The Early Years of Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt (TR) was born October 27th, 1858 in New York. He was born into the wealthy family of Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. Theodore senior was a well known and well-respected philanthropist and partner in a successful importing company; Roosevelt and Son. Later in his life, in his autobiography, Theodore Junior referred to his father as "the greatest man I ever knew." Money, education and love of family were in great supply.

However, the good start in life would be offset by the health problems that would plague Theodore Junior for most of his adolescent life. "Teedy," as he is called by adoring family members, was asthmatic and would not go for more than a week or two without getting very sick. Asthma was not easily dealt with in those days. Much of his early youth he needed to be propped up in bed while sleeping to relieve symptoms. There were times when he needed to be rushed off to the clearer air of Moosehead Lake to ease the symptoms. It was thought at one time that Teedy might never see his fourth birthday.

Because of this condition, as TR grew older, his father emphasized activity and exercise as a way relieving the symptoms. Theodore took this to heart and would for the rest of his life pursue what he called "the strenuous life." He participated in a ton of activities; boxing, jujitsu, swimming, tennis, hiking, rowing, polo, and horseback riding, to name a few. He loved the way he felt and worked relentlessly to stay active.

What Theodore junior lacked in health he made up for in curiosity. It was said that many of his tutors could not keep up with his seemingly insatiable thirst for answers. Reading was an obsession with him. During his presidency he stated "reading with me is a disease." He was said to have read at least one book a day even on his busiest days.

His first love was natural science. He was dissecting everything in his path. At age nine (1868) he authored his first book "The Natural History of Insects" and at age ten, with the induction of a dead seal skull, christened the "Roosevelt Museum of Natural History" with a few cousins.

In his youth he was able to see much of Europe and even visited Eygpt. He never was very fond of leaving his friends behind for long stretches, but with the aforementioned level of curiosity present, those feelings were short lived. He spent a summer in Germany and stated that the experience left him feeling as though it was "quite impossible to make me feel as though Germans were really foreigners."

Upon returning from his travels, around the age of fifteen, he began preparation under a private tutor to enter Harvard. He admitted that his levels of knowledge were very uneven. He was strong in natural sciences, German and French, but weak in certain other languages and mathematics.

He was accepted at Harvard in 1876. Even though his aspirations lay within the field of natural history and the "out-of-doors" sciences, he began his studies related to business due to the facts that he both misunderstood his father's advice and also that natural science was not really a profitable, self-sustaining field especially in those days.

While at Harvard he was an extremely busy man. He took part in many activities and was part of many clubs. To name a few, since there were many, he was the Editor of the student newspaper "The Advocate" during his senior year, Vice-President of the Natural History Society and runner-up in the Harvard Boxing Championships (a great accomplishment considering his earlier health).

In 1880, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude finishing 19th in a class of 230. Looking back, he cherished his time at Harvard, but was somewhat dismissive to its benefits. In his autobiography he states "I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Harvard, and I'm sure it did me good, but only in the general effect, for there was very little in my actual studies which helped me in after life."

Soon after finishing college he would marry his college sweetheart, Alice. His love for Alice was immediate and memoirs from this time showed a raging romantic side of Theodore. Here is an excerpt from a letter he had written soon after meeting Alice; "she seems like a star of heaven...my pearl, my pure flower."

Starting a family changed his priorities, and 1882 would be a pretty big year. He dropped out of law school soon after starting it to devote more time to writing and pursuit of public service. First, he published a book, which he had started while in college, entitled the "The Naval War of 1812." This book was a hit with experts of the day and became standard reading at the naval academy for two generations. Second, his increasing involvement in local government landed him a seat on the New York State Assembly. At the time, being the ripe old age of 24, he was the youngest to do so (pretty amazing when you think about it).

Just four years after being married, and two days after becoming a father, TR was hit hard by news that would devastate even the strongest of people. The love of his life died from complications of child birth and in the cruelest of twists of fate, his mother died on the same day. The loss of both was extremely hard, but the loss of his wife would affect him until death. Other than a few references to her soon after her death, he would never speak his wife's name again, nor would he allow others to speak it in his presence.

Within a year of her death, he needed to get away and decided to go west. He made his home in Medora, South Dakota on the Maltese Cross Ranch. He made many friends and became very popular out west. He would not back down from anyone and gained respect, not usually reserved for city folk from even the most hardened frontiersmen.

One story recalled a time in a saloon where he was hassled relentlessly because of his spectacles, a rare site in those days. Being a brave man, and a man with above average boxing skills, he quickly handled matters. On another occasion, while Sheriff, he won the hearts of many people of the region by tracking and capturing two dangerous outlaws. Impressions like these would pay big dividends during later elections. He loved the people of the region and they loved him.

His mad love of the open range, wild game and rugged country, took him west on many occasions and shaped him as a policy maker. Guiltlessly displaying many of his prized trophy kills and frequently gushing about hunts that would tally kills in the hundreds, this man participated in activities that were seriously depleting the very things that he loved. Fortunately for generations to come he was wise enough to recognize this and would create such institutions as the National Bird Preserve and set aside more land for national parks and other nature preserves than any other president before him.

After an extremely tough winter on the plains in 1887, he returned east, ran for mayor of New York City (lost) and married again. He Married Edith Carow, his childhood sweetheart, in London.

