America's Greatest 20th Century Presidents (8 page)

Lieutenant Quentin Roosevelt in France, 1917

Chapter 6: Death and Legacy

Death

Wilson's assessment of Roosevelt's health proved correct. On January 6, 1919, Teddy Roosevelt died of a heart attack at the age of 60.  He had remained active until the end of his life, and many speculated he would seek the Presidency again in the election of 1920.

For the nation, Roosevelt's death was sudden.  He was buried near his beloved home in Oyster Bay, Sagamore Hill. As a result of his death, the Roosevelt family received numerous telegrams expressing their sadness at the loss of the president.  Although he had lost the election in 1912, Roosevelt was undoubtedly the nation’s most popular politician when he died, and few presidents have been able to match his popularity since. He was quickly commemorated across the nation, most famously by being carved into Mount Rushmore less than 20 years after his death.

Legacy

Without diving into his life and career, the fact that Theodore Roosevelt is on Mount Rushmore alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln says volumes about his place in American history.  That alone makes clear Roosevelt is among the nation's most influential and important Presidents.

Roosevelt's legacy radiates from two primary channels: his policy achievements and his personal appeal.  The latter is perhaps unique to Roosevelt and most significant in transforming the office of President of the United States.  Theodore Roosevelt, often referred to fondly as Teddy Bear, used his quirky, masculine and gregarious personality to his benefit in a way no prior President had.  Undoubtedly Roosevelt was assisted by modern inventions, most important among them being the improved transportation of trains and the ability to widely distribute photographs.  In his Bull Moose run, the former President's voice was even able to be recorded. 

But technology was not the lone reason Roosevelt was able to create the “bully pulpit” of the presidency.  Technology did not necessitate that the White House become the gathering center for the press everyday; this was Roosevelt's invention.  The President ensured that
he
set the nation's legislative agenda by giving press statements regularly.  Every President since has been looked to as the go-to person for the nation's legislative priorities.

This personal strengthening of the Presidency spilled over into an administrative augmentation of the office of President.  Though the Sherman Anti Trust Act had been passed in the 1880's, all presidents before Roosevelt underutilized its power.  Roosevelt consolidated much of the power delegated to him by Congress, and ensured that the President took an active role in administering the government of the United States.  He expanded the Presidential cabinet and created many new administrative departments, widening the breadth of the nation's federal bureaucracy.  Only his fifth cousin, Franklin, would outshine him in this pursuit decades later.

On domestic policy, Theodore Roosevelt's presidency was the height of American progressivism, again outshone only by his cousin FDR decades later.  Roosevelt brought the Anglo-American ideology of limited, free-market government to its heels and instituted numerous reforms geared towards breaking corporate power and aiding consumers.  On this accomplishment, however, Roosevelt's legacy was not immediately appreciated.  Even his handpicked successor, Taft, fell flat in furthering the Square Deal.  All Presidents thereafter, until FDR in 1932, sought to limit the role of government in economic and public life.  The wisdom of Theodore Roosevelt went unheeded. 

Roosevelt's presidency is also credited with making the U.S. a global player in international relations.  The Panama Canal and the Roosevelt Corollary ensured America would dominate the Western Hemisphere, and the Portsmouth Treaty also expanded the reach of the United States into places the nation had previously never touched.  Roosevelt’s expansion of the military and support for an interventionist policy was a marked departure from previous administrations; until Roosevelt, the United States had been rigidly isolationist since Washington offered his neutrality advice as President.  It was Roosevelt who ensured the nation would not merely be an economic powerhouse but also participate actively and powerfully in the international sphere.  Serving at the turn of the century, Roosevelt opened the doors to the “American Century.”

The legacy of Theodore Roosevelt is not perfect, however.  While he was privately supportive of civil rights for African-Americans and equal rights for women, two divisive issues during his Presidency, Roosevelt did little to actively promote either cause.  He even lamented the supposed decline of the white race and feared its destruction by other races.  His dealings with non-Western nations, especially those in Latin America, are now seen as patronizing. 

