Theodore Roosevelt Theodore " T . R . " Roosevelt , Jr . ( ) ( October 27 , 1858 – January 6 , 1919 ) was an American politician , author , naturalist , soldier , explorer , and historian who served as the 26th President of the United States . He was a leader of the Republican Party ( GOP ) and founder of the Progressive Party insurgency of 1912 . He is known for his exuberant personality , range of interests and achievements , and his leadership of the Progressive Movement , as well as his " cowboy " persona and robust masculinity . Born into a wealthy family in New York City , Roosevelt was a sickly child who suffered from asthma . To overcome his physical weakness , he embraced a strenuous life . He was home - schooled and became an eager student of nature . He attended Harvard College where he studied biology , boxed , and developed an interest in naval affairs . He quickly entered politics , determined to become a member of the ruling class . In 1881 he was elected to the New York State Assembly , where he became a leader of the reform faction of the GOP . His book " The Naval War of 1812 " ( 1882 ) established him as a learned historian and writer . When his first wife Alice died two days after giving birth in February 1884 ( and his mother died the same day in the same house ) , he was heartbroken and in despair ; Roosevelt temporarily left politics and became a cattle rancher in the Dakotas . When blizzards destroyed his herd , he returned to New York City politics , running and losing a race for mayor . In the 1890s he took vigorous charge of the city police as New York City Police Commissioner . By 1897 , under President William McKinley , Roosevelt was in effect running the Navy Department . When the war with Spain broke out in 1898 , he helped form the famous Rough Riders , a combination of wealthy Easterners and Western cowboys . He gained national fame for his courage in battle in Cuba , then returned to be elected Governor of New York . He was the GOP nominee for Vice President with William McKinley , campaigning successfully against radicalism and for prosperity , national honor , imperialism ( regarding the Philippines ) , high tariffs and the gold standard . Roosevelt became President after McKinley was assassinated in 1901 . He was inaugurated at age 42 , the youngest person to become president . He attempted to move the GOP toward Progressivism , including trust busting and increased regulation of businesses . In November 1904 he was reelected in a landslide against conservative Democrat Alton Brooks Parker . Roosevelt called his domestic policies a " Square Deal " , promising a fair deal to the average citizen while breaking up monopolistic corporations , holding down railroad rates , and guaranteeing pure food and drugs . He was the first president to speak out on conservation , and he greatly expanded the system of national parks and national forests . By 1907 he propounded more radical reforms , which were blocked by the conservative Republicans in Congress . His foreign policy focused on the Caribbean , where he built the Panama Canal and guarded its approaches . There were no wars , but his slogan , " Speak softly and carry a big stick " was underscored by sending the greatly expanded Navy — the Great White Fleet — on a world tour . He negotiated an end to the Russo - Japanese War , for which he won the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize . At the end of his second term , Roosevelt supported his close friend William Howard Taft for the 1908 Republican nomination . After leaving office , he toured Africa and Europe , and on his return in 1910 he broke with President Taft on issues of progressivism and personalities . In the 1912 election Roosevelt tried but failed to block Taft ' s renomination . He then launched the Progressive ( " Bull Moose " ) Party that called for progressive reforms , splitting the Republican vote . That allowed Democrat Woodrow Wilson to win the White House and Congress , while the Taft conservatives gained control of the GOP for decades . Roosevelt then led a major expedition to the Amazon jungles and contracted several illnesses . From 1914 to 1917 he campaigned for American entry into World War I , and reconciled with GOP leadership . He was the frontrunner for the GOP nomination in the 1920 election , but his health collapsed and he died in 1919 . Roosevelt has consistently been ranked by scholars as one of the greatest U . S . Presidents . His face adorns Mount Rushmore alongside those of George Washington , Thomas Jefferson , and Abraham Lincoln . Early life and family . Theodore Roosevelt , Jr . , was born on October 27 , 1858 , in a four - story brownstone at 28 East 20th Street , in the modern - day Gramercy section of New York City . He was the second of four children born to glass businessman and philanthropist Theodore " Thee " Roosevelt , Sr . and socialite Martha Stewart " Mittie " Bulloch . He had an older sister named Anna ( " Bamie " ) , a younger brother named Elliott , and a younger sister named Corinne . Elliott was the father of First Lady Anna Eleanor Roosevelt , the wife of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt . Thee was of Dutch , English , Irish , and Welsh descent while Mittie had Scottish , English , and French ancestry . Thee was the fifth son of businessman Cornelius Van Schaack " C . V . S . " Roosevelt and Margaret Barnhill . Thee ' s fourth cousin businessman James Roosevelt I was the father of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt . Mittie was the younger daughter of Major James Stephens Bulloch and Martha P . " Patsy " Stewart . Roosevelt ' s youth was in large part shaped by his poor health and his need to overcome severe asthma , with debilitating impact on the body and the personality . He experienced recurring sudden nighttime asthma attacks that caused near deathlike experiences of being smothered to death , terrifying the boy and his parents . Doctors had no cure . Nevertheless he was energetic and mischievously inquisitive . His lifelong interest in zoology began at age seven when he saw a dead seal at a local market – after obtaining the seal ' s head , Roosevelt and two cousins formed what they called the " Roosevelt Museum of Natural History " . Having learned the rudiments of taxidermy , he filled his makeshift museum with animals that he killed or caught , then studied and prepared for display . At age nine , he codified his observation of insects with a paper entitled " The Natural History of Insects " . His father had a significant influence on him . His father had been a prominent leader in New York ' s cultural affairs ; he helped to found the Metropolitan Museum of Art , and had been especially active in mobilizing support for the Union war effort . Although his father was dead when the young Roosevelt made his entry into politics , there were many family friends who came to his aid . The son wrote : " My father , Theodore Roosevelt , was the best man I ever knew . He combined strength and courage with gentleness , tenderness , and great unselfishness . He would not tolerate in us children selfishness or cruelty , idleness , cowardice , or untruthfulness . " Family trips abroad , including tours of Europe in 1869 and 1870 , and Egypt in 1872 , also had a lasting impact . Hiking with his family in the Alps in 1869 , he found he could actually keep pace with his father . He had discovered the significant benefits of physical exertion to minimize his asthma and bolster his spirits . With encouragement from his father , he then began a heavy regime of exercise . After being manhandled by two older boys on a camping trip , a boxing coach was added , to strengthen a weakened body and psyche . Roosevelt later articulated the abiding influence of the courageous men he found in his reading as well as in his family : " I was nervous and timid . Yet from reading of the people I admired – ranging from the soldiers of Valley Forge and Morgan ' s riflemen , to the heroes of my favorite stories – and from hearing of the feats of my southern forefathers and kinsfolk and from knowing my father , I felt a great admiration for men who were fearless and who could hold their own in the world , and I had a great desire to be like them . " Education . Young Theodore was mostly home schooled by tutors and his parents . Biographer H . W . Brands argues " The most obvious drawback to the home schooling Roosevelt received was uneven coverage of the various areas of human knowledge . " He was solid in geography , from self study during travels , and bright in history and biology , French , and German ; however , he struggled in mathematics and the classical languages . He entered Harvard College on September 27 , 1876 ; his father told him " Take care of your morals first , your health next , and finally your studies " . After recovering from devastation over his father ' s death on February 9 , 1878 , Roosevelt redoubled his activities . He did