Introduction
Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt was born on 27 October 1858 and grew up to be the 26th President of the United States of America between the years 1901 and 1909. He was born to a wealthy ‘half Dutch half Irish ’family and was lucky to be the son to the man who read to the public the Declaration of Independence at Georgia. As a boy, Teddy was sickly suffering from asthma and due to this condition he stayed home and studied History. He was also near sighted. Roosevelt joined Harvard college in 1876 and was known to study avidly even without the aid of glasses . At Harvard, he did well at academics and became one of the most accomplished field naturalists. He also became a good boxer, marksman and horseman. He also wrote a thesis paper that called for the rights of the women to vote as well as their rightful place in marriage.
Early political life and Affiliation
Roosevelt was ostensibly a Republican. But he soon went against the republicans by demanding an inquiry into the misconduct of a state Supreme Court judge. He continued to be in active politics in the State of New York. In 1884, his wife passed on as soon as giving birth to their daughter. In the same year, Roosevelt also took part in the Republican National Convention. At the convention, Roosevelt was not happy with the nomination of the Candidate James G. Blaine, to face the Democratic candidate at the time. Roosevelt was quoted claiming the party did not consider freedom within the party which he asserted to be paramount to a party . He believed that democracy within the parties is what made them great.
Roosevelt later moved to Dakota in 1884 where he built a ranch and worked as deputy sheriff. Soon after the deadly winter of 1886-1887, Roosevelt moved back to New York, and later went on to London where he married his second wife, with whom they had five children. His return to active politics was marked by his move to campaign for Benjamin Harrison. For this, he was rewarded with several high ranking civil service jobs such as the appointment to the United States Civil Service Commission, president to the board of New City Police Commissioners and later the Assistant Secretary to the Navy.
However, in year 1898, Roosevelt resigned from the navy to serve in the Army with the declaration of the Spanish-American war which was fought in Cuba . In the war, Roosevelt served in a group of cowboy volunteers who referred themselves as Rough Riders. In his writings, Roosevelt says he loved to serve his country and it was the highest a young man could be called to do for his country. In this war he served first as a Lieutenant Colonel and later he was promoted to Colonel.
Upon returning for the war, Roosevelt contested and won the Governorship of the State of New York as a Republican. He took effort to stamp out what he described as corruption inherent in machine politics. This is the kind of politics in which there is an authoritative, somewhat, dictatorial political boss who demand the absolute support of small businesses and workers. His efforts were noticed by the then president and was awarded the vice presidency.
Presidency and Socio-economic Policies
Roosevelt took over the presidency of United States upon the assassination of President McKinley, taking the oath of office in September 1901. At this time the nation was facing grave domestic problems and mounting international concerns. At the domestic level, the country’s population had nearly doubled in the past thirty years as thousands of immigrants moved to cities and other urban centers. Just like the rest of unchecked rural-urban migrations, this resulted to overcrowded cities, poor sanitation, deplorable working conditions, undermined economies and political supremacy and control of big corporate businesses.
Roosevelt believed that it was the responsibility of the government to protect its citizens from the excesses brought about by big businesses. He also believed that business was the economic hub of an economy and that eliminating big business organization, as others suggested, would have a harmful effect on the ability of a nation to feed and protect itself. Roosevelt also believed that leaving the conditions to prevail would lead to extreme measures such as socialism as experienced in Europe. Furthermore, Roosevelt had been a politician and had served in the army. In this respect, he clearly understood that compromise when it comes social and economic issues always led to amicable solutions. In fact, as he took over the office of the president, he had promised to uphold the policies of his predecessor .
Probably the most genius effort Roosevelt used to bring economic stability in the country was the famed ‘Square Deal’ of 1902. Before reaching to the deal, coal miners of a mining company in Pennsylvania had gone on industrial. The management on the other hand, had refused to take part in the negotiations with the representative of the workers union. President Roosevelt, in an attempt to avert a coal shortage in winter tried to strike a deal at the White House, but the parties could not sit to agree. So Roosevelt threatened to take the mining company and run it as a federal corporation. The two parties feared to lose jobs and the company agreed to start the negotiations.
President Roosevelt was an avid believer in environmental conservation. In his speeches, he strongly spoke against logging of trees in the woodlands and called for the preservation of mountain ranges calling them places of rest and refuge. It was his belief that proper management and use of natural resources secures a country’s’ future and its coming generations. He proved this by signing the Newlands Reclamation Bill which called for the use of the federal resources to start irrigation activities and reservoirs to help conserve the environment.
During his second term, the president further improved his conservation efforts. He took control of forests and national reserves from local authorities and gave this power to the Forest Service, a federal agency. During this time, he also created 150 new forests and increased land under forest cover from 42 million to about 172 million acres. He also added 51 new wild refuges, an additional 8 national monuments and five national parks.
However, Roosevelt’s stance on civil rights and racial discrimination was quite varied. In one occasion he invited an African American civil rights activist, Booker T. Washington for dinner at the White House. In this respect, he showed that he cared for the African Americans as a race despite the fact that he considered them an inferior race. On another occasion, he called for the dishonorable discharged of nearly 160 black soldiers from the army. These solders had been accused of violating some rules. However, the president called for their discharge without a fair trial.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Theodore Roosevelt ran the country in what can be described as an impeccable manner. He was described as the first modern and successful president in the age of commerce and business. His policies with regards to the economy played a key role in shaping the current status of the United States.
References
Harbaugh, W. H. (2000). About Theodore Roosevelt. Retrieved November 22, 2011, from www.english.illinois.edu: http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/espada/roosevelt_life.htm
Lansford, T. (2005). Theodore Roosevelt in perspective. Nova Publishers.
Miller, N. (1992). Theodore Roosevelt: a life. Morrow.
Thayer, W. R. (2007). Theodore Roosevelt: An Intimate Biography. 1st World Publishing.
