America's Greatest 20th Century Presidents (3 page)

On October 27
^th, 1858, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was born into a prestigious family on 28 East 20
^thStreet, New York City, New York. Despite being afflicted with several childhood illnesses, asthma being the most debilitating, Roosevelt had a very fortunate and privileged upbringing. The home in which he grew up was lavishly furnished, and young Teddy was afforded the luxuries of a wealthy family. Of course, the future rough and tumble frontiersman later noted in his autobiography that he and his siblings “did not enjoy” Sundays “chiefly because we were all of us made to wear clean clothes and keep neat.”

Though Roosevelt grew up in New York City, he spent his summers in the country. It was in the rural countryside that Roosevelt had his most enjoyable moments and developed a lasting interest in nature and zoology. Roosevelt fondly recalled the country years later, reminiscing about the different kinds of pets they had in the countryside, including “cats, dogs, rabbits, a coon, and a sorrel Shetland pony named General Grant.” Teddy had been born just prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, and the conflict inevitably shaped his later political views. This was especially so because his mother was from a slave-owning Georgian family while his father was an avowed Lincoln Republican, both of which were uncommon backgrounds in New York City. Even as a young child, Roosevelt sided with his father during family conflicts. Theodore wrote in his autobiography that his mother was “entirely 'unreconstructed' to the day of her death”, while Teddy himself would go on to name his children’s pony after General Grant.

Due to his recurring health problems as a youngster and his family’s wealth, “Teedie's” (as Theodore was known as a child) education was done mostly at home by private tutors. He received an education deserving of an aristocrat, learning European languages and the works of antiquity. Geography was among his favorite subjects. The Roosevelt family brought Teedie along on their travels through Europe and Egypt, and their son made good use of his geography skills during these vacations.

In 1876, Roosevelt enrolled at Harvard. Much as in his earlier studies, he excelled in natural biology and scientific subjects. He was also active in boxing and rowing, and he still maintained a great affinity for the outdoors. After graduating, Roosevelt attended Columbia Law School but did not graduate.

The Roosevelt Family

Roosevelt's wealthy and affluent family was of central importance in his life. Its centrality is demonstrated by the opening line of Roosevelt's autobiography: “my grandfather on my father's side was of almost purely Dutch blood.” Teddy’s family consisted of descendants from some of the earliest settlers of Dutch New York, then called New Amsterdam. Roosevelt's paternal grandmother was not Dutch, but her ancestors arrived in North America to help William Penn settle Pennsylvania.

In all, the Roosevelt family had a long and prominent history in the United States. The earliest Roosevelt settler's son, Nicholas Roosevelt, helped his father Klaes settle Manhattan and became prominent in New Amsterdam politics. From then on, the spark of political ambition was lit within the family. However, Nicholas' children divided this ambition into two distinct factions: the Oyster Bay Roosevelts and the Hyde Park Roosevelts. Theodore was a member of the Oyster Bay branch of the family, which was the one that became closely aligned with the Republican Party by the mid-19
^thcentury. The Hyde Park Roosevelts – among them the future President Franklin Delano Roosevelt – were generally Democratic. Despite these political differences, the two factions remained intimately friendly. Theodore's niece Eleanor, an Oyster Bay Roosevelt, eventually met Franklin, a Hyde Park Roosevelt, at a family gathering.

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