well in science , philosophy , and rhetoric courses but continued to struggle in Latin and Greek . He studied biology intently and was already an accomplished naturalist and a published ornithologist ; he read prodigiously with an almost photographic memory . While at Harvard , Roosevelt was active in rowing and boxing ; he was runner - up in a Harvard boxing tournament . Roosevelt was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi literary society , the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity , and the Porcellian Club ; he also was an editor of " The Harvard Advocate " . Roosevelt graduated Phi Beta Kappa ( 22nd of 177 ) from Harvard with an A . B . " magna cum laude " on June 30 , 1880 . He entered Columbia Law School , and was an able student , but found the law often a frustration of irrationality ; he spent much of his time writing a book on the War of 1812 . Roosevelt became entirely disenchanted with the law and diverted his attention to politics at Morton Hall on 59th Street , the headquarters for New York ' s 21st District Republican Association . When the men there pushed him to run for public office , he dropped out of law school to do so , saying later " I intended to be one of the governing class . " " The Naval War of 1812 " . While at Harvard , Roosevelt began a systematic study of the role played by the nascent US Navy in the War of 1812 , largely completing two chapters of a book he published after graduation . Assisted by two uncles , he scrutinized original source materials and official US Navy records . Roosevelt ' s carefully researched book , published in 1882 , was comparable to modern doctoral dissertation s , complete with drawings of individual and combined ship maneuvers , charts depicting the differences in iron throw weights of cannon shot between American and British forces , and analyses of the differences between English and American leadership down to the ship - to - ship level . Published after Roosevelt ' s graduation from college , " The Naval War of 1812 " was praised for its scholarship and style , and demonstrated Roosevelt as a scholar of history . One modern naval historian wrote : " Roosevelt ' s study of the War of 1812 influenced all subsequent scholarship on the naval aspects of the War of 1812 and continues to be reprinted . More than a classic , it remains , after 120 years , a standard study of the war . " Roosevelt summarized one of the primary morals of the war thus : " It must be but a poor spirited American whose veins do not tingle with pride when he reads of the cruises and fights of the sea - captains , and their grim prowess , which kept the old Yankee flag floating over the waters of the Atlantic for three years , in the teeth of the mightiest naval power the world has ever seen " First marriage and widowhood . On his 22nd birthday , Roosevelt married socialite Alice Hathaway Lee , daughter of banker George Cabot Lee and Caroline Watts Haskell . Their daughter Alice Lee Roosevelt was born on February 12 , 1884 . Alice died two days after their daughter was born from an undiagnosed case of kidney failure ( in those days called Bright ' s disease ) , which had been masked by the pregnancy . In his diary , Roosevelt wrote a large ' X ' on the page and then , " The light has gone out of my life . " His mother Mittie died of typhoid fever on the same day , at 3 : 00 am , some eleven hours earlier , in the same house . Distraught , he left baby Alice in the care of his sister Bamie in New York City while he took time to grieve . Roosevelt assumed custody of his daughter when she was three . He also reacted by focusing on work , specifically re - energizing a legislative investigation into corruption in New York City with a concurrent bill to centralize power in the mayor ' s office . For the rest of his life , he rarely spoke of his wife Alice and did not write about her in his autobiography . He did not mention his marriage to Alice or his second marriage to Edith Kermit Carow when working with Joseph Bucklin Bishop on a biography that included a collection of his letters . Early political career . State Assemblyman . Roosevelt was soon put forth as the party ' s candidate for the District ' s House seat in Albany . He was a member of the New York State Assembly ( New York Co . , 21st D . ) in 1882 , 1883 and 1884 . He immediately began making his mark , specifically in corporate corruption issues . He blocked a corrupt effort by financier Jay Gould to lower his taxes . Roosevelt exposed suspected collusion in the matter by Judge Theodore Westbrook , and argued for and received approval for an investigation to proceed looking toward impeaching the judge . The investigating committee rejected impeachment , but Roosevelt had made inroads to the potential corruption in Albany , and thus assumed a high and positive political profile in multiple publications in New York . In 1883 , he was the Assembly Minority Leader . In 1884 , he lost the nomination for Speaker to Titus Sheard by a vote of 41 to 29 in the GOP caucus ; and was Chairman of the Committee on Affairs of Cities . He wrote more bills than any other legislator . Presidential election of 1884 . With numerous presidential hopefuls to choose from , Roosevelt selected Senator George F . Edmonds of Vermont , a colorless reformer . The GOP organization preferred New York City ' s own Chester Arthur , known as a spoilsman . Roosevelt fought hard and succeeded in taking control of the Manhattan delegates to the state convention at Utica . He then took control of the state convention , bargaining through the night and outmaneuvering the supporters of Arthur and of James G . Blaine , and making a national reputation as a key player in New York State . Roosevelt attended the GOP National Convention in 1884 and fought alongside the Mugwump reformers ; they lost to the Stalwart faction that nominated James G . Blaine . In a crucial moment of his budding political career , he resisted the demand of the Mugwumps that he bolt from Blaine . He bragged about his one small success : " We achieved a victory in getting up a combination to beat the Blaine nominee for temporary chairman . . . To do this needed a mixture of skill , boldness and energy . . . to get the different factions to come in . . . to defeat the common foe . " He was impressed also by an invitation to speak before his largest audience to date , of ten thousand . Having gotten a taste of national politics , Roosevelt then felt less aspiration for advocacy on the state level ; with that , he retired to his new " Chimney Butte Ranch " on the Little Missouri . TR refused to join other Mugwumps in supporting Grover Cleveland , the governor of New York and the Democratic nominee in the general election . He debated with his political friend Henry Cabot Lodge the pros and cons of staying loyal . He had carelessly said after Blaine won the nomination that he would give " hearty support to any decent Democrat . " He distanced himself from the promise saying it had not been made " for publication . " When asked by a reporter whether he would support Blaine , he replied , " That question I decline to answer . It is a subject I do not care to talk about . " In the end he realized he had to announce for Blaine to maintain his role in the GOP , and he did so in a press release on July 19 . In 1886 , Roosevelt was the Republican candidate for mayor of New York City , portraying himself as " The Cowboy of the Dakotas . " GOP precinct workers warned voters that the independent radical candidate Henry George was leading and that Roosevelt would lose , thus causing a last - minute defection of GOP voters to the Democratic candidate Abram Hewitt . Roosevelt took third place with 27 % ( 60 , 435 votes ) . Hewitt won with 41 % ( 90 , 552 votes ) , and George was held to 31 % ( 68 , 110 votes ) . Cowboy in Dakota . Roosevelt built a second ranch named Elk Horn , thirty - five miles ( 56 km ) north of the boomtown of Medora , North Dakota . On the banks of the Little Missouri , Roosevelt learned to ride western style , rope and hunt , and though he earned the respect of the authentic cowboys , they were not overly impressed . But he identified with the herdsman of history , a man he said possesses , " few of the emasculated , milk - and - water moralities admired by the pseudo - philanthropists ; but he does possess , to a very high degree , the stern , manly qualities that are invaluable to a nation . " He reoriented , and began writing about frontier life for national magazines , as well publishing three books – " Hunting Trips of a Ranchman " , " Ranch Life and the Hunting - Trail " , and " The Wilderness Hunter " . As a deputy sheriff , Roosevelt pursued three outlaws who had stolen his riverboat and escaped north up the Little Missouri . He captured them but decided against a vigilante hanging ; instead , he sent his foreman back by boat , and conveyed the thieves to Dickinson for trial . He assumed guard over