The Everything Theodore Roosevelt Book (50 page)

When TR took office, several natural resources problems required resolution: approximately 80 percent of America’s forests were depleted; a large portion of the country’s farmland was unproductive due to overuse; mining companies were extracting too much oil, gas, and minerals from the ground; and private enterprises controlled water rights. TR had to resolve these problems if the nation was to have a future.

TR became an activist to ensure the preservation of natural resources. He had seen firsthand in his days as a “cowboy” and a legislator the damage nature could suffer if humans were left to devastate it without a system of checks and balances. He implemented those checks and balances.

As president, TR and his associates preserved 170 million acres of land for public use. He concentrated on Western lands. Year after year, he designated large areas as national landmarks, sometimes after protracted battles.

The first national park TR created was Crater Lake in Oregon. Environmental activist William G. Steel lobbied unsuccessfully for seventeen years to get Crater Lake designated as a national park. He and fellow activist John B. Waldo persuaded President McKinley to declare it a part of a federal forest preserve. It took TR to designate it as a national park.

TR’s ability to look into the future while others were mired in the past was his forte in pushing for conservation. Some congressmen could not see the need for national parks because they were costly to a government that had a limited income, inaccessible to a large portion of the population, and difficult to maintain. TR saw beyond those arguments.

Looking Ahead

TR forecast correctly that automobiles would change the face of the country’s future. He predicted that they would become more widely available to Americans, which would open access to the parks. He was right.

One U.S. congressman in particular, Speaker of the House David Henderson (R-Iowa), held up attempts to create national parks by not allowing floor votes. TR used his considerable powers of persuasion to get Henderson to change his mind. Henderson relented and allowed a vote. On May 22, 1902, TR signed a law creating Crater Lake National Park.

From that point on, the number of national lands set aside for future use rose steadily. TR solidified his reputation as a conservationist as a result. His reputation in that regard endures—and will continue to do so as long as the land stays preserved.

Creating a World Power

The government and people of the United States spent their first 125 years trying to define their role in the world. For the most part they stayed out of international politics, with occasional forays into wars with the Barbary Pirates between 1801 and 1815, Mexico in 1846–1848, and Spain in 1898. It was not until TR became president that the United States began its ascendancy as a world power.

Years after TR left the White House, President Wilson was still talking about the navy in terms of defense. In his annual message to Congress on December 8, 1914, he said:

A powerful Navy we have always regarded as our proper and natural means of defense; and it has always been of defense that we have thought, never of aggression or of conquest. But who shall tell us now what sort of Navy to build? We shall take leave to be strong upon the seas, in the future as in the past; and there will be no thought of offense or provocation in that. Our ships are our natural bulwarks
.

Since TR’s first day on the job as assistant secretary of the navy, he had pushed for a strong offensive navy. Historically, the U.S. Navy had been a defensive force. TR made it clear to anyone who would listen—and to some who would not—that the way to earn respect from other nations with strong armed forces was to create a powerful navy. And, he stressed, there should be shortcuts such as a canal between major oceans to make travel across the globe easier.

TR had an ulterior motive in building a strong navy and a canal. He wanted to export American ideals and values around the globe, which could not be done on ships. It could, however, be done through diplomacy and shows of force, such as the deployment of the “Great White Fleet.” TR’s use of both was one area in which his “big stick” strategy played a role.

Until the aftermath of the Spanish-American War, the United States had never had any territory outside North America to administer. Once the federal government took responsibility for the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Hawaii after 1898, it had to play a bigger role in international politics to protect American interests in those jurisdictions. That was a major reason TR increased U.S. involvement in global affairs.

President McKinley had started the job of expanding the United States’ international presence. TR took it a step further. He did not restrict his efforts to export American ideas and values to his years in the White House. TR continued to push for U.S. involvement in world affairs when it became evident to him that World War I would become a reality.

TR’s insistence on letting the world know that the United States was willing to use diplomacy when necessary to keep peace among nations or military power to protect its interests led to a new role for the country. He was the first United States president to establish the country as a world power, and his persistence and statesmanship set a precedent that every one of his successors has followed, albeit reluctantly at times.

Science and Natural History

Few American presidents prior to 1901 gave much thought to the role of nature in politics. TR was an exception. He heightened people’s awareness worldwide of natural history and science and the role they played in Earth’s survival. He began that job long before he entered the White House.

There are several TR quotes inscribed inside the Roosevelt Memorial rotunda at the American Museum of Natural History. Perhaps the one that best sums up his philosophy about natural history is this: “The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired in value.”

There was never a stage in TR’s life in which he pushed natural history into the background. His love for nature and the need for protecting it is inherent in his books and articles; the laws he wrote and enacted as assemblyman, governor, and president; and the numerous monuments and memorials dedicated to him. His legacy in that respect is practically unparalleled in American history.

A Unique President

Some U.S. presidents have been specialists or dabblers in different areas of science and natural history. George Washington had an amateur interest in scientific experiments. Herbert Hoover and Jimmy Carter were engineers. Thomas Jefferson was a scientist. TR was more eclectic than his predecessors, though. That explains why he formed alliances—and ultimately friendships—with so many specialists in his lifetime.

The connection between the American Museum of Natural History and the Roosevelt family is still strong. Thee helped found the museum. It still offers Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Grants to support research on North American fauna in any phase of wildlife conservation or natural history, and graduate, doctoral, and postdoctoral fellowships to students interested in natural history.

TR’s partnerships with specialists such as John Muir, Jacob Riis, Alfred Thayer Mahan, Gifford Pinchot, and John Burroughs contributed to his and their legacies. His talent for picking the best people to help him accomplish a project was notable. TR did not always get the credit for the results, nor did he necessarily want it.

Despite his sometimes supersized ego, TR was willing to give credit where credit was due. Kermit received a lot of the kudos for his exploits during the River of Doubt expedition. TR cited Gifford Pinchot for his conservation efforts. Results were the primary goal for TR. Who got the credit was secondary. The results from his many successes are nevertheless a major part of his legacy.

Donating Specimens

TR’s generosity in donating specimens became legendary. He supplied them to the Smithsonian Institution, the American Museum of Natural History, the San Francisco Museum, and other facilities after his various expeditions. When he was not collecting specimens, he was saving lands on which other nature lovers could gather their own or at least enjoy the unspoiled beauty of parks and preserves.

A great portion of TR’s legacy remains in people’s minds, history books, and other tangible and intangible forms: a quote here, a statue there. The most visible, however, are the specimens and writings displayed in the museums of which he was fondest. They stand as tributes to a man whose love of nature knew no bounds—a love that has been passed down from generation to generation of nature lovers worldwide.

Role in History

Theodore Roosevelt earned his spot as one of the most efficient and effective U.S. presidents and caring citizens—and will most likely remain at the top of both lists as long as history is recorded. The fact that Americans vote consistently to include TR on the list of “top ten or better” U.S. presidents is proof of that.