Theodore Roosevelt

Presidency

McKinley and Roosevelt won the presidential election of November 6, 1900, against William Jennings Bryan and Adlai E. Stevenson Sr., and they were inaugurated on March 4, 1901. Roosevelt was the second youngest U.S. vice president (John C. Breckinridge, at 36, was the youngest) at the time of inauguration. Roosevelt found the vice presidency unfulfilling and thought he had little future in politics, and considered returning to law school after leaving office. On September 2, 1901, he first uttered a sentence that would become strongly associated with his presidency, urging Americans to "speak softly and carry a big stick" during a speech at the Minnesota State Fair, not knowing that twelve days later, he would be catapulted forever into the public consciousness.

Related Topics:
Presidential election - November 6 - 1900 - William Jennings Bryan - Adlai E. Stevenson Sr. - March 4 - 1901 - John C. Breckinridge - Minnesota State Fair

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McKinley was shot on September 6, 1901, and died September 14, vaulting Roosevelt into the presidency. Roosevelt took the oath of office on September 14 in the Ansley Wilcox House in Buffalo, New York. One of his first notable acts as President was to deliver a 20,000-word address to the House of Representatives on December 3, 1901 http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/sotu1.html, asking Congress to curb the power of trusts "within reasonable limits." For this and subsequent actions he has been called a "trust-buster."

Related Topics:
September 6 - 1901 - September 14 - Ansley Wilcox House - Buffalo, New York - House of Representatives - December 3 - Trust

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Roosevelt relished the Presidency and seemed to be everywhere at once. He took Cabinet members and friends on long, fast-paced hikes, boxed in the state rooms of the White House, romped with his children, and read voraciously. He was permanently blinded in one eye during one of his boxing bouts. His many enthusiasms and seemingly limitless energy led the British ambassador to wryly explain to an acquaintance, "You must always remember that the President is about six."

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Roosevelt's children were almost as popular as he was, and their pranks and hijinks in the White House made headlines. His daughter Alice Lee Roosevelt became the toast of Washington, D.C. When friends asked if he could rein in his only daughter, Roosevelt said, "I can be President of the United States, or I can control Alice. I cannot possibly do both." In turn, Alice said of him that he always wanted to be "the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral."

Related Topics:
White House - Alice Lee Roosevelt - Washington, D.C.

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In 1904 Roosevelt ran for President in his own right and won in a landslide victory.

Related Topics:
1904 - Ran for President

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Business

Determined to create what he called a "Square Deal" between business and labor, Roosevelt pushed several radical pieces of legislation through Congress. He is responsible for reforms in business, the environment, and to a certain extent he advocated improved race relations, going so far as to receive the black scientist Booker T. Washington in 1901 at the White House for a formal dinner to discuss politics and racism. News of this dinner reached the press two days later. The public outcry following the dinner was so strong (especially from the Southern states) that Roosevelt never repeated the experiment.

Related Topics:
Square Deal - Congress - Race relations - Black - Booker T. Washington - 1901 - Racism

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Although the trust-busting era was actually launched by his predecessor, McKinley, when he appointed the U.S. Industrial Commerce Commission in 1898, it is Roosevelt who bears the nickname "Trust Buster." Once President, Roosevelt worked to increase the regulatory power of the federal government. He persuaded Congress to pass laws that strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission, which later investigated Rockefeller, Carnegie, Schwab, and other trust and corporate titans of industry. Under his leadership, the federal government brought forty-four suits against corporate monopolies, most notably J.P. Morgan's Northern Securities Company, a huge railroad combination. Roosevelt also established a new federal Department of Labor and Commerce.

Related Topics:
Trust-busting - Rockefeller - Carnegie - Schwab - J.P. Morgan - Northern Securities Company - Railroad - Department of Labor and Commerce

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He encouraged the Newlands Reclamation Act of 1902 to promote federal construction of dams to irrigate small farms and placed 230 million acres (930,000 km²) under federal protection. Additionally, Roosevelt was instrumental in the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 as well as the Meat Inspection Act of 1906.

Related Topics:
Newlands Reclamation Act - 1902 - Dam - Pure Food and Drug Act - 1906 - Meat Inspection Act

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Conservationism

He also worked to conserve natural wonders and resources, and is considered by many to be the nation's first conservation President. Roosevelt set aside more Federal land for national parks and nature preserves than all of his predecessors combined. As one story has it, he once asked his advisors, "Is there any law which prohibits me from declaring this island a bird refuge?" When they indicated there was not, Roosevelt signed the paper with a flourish and said, "Very well, then, I so declare it!"

