Theodore Roosevelt's presidency and reshaping of American history

¶ … factually specific response to why the historians were and continue to be fascinated by the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. The underlying objective was to present how he was able to use his clear philosophical goals to reshape an entire era of American history to fit his own image. By pointing out some of his greatest achievements, both foreign and domestic, this report can provide insights into his strong points and assess if he had significant failures or setbacks that historians downplay. There is a strong need to clarify why his style of governance was so in line with the needs of a then young and dynamic nation during the decade of the twentieth century. (White House, 2005)

Theodore Roosevelt "was born in New York City in 1858 into a wealthy family, but he too struggled -- against ill health -- and in his triumph became an advocate of the strenuous life." (White House, 2005) the nation acquired the youngest President in the Nation's history after the assassination of President McKinley.

Theodore Roosevelt had recently turned 43 when he was sworn into office and was said to have "brought new excitement and power to the Presidency, as 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." (White House, 2005)

His youth was an extremely powerful asset when compared with previous 'log cabin Presidents.' During his tenure, he was able to greatly broaden the use of executive power and won the support of the nation through these powers. His history of driving cattle, hunting big game and a prestigious military career and war hero status provided the strength a young budding nation needed during a time of constant turmoil and upheaval. "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." (White House, 2005)

But he was not all brawn as he won the Nobel Peace Prize later in his career for his part in the mediation process for the Russo-Japanese War. "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 than I have led; a happier life in every way.'" (White House, 2005)

RMS Lusitania

Roosevelt may still be seen as a great leader because of his comments surrounding the events of the Lusitania. "The former U.S. President, Theodore Roosevelt, a winner of the Noble Peace prize, was sorry that he was no longer President, believing he would be better than Woodrow Wilson in guiding the nation and the world, and he expressed his opinion, published the Outlook on September 23, that in the United States sympathy for Belgium was "very real," but he cautioned against U.S. intervention and described Germany as having been compelled to violate Belgian territory 'by the iron law of self-preservation.'" (Smitha, 1998)

The early phases of WWI began to take shape around 1914. For example, during this time both Britain and France considered it fair game to detain all ships that were carrying goods to Germany which lead Germany to declare that the waters immediately surrounding Great Britain were to be considered a war zone. This also entailed constant retaliation directed at the British and French blockades.

Ships began sinking through Germany's guerilla style submarine warfare as can be demonstrated by the sinking of the British steamship Falaba killing 111 people. At the time, President Woodrow Wilson was not taking a stance for either side which made him look weak in the eyes of many. As the Germans continued to sink more and more ships, Americans were starting to perish. "... A British liner, the Lusitania set sail for England. Warnings from the German embassy in Washington D.C. had been published in New York newspapers, stating that war existed between Britain and Germany and that the Lusitania, would be a legitimate target when it reached the war zone in waters adjacent to the British Isles. Various Americans who wished to sail on the Lusitania ignored the warnings." (Smitha, 1998)

President Wilson figured that the ship was not a vessel of war but instead a luxury liner and that kept him from choosing not to restrict Americans from traveling on the ship. "The Lusitania was one that had been built in part with government money and obliged to serve the country in time of war. In addition to passengers, the Lusitania was carrying munitions. When it arrived in British waters a German submarine sank it, and 1,198 people died, including 128 Americans. In Britain and the United States, people were outraged." (Smitha, 1998) in Wilson's perceived weakness emerged a perceived strength in Theodore Roosevelt.

What was demonstrated by Roosevelt here is that his military charisma made Wilson look as though he were not strong enough to lead the nation into war. In other words, the nation was ready to fight and Roosevelt represented a more true relation with the desires of the common man. The sub-attacks by the Germans were considered as cowardly and barbaric which infuriated American citizens.

The Palmer Raids

During the year 1912, then President Theodore Roosevelt was considered to be one of the better known avowed Progressives. He was searching for a third party Presidential nomination but at the time he was still quite popular his 'Bull Moose' Party was having trouble gathering votes.

