#26: Roosevelt, Theodore

Theodore Roosevelt
Oct. 27, 1858 - Jan. 6, 1919

Hello friend. I haven't forgotten about you or this little project. Work has gotten a bit more stressful (and my level of efficiency has sadly not improved). Nevertheless, here we are with President #26--Teddy Roosevelt, who was the youngest man ever to become president. He was 42 when McKinley was assassinated. He served two terms, from 1901 to 1909. He was a big bear of a man who "regarded public life as a great stage" according to World Book.

Things Roosevelt said:

• He practiced what he called the "strenuous life"--boxing, horseback riding, swimming, hunting, hiking...
• He said as president, "I did not usurp power, but I did greatly broaden the use of executive power."
• Of his foreign policy: "Speak softly and carry a big stick."
• Of his time as President: "I do not believe that anyone else has ever enjoyed the White House as much as I have."
• During the run-up to the Spanish American War, when Roosevelt was Assistant Secretary of the Navy, he said President McKinley had "no more backbone than a chocolate eclair."
  

Things Roosevelt did:

• Busted trusts (big business monopolies)!
• Regulated railroads!
• Passed laws to protect people from harmful food and drugs after reading Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle!
• Supported a revolutionary government that took control of Panama so he could get his #@$!$ canal! He later visited Panama and was the first President to travel to a foreign country while in office.
  
• Added over 125 million acres to the national forests in the interest of conservation!
  
• Ran for a third term in 1912, after the Republicans lost confidence in the then president William taft! He ran on the Bull Moose ticket, so named because after Teddy was asked how he felt, he answered, "I feel as strong as a bull moose." He lost that election to Woodrow Wilson.

Roosevelt died in 1919 from complications of a jungle fever he'd contracted while exploring in Brazil. Around the same time, he admitted that he had been blind in his left eye since 1905. He had lost the sight while boxing with a military aide in the White House!