THEODORE ROOSEVELT | 1901-1909
With the assassination of President McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, not quite 43, became the youngest President in the nation's history. He brought new excitement and power to the presidency as he vigorously led Congress and the American public toward progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy.
Born on October 27, 1858 to a wealthy New York City family, Roosevelt triumphed against ill health and became an advocate of the strenuous life. In 1884 his first wife and his mother died on the same day, and he spent the next two years on his ranch in the Badlands of Dakota Territory mastering his sorrow as he drove cattle and hunted big game. During the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt led the Rough Rider Regiment on a charge at the battle of San Juan. He was one of the most conspicuous heroes of the war.
As president, Roosevelt held the ideal that the government should be the arbiter between capital and labor, guaranteeing justice to each and dispensing favors to none. He emerged spectacularly as a "trust buster." In foreign policy, Roosevelt steered the United States more actively into world politics. He liked to quote a favorite proverb, "Speak softly and carry a big stick. . ."
Aware of the need for a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific, Roosevelt ensured the construction of the Panama Canal. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating the Russo-Japanese War, reached a Gentleman's Agreement on immigration with Japan, and sent the Great White Fleet on a goodwill tour of the world. But some of Roosevelt's most effective achievements were in conservation. He added enormously to the national forests in the West, reserved lands for public use, and fostered great irrigation projects. "The life of strenuous endeavor" was a must for those around him, as he romped with his children and led ambassadors on hikes through Rock Creek Park in Washington, D. C.
Leaving the presidency in 1909, Roosevelt went on an African safari. In 1912 he ran for president on a Progressive ticket. He said that he felt as fit as a bull moose, the name of his new party. While campaigning in Milwaukee, he was shot in the chest by a fanatic. Roosevelt recovered, but his words at that time would have been applicable at his death in 1919: "No man has had a happier life than I have led; a happier life in every way."
He took the view that the president as a "steward of the people" should take whatever action necessary for the public good unless expressly forbidden by law or the Constitution. "I did not usurp power," he wrote, "but I did greatly broaden the use of executive power."