For the next year or so, he would author a book, work on various conservation legislation projects, write various articles and essays to earn money, and spend a great deal of time with his family.

In the fall of 1888, he hit the campaign trail for the Republicans, and soon after a very successful election for the home team, he was reluctantly given the unenviable job of Civil Service Commissioner. He came into the job knowledgeable and ready to take on the world. Civil service had been a topic of interest for him so he was well read on the subject.

Soon after taking the job, he started to uncover sort of a dark underworld associated with civil service. The system was pretty corrupt especially in terms of the way people were hired. If a man was hired on merit he was a rare case. Also, many of the jobs were given out as favors for money, shady business deals or even votes. This seriously undermined the integrity on the organization and TR fought hard to clean it up. After all, he absolutely despised mixing politics and business. He would take his lumps, but overall he won many key battles and would eventually leave the organization in better shape then when he started.

Also, during this time he became acquainted with many of Washington's elite and started making a name for himself. He would make many friends that would be of great help in his future. His experiences during that time, along with his frequent visits to the White House, had him day dreaming of the presidency.

He held the civil service position for six years until he was offered a position on the New York City Police Commission. He was made president of a four-man board which, oddly enough, consisted of two democrats and two republicans. Understanding that this type of arrangement might make getting things done harder than usual he would skillfully use the press and public opinion to influence policy and sway decision making.

As with any job TR took his job very seriously and was very intent on making things happen. He knew of the rampant corruption within the police force and took steps to clean house. It was not uncommon for TR to walk the streets nightly, staying out as late, or early, as 3:00 a.m. keeping tabs on his officers. In those days many of the police spent more time doing "un-police" things like drinking, gambling, and bullying instead of doing their jobs. TR would personally see to it that they were doing their jobs.

One other key event during his tenure was his enforcement of the Sunday Excise. By law, the saloons were to be closed on Sundays, but for many years people ignored the law. Previous commissioners had tried, and failed, to enforce this law since it was a "very" sensitive subject. He would ruffle many feathers countrywide. No Sunday business cost saloon owners, crooked cops, and other illegal organizations a lot of money. In fact it was estimated that the bar owners were collectively losing up to $20,000 per Sunday by being closed. It was a hard fought battle but TR came out the winner.

After serving for just over a year as the police commissioner, TR he had his fill of the long hours, being out of touch with national affairs, and not having full control, as he put it, "to accomplish all I could desire." Never the less, TR once again took something corrupt and made it better. He did more in the short time he spent in the job than most men could in three times as much. He was praised by many for a job well done.

Looking to get back in to national affairs TR accepted the position of Assistant Secretary of the Navy. A job that was a perfect fit for him considering his life long interest in the institution. TR was the assistant, but there were many times during his tenure you would not have known it. He would have much say over many policy changes, strategies, and the overall operations. Although TR and the secretary, John D. Long, had great mutual respect for each other, Secretary Long was bored with many of the technical aspects and was not as in to the position as TR would have liked. On top of that, the secretary was more passive and could not match the passion that TR brought to the table.

TR would accomplish many great things as the assistant. He was given credit for making the Navy into a much more efficient-fighting machine, and according to experts, pushed naval technology several years into the future.

During his tenure he became known as an expansionist. Always an ardent supporter of everything war, he was among those that lobbied hard to get the president to go to war with Spain in Cuba. Not too long after the infamous sinking of the Maine, he would get his wish.

Rumors of war had TR ardently lobbying for a role. As with any man, he knew the dangers of war, about what it would mean being away from family and putting his life on the line. Through the years he was very pro-war, and as with any man of great integrity, there was no way he was not going to put his money where his mouth was.

In the spring of 1898, President McKinley declared war on Spain, and TR was given command of a regiment made up of frontiers men possessing special skills as horsemen and marksmen. He was a perfect fit for the job considering his days out west. These were men that TR could relate to, and he spoke their language.

His leadership was unquestioned and spoken for just by the way men respected him, they, were willing to do anything for him. His respect and loyalty was reciprocal. Once, with supplies low, he used $5000 out of his own pocket so the men could eat.

The regiment was known as the "Rough Riders." They would become legends of what was a legendary and heroic charge up San Juan Hill in Cuba. They performed maneuvers that, considering the terrain, most military strategists thought impossible. Posthumously on January 16th, 2001 President Clinton would award TR the Medal of Honor for his role on that day.

After the war, TR would return to the States as the most popular man of his time. He would parlay that popularity into a term as governor of New York and then into a spot on the republican presidential ticket as a candidate for Vice-President. He was elected to the White House in 1901 as Vice President (a job that bored him to death). Before the year was out, he became president with the assassination of President McKinley on September 6th. At the age of 40 he was, at that time, the youngest man to ever hold the office.

Incredibly Theodore Roosevelt would go on to create an even bigger legacy. There is so much to learn it is almost hard to fathom. I have filled five pages, but feel as though they are as empty as when I started.

This type of man is a rare breed. He is someone we can all learn something from. He faced every challenge life threw at him and conquered each one like a champion. He was a man whose bitter enemies would concede his greatness. A man of this caliber does not come around very often.

The second I read the back cover of the book, "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt", about two and a half years ago, I have been captivated and awestruck by this man. I believe this is one man that should be required reading for everyone, both for what his story teaches in terms of American history and also as glaring example of what one person can accomplish in a lifetime.