Roosevelt, Theodore (1858–1919)

Twenty-sixth president of the United States; also a noted author, explorer, and political reformer. Theodore Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858, in New York City. After graduating from Harvard University in 1880, he briefly attended Columbia Law School before abandoning law to pursue politics. In 1881, Roosevelt was elected as a Republican to the New York State Assembly at age 23. In the Assembly, he incurred the wrath of the Tammany Hall politicians who controlled New York City politics. Roosevelt fought bills that would enrich Tammany Democrats, their supporters, and business trusts.

Political Advances

In 1889, three years after unsuccessfully running for New York City mayor, Roosevelt was appointed to the Civil Service Commission in Washington, DC. He returned to New York City in 1895 as Police Commissioner, a post he held until he was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy two years later. Roosevelt rose to national prominence during the 1898 Spanish-American War. He organized the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry that fought Spanish forces in Cuba, returning home a hero.

Roosevelt was elected governor of New York in 1898, earning a reputation as a political reformer and staunch opponent of corruption and monopolistic business practices. In 1900, Republican presidential candidate William McKinley named Roosevelt as his running mate in the upcoming election. Less than a year later, McKinley was assassinated and Roosevelt became the (then) youngest president in U.S. history. Roosevelt was handily reelected in 1904.

Among Roosevelt's accomplishments were dissolving several large companies for violating antitrust laws, intervening in the 1902 coal strike, and securing the passage of the Elkins Law (1903), which denied rebates to favored corporations. Roosevelt also extended the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission, obtained passage of the Food and Drug Act, created the Department of Commerce and Labor, and initiated several laws protecting workers.

Roosevelt was an avid environmentalist who limited mining and lumber operations that were exhausting natural resources at an alarming rate. He set aside millions of acres of land for public use, creating several national parks. He also championed seminal conservation legislation, including the Reclamation Act of 1902.

Foreign Affairs

Roosevelt increased the power of the presidency in the foreign affairs arena as well. He coined the phrase walk softly and carry a big stick, which aptly describes his foreign policy. This was especially true in the Western Hemisphere, where he sought to solidify the position of the United States as a world power.

Potential European intervention in South America and the Caribbean led Roosevelt to formulate what is known as the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. This stated that the United States had a direct interest and obligation to impose order in the affairs of Latin American countries. The concept of dollars for democracy was born during Roosevelt's tenure, a policy of using financial incentives to U.S.-friendly regimes in Latin America.

A typical example of Roosevelt's Latin American policy was his action in response to Colombia's refusal to ratify the Hay-Herran Treaty in 1903. The treaty [Page 638]recognized the independence of the territory that is now Panama, which was in rebellion against Colombia. Roosevelt dispatched the warship USS Nashville to prevent Colombian troops from landing in Panama, thus assuring the success of the Panamanian revolution. Roosevelt quickly extended diplomatic recognition to the new republic, and soon afterward construction of the Panama Canal began, thus providing a financial boon to the new nation.

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