Theodore Roosevelt and the Modern Presidency I. Early Political Career Despite ridicule from his educated and respectable friends, Roosevelt entered politics immediately after graduating from Harvard College in 1880. In 1881,Roosevelt showed the strength of his intention by winning election to the New York State Assembly. He gained reelection twice before personal tragedy, On February 14,1884, in a tragic coincidence, Roosevelt’s young wife died in childbirth just hours after the death of his beloved mother. Emotionally shattered, Roosevelt left politics and fled New York for the Dakota Territory. In 1886, after a disastrous winter demolished most of his cattle herd, Roosevelt returned east to politics, his first love. For the next 12 years, he held various government positions, from Civil Service Commissioner to Assistant Secretary of the Navy. When the United States went to war against Spain in 1898, Roosevelt resigned and organized a group of volunteers called the Rough Riders. Their successful assault on San Juan Hill in Cuba made Roosevelt a National hero. He rode his new fame to victory in the 1898 race for governor of New York. II. Roosevelt and McKinley When President McKinley prepared to run for reelection in 1900, he needed someone to replace Garret Hobart, his first vice president, who had died in 1899.Roosevelt seemed a logical choice. Basically a man of action, Roosevelt considered the vice presidency a do-nothing position leading to political oblivion. The bosses schemed to kick Roosevelt out of New York to serve as McKinley’s vice president. After he and McKinley won the election, Roosevelt sadly wrote to a friend, “I do not expect to go any further in politics.” Wherever Roosevelt went he became the center of attention. During the late 1800s, the country had been designated by strong Congresses and relatively weak presidents. Roosevelt reversed that traditional division of power. The new president employed the considerable powers of his office and his own personal magnetism to bypass congressional opposition. In doing so, Roosevelt became the first modern president. III. Managing Natural Resources In 1902 Roosevelt supported passage of the Newlands Reclamation Act, which authorized the use of federal funds from the sale of public lands to pay for irrigation and land development projects in the dry farms and cities of the West. Under new law, Roosevelt supported the construction of 25irrigation or reclamation projects. Roosevelt also backed efforts to save the nation’s forests by preventing shortsighted lumbering companies from overcutting. He appointed close friend Gifford Pinchot to head the U.
Three years later in 1884, both Theodore’s mom and his first wife Alice Hathaway Lee died on the same day. Theodore was so depressed about his loved one’s death that he decided to leave politics and spend two years on a cattle ranch. Five years later, Roosevelt became active in politics again and fought against corruption by becoming a member of the U.S. Civil Service Commission through 1889-1895. After 1895, Theodore was appointed as the assistant secretary of the navy by William McKinley. War with Spain was declared in 1898, and Theodore consequently made the Rough Riders.
Theodore Roosevelt was one of the most influential people in the early 20th century. His leadership style, his reforms, and his personality shaped an America that was rapidly becoming a world power. Theodore Roosevelt is admirably remembered for his energetic persona, his range of interests and achievements, his leadership of the Progressive Movement, his model of masculinity and his “cowboy” image (). He was a leader of the Republican Party and founder of the short-lived Progressive Party of 1912 (). Before becoming President, he held offices at the municipal, state, and federal level of government (). Roosevelt’s achievements as a naturalist, explorer, hunter, author, and soldier are as much a part of his fame as any office he held as a politician. His legacy lives on as one of greatest leaders in American history.
In 1901 Vice President Theodore Roosevelt took over as President after William McKinley was assassinated. The country had many opportunities ahead but was in need of some changes that the American people were all too ready for. Roosevelt was brought up in a well to do family and had was Harvard educated.
In 1932, Roosevelt was elected president. On the other hand, Teddy instead, campaigned for Vice President in 1901, with President William McKinley. He was a Republican, who served as Governor of New York. After the election ended, William McKinley was assassinated in September 1901. Theodore Roosevelt has been sworn in as the 26th President of the United States.
Theodore Roosevelt could be considered the best president of the US because of the efforts he made in the years 1904 to 1909. Not only did he help the country while in office, but he was also commander of the first US Volunteer Cavalry Regiment in the Spanish American War, the youngest member of the New York assemble at the age of 23, the president of New York City Police Board from 1895- 1897, assistant secretary of the Navy, governor of New York, and Vice President of the U.S. With this background, Roosevelt became the youngest President in the Nation's history at the age of forty-two. Theodore brought new excitement and power to the Presidency, as he vigorously led Congress and the American public toward progressive reforms and a strong
Theodore Roosevelt was one of our greatest presidents. He created the FDA and improved the position of the presidency greatly. Before Theodore came to be president, the position of presidency was slow and wasn’t very interesting so he made the executive branch more powerful by starting new reforms and a strong foreign policy. The life of a president is hard. It is full of stress, responsibilities, and a strong dedication the welfare of your country. Theodore had to deal with all of these presidential stresses, taking up much of his time. Do you know, though, that despite being a president, he led a life of excitement and freedom that many other presidents had never before experienced? Theodore, “Teddy” as his first wife Alice called him, Roosevelt was more than just our president, he was a dedicated author who wrote many books; he was also a rancher, and, surprisingly, he was a big time hunter. Even though Theodore Roosevelt was a president, his life was filled with exciting adventure, times of hardships, responsibilities to many, and influences upon many government positions.
