He was one of the youngest presidents in history (the same age as JFK when he took office, forty-three. He also was an avid outdoorsman and appreciative of the American West (he had a ranch in North Dakota), and his far-seeing vision created one of America's most enduring traditions, the U.S. Forest Service and protected wild lands. Roosevelt's accomplishments may not have been as well-known as some of the other presidents, but they were certainly far reaching. First, he was the first president to establish an area in the White House specifically for journalists (Roller, 1988, p. 200). He was an extremely popular president, and he was the first to travel outside the country, to the Panama Canal, during a presidency. He also helped create the Panama Canal Project, one of the most important building projects of the time, and still a vital link between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In addition, he worked at foreign relations by mediating in a dispute between Japan and Russia, and he sent the U.S. Navy on a cruise around the world. Perhaps his most enduring legacy is the National Park Service, which eventually grew out of the National Forest Service. He created Grand Canyon National Monument, along with 16 national monuments, 51 wildlife refuges, and 5 new national parks. Roosevelt was the first true conservationist president, and a true lover of America's most scenic and wild lands.
Teddy Roosevelt was brash, a self-promoter, and a visionary who wanted to help save some of the most beautiful areas on Earth for generations to come. One historian notes, "Roosevelt is justifiably associated with the birth of the modern rhetorical presidency" (Ryan, 1995, p. 107). These are only some of the reasons that he is one of the five greatest presidents in American history.
In conclusion, picking the five top presidents is a difficult and demanding journey through history. Almost every...
As these historians state, "It is worth emphasizing how little approval ratings have to do with any lasting judgment of presidential performance. A President's legacy derives from his accomplishments or failures" (Cronin & Genovese, 1998, p. 86). Based on crisis management, and a lasting influence on history and the American people, each of these men has certainly made an impact on America, when they served, and on into the future. Each of these top five presidents have certain characteristics in common, and each of them were great men in their own right. They all influenced our country, our foreign policy, and most of all; they were men who could deal with crises and management decisions. They were great men, and greater presidents, and America would be a different country if they had not served.
References
Boller, P.F. (1996). Presidential anecdotes (Revised ed.). New York: Oxford U.S..
Bursey, L.G. (1988). 4 Abraham Lincoln. In Popular images of American presidents, Spragens, W.C. (Ed.) (pp. 67-94). New York: Greenwood Press.
Cronin, T.E., & Genovese, M.A. (1998). The paradoxes of the American presidency. New York: Oxford University Press.
Hart, John. (1995). The presidential branch: From Washington to Clinton (2nd ed.). Chatham, NJ: Chatham House Publishers.
Rejai, M., Phillips, K., & Mason, W.L. (1993). Demythologizing an elite: American presidents in empirical, comparative, and historical perspective. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.
Roller, D.C. (1988). 8 Theodore Roosevelt. In Popular images of American presidents, Spragens, W.C. (Ed.) (pp. 185-204). New York: Greenwood Press.
Ryan, H. (Ed.). (1995). U.S. presidents as orators: A bio-critical sourcebook. Westport,…