Related Topics:
Conservation - National park - Nature preserve

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During his presidency, Roosevelt established the United States Forest Service, signed into law the creation of five National Parks, and signed the 1906 Antiquities Act, under which he proclaimed 18 national monuments. He also established the first 51 Bird Reserves, four Game Preserves, and 150 National Forests. The area of the United States placed under public protection by President Roosevelt totals approximately 230,000,000 acres (930,000 km²).

Related Topics:
United States Forest Service - National Parks - 1906 - Antiquities Act - Bird Reserves - Game Preserves - National Forests

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Today, Roosevelt's dedication to conservation is remembered by a national park that bears his name in the North Dakota Badlands. Theodore Roosevelt National Park is home to a variety of plants and animals, including bison, prairie dogs, and elk.

Related Topics:
North Dakota - Badlands - Theodore Roosevelt National Park - Bison - Prairie dog - Elk

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Race

Although Roosevelt did some work improving race relations, he, like most leaders of the Progressive Era, lacked initiative on most racial issues. Booker T. Washington, the most important black leader of the day, was the first freeman of color to be invited to dinner on October 16, 1901, at the White House, an act that spoke defiance of many critics in the South. Roosevelt spoke against racism and discrimination, and appointed many blacks to lower-level Federal offices. He wrote fondly of the "Buffalo Soldiers," led by "Black Jack" Pershing, who had fought beside his Rough Riders at the Battle of San Juan Hill in Cuba in July 1898. Roosevelt opposed school segregation, having ended the practice as Governor of New York. Roosevelt also did not subscribe to anti-Semitism, and he appointed the first Jew to the Presidential Cabinet, Oscar S. Straus.

Related Topics:
Progressive Era - Booker T. Washington - October 16 - 1901 - South - Racism - Discrimination - Buffalo Soldiers - Pershing - Rough Riders - Battle of San Juan Hill - Cuba - July - 1898 - Segregation - Anti-Semitism - Presidential Cabinet - Oscar S. Straus

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However, Roosevelt was a believer in "racial inheritance"—that a race of people are biologically inclined to behave and interact socially in certain ways and functions. After criticism involving his invitation of Mr. Washington to dine at the White House, Roosevelt seemed to wilt publicly on the cause of racial equality. In 1906, he approved the dishonorable discharges of three companies of black soldiers involved in a riot in Brownsville, Texas, known as the Brownsville Raid.

Related Topics:
1906 - Brownsville, Texas - Brownsville Raid

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Foreign policy

Roosevelt fervently urged the United States to build a strong navy. He believed in an imperial mission for the United States, and that the U.S could eventually be pulled into war in the Pacific Ocean with the Japanese people. Roosevelt ordered what came to be called the Great White Fleet (due to its gleaming white paint) on an around-the-world goodwill cruise, including a prominent stop in Japan. Roosevelt hoped to ease Japanese-American tensions and to show the Japanese leadership, as well as the rest of the world, the global reach of the United States' military might. The Great White Fleet returned to the U.S. in 1909, and Roosevelt had the pleasure of reviewing the Fleet just before leaving office. As a tribute to him, several Navy warships have been named after Roosevelt over the years, including a Nimitz class supercarrier.

Related Topics:
Pacific Ocean - Japanese people - Great White Fleet - 1909 - Nimitz class - Supercarrier

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In 1905, Roosevelt became the first president to set foot on Japanese and Russian land to improve relations with both governments and establish peace between the two countries. As a result Roosevelt won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for his work to hasten the end of the Russian-Japanese War. He was the first American to win a Nobel Prize in any of the categories. His prize is now on display in the White House.

Related Topics:
Nobel Peace Prize - 1906 - Russian-Japanese War - White House

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In 1903, Roosevelt encouraged the local political class in Panama to form a nation independent from Colombia, after that nation refused the American terms for the building of a canal across the isthmus. The new nation of Panama sold a canal zone to the United States for 10 million U.S. dollars and a steadily increasing yearly sum. Roosevelt felt that a passage through the Isthmus of Panama was vital to protect American interests and to create a strong and cohesive United States Navy. The resulting Panama Canal was completed in 1914 and revolutionized world travel and commerce.

Related Topics:
1903 - Panama - Colombia - Canal - Isthmus - Canal zone - U.S. dollar - Isthmus of Panama - United States Navy - Panama Canal - 1914

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Cabinet

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Supreme Court appointments

Roosevelt appointed three Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States: Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., in 1902; William Rufus Day in 1903; and William Henry Moody in 1906. Although Moody was a close associate of Roosevelt, Holmes, who would become the longest-serving Justice in the Supreme Court, gained his appointment by virtue of sharing a mutual acquaintance with Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge.

