The Everything Theodore Roosevelt Book (51 page)

Candid portrait of a laughing Theodore Roosevelt

Rankings by themselves do not mean much. Often, people vote for the best or worst presidents without knowing what they accomplished, how it affected the country, and when they served. The factors and biases that go into the polls ranking presidents change from day to day or event to event. But, Theodore Roosevelt’s name is almost always near the top of the list on any poll.

Historian Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. began the fad of ranking presidents in 1948. He asked fifty-five other historians to rate each president. He listed five categories from which they could choose: great, near great, average, below average, or failure. TR finished near the top, as he usually does.

Significantly, TR’s name is nowhere near the bottom of any poll ranking presidents. That may not be the best thing anyone can say about a U.S. president: “He is never near the bottom.” But, it is a tribute to TR that he is always near the top. That is a high compliment for any president’s legacy.

The Road to Relevance

In the final analysis, TR was not just “any” president. He was the right person to be in office at the turn of the twentieth century, when the United States needed a “modern” president. Theodore Roosevelt fit that need, even though it took a human tragedy, the assassination of William McKinley, to get him into the White House. TR started the United States down the road to international relevance.

Ten years after he left the White House, he passed away. His January 6, 1919, death saddened millions of people around the world.

Farewell to TR

In the end, TR suffered the fate of all mortals and received the same sendoff: a funeral. And, like so many other funerals, it was a dignified, simple affair. Even though TR led a full public life, he had managed to keep much of what really mattered to him private. So it was with his funeral.

Pallbearers led by TR’s son Archibald carried him into the church. He rested in an oak coffin covered with the American flag, two Rough Rider regimental banners, and a wreath of laurel and yellow acacia sent by the Rough Riders. The yellow, the color of the cavalry, symbolized one of TR’s most cherished memories—and the enduring love of the men he led in war.

Two days after he died, 500 hundred invited guests assembled in Christ Church (Episcopal) at Oyster Bay for a 1
P.M
. celebration of his life. Another 3,000–4,000 people stood outside. The number of mourners was limited by the size of the church.

Given the opportunity, countless more would have been in attendance to say goodbye to their hero, the man known affectionately as the “American Lion.” Even in death, his name lived on, as did his list of “firsts.” After his funeral, the British held memorial services at Westminster Abbey in London, marking the first time a non-British person received that honor.

The funeral ceremony was simple. There was no music and no one delivered a eulogy. Even prayers were limited. Church rector Father George E. Talmage read TR’s favorite hymn, “How Firm a Foundation,” and said a prayer written by Cardinal John Henry Newman, which was allegedly Quentin’s favorite. It was a simple sendoff for a complex man.

Following the conclusion of the ceremony, TR’s coffin was placed in the hearse and carried slowly to the top of a hill at Youngs Memorial Cemetery. There, he lies in solitary repose looking out on the sea he loved—and the world he did so much to bring together.

The fortunate 500 mourners in the church at Oyster Bay and the thousands of people who stood outside might have buried their friend that day, but they could not—and did not—bury their memories of him. They remain, in the form of TR’s legacy, which may never be buried.

QUIZ

20-1 William G. Steel fought for seventeen years to earn a national park designation for Crater Lake in Oregon. As a reward he became the _____ superintendent of the park
.

A. fourth

B. seventh

C. second

D. he never became superintendent

20-2 Speaker of the House David F. Henderson decided abruptly not to run again for Congress only six weeks before the election in 1902. Why?

A. He could not get along with TR, even though they were both Republicans.

B. repercussions from his Civil War wounds

C. to avoid a looming scandal

D. No one knows for sure.

20-3 TR may have averted a major world war in 1906 when he negotiated a settlement between Germany and France over the rule of what country?

A. Morocco

B. Brazil

C. Ethiopia

D. Peru

20-4 Thomas Jefferson became vice president in 1797. That week, he presented a research paper to the American Philosophical Society. What was the subject?

A. The role of the vice president in American politics

B. Paleontology

C. George Washington’s false teeth

D. The quasi-war between the United States and France in 1797

20-5 TR is listed near the top of the category “Most Overrated” in recent presidential ranking polls
.

A. True

B. False

20-6 TR could not use income tax revenues to fund the large number of national parks he created when he was president. Why not?

A. Congress banned him from using the funds.

B. There was no income tax in place at the time.

C. Income tax revenues could only be used for military purposes between 1901 and 1909.

D. The president did not have the authority to designate how income tax revenues were distributed.

ANSWERS

20-1. C: He was not appointed superintendent until 1913. The first superintendent was a Klamath Falls, Oregon, rancher, William F. Arant.

20-2. D: There was solid speculation that he had been dallying with a “certain lobbyess” and was getting too reckless in the process.

20-3. A: Britain claimed jurisdiction over Egypt. France claimed control of Morocco. Britain agreed to France’s claim and France agreed to Britain’s. Germany felt left out and challenged France’s claim. TR negotiated a settlement between them, which upheld the British and French rules in Egypt and Morocco, respectively. Germany still did not have any control over either country, but at least TR made the Germans feel better. And he averted a war.

20-4. B: Paleontology, the study of fossils, helps people understand different forms of life on Earth.

20-5. False: TR’s name is not listed in any of the categories such as “Overrated,” “Controversial,” or “Underrated.”

20-6. B: The income tax was not introduced until 1913. Technically, it became law as part of the Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, although there had been attempts to implement one previously.

APPENDIX A

Books by Theodore Roosevelt

“Among those men whom I have known the love of books and the love of outdoors, in their highest expressions, have usually gone hand in hand.”