them for forty hours without sleep , while reading Leo Tolstoy to keep himself awake . When he ran out of his own books , he read a dime store western that one of the thieves was carrying . On another occasion , while searching for a group of relentless horse thieves , Roosevelt met Seth Bullock , the famous sheriff of Deadwood , South Dakota . The two would remain friends for life . Roosevelt brought to the west his desire to address the common interests of citizens . He successfully led efforts to organize ranchers to address the problems of overgrazing and other shared concerns ; his work resulted in the formation of the Little Missouri Stockmen ' s Association . He was also compelled to coordinate conservation efforts and was able to form the Boone and Crockett Club , whose primary goal was the conservation of large game animals and their habitats . After the uniquely severe US winter of 1886 – 1887 wiped out his herd of cattle and those of his competitors , and with it most of his $ 80 , 000 investment , Roosevelt returned to the East . Second marriage . On December 2 , 1886 , he married his childhood and family friend Edith Kermit Carow ( August 6 , 1861 – September 30 , 1948 ) , a daughter of Charles Carow and Gertrude Elizabeth Tyler . The couple married at St George ' s , Hanover Square in London , England . English diplomat Cecil Arthur Spring Rice , Roosevelt ' s close friend , served as best man . The couple honeymooned in Europe and while there Roosevelt led a group to the summit of Mont Blanc , an achievement that resulted in his induction into the Royal Society of London . They had five children ; Theodore " Ted " III ( 1887 – 1944 ) , Kermit ( 1889 – 1943 ) , Ethel ( 1891 – 1977 ) , Archibald ( 1894 – 1979 ) , and Quentin ( 1897 – 1918 ) . At the time of Ted ' s birth , Roosevelt was initially both eager and worried at the same time for Edith after losing Alice shortly after childbirth . Reentering public life . Civil Service Commission . In the 1888 presidential election , Roosevelt successfully campaigned , primarily in the Midwest , for Benjamin Harrison . President Harrison appointed Roosevelt to the United States Civil Service Commission , where he served until 1895 , vigorously fought the spoilsmen and demanded enforcement of civil service laws . The " New York Sun " then described Roosevelt as " irrepressible , belligerent , and enthusiastic " Despite Roosevelt ' s support for Harrison ' s reelection bid in the presidential election of 1892 , the eventual winner , Grover Cleveland ( a Bourbon Democrat ) , reappointed him to the same post . Roosevelt ' s close friend and biographer , Joseph Bucklin Bishop , described his assault on the spoils system : New York City Police Commissioner . In 1894 a group of reform Republicans approached Roosevelt about running for Mayor of New York again ; he declined mostly due to his wife ' s resistance to being removed from the Washington social set . No sooner had he declined than he realized the missed opportunity to reinvigorate a dormant political career . He retreated to the Dakotas for a time ; wife Edith regretted her role in the decision and vowed there would be no repeat of it . Roosevelt became president of the board of New York City Police Commissioner s in 1895 for two years and radically reformed the police force . The New York Police Department ( NYPD ) was reputed as one of the most corrupt in America ; the NYPD ' s history division records that Roosevelt was " an iron - willed leader of unimpeachable honesty , ( who ) brought a reforming zeal to the New York City Police Commission in 1895 . " Roosevelt implemented regular inspections of firearms and annual physical exams ; he appointed 1 , 600 recruits based on their physical and mental qualifications , regardless of political affiliation , established Meritorious Service Medals and closed corrupt police hostelries . Also during his tenure a Municipal Lodging House was established by the Board of Charities , and Roosevelt required officers to register with the Board ; he as well had telephones installed in station houses . In 1894 , Roosevelt met Jacob Riis , the muckraking " Evening Sun " newspaper journalist who was opening the eyes of New Yorkers to the terrible conditions of the city ' s millions of poor immigrants with such books as " How the Other Half Lives . " Riis described the effect of his book on the new police commissioner : Roosevelt made a habit of walking officers ' beats late at night and early in the morning to make sure they were on duty . He made a concerted effort to more uniformly enforce New York ' s Sunday closing law ; in this he ran up against boss Tom Platt as well as Tammany Hall – he was put on notice that the Police Commission was being legislated out of existence . Roosevelt chose to defer rather than split with his party . As Governor of New York State before becoming Vice President in March 1901 , Roosevelt later signed an act replacing the Police Commissioners with a single Police Commissioner . Emergence as a national figure . Assistant Secretary of the Navy . Roosevelt had demonstrated , through his research and writing , a fascination with naval history ; President William McKinley , urged by Roosevelt ' s close friend Congressman Henry Cabot Lodge , appointed Roosevelt as Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 1897 . Secretary of the Navy John D . Long cared more for formalities than functions , was in poor health , and left major decisions to Roosevelt . Roosevelt seized the opportunity and began pressing on the president his national security views regarding the Pacific and the Caribbean . Roosevelt was particularly adamant that Spain be ejected from Cuba , to foster the latter ' s independence and demonstrate U . S . resolve to reenforce the Monroe Doctrine . Ten days after the battleship " Maine " exploded in the harbor of Havana , Cuba , the Secretary left the office and Roosevelt became Acting Secretary for four hours . Roosevelt cabled the Navy worldwide to prepare for war , ordered ammunition and supplies , brought in experts and went to Congress asking for authority to recruit as many sailors as he wanted . Roosevelt was instrumental in preparing the Navy for the Spanish – American War . Roosevelt had an analytical mind , even as he was itching for war . He explained his priorities to one of the Navy ' s planners in late 1897 : War in Cuba . Both sides declared war in late April . On April 25 , Roosevelt resigned the Navy and together with Army Colonel Leonard Wood , formed the First US Volunteer Cavalry Regiment ; the newspapers called them the " Rough Riders . " Like many other volunteer units , it was a temporary organization for the duration of the war . The regiment trained for several weeks in San Antonio , Texas ; after securing modern multiple round Krag smokeless carbines , Roosevelt arrived on May 16 . The Rough Riders used some standard issue gear and some of their own design , purchased with gift money . Diversity characterized the regiment , which included Ivy Leaguers , professional and amateur athletes , upscale gentlemen as well as cowboys , frontiersmen , Native Americans , hunters , miners , prospectors , former soldiers , tradesmen , and sheriffs . The Rough Riders were part of the cavalry division commanded by the former Confederate general Joseph Wheeler . It was one of 3 divisions in V Corps under Lt General William Rufus Shafter . Roosevelt and his men departed Tampa on June 13 , landed in Daiquiri , Cuba , on June 23 , 1898 and marched to Siboney . Wheeler sent elements of the 1st and 10th Regular Cavalry on the lower road northwest and sent the 1st Volunteers " Rough Riders " on the parallel road running along a ridge up from the beach . To throw off his infantry rival , Wheeler left one regiment of his Cavalry Division , the 9th , at Siboney so that he could claim that his move north was only a limited reconnaissance if things went wrong . Roosevelt was promoted to colonel and took command of the regiment when Wood was moved up to command the brigade . The Rough Riders had a short , minor skirmish known as the Battle of Las Guasimas , then fought their way through Spanish resistance and together with the Regulars forced the Spaniards to abandon their positions . Under his leadership , the Rough Riders became famous for charge up Kettle Hill on July 1 , 1898 while supporting the regulars . Roosevelt had the only horse , and rode back and forth between rifle pits at the forefront of the advance up Kettle Hill , an advance that he urged in absence of any orders from superiors . He was forced to walk up the last part of Kettle Hill on foot , because of barbed wire entanglement . The victories came at a cost of 200 killed and 1000 wounded . Roosevelt commented on his role in the battles : " On the day of the big fight I had to ask my men to do a deed that European military writers consider utterly impossible of performance , that is , to attack over open ground an