Реферат: Theodore Roosevelt Essay Research Paper The second

In 1894, however, his brother Elliott, a chronic alcoholic, died. Unfortunately, TR’s son Kermit would inherit his Uncle’s alcoholism, which led to Kermit’s suicide. Elliott is perhaps more famous for being the father of Eleanor Roosevelt, the premier American Lady of Politics, and wife of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In 1895, TR received an invitation from New York City Mayor William Strong to become a Commissioner of the New York City Police Board. Resigning his commission in Washington, D.C., TR returned to New York and promptly set out to reform the police force. Amongst his many reforms still felt today are the establishment of the first Police Academy in the U.S., the use of bicycle patrols, and the establishment of civil service reforms for recruitment and promotion of officers. TR was famous for disguising himself and patrolling the streets of New York City at night hoping to catch a sleeping “beat cop” or other policemen conducting themselves shamefully (accepting bribes, etc.). Along with the good press provided by his journalist friend (and ‘midnight rambles’ companion) Jacob Riis, TR eventually took over the Presidency of the New York Police Board. It is a wonder he found time to write and publish American Ideals in 1897!

Coupling TR’s good press with his charisma gained him a national reputation for indefatigable honesty;

traits valued by newly elected President William McKinley who appointed TR, in 1897,

Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Shortly after taking his appointment, the U.S.S. Maine, anchored off Havana, Cuba, (at that time a Spanish possession) blew up killing 234 U.S. sailors. Naturally, hawks in the US blamed and demanded war against Spain, who denied all responsibility for the tragedy. A student of military affairs and international politics, TR knew that the key to winning the brewing conflict with Spain would be to control the seas. When TR’s boss, Secretary Long, unexpectedly went out of town, TR lost no time and cabled Admiral Dewey who was stationed in Hong Kong at the time. TR ordered Dewey to load coal and sail for the Philippines immediately; and added that should war be declared, and then Dewey must, at all costs, prevent the large yet aged Spanish fleet from leaving Manila Harbor. On April 20, 1898, the US declared war on Spain. Admiral Dewey followed TR’s instructions and sank the entire Spanish Fleet in less than 4 hours, starting the conflict with his infamous cry, “You may fire when ready, Gridley”. On May 6, TR resigned his post and began assembling the U.S. First Volunteer Cavalry, more famously known as the Rough Riders.

TR assembled the Rough Riders from a motley collection of Eastern intellectuals, Western roughnecks, athletes, writers, ranch hands, Native Americans, Hispanics, and any other qualified individual who wished to serve his country. The Rough Riders trained at Fort Sam Houston, and proceeded towards Tampa Bay, Florida, where they would embark towards Cuba aboard The Yucatan. Upon reaching the shores of Cuba,

the volunteers marched towards the hills of San Juan, where on July 1, 1898, they charged victoriously up Kettle Hill in the face of severe enemy fire, losing one fourth of its contingency. Theodore Roosevelt would eventually be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery on that day. However, the relative ineptitude of the entire Cuban operation led to the expressed dissatisfaction of several officers, culminating in the infamous Round Robin Telegram, a document detailing the failures and overt mismanagement of the conflict. Traveling alongside the Rough Riders were eminent journalists such as Frederic Remington and Richard Harding Davis; journalists who are at least partly responsible for TR’s rise to national prominence (which included a promotion for TR to full colonel).

With complete victory over Spain, the Rough Riders and their commander returned to the United States, disembarking at Montauk Point, New York, on August 15, 1898. Before the unit disbanded, the Rough Riders awarded their Colonel a statue made by Frederic Remington, “The Bronco Buster”, as a token of their appreciation. His meteor now achieving near critical mass, TR accepted his party’s nomination for the Governorship of New York. TR’s firebrand approach to politics inevitably clashed with the State’s political bosses, particularly Mark Hanna and Thomas Platt. These two bosses decided that the best way to be rid of TR would be to “bump him up” into a position of political neutrality: The Vice Presidency. Hence, at the Republican National Convention of 1900, the State machine bosses for nomination as William McKinley s running mate put his name forth. Unhappy but always loyal to the party, TR accepted his fate with resignation and campaigned successfully for the McKinley-Roosevelt ticket of 1900.

Having assumed the Vice Presidency, Theodore was resigned to the fact that his political ambitions had perhaps peaked. During the inauguration, political boss Mark Hanna; who had been apprehensive about TR’s joining the 1900 Republican ticket; is quoted as saying: “Do you realize that the only thing standing between that madman and the White House is a bullet? An extremely prescient statement, President McKinley was indeed shot by Leo Colgosz on September 13, 1901. Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as the nation’s

26th President at the Wilcox Mansion near Buffalo, New York, on September 14, 1901.

