Theodore or "Teddy" was frail and sickly as a boy. Teddy developed a rugged physique as a teenager
and became an advocate of exercise and the strenuous life. After graduating
from Harvard, Roosevelt married Alice Hathaway Lee and studied law at Columbia University.
He dropped out after a year to pursue politics. Teddy won a seat in the New York Assembly in 1882.
A double tragedy struck Roosevelt in 1884. His mother and his wife died in the same house
on the same day. To try and recover, Roosevelt spent two years out West rustling cows
as a rancher and busting outlaws as a frontier sheriff. In 1886, he returned to New York and
married his childhood sweetheart, Edith Kermit Carow. They raised six children, including
Roosevelt's daughter from his first marriage. After losing a campaign for mayor, he served
as Civil Service commissioner, president of the New York City Police Board, and assistant
secretary of the Navy. All the while, he demonstrated honesty in office.
When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, Roosevelt volunteered as commander of the
1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, known as the Rough Riders. Teddy lead a daring and successful
charge on San Juan Hill. Returning as a war hero, he became governor of New York and began to exhibit an
independence that upset the state's political machine. To stop Roosevelt's reforms,
party bosses "kicked him upstairs" to the vice presidency under William McKinley,
believing that in this position he would be unable to continue his progressive policies.
Roosevelt campaigned vigorously for McKinley in 1900. Roosevelt's efforts helped
ensure victory for McKinley. But his time as vice president was brief; McKinley was
assassinated in 1901, making Roosevelt the President of the United States.
By the 1904 election, Roosevelt was eager to be elected President in his own right.
To achieve this, he knew that he needed to work with Republican Party leaders.
He promised to hold back on parts of his progressive agenda in exchange for a free
hand in foreign affairs. He also got the reluctant support of wealthy capitalists,
who feared his progressive measures, but feared a Democratic victory even more. Teddy
won in a landslide, and became the first President to be elected after gaining office
due to the death of his predecessor. Upon victory, he vowed not to run for another
term in 1908, a promise he later regreted.
Teddy wanted the government to improve the lives of American citizens. His "Square Deal"
domestic program reflected the progressive call to reform the American workplace,
and initiated welfare legislation and government
regulation of industry. He was also the nation's first environmentalist President,
setting aside nearly 200 million acres for national forests, reserves, and wildlife refuges.
Roosevelt also wanted to make the United States a global
power by increasing its influence worldwide. He led the effort to secure
rights to build the Panama Canal. He also issued his "corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which
established the United States as the "policeman" of the Western Hemisphere.
In addition, he used his position as President to help negotiate peace agreements
between belligerent nations, believing that the world should settle international
disputes through diplomacy rather than war.
Theodore Roosevelt is considered the first modern U.S. President because he
strengthened the power of the executive branch. He was so popular as President that
after leaving office in 1909, he was able to mount a serious run for the presidency
again in 1912. Believing that his successor, William Howard Taft, had failed to
continue his program of reform, Teddy ran as a candidate
for the Progressive Party. Although Roosevelt was defeated by Democrat
Woodrow Wilson, his efforts resulted in the creation of significant third party.
With the onset of World War I in 1914, Roosevelt advocated that the United States
prepare itself for war. Teddy was highly critical of Wilson's pledge of
neutrality. Once the United States entered the war in 1917, all four of Roosevelt's
sons volunteered to serve, this pleased the former President, but the death of his
youngest son, Quentin, left him deeply distraught. Theodore Roosevelt died less than a year later.
