodologies. There was not much about his personal life included. That is a drawback when you are trying to learn about the total person. So I learned more about his private life to create a more complete profile of the man and his personality, rather than a string of dates and facts, which is the bane of most readers.

Now, several years after the course ended, I have completed that project. I share it with you. Hopefully, you will be as happy as I am to “meet” TR and gain an insight into his life and legacy.

Welcome to the EVERYTHING Series!

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We give you everything you need to know on the subject, but throw in a lot of fun stuff along the way, too.

We now have more than 400 Everything
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Visit the entire Everything
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To the Roosevelt family, whose public service
over the centuries has made the United States
a better place in which to live—sometimes
.

Copyright © 2011 by F+W Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced
in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions
are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

An Everything
®
Series Book.
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®
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®
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Published by Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322 U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com

ISBN 10: 1-4405-2729-6
ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-2729-6
eISBN 10: 1-4405-2765-2
eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-2765-4

Printed in the United States of America.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available from the publisher.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

—From a
Declaration of Principles
jointly adopted by a Committee of the
American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Adams Media was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.

Historical image research and restoration by Steven Wynn.

This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
For information, please call 1-800-289-0963
.

Contents

The Top 10 Facts About TR’s Life

Foreword

Introduction

01
Inaction to Action: TR’s Pattern for Life

A Man of Action

A Civil War at Home

Early Health Problems

Developing an Interest in Natural History

Thee’s Misgivings

More to Education than Classroom Training

Moral and Religious Training

Building the Body

02
From Home to Harvard

Entering Harvard

Muscular Christianity and Masculinity

Pushing the Physical Bar

A Loud Attention-Grabber

Tragedy Strikes

A True Liberal Arts Education

A Photographic Memory

There Is More to College than Studying

Graduating with Honors

TR’s Most Remarkable Friend

03
Law School at Columbia

Learning to Recognize Opportunity

Avoiding the Law

Becoming a Dropout

Republican by Default

Turn Off the Machine

The First Step in TR’s Political Career

Two Law Degrees Are Better than One

A Law Degree 127 Years Later

04
Serving in the New York State Legislature

First Run for Office

The Youngest Legislator

From Legislator to Leader

Working for Social Justice

Touring with Gompers

The Third Year Is Not a Charm

One More Controversy

Disillusionment with Politics

05
A Significant Person Exits Theodore’s Life

Thank You, Richard Saltonstall

Alice Hathaway Lee

A Long Courtship

First Marriage

A Daughter Is Born; Two Mothers Die

A Devastating Death

Burying Alice—But Not the Memories

Enter Bamie

Leaving New York

06
There Is a New Sheriff in Town

TR’s First Trip to the Badlands

Buying a Ranch

Pursuing the “Strenuous Life” Anew

Wearing the Badge

Respect for the Law—and Books

Social Life

Losing the Ranch

The Winter of 1886–1887

Return to New York

07
TR Learns How to Gain from Losing

New Marriage

Edith’s Opposition

The Mayoral Race

In a Fog

Honeymoon Adventure

A Babysitter for Alice

Edith the Money Manager

The Family Grows

Pine Knot

Turning Two Losses Into a Win

08
Mr. Roosevelt Becomes a “Job Hopper”

New Opportunities

Commissioner Roosevelt

Spoiling the Spoils System

Joining the Police Force

Beer, Telephones, and Walk-Arounds

The Innovative Hiring Process

09
TR Tacks and Sails in a Different Direction

TR the “War Hawk”

Running the Navy

TR’s First Year in Office

Pushing for War

From Navy to Army

Leading the Rough Riders

Battle of Santiago

The Aftermath of the Battle

TR’s Medal of Honor Controversy

10
From Governor to Vice President to President

Looking for New Fields to Conquer

TR Finagles the Nomination

Corruption Becomes a Target

Taxing Public Franchises and Platt’s Patience

A Rift Develops Between Platt and TR

Next Stop: Vice President of the United States

Vice President Theodore Roosevelt

President of the United States

11
TR’s First Term

Newlands Act

TR Is Taken for a Ride

The First Bird Reservation

Striking Down a Strike

Trustbuster Extraordinaire

Building the Panama Canal

TR Grabs a Shovel

Elected on His Own Record

12
His Second Act Is Better than His First

1905 Is a Busy Year

We Have Responsibilities

Ode to Mothers

Peace Between Russia and Japan

Streamlining the Executive Office

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