Upon assuming the presidency, Theodore Roosevelt sought to restore the dignity and prestige of the office heretofore tarnished by the scandals surrounding the Grant and Hayes administrations, as well as the “do-nothing” presidencies of Garfield, Harrison, Arthur, and Cleveland. He sought to turn the Presidency into a “bully pulpit” from where the nation’s chief executive could proactively influence national policy. Losing no time, in 1902 TR instructed Philander Knox to invoke the Sherman Anti-Trust Act against the Northern Securities Company, a railroad trust illegally offering freight rebates to “special” customers. In 1902, TR also initiated the Forest, Land, and River Reclamation Policy, the Isthmian Canal Act, settled a crippling Coal Strike, and enforced the Monroe Doctrine in Venezuela; thus ushering an era of U.S. foreign policy described as gunboat diplomacy.

In 1903, Congress supported the Panamian insurgency against their Colombian masters, culminating in the recognition of the Republic of Panama and subsequent construction of the Panama Canal by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers led by General Goethals. That year also saw the creation of the Department of Commerce and the Bureau of Corporations, the enactment of the Elkins Rebate Act, and the Cuban Reciprocity Treaty which lowered sugar and tobacco tariffs.

In 1904, the U.S. Senate ratified a Treaty with Panama, which granted the U.S. perpetual rights to the Canal Zone. In February, the Russo-Japanese War erupted. Later that year, TR received and accepted the Republican nomination for President. Running against Alton B. Parker, T.R. was elected with 71% of the popular vote and 58% of the Electoral College.

1905 saw TR being elected in his own right, forever removing the label of “accidental president”. This same year, TR successfully negotiated the Portsmouth Treaty effectively ending the Russo-Japanese War, outlined the resolution to the Algeciras Conference, and created the U.S. Forest Service. TR also expanded his “big stick” concept of diplomacy, ordering U.S. Marines to seize the customs houses in the country of Santo Domingo; ruled by a corrupt regime, which was in danger of being ousted militarily by its European creditors. TR’s actions, although criticized, are generally viewed as a strong and unequivocal affirmation of the principles outlined in the Monroe Doctrine and its Roosevelt Corollary.

The following year, 1906, was a monumental year for TR. He won the Nobel Peace Prize (donating the prize money in 1918 to Soldiers’ Aid Society), established the Roosevelt Foundation for Industrial Peace, coined the phrase “muckrake”, created the Forest Homestead Act, signed the Hepburn Rate Act, created the Food and Drugs Act, traveled to Panama to view progress on the Isthmian Canal project, and signed the charter admitting Oklahoma into the Union as the 46th State. The year was marred, however, by TR’s dishonorable discharge of an entire Black Infantry Troop stationed in Galveston, Texas. Members of the troop were charged with conduct unbecoming army personnel and various other offenses. TR’s discharge order was reversed by Congressional order in 1972. The year closed with the creation of the U.S. Antiquities Act, the mechanism through which many U.S. presidents have designated public lands as being “untouchable”.

In 1907, the Monroe’s Doctrine principle of self-determination for the Western Hemisphere gained international recognition with the ratification of the Santo Domingo Treaty. This same year saw TR appoint the Inland Waterways Commission, host the Tennessee Coal and Iron Conference, and the sailing of the U.S. Navy’s Great White Fleet, which ushered in an unprecedented era of U.S. internationalism.

1908 saw TR sign the Employer’s Liability Act, create the Grand Canyon and Muir Woods National Monuments, and introduce the first U.S. Postage Stamp (cost=$.01). In 1909, TR ordered the U.S. Marines to overthrow the Nicaraguan regime (also in trouble with its European creditors). Having chosen his successor for the Presidency and confident that his choice, William Howard Taft, would continue his proactive political approach, TR saw his presidential term expire and embarked on a Smithsonian sponsored African Safari.

Accompanied on the safari by his son Kermit, TR collected hundreds of specimens for the Smithsonian, and in 1910 published a book on his experiences titled African Game Trails. After his safari, TR embarked on a tour of Europe, delivering speeches at places such as Guild Hall, in London, England, and attending the funeral of England’s King Edward. TR returned to the United States to great fanfare. TR also promptly discovered that President Taft has “betrayed” the agenda of the Roosevelt Administration, and in 1911 set out to expound his political viewpoints around the country with speeches such as The New Nationalism.