When he returned, he was a representative to the Republican convention in Chicago, and this is where he started his amazing friendship with Henry Cabot Lodge that would end up lasting the rest of Roosevelt’s life. Two years after his first wife’s death, Roosevelt got married again to a woman named Edith Carow in 1886. Before Roosevelt became President of the United States, he held several political positions, including the assistant secretary under John Long, the president of New York City’s Board of Police Commissioners, Vice President, but one of his most important positions was the command of the Rough Riders, Teddy’s regiment in the Spanish-American war. While in command of the Rough Riders, Roosevelt became an American hero after a victory against the enemy that no one that was there expected him to survive. After doing so well while at war, Theodore felt that he had earned and should be given the Medal of Honor, but this is something he never got to
Teddy Roosevelt was a man who liked to creat a stir wherever he went. He loved mingling with people to boost his own self-image.He loved to impress people with his cowboyism, his collection of guns, and his pintsize spectacles.Also, Roosevelt was a direct-actionist.He wanted to keep the country moving foward and preserve his public image at the same time. He wanted to display to his supporters that he could lead the country and be a jovial person simulataneously. His public image seemed to be his first priority, and when the election of 1904 came approaching, he wanted to show that he could be a bully to smaller countries and impress his people back home.
Franklin D. Roosevelt became the thirty-second president of the U.S. in 1933. He was one of the most skillful political leaders and it showed as he led the people out of the Great Depression. The U.S. was in a state of depression when Roosevelt took office, but through his New Deal program, the federal government became much more involved socially and economically in peoples' lives in contrast to its traditionally passive role. The government's responsibilities in peoples' lives changed and individuals' responsibilities changed too. The role of the government in peoples' lives expanded greatly during the New Deal era.
From the perspective of congress, Roosevelt’s political priorities could not have been more wrong. Roosevelt’s didn’t let that hold him back with his determination he wanted to promote the rights of workers, he wanted the federal government to take the lead in dealing with public health and poverty. Roosevelt idolized Abraham Lincoln he would quote from Lincoln often reminding Americans of what Lincoln had told Congress in 1861. From the start of his presidency Roosevelt understood that he and the Congress where not going to see eye-to-eye. Knowing that the legislature was hostile to his policies, Roosevelt decided to use the president’s executive authority to realize his vision. Theodore most dramatic use of executive authority concerned conservation. Roosevelt is often considered the “conservationist president” conservation increasingly become one of Roosevelt’s main concerns. He used his authority to protect wildlife and public lands by creating the United States Forest Service and establishing 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, 4 national game preserves, 5 national parks, and 18 national monuments by enabling the 1906 American Antiquities Act. Today the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt is found across the
Roosevelt had a habit of walking officers' beats early in the morning and late at night in order to make sure that they were all on duty. Before becoming Vice President in March 1901, he was a New York State Governor. He had signed an act that replaced the Police Commissioners with a single Police Commissioner.
William Taft was picked by his successor, Roosevelt. Taft, the secretary of war was chosen as the Republican candidate for 1908. Taft easily defeated the other candidates thanks to Roosevelt’s “good words”. However, Taft did not live up to Roosevelt’s expectations. He lacked the strength of personality and cared more about his dealings with congress. In fact, Taft didn’t share the same progressive ideas and polices that Roosevelt backed. The first major catastrophe to the Progressives that occurred during Taft’s presidency was the Payne-Aldrich Tariff of 1909. Taft called on Congress to address what many people thought of as excessive tariffs. After which the House of Representatives passed a bill that slightly restricted tariffs, but their legislation was strictly modified when it arrived to the Senate. Taft signed the bill and stated that it was “the best bill that the Republican Party ever passed.” This astounded and confused the Progressives and began the internal struggle for the command of the Republican Party. Another issue was Taft’s conservation problems. Taft was a conservationist much like Roosevelt but a large chunk of his work was undone by the Ballinager-Pinchot dispute. This was where Pinchot the leader of the Department of Forestry attacked Secretary of the Interior, Ballianger, for his handling of public lands. Furthermore, Ballinager opened up millions of acres for public use which angered Pinchot, in
Theodore Roosevelt stepped into head of office on September 19, 1901 when President William McKinley was assassinated. He was the youngest man to become president. His motto was “speak softly but carry a big stick.” President Roosevelt would come into power offering America the square deal. He would take the power away from the industrialists as he controlled big business from the White House. He would soon become known as a TrustBuster. Roosevelt used American power for American interests and was quoted as saying, “I am an American first and last. “ Although some historians argue that Roosevelt acted like a six-year-old throughout his presidency and that he didn’t think things through, ie “he thought with his hips”, one can admire the tremendous leadership qualities that Teddy Roosevelt had. First, he was a very bold man who graduated magna cum laude from Harvard. The average citizen was aware of what a “positive, warm and tough, authoritative and funny” president that they had leading them. His leadership qualities stemmed from his time as a New York state Assembly man, a deputy sheriff, a ...
He did this by increasing the power of the presidency, “by taking the position that the president could exercise any right not specifically denied him by the Constitution.” Theodore Roosevelt saw the president’s role to defend the citizens by regulating businesses and breaking up trusts that had gained too much power, defend the very resources of the country by establishing 50 wildlife sanctuaries, 5 national parks, 18 national monuments, and placing more than 230 acres of American soil under federal protection, and lastly increased the role of the president in foreign policy by heavily engaging in foreign affairs. Before Theodore Roosevelt, Congress was the most powerful branch of the government, but with the help of Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency it helped establish an influential and reliable executive branch. During both the Progressive Era and New Deal Era, many American citizens faced low pay.
President Roosevelt brought the executive branch of the government into power like never before. He is hated to this day by many people. But for the majority of the country during one of our toughest times, he was what we needed. Without consulting history acknowledging that, it’s impossible to judge what he did very negatively. The old ways weren’t working, and while President Hoover tried to do something, it wasn’t enough. President Roosevelt was more successful with the actions he took for relief during the Great Depression.