unshaken infantry armed with the best modern repeating rifles behind a formidable system of entrenchments . The only way to get them to do it in the way it had to be done was to lead them myself . " Roosevelt as a veteran . In August , Roosevelt and other officers demanded that the soldiers be returned home . Roosevelt always recalled the Battle of Kettle Hill ( part of the San Juan Heights ) as " the great day of my life " and " my crowded hour . " In 2001 , Roosevelt was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions ; he had been nominated during the war but Army officials , annoyed at his grabbing the headlines , blocked it . After return to civilian life , Roosevelt preferred to be known as " Colonel Roosevelt " or " The Colonel . " However , the " Teddy " name remained much more popular with the public , even though Roosevelt openly despised it . Men working closely with Roosevelt customarily called him " Colonel " or " Theodore " . Governor of New York . After leaving the Army , Roosevelt discovered New York Republicans needed him because their current governor was tainted by scandal and would probably lose . He campaigned vigorously on his war record winning the 1898 state election by a historical margin of 1 % . As Governor , Roosevelt learned much about current economic issues and political techniques that later proved valuable to his presidency . He was exposed to the problems of trusts , monopoly , labor relations , and conservation . Chessman argues that Roosevelt ' s program " rested firmly upon the concept of the square deal by a neutral state . " The rules for the Square Deal were " honesty in public affairs , an equitable sharing of privilege and responsibility , and subordination of party and local concerns to the interests of the state at large . " By holding twice - daily press conferences — an innovation — he remained connected with his middle - class political base . The governor successfully pushed the Ford Franchise - Tax bill which taxed public franchises granted by the state and controlled by corporations , declaring that " a corporation which derives its powers from the State , should pay to the State a just percentage of its earnings as a return for the privileges it enjoys . " He rejected " boss " Thomas C . Platt ' s worries that this approached Bryanite Socialism , explaining that without it New York voters might get angry and adopt public ownership of streetcar lines and other franchises . New York state government affected many interests , and the power to make appointments to policy - making positions was a key role for the governor . Platt insisted he be consulted ; Roosevelt appeared to comply but then made his own decisions . Historians marvel that Roosevelt managed to appoint so many first - rate men with Platt ' s approval . He even enlisted Platt ' s help in securing reform , as in spring 1899 when the boss pressured state senators to vote for a civil service bill that the secretary of the Civil Service Reform Association called " superior to any civil service statute heretofore secured in America . " Chessman argues that as governor Roosevelt developed the principles that shaped his presidency , especially insistence upon the public responsibility of large corporations , publicity as a first remedy for trusts , regulation of railroad rates , mediation of the conflict of capital and labor , conservation of natural resources and protection of the less fortunate members of society . Vice President . Roosevelt anticipated a second term as governor or in the alternative a cabinet post in the War Department ; his friends ( especially Henry Cabot Lodge ) saw that as a dead end . They promoted him for vice president , and no one else of prominence was actively seeking that job . Grass roots opinion in the Party wanted Roosevelt as vice president . His friends were pushing and so were his foes . Roosevelt ' s reforming zeal ran afoul of the insurance and franchise businesses who had a major voice in the New York GOP . Platt therefore engineered his removal from the state by pushing hard for the governor to accept the GOP nomination as vice president in 1900 . McKinley refused to consider Roosevelt as Secretary of War , but saw no risk in making him Vice President . He went along although his campaign manager Mark Hanna thought Roosevelt was too cowboy - like . While the party bosses were pleased with their success in engineering Roosevelt ' s next political foray , the nominee , very much to the contrary , thought he had " stood the state machine on its head " . The office of vice president was a powerless sinecure and did not suit Roosevelt ' s aggressive temperament . However campaigning for it played to his skills . Roosevelt threw himself into the campaign with his accustomed energy , crisscrossing the nation denouncing the radicalism of William Jennings Bryan in contrast to the heroism of the soldiers and sailors who fought and won the war against Spain . Bryan had strongly supported the war itself , but he denounced the annexation of the Philippines as imperialism that would spoil America ' s innocence . Roosevelt countered that it was best for the Filipinos to have stability , and the Americans to have a proud place in the world . With the nation basking in peace and prosperity , the voters gave McKinley an even larger landslide than in 1896 . Roosevelt ' s six months as Vice President ( March to September 1901 ) were uneventful . On September 2 , 1901 , Roosevelt first publicized an aphorism that thrilled his supporters : " Speak softly and carry a big stick , and you will go far . " Presidency 1901 – 1909 . On September 6 , President McKinley was shot by an anarchist acting alone while in Buffalo , New York . Initial reports suggested his condition was improving , so Roosevelt , after paying a visit to the ailing president , embarked for the west . When McKinley ' s condition worsened , Roosevelt rushed back . McKinley died on September 14 and Roosevelt was sworn in at the Ansley Wilcox House . The following month Roosevelt invited Booker T . Washington to dinner at the White House . To his dismay , this sparked a bitter , and at times viscous reaction across the heavily segregated South . Roosevelt reacted with astonishment and protest , saying he looked forward to many future dinners with Washington . Upon further reflection , Roosevelt wanted to ensure this had no effect on political support in the South , and further invitations to Washington were avoided . Roosevelt kept McKinley ' s Cabinet and promised to continue McKinley ' s policies . In the November 1904 presidential election , Roosevelt won the presidency in his own right in a landslide victory against Alton Brooks Parker . His vice president was Charles Warren Fairbanks of Indiana . Domestic policies . One of his first notable acts as president was to deliver a 20 , 000 - word address to Congress asking it to curb the power of large corporations ( called " trusts " ) . He also spoke in support of organized labor to the further chagrin of big business , but to their delight he endorsed the gold standard , protective tariffs and lower taxes . For his aggressive use of United States antitrust law he became known as the " trust - buster . " He brought 40 antitrust suits , and broke up such major combinations as the largest railroad and Standard Oil , the largest oil company . In May 1902 , anthracite coal miners went on strike , threatening a national energy shortage . After threatening the coal operators with intervention by federal troops , Roosevelt won their agreement to an arbitration of the dispute by a commission which succeeded in stopping the strike , dropping prices and retiring furnaces ; the accord with J . P . Morgan resulted in the workers getting more pay for fewer hours , but with no union recognition . Journalist Ray Baker quoted Roosevelt concerning his policy towards capitalists and laborers : " My action on labor should always be considered in connection with my action as regards capital , and both are reducible to my favorite formula – a square deal for every man . " Roosevelt thought it was particularly important for the government to supervise the workings of the railway to avoid corruption in interstate commerce ; the result was the Hepburn bill which established control over railroad rates . Roosevelt responded to public anger over the abuses in the food packing industry by pushing Congress to pass the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 and The Pure Food and Drug Act . The Meat Inspection Act of 1906 banned misleading labels and preservatives that contained harmful chemicals . The Pure Food and Drug Act banned food and drugs that are impure or falsely labeled from being made , sold , and shipped . Roosevelt was also served as honorary president of the school health organization American School Hygiene Association from 1907 to 1908 , and in 1909 he convened the first White House Conference on the Care of Dependent