Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt
26th President of the United States
In office September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1909
Vice President	Charles W. Fairbanks (1905–1909)
Preceded by	William McKinley
Succeeded by	William Howard Taft
25th Vice President of the United States
In office March 4, 1901 – September 14, 1901
President	William McKinley
Preceded by	Garret Hobart
Succeeded by	Charles W. Fairbanks
33rd Governor of New York
In office January 1, 1899 – December 31, 1900
Lieutenant	Timothy L. Woodruff
Preceded by	Frank S. Black
Succeeded by	Benjamin B. Odell, Jr.
Assistant Secretary of the Navy
In office 1897 – 1898
President	William McKinley
Preceded by	William McAdoo
Succeeded by	Charles Herbert Allen
Minority Leader of the New York State Assembly
In office 1883
Member of the New York State Assembly
In office 1882 – 1884
New York City Police Commissioner Superintendent
In office 1895 – 1897
Born	October 27, 1858(1858-10-27) New York, New York
Died	January 6, 1919 (aged 60) Oyster Bay, New York
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican (1897–1912) Progressive Party (1912–1916)
Spouse	(1) Alice Hathaway Lee (married 1880, died 1884) (2) Edith Kermit Carow (married 1886)
Children	Alice, Ted, Kermit, Ethel, Archie, Quentin
Alma mater	Columbia Law School - dropped out; Harvard College
Occupation	Statesman, author, historian, explorer, conservationist, civil servant
Religion	Dutch Reformed
Signature
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1898
Rank	Colonel
Commands	1st United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment (Rough Riders)
Battles/wars	Spanish-American War *Battle of Las Guasimas *Battle of San Juan Hill
Awards	Nobel Peace Prize (1906), Medal of Honor (posthumously, 2001)

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt (1858–1919), was the 26th president of the United States. He was born in New York. He was a member of the Republican Party.

Early life

Theodore Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858, in New York City. He was sickly as a child, so he took up studying animals. He also took up boxing. He went to college at Harvard. He married twice, first to Alice Hathaway Lee and later to Edith Kermit Carow. He had six kids: Alice, Theodore Jr., Kermit, Ethel, Archie and Quentin.

In politics

After spending time in North Dakota, Roosevelt was elected to the New York State Legislature and served as a Civil Service Commissioner and New York City police commissioner (a non-police officer who is in charge of making the police department run smoothly). In 1897, he was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy, but gave up on that to fight with the "Roughriders", a group of men on horses, in the Spanish-American War. He gained fame and became Governor of New York, then Vice-President, and, after William McKinley was shot and killed, he became President of the United States.

Presidency

As President, Roosevelt worked to make the U.S. a world power, or one of the most powerful countries in the world. His foreign policy was described by an African proverb as "Speak softly but carry a big stick ". He increased the size of the United State's navy and sent all of the ships across the world to demonstrate to other countries that the United States is now a world power.

He continued the Monroe Doctrine and used the country's military might to influence Latin American politics. He had the Panama Canal built (which allowed ships to travel in less time by taking a shortcut). As president, he was interested in what happened in other countries. In 1905, he helped end the war between the Russian and Japanese empires. He won a Nobel Peace Prize for it in 1906.

At home, he fought for all Americans having a "Square Deal", meaning an equal chance for all Americans to become successful. As part of his Square Deal, he regulated big businesses called trusts, supported labor laws for the working class, required meat and drugs to be inspected, and protected the environment. These ideas would influence later presidents to expand the government's role in the economy.

After being president

Roosevelt did not run for President in 1908, and wanted William Howard Taft to be President instead. Taft was chosen, and Roosevelt went to Africa to hunt big game. However, when he came back, he thought Taft was not doing a good job. He ran against Taft for President in 1912. While running for President, he was shot, but lived. Both Roosevelt and Taft lost to Woodrow Wilson. Roosevelt also thought Wilson was not doing a good job, either, and wanted the U.S. to enter World War I years before they did. Roosevelt died in 1919.

Other Information

Besides being president, Roosevelt was an author and historian. He wrote 35 books about politics, ships, and hunting. He is thought to be one of America's presidents who read the most. He owned a large ranch in North Dakota. He also hunted large animals throughout the world and was active with the Boy Scouts of America. The popular stuffed animal doll, the Teddy bear, was named after Roosevelt. He was so popular that his face was put on Mount Rushmore.

Legacy

Roosevelt is one of four Presidents to be carved in stone on Mount Rushmore. He has a national park in North Dakota named after him, a type of elk (big deer), as well as river in Brazil. Historians consider him one of the best U.S. presidents.

Other websites

• Theodore Roosevelt's White House biography

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Theodore Roosevelt