Despite these failings, however, Roosevelt holds a special place in the American imagination.  Born into wealth, Roosevelt was most comfortable with the cowboys of the Wild West and rural farmers from the Adirondacks.  Though the rest of his family hobknobbed with corporate CEO's, Roosevelt detested such powerful business interests.  His class versatility and adventurous spirit have made him an inspiring figure in the American psyche.  Even his more radical final years continue to inspire many Americans who sometimes lose faith in the political system's inability to push through major reform. 

In the end, Theodore Roosevelt came to embody the ideal American, mixing frontier ruggedness and masculinity with the ideals of fairness and meritocracy. Indeed, Teddy’s presidency is often glossed over by Americans who are more fascinated by his roles as an explorer, hunter, author, soldier, president, and safari adventurer, all of which combined to form his unique reputation as a quintessential American.

Theodore Roosevelt Bibliography

Andrews, Wayne. 
The Autobiography of Theodore Roosevelt. 
New York: Charles Scribner's

              Sons, 1958.

Brinkley, Alan and Davis Dyer. 
The American Presidency: The Authoritative Reference. 
New

              York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004.

Morris, Edmund. 
Theodore Rex.
  New York: Random House, 2001.

Smith, Carter and Allen Weinstein. 
Presidents: Every Question Answered. 
New York: Hylas

              Publishing, 2004.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Chapter 1: Early Life, Education and Family, 1882-1909

Birth and Education

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882, in Hyde Park, New York, to James Roosevelt and Sara Ann Delano.  Roosevelt never had any full brothers or sisters, and as an only child he was pampered by his very wealthy family. Young Franklin had the privilege of spending many summers in Europe, where he became fluent in French and German, languages that would prove convenient during his Presidency.  Roosevelt was a star student, attending the prestigious Groton Preparatory School in Massachusetts.

After Groton, Roosevelt moved on to Harvard.  There, he was Editor-in-Chief of the
Harvard Crimson
, and he majored in history and economics.  While at the university, Franklin's fifth cousin, Theodore Roosevelt, became President after William McKinley's assassination.  Franklin, though a staunch Democrat, cast a rare vote for a Republican when his cousin ran for and won reelection in 1904. 

Roosevelt graduated from Harvard in 1903.  A year later, he enrolled at Columbia Law School.  He did not graduate but nonetheless passed the New York bar. 

Young FDR

The Roosevelt Family

Franklin's family wealth afforded him great opportunities.  The Roosevelt family was an early Dutch family that helped settle the New Netherlands, the colony founded by Holland but later taken by England and renamed New York. The early Roosevelt family settled in New Amsterdam, today's New York City, and owned significant parts of modern-day Manhattan.  The family owned property around Grand Central Station, which even today remains some of the world's most valuable real estate.

Politics was a well-established tradition in the Roosevelt family.  Even in the late 1600's the Roosevelts were participating in New Amsterdam politics: one of Franklin’s earliest American ancestors, Nicholas Roosevelt, was an alderman in New Amsterdam. 

By the 1700's, the Roosevelt family had divided into two separate branches – the Hyde Park and Oyster Bay branches.  Franklin was a member of the Hyde Park branch, while his fifth cousin Theodore was a member of the Oyster Bay branch.  Franklin's branch produced prominent citizens dating back to before the Revolution, including Isaac Roosevelt, a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention, and James Henry Roosevelt, founder of New York's Roosevelt Hospital.

Isaac Roosevelt

Marriage

Oddly, Franklin Roosevelt married another Roosevelt.. from the Oyster Bay branch of the family.  His wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, was Franklin's fifth cousin once removed, and was Theodore Roosevelt's niece. It wasn’t too difficult for Eleanor to get used to her last name after marrying Franklin; Roosevelt was her maiden name.  

Eleanor’s White House portrait

Naturally, Franklin and Eleanor met at a Roosevelt-related gathering in 1902, a White House reception for then President Theodore Roosevelt.  Also a Roosevelt, Eleanor was born into immense wealth like her husband, and her feminist future was apparent from the beginning. In her teens she considered herself ugly and she lacked self-confidence, but she eventually overcame these discomforts and began to consider female aesthetic standards unjust.  She attended school in London, and, like her husband, was fluent in French.