Children . During the Panic of 1907 nearly all agreed that a more flexible system to ensure liquidity was needed – the Republicans sought a response to the money supply by the bankers whereas the Democrats sought government control ; Roosevelt was unsure but leaned towards the Republican view while continuing to denounce corporate corruption . Nonetheless , in 1910 , Roosevelt commented on " enormously wealthy and economically powerful men " and suggested " a graduated inheritance tax on big fortunes . . . increasing rapidly in amount with the size of the estate . " Roosevelt was inclined to extend the regulatory reach of his office . In a moment of frustration , House Speaker Joseph Gurney Cannon commented on Roosevelt ' s desire for executive branch control in domestic policy - making : " That fellow at the other end of the avenue wants everything from the birth of Christ to the death of the devil . " Biographer Brands states that , " Even his friends occasionally wondered whether there wasn ' t any custom or practice too minor for him to try to regulate , update or otherwise improve . " In fact , Roosevelt ' s willingness to exercise his power included attempted rule changes in the game of football ; at the Naval Academy , he sought to force retention of martial arts classes and to revise disciplinary rules . He even ordered changes made in the minting of a coin whose design he disliked , and ordered the Government Printing Office to adopt simplified spellings for a core list of 300 words according to reformers on the Simplified Spelling Board . He was forced to rescind the latter after substantial ridicule from the press and a resolution of protest from the House . Foreign policy . In the late 1890s Roosevelt had been an ardent imperialist , and vigorously defended the permanent acquisition of the Philippines in the 1900 election campaign . After the rebellion ended in 1901 , he largely lost interest in the Philippines and Asian expansion generally , despite the contradictory opinion of his Secretary of War , William Howard Taft . As president he primarily directed the nation ' s overseas ambitions on the Caribbean , especially locations that had a bearing on the defense of his pet project , the Panama Canal . In 1905 Roosevelt offered to mediate a treaty to end the Russo - Japanese War . The parties agreed to meet in Portsmouth , New Hampshire and ironed out a final conflict over division of Sakhalin – Russia took the northern half and Japan the south , and Japan dropped its demand for an indemnity . Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for his successful efforts . George E . Mowry concludes that Roosevelt handled the arbitration well , doing an " excellent job of balancing Russian and Japanese power in the Orient , where the supremacy of either constituted a threat to growing America . " Latin America . Roosevelt ' s attention to Latin American turmoil was heightened by his plans for building a canal . In December 1902 the Germans , English , and Italians sought to impose a naval blockade against Venezuela in order to force the repayment of delinquent loans . Roosevelt was particularly concerned with the motives of Germany ' s Kaiser Wilhelm . He succeeded in forging an agreement from the aggressors to submit to arbitration by a tribunal at the Hague , and averted the Venezuela Crisis of 1902 – 1903 . The latitude granted the Europeans by the arbiters was in part responsible for the " Roosevelt Corollary " to the Monroe Doctrine , which the President issued in 1904 : " Chronic wrongdoing or an impotence which results in a general loosening of the ties of civilized society , may in America , as elsewhere , ultimately require intervention by some civilized nation , and in the Western Hemisphere , the adherence of the United States to the Monroe doctrine may force the United States , however reluctantly , in flagrant cases of such wrongdoing or impotence , to the exercise of an international police power . " The pursuit of an isthmus canal in Central America during this period focused on two possible routes – Nicaragua and Panama , then a rebellious district within Columbia . Roosevelt convinced Congress of the Panamanian alternative and a treaty was approved , only to be rejected by the Columbian government . When the Panamanians learned of this , a rebellion followed , was supported by Roosevelt , and succeeded . A treaty with the new Panama government was then reached in 1903 for construction of the canal . In 1906 , following a disputed election , an insurrection ensued in Cuba ; Roosevelt sent Secretary of War Taft to monitor the situation and was convinced of his authority to unilaterally authorize Taft to deploy Marines if necessary , without congressional approval . The Gentlemen ' s Agreement of 1907 resolved unpleasant racial tensions with Japan . Tokyo was angered over the segregation of Japanese children in San Francisco schools . That was ended but Japan also agreed not to allow unskilled workers to emigrate to the U . S . Examining the work of numerous scholars , Ricard ( 2014 ) reports that : The media . Building on McKinley ' s effective use of the press , Roosevelt made the White House the center of news every day , providing interviews and photo opportunities . After noticing the White House reporters huddled outside in the rain one day , he gave them their own room inside , effectively inventing the presidential press briefing . The grateful press , with unprecedented access to the White House , rewarded Roosevelt with ample coverage . Roosevelt normally enjoyed very close relationships with the press , which he used to keep in daily contact with his middle - class base . While out of office , he made a living as a writer and magazine editor . He loved talking with intellectuals , authors , and writers . He drew the line , however , at expose - oriented scandal - mongering journalists who during his term set magazine subscriptions soaring by their attacks on corrupt politicians , mayors , and corporations . Roosevelt himself was not usually a target , but his speech in 1906 coined the term " muckraker " for unscrupulous journalists making wild charges . " The liar , " he said , " is no whit better than the thief , and if his mendacity takes the form of slander he may be worse than most thieves . " Roosevelt and the press did come to blows briefly in one instance . Ever since 1904 he had come in for periodic criticism for the manner in which he facilitated the Panama Canal . In the least judicious use of executive power according to biographer Brands , Roosevelt near the end of his term demanded that the Justice Department bring charges of criminal libel against Joseph Pulitzer ' s " New York World " . That publication had accused him of " deliberate misstatements of fact " in his defense of family members criticized relating to the Panama affair . As the Justice Department had predicted , and so advised Roosevelt , though indictment was obtained , the case was ultimately dismissed in federal court – it was not a federal offense , but one enforceable at the state court level . Election of 1904 . The control and management of the Republican Party lay in the hands of chairman Mark Hanna until McKinley ' s death . Hanna ' s domination , and potential rivalry for the party ' s nomination in 1904 , began to wane with his own health and ultimate death early that year . In deference to Hanna ' s conservative loyalists , Roosevelt at first offered the party chairmanship to Cornelius Bliss , but he declined . Roosevelt then turned to his own man , George B . Cortelyou of New York , the first Secretary of Commerce and Labor . To buttress his hold on the party ' s nomination , Roosevelt made it clear that anyone opposing Cortelyou would be considered as opposing the President , and he wanted the names . The President secured his own nomination but his preferred vice - presidential nominee Robert R . Hitt was replaced by Charles Warren Fairbanks . While Roosevelt followed the tradition of incumbents in not actively campaigning on the stump , he sought to control the campaign ' s message through specific instructions to Cortelyou . He also attempted to manage the release of statements from the White House by the press , by forming the Ananias Club – to include any journalist who repeated a statement made by the president without approval ; the penalty was restriction of further access . The Democratic Party ' s nominee in 1904 was Alton Brooks Parker . Roosevelt won 56 % of the popular vote , to Parker ' s 38 % , and won the Electoral College vote , 336 to 140 . Before his inauguration ceremony , Roosevelt declared he would not serve another term . Post - presidency . Election of 1908 . Before leaving office , Roosevelt declared William Howard Taft to be a " genuine progressive " , when Roosevelt pushed through the nomination of his Secretary of War for the Presidency in 1908 . In January of that year Roosevelt wrote the following to Taft : " Dear