Related Topics:
Supreme Court of the United States - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. - 1902 - William Rufus Day - 1903 - William Henry Moody - 1906 - Henry Cabot Lodge

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Lodge, who served as a member of the United States Senate for the state of Massachusetts, convinced Roosevelt that Holmes would be a "safe" appointment and would not oppose Roosevelt's policies. Holmes himself may have campaigned for his appointment, as he paid a visit to the home of Roosevelt's children to tell them stories of his service in the American Civil War. Roosevelt, who knew little of Holmes' judicial writings, already had obtained a favorable impression of Holmes due to the latter's speech entitled "The Soldier's Faith."

Related Topics:
United States Senate - Massachusetts - American Civil War

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On August 11 1902, while the Senate was in recess, Roosevelt appointed Holmes to the Supreme Court. However, Holmes' recess appointment would not be binding until the Senate agreed to confirm him, which it did on December 4. However, Lodge's assurance that Holmes would be "safe" turned out to be mistaken, and Roosevelt later regretted appointing Holmes to the Supreme Court for the latter's striking down of several reforms Roosevelt supported. Holmes would turn out to be, as of 2005, the longest-serving Justice ever on the bench of the Supreme Court, resigning in 1932 at the age of ninety due to ill health.

Related Topics:
August 11 - 1902 - Recess appointment - December 4 - 2005 - 1932

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Day, former Secretary of State for McKinley, had been appointed by the latter to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for four years after leaving his post in the cabinet. Roosevelt appointed him to the Supreme Court on January 29 1903. If the President had expected a Justice who would tow the line on his progressive policies, he was not initially disappointed; however, he would later oppose the President on a number of issues, such as the regulation of hours and wages of labor. Day served on the court for 19 years, resigning in 1922, the year before his death.

Related Topics:
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals - January 29 - 1903 - 1922

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Moody had served in Roosevelt's cabinet first as the Secretary of the Navy and then as Attorney General. In the latter capacity, he aided Roosevelt in prosecuting and negotiating with the trusts Roosevelt intended to bust. However, when a post on the court fell vacant, he was not Roosevelt's first choice; Roosevelt initially attempted to persuade William Howard Taft to take the empty seat on the bench. When Taft declined, however, Roosevelt went to Moody, and announced his appointment on December 12 1906. The Senate confirmed his appointment on December 17. However, the one appointment of Roosevelt's that held closely to his philosophy did not last long; Moody developed debilitating rheumatism in 1909, and he was forced to resign the following year. At the time, Roosevelt commented that "there is not a public servant, at this particular time, that the public could so ill afford to lose."

Related Topics:
William Howard Taft - December 12 - 1906 - December 17 - Rheumatism - 1909

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States admitted to the Union

During Roosevelt's Presidency, one state, Oklahoma, was admitted to the Union. This new state included the former Indian Territory, which had attempted to gain admission on its own into the Union as the State of Sequoyah. Formerly, the state of Oklahoma had been divided into the Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory.

Related Topics:
Oklahoma - Indian Territory - State of Sequoyah

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Initially in 1892, residents of the Oklahoma Territory had presented a statehood bill to congress, after the holding of a statehood convention in Oklahoma City in late 1891. When the bill dropped without any action, another was submitted in 1893. Both bills would result in a new state of Oklahoma including both the Oklahoma and Indian Territories. However, the chiefs of the Five Civilized Tribes that made up the Indian Territory vehemently protested this move. Eventually the Oklahoma Territory tired of waiting and insisted on admission to the Union; a bill was passed in the House of Representatives in 1902 that secured such an admission. However, the Senate let the matter pass, and a further attempt in the next Congress to secure passage of a similar bill also failed.

Related Topics:
1892 - Oklahoma City - 1891 - 1893 - Five Civilized Tribes - 1902

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In 1905, the Indian Territory held its own statehood convention, and drew up a constitution for what would be called the state of Sequoyah. When submitted to Congress, however, the constitution did not pass, and the state of Sequoyah never came to be. Eventually in 1906, a bill named the "Hamilton Bill" (although its proper name was the Enabling Act) after its author was introduced to Congress. It provided for the admission of the Oklahoma and Indian Territories as one state, and Arizona and New Mexico as another state. Although it passed on June 14 and was signed into law by Roosevelt, the people of Arizona and New Mexico rejected the offer of statehood. Nevertheless, after almost 15 tumultuous years of struggle, Oklahoma was finally a state of the Union.

Related Topics:
1905 - 1906 - Arizona - New Mexico - June 14

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