FREE ESSAY ON TEDDY BEAR

TEDDY BEAR

Theodore Roosevelt
American History
Chickasha High School
Mr. Solomon
April 16, 1998
Second period
Robert White
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United states Was the youngest President in the
nations history. he took office at the age of 42. Roosevelt had been vice President for
only six months when president William McKinley was assassinated. He vigorously led
Congress and the American public toward progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy.
He took The view that the president as a steward of the people should take whatever
action necessary for the public good unless expressly forbidden by law or the
constitution. I did not usurp power,  he wrote, but i did greatly broaden the use of
executive power.
Roosevelt's youth differed sharply from that of the log cabin Presidents. he was born in
New York city on October 27,1858 into a wealthy family, but he too struggled--against ill
health.? When Theodore was about 12, his father told him that he would need a strong body
to give his mind a chance to develop fully. The next year, while on a trip to Maine,
Theodore was tormented by two mischievous boys. He felt ashamed because he was not strong
enough to fight back. Roosevelt's father built a gymnasium in the family home, and
Theodore exercised
there regularly. He overcame his asthma and built up unusual physical strength.
Roosevelt studied under tutors until he entered Harvard University in 1876 at the age of
18. He earned good grades in college.??????????? Roosevelt graduated from Harvard in
1880.
In October 1879, Roosevelt met Alice Hathaway Lee. Roosevelt courted Alice during his
senior year at Harvard. They married on his 22nd birthday.
A double tragedy struck on Feb. 14, 1884. Alice Roosevelt died two days after the birth
of a daughter. On the same day, Roosevelt's mother died if typhoid fever. Roosevelt spent
much of the next two years on his ranch in the badlands of Dakota Territory. There he
mastered his sorrow as he lived in the saddle, driving cattle, hunting big game--he even
captured an outlaw. On a visit to London, he married Edith Kermit Carow in December
1886.
During the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt recruited men for a cavalry regiment. This
unit became the First Volunteer Cavalry Regiment. Under Roosevelt s command, it won fame
as the Rough Riders. He led the Rough Riders on a charge at the Battle of San Juan.
Roosevelt was one of the most conspicuous heroes of the war. Twenty years later he
declared:San Juan was the great day of my life.
Thomas C. Platt, needing a hero to draw attention away from scandals in New York State,
accepted Roosevelt as the Republican candidate for governor in 1898. Roosevelt won and
served with distinction. ?As president, Roosevelt held the ideal that the Government
should be the great arbiter of the conflicting economic forces in the nation, especially
between capital and labor, guaranteeing justice to each and dispensing favors to none.
Roosevelt emerged spectacurlarly as a trust buster by forcing the dissolution of a great
railroad combination in the northwest. During Roosevelt's presidency, the government
filed suits against 43 other corporations. In major cases, the government ended John D.
Rockerfeller's oil trust and James B. Duke's tobacco trust. 
Roosevelt steered the united States more actively into world politics. He liked to quote
a favorite proverb , Speak softly and carry a big stick, you will go far. Aware of the
strategic need for a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, Roosevelt ensured
the construction of the Panama Canal. His corollary to the monroe Doctrine prevented the
establishment of foreign bases in the Caribbean and arrogated the sole right of
intervention in Latin America to the United States. 
Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating the Russo-Japanese War. He was the
first American to win a Nobel Prize. He reached a Gentleman's agreement on immigration
with Japan. In 1907, Roosevelt decided to display American naval power. He sent 16 new
battleships on a good-will tour of the world. These ships became known as the Great White
Fleet because they were painted white. Roosevelt viewed the tour as a part of big stick
diplomacy.
Some of Theodore Roosevelt's most effective achievements were in conservation. He added
about 150 million acres to the national forests and in 1905 established the United States
Forest Service. he also set up five new national parks. By executive order, he created
the first 51 federal bird reservations and the first four national game preserves. 
The Roosevelt children and their friends became known as the White House Gang. The
President sometimes joined in the children's games. One day, he heard thet the gang was
preparing an attack on the White House. he sent a message to the children through the War
Department, ordering them to call off the attack. 
Leaving the Presidency in 1909, Roosevelt went on an African safari, then jumped back
into politics. In 1912 he ran for president on a Progressive ticket. To reporters he once
remarked that he felt as fit as a bull moose, the name of his new party. While
campaigning in Milwaukee, he was shot in the chest by a fanatic. Roosevelt soon
recovered, but his words at that time would have been applicable at the time of his death
in 1919: No man has had a happier life then I have led; a happier life in every way.