Will : Do you want any action about those federal officials ? I will break their necks with the utmost cheerfulness if you say the word ! " Just weeks later he branded as " false and malicious " the charge that he was using the offices at his disposal to favor Taft . Taft easily defeated three - time candidate William Jennings Bryan . Taft promoted a different progressivism , one that stressed the rule of law and preferred that judges rather than administrators or politicians make the basic decisions about fairness . Taft usually proved a less adroit politician than Roosevelt and lacked the energy and personal magnetism , not to mention the publicity devices , the dedicated supporters , and the broad base of public support that made Roosevelt so formidable . When Roosevelt realized that lowering the tariff would risk severe tensions inside the Republican Party — pitting producers ( manufacturers and farmers ) against merchants and consumers — he stopped talking about the issue . Taft ignored the risks and tackled the tariff boldly , on the one hand encouraging reformers to fight for lower rates , and then cutting deals with conservative leaders that kept overall rates high . The resulting Payne - Aldrich tariff of 1909 was too high for most reformers , but instead of blaming this on Senator Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich and big business , Taft took credit , calling it the best tariff ever . He again had managed to alienate all sides . While the crisis was building inside the Party , Roosevelt was touring Africa and Europe , to allow Taft to be his own man . Republican Party schism . Roosevelt had attempted to refashion Taft into a younger version of himself , but as soon as Taft began to display his individuality , Roosevelt unveiled his disenchantment . He was even offended on election night when Taft wrote and indicated that his success had been possible not just through the efforts of Roosevelt , but also his brother Charley . Roosevelt was further alienated when Taft , again intent on becoming his own man , did not consult him about cabinet appointments . Lodge empathized with Roosevelt , and so declined an offer as Secretary of State ; eventually Roosevelt heard his whispers about second thoughts on Capitol Hill as to Taft . Unlike Roosevelt , Taft never attacked business or businessmen in his rhetoric . However , he was attentive to the law , so he launched 90 antitrust suits , including one against the largest corporation , US Steel , for an acquisition that Roosevelt had personally approved . Consequently , Taft lost the support of antitrust reformers ( who disliked his conservative rhetoric ) , of big business ( which disliked his actions ) , and of Roosevelt , who felt humiliated by his protégé . More trouble came when Taft fired Roosevelt ' s friend and appointee Gifford Pinchot , a leading conservationist . Pinchot alleged that Taft ' s Secretary of Interior Richard Ballinger was in league with big timber interests . Conservationists sided with Pinchot , and Taft alienated yet another vocal constituency . The left wing of the Republican Party began agitating against Taft . Senator Robert M . La Follette , Sr . of Wisconsin joined with Pinchot , William White and Hiram Johnson to create the National Progressive Republican League ; their objectives were to defeat the power of political bossism at the state level and to replace Taft at the national level . Roosevelt declined to unite in this group — he was then still reluctant to leave the GOP . Roosevelt , back from Europe , unexpectedly launched an attack on the courts . He gave his famous speech at Osawatomie , Kansas , in August 1910 which was the most radical of his career and openly initiated his break with the Taft administration and the conservative Republicans . Osawatomie was well known as the base used by John Brown when he launched his bloody attacks on slavery . Advocating a program of " New Nationalism " , Roosevelt emphasized the priority of labor over capital interests , a need to more effectively control corporate creation and combination and proposed a ban on corporate political contributions . Roosevelt shortly thereafter made it clear in a meeting with Lloyd Carpenter Griscom , a New York Republican regular , that the president no longer enjoyed his support , since he had " deliberately abandoned " their previous close relations . Taft was deeply upset . In the 1910 Congressional elections , Democrats won a majority in the House , significantly diminished the Republican ' s hold on the Senate and Taft ' s reelection in 1912 was rendered doubtful . The Republican progressives interpreted the defeat as compelling argument for the wholesale reorganization of the party In 1911 , and Roosevelt reacted with renewed interest in more personal political endeavors . Despite skepticism of La Follette ' s new League , Roosevelt expressed general support for progressive principles ; in fact , between January and April 1911 Roosevelt wrote a series of articles for " The Outlook " defending what he called " the great movement of our day , the progressive nationalist movement against special privilege , and in favor of an honest and efficient political and industrial democracy " . Smithsonian - Roosevelt African Expedition ( 1909 – 1910 ) . In March 1909 , shortly after the end of his presidency , Roosevelt left New York for the Smithsonian - Roosevelt African Expedition , a safari in east and central Africa outfitted by the Smithsonian Institution . Roosevelt ' s party landed in Mombasa , British East Africa ( now Kenya ) , traveled to the Belgian Congo ( now Democratic Republic of the Congo ) before following the Nile to Khartoum in modern Sudan . Financed by Andrew Carnegie and by his own proposed writings , Roosevelt ' s party hunted for specimens for the Smithsonian Institution and for the American Museum of Natural History in New York . The group , led by the legendary hunter - tracker RJ Cunninghame , included scientists from the Smithsonian and was joined from time to time by Frederick Selous , the famous big game hunter and explorer . Among other items , Roosevelt brought with him four tons of salt for preserving animal hides , a lucky rabbit ' s foot given to him by boxer John L . Sullivan , a Holland and Holland double rifle in . 500 / 450 donated by a group of 56 admiring Britons , a Winchester 1895 rifle in . 405 Winchester , an Army ( M1903 ) Springfield in . 30 - 06 caliber stocked and sighted for him , a Fox No . 12 shotgun , and the famous Pigskin Library , a collection of classics bound in pig leather and transported in a single reinforced trunk . Participants on the Expedition included Kermit along with Edgar Alexander Mearns , Edmund Heller , and John Alden Loring . Roosevelt and his companions killed or trapped approximately 11 , 400 animals , from insects and moles to hippopotamuses and elephants . The 1000 large animals included 512 big game animals , including six rare White rhinos . Tons of salted animals and their skins were shipped to Washington ; it took years to mount them all , and the Smithsonian shared many duplicate specimens with other museums . Regarding the large number of animals taken , Roosevelt said , " I can be condemned only if the existence of the National Museum , the American Museum of Natural History , and all similar zoological institutions are to be condemned . Although the safari was ostensibly conducted in the name of science , it was as much a political and social event as it was a hunting excursion ; Roosevelt interacted with renowned professional hunters and land - owning families , and met many native peoples and local leaders . Roosevelt became a life member of the National Rifle Association in 1907 . He wrote a detailed account in the book " African Game Trails " , recounting the excitement of the chase , the people he met , and the flora and fauna he collected in the name of science . Election of 1912 . Republican primaries and convention . In November 1911 a group of Ohio Republicans endorsed Roosevelt for the party ' s nomination for president ; the endorsers included James Garfield and Dan Hanna . This was notable , in that it emanated from Taft ' s home state . Roosevelt conspicuously declined to make a statement requested by Garfield – that he flatly refuse a nomination . Soon thereafter Roosevelt said , " I am really sorry for Taft . . . I am sure he means well , but he means well feebly , and he does not know how ! He is utterly unfit for leadership and this is a time when we need leadership . " In January 1912 Roosevelt declared " if the people make a draft on me I shall not decline to serve " . Later that year Roosevelt spoke before the Constitutional Convention in Ohio , openly referred to himself as a progressive and endorsed progressive reforms – even including popular review of state judicial decisions . In reaction to Roosevelt ' s proposals for popular overrule of court decisions , Taft said , " such extremists