After failing to gain the Republican presidential nomination at the 1912 National Convention in Chicago, TR defected to the Progressive Party. During a campaign stop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, TR was shot in the chest by John Schrank, a madman bent on assassinating the ex-president. The bullet hit TR in the chest, but the thick speech manuscript TR was carrying in his breast pocket slowed its impact. Despite being shot, TR delivered his 90-minute speech before a capacity crowd, refusing to go to the hospital and insisting that it “takes more than a bullet to stop a Bull Moose.” Despite his popularity and tireless campaigning, he nevertheless lost the 1912 election; in the process splitting up the Republican vote in half and awarding a de facto victory to the Democratic candidate, Woodrow Wilson. Despondent but resilient, TR accepted a position as an Editorialist at Large with The Outlook magazine in New York. TR used his pen to scrutinize and, when appropriate, criticize President Wilson and his administration’s policies; especially those regarding America’s unpreparedness for the brewing hostilities and balance of power shifts occurring in Europe. Later that same year, George S. Newett, the editor of the Michigan Iron Ore publication, who called the ex-president a drunk , attacked TR in print. TR sued the editor for libel, and won the case.

In 1913, TR embarked on an expedition to Brazil to map the course and find the source of a river deep in the Amazon jungles heretofore uncharted. The expedition was first proposed by Father John Augustine Zahm,

a clergyman from the Univeristy of Notre Dame and longtime friend of TR. The expedition, dubbed the Roosevelt-Rondon South American Expedition of 1913-1914, was sponsored by the National Museum of History of New York, the National Geographic Society, and the governments of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. The expedition members included: Kermit Roosevelt, Col. Candido Mariano da Silva Rondon (expedition leader sent by the Brazilian government), Leo Miller (mammologist), Anthony Fiala (logistics), Frank Harper (TR’s private secretary), George K. Cherrie (naturalist/ornithologist), Lt. Joao Salustiano Lyra (Brazilian astronomer), and approximately two dozen Brazilian camaradas, or portege carriers. To secure additional funding for the expedition, as well as to be compensated for his time, TR contracted with Scribner’s magazine to write a series of articles about the expedition, eventually publishing his account in the book titled

Through the Brazilian Wilderness. Facing dangers ranging from cataracts and rapids to aggressive Amazonians and the unfortunate murder of an expedition member by another expedition member, the party eventually completed their goal and mapped what came to be known as the Rio Teodoro. During the expedition, many members of the expedition contracted tropical diseases such as malaria. TR himself became so sick that he is reputed to have contemplated suicide. As a matter of fact, he carried with him a dose of hemlock for just such a purpose. TR’s sickness was due to a leg injury, which abscessed, causing TR to lose almost 50 pounds. This leg injury plagued him the rest of his life, and may have contributed to his death.

Returning to the United States in 1914, TR found that the world was being torn apart by the rising conflict in Europe which culminated in the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, thus precipitating World War I. TR volunteered to raise a regiment to fight in Europe, but his efforts were rebuffed by President Wilson. In response, TR returned to his editorial duties and engaged in tireless efforts to raise money and supplies for the war effort. His sons, Ted Jr., Kermit, Archie, and Quentin all served in the Army with distinction. Unfortunately, Quentin, an aviator, was killed over Chemery, France, after his plane was shot down. The airfield near Sagamore Hill where Quentin trained was renamed Roosevelt field in his honor, and it is the field from where Charles Lindbergh departed on his famous solo flight across the Atlantic.

Never recovering from the grief of losing his favorite child, TR continued to write books and editorials. Unfortunately, the strain from his leg injury accelerated his failing health. Theodore Roosevelt returned to his home and died in his sleep on January 6, 1919. His last words are reputed to have been directed at his manservant, James Amos, when TR said, “Please turn out the light.” The official cause of death was listed as a pulmonary embolism brought on by the combined effects of inflammatory rheumatism and recurrent malaria. Archie Roosevelt, on temporary leave to recuperate from a leg wound, cabled his siblings still overseas with the simple message, “The Old Lion is Dead.” When the news reached Washington, D.C., the Vice President, Thomas R. Marshall, was reputed to have said, “Death had to take him sleeping, for if Roosevelt had been awake, there would have been a fight.”

Despite his death at age sixty, Theodore Roosevelt’s legacy lives on. His moral integrity and strength of character are models, which should be emulated by everyone around the world. Theodore Roosevelt was not only one of the finest presidents the United States has ever elected; Theodore Roosevelt was also a faithful husband, a model parent, an enthusiastic citizen who sought to accomplish something great for his country and the world at large. TR was a prolific writer and tireless campaigner for the protection of basic human rights, a masterful politician who shaped the world around him, always basing his actions on the American concepts of freedom, equal justice under the law, and the pursuit of happiness. Theodore Roosevelt’s legacy shall continue, and it is to his memory that we faithfully dedicate this website.