Theodore Roosevelt

Post-Presidency

Despite his immense popularity, he had decided not to run for reelection in 1908, a move that he would later regret for the rest of his life. Instead he backed his longtime friend, former judge and Secretary of War William Howard Taft, whom he thought would carry on his policies. After Taft won, however, Roosevelt became increasingly thwarted as Taft proved to be his own man with his own policy agenda, more conservative and often counter to Roosevelt's.

Related Topics:
1908 - Secretary of War - William Howard Taft

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On March 23, 1909, shortly after the end of his second term (but only full term) as President, Roosevelt left New York for a post-presidency safari in Africa. The trip was sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Geographic Society and received worldwide media attention. Despite his commitment to conservation, his party killed over 5,000 animals, including some of the last remaining white rhino.

Related Topics:
March 23 - 1909 - Safari - Africa - Smithsonian Institution - National Geographic Society - White rhino

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1912 Roosevelt ran for president again. He sought the Republican nomination but was blocked by Taft's partisans at the Republican National Convention despite having greater public support, including a smashing primary win in Taft's own home state of Ohio. Roosevelt then bolted the party and ran on the United States Progressive Party ("Bull Moose") ticket, badly undermining popular support for Taft. While campaigning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he was shot by saloonkeeper John Schrank in a failed assassination attempt on October 14, 1912. With the bullet still lodged in his chest, Roosevelt still delivered his scheduled speech. He was not seriously wounded, although his doctors thought it too dangerous to attempt to remove the bullet, and he carried it with him until he died. In spite of this, he not only lost the race but split the Republican vote, outpolling Taft but ensuring a win by Democrat Woodrow Wilson. In the few years he had remaining, Roosevelt came to dislike Wilson even more than his former friend Taft, particularly over Wilson's foreign policy. Roosevelt considered but rejected another attempted presidential campaign in 1916.

Related Topics:
1912 - Republican National Convention - Ohio - United States Progressive Party - Milwaukee, Wisconsin - John Schrank - October 14 - Woodrow Wilson - 1916

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As an author, he continued to write with great passion on subjects ranging from American foreign policy to the importance of the national park system. One of Roosevelt's more popular books, Through the Brazilian Wilderness, was about his expedition into the Brazilian jungle. After the election of 1912, Roosevelt went on the Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Expedition, exploring the Brazilian jungle with Brazilian explorer Candido Rondon. During this expedition, he discovered the Rio of Doubt, later renamed Rio Roosevelt in honor of the President. In all, Roosevelt wrote about 18 books, including his Autobiography, Rough Riders and histories of the Naval Academy, ranching and wildlife, which are still in use today.

Related Topics:
Through the Brazilian Wilderness - Brazil - Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Expedition - Candido Rondon - Rio Roosevelt - Naval Academy

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He was said to have admired a novel of Hungarian author Kálmán Mikszáth, St. Peter?s Umbrella, and visited the author during his European trip in 1910 solely to express his admiration (http://mek.oszk.hu/02000/02042/html/32.html).

Related Topics:
Kálmán Mikszáth - St. Peter?s Umbrella - 1910

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On January 6, 1919, at age of 60, Roosevelt died in his sleep of a coronary embolism at Oyster Bay, Nassau County, New York, and was buried in Young's Memorial Cemetery. Upon receiving word of his death, his son, Archie, sent a telegram to his siblings, stating simply, "The old lion is dead."

Related Topics:
January 6 - 1919 - Embolism - Oyster Bay - Nassau County, New York - Telegram

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~