are not progressives – they are political emotionalists or neurotics " . Roosevelt began to envision himself as the savior of the Republican party ( the " GOP " ) from defeat in the upcoming Presidential election and announced himself as a candidate for the GOP banner . In February 1912 Roosevelt announced in Boston " I will accept the nomination for president if it is tendered to me . I hope that so far as possible the people may be given the chance through direct primaries to express who shall be the nominee . Both Elihu Root and Cabot Lodge could then see the ultimate defeat of the party in the next election due to this lethal division ; and Taft considered he was witnessing the end of his career – it was only a matter of whether he would be defeated by his own party or in the general election even at that point . The 1912 primaries represented the first extensive use of the presidential primary , a reform achievement of the progressive movement . The primaries in the South , where party regulars dominated , went for Taft , as well as New York , Indiana , Michigan , Kentucky and Massachusetts . Meanwhile Roosevelt won in Illinois , Minnesota , Nebraska , South Dakota , California , Maryland and Pennsylvania ; Roosevelt also won Taft ' s home state of Ohio . These primary elections , while demonstrating Roosevelt ' s continuing popularity with the electorate , were not pivotal . The final credentials of the state delegates at the national convention were determined by the national committee , which was controlled by the party leaders , headed by the incumbent president . At the Republican Convention in Chicago , though Taft ' s victory was not immediate , the ultimate outcome was inevitably in his favor . Formation of the Progressive ( " Bull Moose " ) Party . Once his defeat as the GOP nominee was probable , Roosevelt announced that he would " accept the progressive nomination on a progressive platform and I shall fight to the end , win or lose " . At the same time Roosevelt prophetically said , " My feeling is that the Democrats will probably win if they nominate a progressive " . After two weeks at the GOP convention , Roosevelt asked his followers to leave the hall , and they moved to the Auditorium Theatre . Then Roosevelt , along with key allies such as Pinchot and Albert Beveridge created the Progressive Party , structuring it as a permanent organization that would field complete tickets at the presidential and state level . It was popularly known as the " Bull Moose Party " , which got its name after Roosevelt told reporters , " I ' m as fit as a bull moose . " At the convention Roosevelt cried out , " We stand at Armageddon and we battle for the Lord . " Roosevelt ' s platform echoed his 1907 – 8 proposals , calling for vigorous government intervention to protect the people from the selfish interests ; Assassination attempt . While Roosevelt was campaigning in Milwaukee , Wisconsin , on October 14 , 1912 , a saloonkeeper named John Flammang Schrank shot him , but the bullet lodged in his chest only after penetrating his steel eyeglass case and passing through a thick ( 50 pages ) single - folded copy of the speech he was carrying in his jacket . Roosevelt , as an experienced hunter and anatomist , correctly concluded that since he was not coughing blood , the bullet had not completely penetrated the chest wall to his lung , and he declined suggestions to go to the hospital immediately . Instead , he delivered his with blood seeping into his shirt . He spoke for 90 minutes . His opening comments to the gathered crowd were , " Ladies and gentlemen , I don ' t know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot ; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose . " Afterwards , probes and x - ray showed that the bullet had lodged in Roosevelt ' s chest muscle but did not penetrate the pleura , and it would be less dangerous to leave it in place . Roosevelt carried it with him for the rest of his life . Because of the bullet wound , Roosevelt was taken off the campaign trail in the final weeks of the race ( which ended election day , November 5 ) . Though the other two campaigners stopped their own campaigns in the week Roosevelt was in the hospital , they resumed it once he was released . The bullet lodged in his chest exacerbated his rheumatoid arthritis and prevented him from doing his daily stint of exercises ; Roosevelt would soon become obese as well . In an era of party loyalty , Roosevelt failed to move enough Republicans to vote a third party ticket . He did win 4 . 1 million votes ( 27 % ) , compared to Taft ' s 3 . 5 million ( 23 % ) . However , Wilson ' s 6 . 3 million votes ( 42 % ) were enough to garner 435 electoral votes . Roosevelt had 88 electoral votes to Taft ' s 8 electoral votes . But Pennsylvania was Roosevelt ' s only eastern state ; in the Midwest , he carried Michigan , Minnesota , and South Dakota ; in the West , California , and Washington ; he did not win any southern states . 1913 – 1914 South American Expedition . A friend of Roosevelt ' s , Father John Augustine Zahm , a Catholic priest and scientist at the University of Notre Dame , had searched for new adventures and found them in the forests of South America . After a briefing of several of his own expeditions , he persuaded Roosevelt to commit to such an expedition in 1912 . To finance the expedition Roosevelt received support from the American Museum of Natural History , promising to bring back many new animal specimens . Roosevelt ' s popular book " Through the Brazilian Wilderness " describes his expedition into the Brazilian jungle in 1913 as a member of the Roosevelt - Rondon Scientific Expedition , co - named after its leader , Brazilian explorer Cândido Rondon . The book describes the scientific discovery , scenic tropical vistas , and exotic flora and fauna experienced during the adventure . Once in South America , a new far more ambitious goal was added : to find the headwaters of the Rio da Duvida , the River of Doubt , and trace it north to the Madeira and thence to the Amazon River . It was later renamed Roosevelt River in honor of the former President . Roosevelt ' s crew consisted of his son Kermit ; naturalist Colonel Rondon ; George K . Cherrie , sent by the American Museum of Natural History ; Brazilian Lieutenant João Lira ; team physician Dr . José Antonio Cajazeira ; and 16 skilled paddlers and porters ( called " camaradas " [ comrades ] in Portuguese ) . The initial expedition started somewhat tenuously on December 9 , 1913 , at the height of the rainy season . The trip down the River of Doubt started on February 27 , 1914 . During the trip down the river , Roosevelt suffered a minor leg wound after he jumped into the river to try to prevent two canoes from smashing against the rocks . The flesh wound he received , however , soon gave him tropical fever that resembled the malaria he had contracted while in Cuba fifteen years before . Because the bullet lodged in his chest from the assassination attempt in 1912 was never removed , his health worsened from the infection . This weakened Roosevelt so greatly that six weeks into the adventure , he had to be attended day and night by the expedition ' s physician and his own son Kermit . By then he could not walk because of the infection in his injured leg and an infirmity in the other , due to a traffic accident a decade earlier . Roosevelt was riddled with chest pains , fighting a fever that soared to 103 °F ( 39 °C ) and at times made him delirious . Regarding his condition as a threat to the survival of the others , Roosevelt insisted he be left behind to allow the poorly provisioned expedition to proceed as rapidly as it could . Only an appeal by his son persuaded him to continue . Despite Roosevelt ' s continued decline and loss of over 50 pounds ( 20 kg ) , Commander Rondon reduced the pace of the expedition to ensure his commission ' s mapmaking and other geographical tasks , which required regular stops to fix the expedition ' s position by sun - based survey . Upon Roosevelt ' s return to New York , friends and family were startled by his physical appearance and fatigue . Roosevelt wrote , perhaps prophetically , to a friend that the trip had cut his life short by ten years . For the rest of his few remaining years , he would be plagued by flare - ups of malaria and leg inflammations so severe as to require surgery . Before Roosevelt had even completed his sea voyage home , critics raised doubts over his claims of exploring and navigating a completely uncharted river over 625 miles ( 1 , 000 km ) long . When he had recovered sufficiently , he addressed a standing - room - only convention organized in Washington , D . C . , by the National Geographic Society and satisfactorily defended his claims . World War I . When World War I began in 1914 , Roosevelt strongly supported the Allies and demanded a harsher policy against Germany , especially regarding submarine warfare . Roosevelt angrily