Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

I wonder about Theodore Roosevelt. My interest in Theodore Roosevelt was because of a brief lesson on him in Social Studies class. This Wonder Project falls into the category of Social Studies because this is a biography about Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States of America.

Theodore Roosevelt was born in New York in 1858 and died in 1919. As a young boy, he was often spending many of his days reading. Either Theodore or his family knew that the reason for his illness was severe asthma. Theodore’s father believed that the best treatment for his illness was for him to become physically active through exercise and playing sports. As a result, Theodore spent much of his time exercising. As he got older, his illness affected him less and less to the point where the attacks were almost non-existent.

As a child, Theodore developed a passion for the natural sciences. This passion remained constant in his life through college where he planned to study to become a scientist at Harvard University. During college, Theodore Roosevelt met his first wife, Alice Lee, who he married in 1880. Tragically, Alice died from Bright’s disease, on Valentines Day in 1884 only days after the birth of their first daughter. Even worse, his mother also died on the same day from a typhoid fever. These events caused much heartache for Theodore Roosevelt causing him to bury himself into his work.

Already a member of the state assembly at this point, Theodore Roosevelt created a bill known as The Reform Charter Bill. This bill helped to eliminate corruption, changing political procedure altogether. In addition, he began to serve as a delegate for the National Republican Convention. This task helped him compensate much of his time, helping him cope with the grief caused by the loss of his wife and his mother. After serving at the Republican National Convention, Theodore Roosevelt moved out West to North Dakota, where he lived as a ranchman for several years. These experiences helped to offset the public opinion of Theodore Roosevelt, proving that just because he was raised in a wealthy and privileged family didn’t mean that he wasn’t a hard worker.