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Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt was a strong leader and ruled with an iron fist as a president. He conquered the frontier and went on to conquer other countries as well. Roosevelt was a born leader. During his childhood he overcame his sickness by exercising and participating in outdoor activities. After Theodore graduated from Harvard he went straight into politics. He began his career as the president of the New York Board of Police Commissioners. Later Roosevelt continued his career as an assistant secretary of the navy in Washington. He then became a Rough Rider during the Spanish-American War. Roosevelt then returned home and became the Governor of New York and Vice President of the United States in 1900. In 1901 he became President when William McKinley was assassinated. William Taft took his place in 1908. When Roosevelt was president his main concern was the rapid business consolidations taking place in the American economy. He and the Justice Department took on JP Morgan, the owner of Transcontinental Railroads. This case went all the way to the Supreme Court as Northern Securities v. US(1904). The court held that the stock transactions constituted an illegal combination in restraint of interstate commerce. Roosevelt was considered a "trustbuster"# after that case. Later in 1906, in response to public pressure for greater government intervention into businesses, he and Congress passed the Hepburn Act. The Hepburn Act says that “railroads can only charge the amount that is set by the government, and that the government was able to inspect financial records“#. The Pure Food and Drug Act, which brought about the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was next. This act says that all foods and drugs had to be tested and approved by a government official before they went onto the market. The Meat Inspection Act, “enabled the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to inspect and label meat products“#. Theodore’s concern with the destruction of the forest, prairies, streams, and wilderness led to putting the government in charge of the regulation of the environment with the start of the US Forest Service. Theodore Roosevelt was not only a strong leader in the United States. He was also one on the most aggressive advocates of an overseas empire. He pushed for expansion with men such as Senator Henry Lodge, Admiral Alfred Mahan, and Brooks Adams. Roosevelt wanted to free Cuba and the Philippines from Spanish rule and annexing Hawaii. He also wanted to require American military around the world. Roosevelt also thought that the Protestants Anglo-American culture should be spread to other countries. "Speak softly and carry a big stick, you will go far"#. This is how Theodore Roosevelt summed up his views. Roosevelt wanted to build a canal across the Isthmus of Panama. His attempt to lease the ground was unsuccessful though so he created a new strategy. Roosevelt wanted to take over Panama. For only ten-million dollars, it happened, on November 3, 1903. The canal gave the United States a huge commercial and strategic advantage. Though this was a good effect for the United States, there still was a negative effect. The newly exposed areas needed to be policed. “Proper policing of the world”# was called for by Roosevelt. His main concern was that Europe might try to take it if the United States did not. To stop this proclaimed which came to be known as the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. "Chronic wrongdoing, or an importance which results in a general loosening of the ties of civilized society, the exercise of an international police power"# is what the Document said. This was also used to justify armed intervention in the internal affairs of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Mexico. Theodore was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906. This is because he mediated a settlement of the Russia-Japanese War at Portsmouth, New Hampshire in 1905. In 1908 Roosevelt sent battleships to visit Japan in a "muscle-flexing"# display of sea power. There was tension in California about the anti-Japanese racism so this is why he sent battleships. In the cartoon, Two Views of The President, it shows two different sides of Roosevelt. One side shows him as an uncivilized man and the other has him as a classy clean-cut man. On the uncivilized picture there is a dead bear skin on the wall that is being held by two guns. The bear is a symbol of his courage because it takes a great deal of courage to kill a bear. There is also an arrangement of hatches in the picture. This could symbolize his ability to survive on his own. There is also a statue of the Spartan which is symbolic of the strength of the warrior in Theodore Roosevelt. The feeling of war and survival are shown in the picture by items such as guns, knives and a cannon wastepaper basket. Also there are spurs in the picture which could be showing the power Roosevelt has, not only over his country but other countries. The other side of the picture has Roosevelt sitting straight up wear a suit. This shows Roosevelt’s seriousness of being president and the seriousness of his beliefs. All together the picture show the “Two Views of the President” which is his “strong side as a frontiersman, and his serious side as a world leader“#. Theodore Roosevelt wrote an essay called “In Cowboy-Land”. In this essay he shows his power as a frontiersman, which he took to the presidency. Roosevelt wrote about how wilderness can lead a man to kill another man. He said that these people are “man-killers” who were driven to kill by there surrounding conditions but they had good qualities about them. These people’s good sides are useless though after they murder a man. Theodore also goes into how the west is unpredictable. He states in one of his stories that a man was killed by his own horse that he thought was well trained. The horse had never bucked before but one day the man was thrown off the horse and he landed on his head which killed him. Another story in “In Cowboy-Land” tells how one of Roosevelt’s friends was hunting and had to fight off Sioux Indians. This is only one example in the essay which tells about how hard it was to live on the frontier. These experiences made Roosevelt a better man and leader for the United States. Roosevelt speaks to Americans in his document "The Strenuous Life" telling us that we have to do our duty. Our duty which Roosevelt describes is that the fathers and sons of our nation must do hard labor and be proud to be doing it, and the mothers and daughters should tend to children and do housework. Roosevelt says, "When men fear work or fear righteous war, when women fear motherhood, they tremble on the brink of doom". #He also says that we have our duty as individuals and as a nation. We are told that we strive as a country, that we are supposed to make a history for ourselves. Even though war is bad and so much is lost, we will still lean from it in the end. As a nation, we have a responsibility to aid Hawaii, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. "If we undertake the solution there is of course, always danger that we may not solve it right; but to refuse to undertake the solution simply renders it certain that we cannot possibly solve it right". #Roosevelt is saying we need to take action or else we would be seen as a weak country and he as a weak president. He was a strong leader and he would not stand for being affiliated with weak work. Roosevelt believed that we as a nation were strong enough to take on any country and win. Starting with Puerto Rico, he said that it is too small that we must govern it wisely. Cuba was believed to be able to stand on its own as an independent state or an internal portion on the mightiest republics. Until order was obtained though, we had to keep our forces there. Roosevelt said that the Philippines were "warlike Moslems and wild pagans"# who were unfit to govern themselves and could not become fit enough to govern themselves. Roosevelt also believed that we should keep our military in there. In the end of his speech he used words of encouragement which said that we should stand and deliver for the good of our nation and for the good of the nations around us. Theodore Roosevelt was a string leader to our nation and had a large influence on other countries. He helped to set straight the commercial business world with acts such as the Hepburn Act, which stopped the monopoly of the railroads. He also set up the FDA and the Meat Inspection Act which cleaned up the packing industry. Roosevelt also established the US Forest Service which helped save the wilderness and the environment. With military action Roosevelt managed to put his string hold on other countries. He took control in Panama so we now have a canal through there. Theodore led his country in the overseas imperialism. He also helped to divide up military troops overseas which helped control the interests of the US. Theodore Roosevelt was an good impacting president but he was “trigger-happy” to start war so the United States could gain an advantage. Bibliography: Edmund Morris. Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (67) # Edmund Morris. Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (89) # Edmund Morris. Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (90) # George Grant Carry a Big Stick The Uncommon Heroism of Theodore Roosevelt (132) # George Grant Carry a Big Stick The Uncommon Heroism of Theodore Roosevelt (44) # George Grant Carry a Big Stick The Uncommon Heroism of Theodore Roosevelt (132) # Edmund Morris. Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (25) # Theodore Roosevelt Selected Letters of Theodore Roosevelt (13) # Theodore Roosevelt Selected Letters of Theodore Roosevelt (80) # Theodore Roosevelt Selected Letters of Theodore Roosevelt (133) # Theodore Roosevelt Selected Letters of Theodore Roosevelt (103)

Word Count: 1572