This became even more obvious as the election swung to Democratic nominee Woodrow Wilson. However, prominent during this period were the brief anti-communist Palmer raids. The Palmer Raids were actually a series of attacks based on radicals and mainly Alexander Mitchell Palmer throughout the United States from 1912 through 1921 by Woodrow Wilson.

Wilson used the platform of socialism and communism being the root of all of America's problems and the underlying factions needed to be weeded out. This line of reasoning may have been one of the many underlying problems Roosevelt had in mustering support for his third campaign. The public raids were covered heavily by the press at the time and gained a strong support base as anti-communist mentalities grew strong.

In this case, Roosevelt may have been out of touch with the wishes of the American people and therefore this could be considered one of his outright blunders. The communist and socialist threat was very real in the minds of the common man yet Roosevelt let the advantage go to Wilson.

The Scopes Monkey Trial

The American trial lawyer Clarence Darrow was a popular Ohio litigator that was appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt as an arbitrator in the Pennsylvania anthracite coal strike in 1902. But later in 1925, Darrow actually was the lawyer who argued the conflict between religion and reason when he was asked to defend a Tennessee science teacher named John T. Scopes for violating the Butler Act. The Butler Act was a law that literally made it a crime to teach the theory of evolution.

Darrow was quoted as having called that trial the 'one that made it a crime for teaching the truth.' "Scopes was convicted, but the world read of and listened to the famous "monkey trial" and Dayton, Tennessee, became a circus. During the trial, he said, 'I do not consider it an insult but rather a compliment to be called an agnostic. I do not pretend to know where many ignorant men are sure -- that is all that agnosticism means.' (Meyer, 2005)

Roosevelt's man Darrow was very critical of the administration for not adding more support in what he considered to be common sense. Roosevelt did seem to agree with Darrow but was not as vocal publicly as Darrow may have expected.

The National Origins Act

Chinese immigration was a major factor in the late 1800's and the difference in culture and life philosophies changed many immigration treaties that gave Chinese more privileged travel and residence status in the United States but did not legally permit them to naturalize as citizens. Actually, the favored nation status did not stop the government from creating the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 which was aimed at barring any large immigration movements by Chinese. "The Act barred the further entry of Chinese male laborers (and subsequently their wives) and prevented the Chinese from becoming naturalized citizens. The combined effect of these two aspects of Exclusion along with the enforcement of anti-miscegenation laws in many Western U.S. states severely restricted family formation and the emergence of a second generation." (Chew and Liu) This was the mentality of the nation during the turn of the century.

Ellis Island)

Bringing us into the twentieth century, immigration should bring to mind a vision of historic Ellis Island and happy pre and post World War mass indoctrinations of new Americans. However, the truth of the time is far from that sedate. Our nation's immigration policies were fueled by fears and racism. For example, many immigration and naturalization policies in the early 1900's were obvious attempts to restrict the civil rights of new immigrants and certain social or ethnic groups - Germans, for instance, had obvious difficulties immediately during and after World War I with restrictive laws such as the 1917 espionage Act, the 1918 Sedition Act, and a draft of the Civil Service Act.

The concept or philosophy of nativism throughout the 1920's also led to the enactment of the National Origins Act of 1924 by the United States Congress. This act imposed strict against people from various European areas specifically Southern and Eastern Europe. But the racist like act also entailed that immigration from the likes of Asia and Africa was also to be limited. The act can be considered as being racist because of the favoring of emigration from other areas such as England and other northern European nations.

The overall racist philosophies against Chinese, African and eastern block Europeans has only improved slightly and may still represent the overall beliefs of modern day citizens. Consider how immigration, work and student visa polices recently changed after 9/11. This trend was similar to our immigration policies after WWII. The only difference between Roosevelt's time and then was the ostracized group -- Japanese, Italian and German citizens. So in this case, policies and inherent beliefs that are similar to those of early 1900's tie Roosevelt and the historical factions.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this essay aimed to present concise, historically accurate and factually specific responses to why historians are fascinated by the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. The underlying objective was to present insights into how the President was able to use his clear philosophical goals to reshape an entire era of American history. Through a presentation of some of his many achievements, both foreign and domestic, this report provided insights into what may have been the cause of his staying power.