denounced the foreign policy of President Wilson , calling it a failure regarding the atrocities in Belgium and the violations of American rights . In 1916 , he campaigned energetically for Charles Evans Hughes and repeatedly denounced Irish - Americans and German - Americans who Roosevelt said were unpatriotic because they put the interest of Ireland and Germany ahead of America ' s by supporting neutrality . He insisted one had to be 100 % American , not a " hyphenated American " who juggled multiple loyalties . In March 1917 , Congress gave Roosevelt the authority to raise up to four divisions similar to the Rough Riders and Major Frederick Russell Burnham was put in charge of both the general organization and recruitment . But the Commander - in - chief , President Woodrow Wilson announced to the press that he would not send Roosevelt and his volunteers to France , but instead would send an American Expeditionary Force under the command of General John Pershing . Roosevelt was left with no option except to disband the volunteers . He never forgave Wilson , and quickly published " The Foes Of Our Own Household " , an indictment of the sitting president . Roosevelt ' s attacks on Wilson helped the Republicans win control of Congress in the off - year elections of 1918 . Roosevelt was popular enough to seriously contest the 1920 Republican nomination , but his health was broken by 1918 , because of the lingering malaria . His family and supporters threw their support to Roosevelt ' s old military companion , General Leonard Wood , who was ultimately defeated by Taft supporter Warren G . Harding . His youngest son Quentin , a pilot with the American forces in France , was shot down behind German lines on July 14 , 1918 , at the age of 20 . It is said that Quentin ' s death distressed Roosevelt so much that he never recovered from his loss . Death . On the night of January 5 , 1919 , he experienced breathing problems . He felt better after treatment from his physician Dr . George W . Faller and went to bed . Roosevelt ' s last words were " Please put out that light , James " to his family servant James Amos . Between 4 : 00 AM and 4 : 15 AM the next morning , Roosevelt died in his sleep at Sagamore Hill from a blood clot detaching itself from a vein and entering his lungs . Upon receiving word of his death , his son Archibald telegraphed his siblings simply , " The old lion is dead . " Woodrow Wilson ' s vice president , Thomas R . Marshall , said that " Death had to take Roosevelt sleeping , for if he had been awake , there would have been a fight . " Political positions and speeches . Theodore Roosevelt introduced the phrase " Square Deal " to describe his progressive views in a speech delivered after leaving the office of the Presidency in August 1910 . In his broad outline , he stressed equality of opportunity for all citizens and emphasized the importance of fair government regulations of corporate ' special interests ' . Roosevelt was one of the first Presidents to make conservation a national issue . In his speech at Osawatomie , Kansas , on August 31 , 1910 , he outlined his views on conservation of the lands of the United States . He favored using America ' s natural resources , but opposed wasteful consumption . One of his most lasting legacies was his significant role in the creation of 5 national parks , 18 national monuments , and 150 National Forests , among other works of conservation . Roosevelt was instrumental in conserving about of American soil among various parks and other federal projects . In the 21st century , historians have paid renewed attention to President Roosevelt as " The Wilderness Warrior " and his energetic promotion of the conservation movement . He collaborated with his chief advisor , Gifford Pinchot , the chief of the Forest Service . Pinchot and Roosevelt scheduled a series of news events that garnered nationwide media attention in magazines and newspapers . They used magazine articles , speeches , press conferences , interviews , and especially large - scale presidential commissions . Roosevelt ' s goal was to encourage his middle - class reform - minded base to add conservation issues to their repertoire of issues . Positions on immigration , minorities , and civil rights . In an 1894 article on immigration , Roosevelt said , " We must Americanize in every way , in speech , in political ideas and principles , and in their way of looking at relations between church and state . We welcome the German and the Irishman who becomes an American . We have no use for the German or Irishman who remains such . . . He must revere only our flag , not only must it come first , but no other flag should even come second . " Roosevelt took an active interest in immigration , and within months of assuming the presidency had launched an extensive reorganization of the federal immigration depot at Ellis Island . Roosevelt himself " straddled the immigration question , " taking the position that " we cannot have too much immigration of the right sort , and we should have none whatever of the wrong sort . " As president , his stated preferences were relatively inclusive , across the then diverse and mostly European sources of immigration : He was the first president to appoint a Jewish cabinet member – Secretary of Commerce and Labor , Oscar Solomon Straus , who served from 1906 to 1909 . Straus , who had helped co - found the Immigration Protective League in 1898 , was the Roosevelt Administration ' s cabinet official overseeing immigration , through which appointment he helped secure passage and implementation of the US Immigration Act of 1907 . In 1886 Roosevelt criticized the morals of Indians he had seen : Regarding African - Americans , Roosevelt told a civil rights leader : Roosevelt appointed numerous African Americans to federal office , such as Walter L . Cohen of New Orleans , a leader of the Black and Tan Republican faction whom he named register of the federal land office . Contrasting the European conquest of North America with that of Australia , Roosevelt wrote : " The natives [ of Australia ] were so few in number and of such a low type , that they practically offered no resistance at all , being but little more hindrance than an equal number of ferocious beasts " ; however , the Native Americans were " the most formidable savage foes ever faced ever encountered by colonists of European stock . " He regarded slavery as " a crime whose shortsighted folly was worse than its guilt " because it " brought hordes of African slaves , whose descendants now form immense populations in certain portions of the land . " Contrasting the European conquest of North America with that of South Africa , Roosevelt felt that the fate of the latter ' s colonists would be different because , unlike the Native American , the African " neither dies out nor recedes before their advance " , meaning the colonists would likely " be swallowed up in the overwhelming mass of black barbarism . " Starting in 1907 eugenicists in many States started the forced sterilization of the sick , unemployed , poor , criminals , prostitutes , and the disabled . Roosevelt said in 1914 : " I wish very much that the wrong people could be prevented entirely from breeding ; and when the evil nature of these people is sufficiently flagrant , this should be done . Criminals should be sterilized and feeble - minded persons forbidden to leave offspring behind them . " Writer . Roosevelt was a prolific author , writing with passion on subjects ranging from foreign policy to the importance of the national park system . Roosevelt was also an avid reader of poetry . Poet Robert Frost said Roosevelt " was our kind . He quoted poetry to me . He knew poetry . " As an editor of " Outlook " magazine , he had weekly access to a large , educated national audience . In all , Roosevelt wrote about 18 books ( each in several editions ) , including his " Autobiography " , " The Rough Riders " " History of the Naval War of 1812 " , and others on subjects such as ranching , explorations , and wildlife . His most ambitious book was the four volume narrative " The Winning of the West " , focused on the American frontier in the 18th and early 19th centuries . Roosevelt said that the American character - - indeed a new " American race " ( ethnic group ) had emerged from the heroic wilderness hunters and Indian fighters , acting on the frontier with little government help . Roosevelt also published an account of his 1909 - 10 African expedition entitled " African Game Trails " . In 1907 , Roosevelt became embroiled in a widely publicized literary debate known as the nature fakers controversy . A few years earlier , naturalist John Burroughs had published an article entitled " Real and Sham Natural History " in the " Atlantic Monthly " , attacking popular writers of the day such as Ernest Thompson Seton , Charles G . D . Roberts , and William J . Long for their fantastical representations of wildlife . Roosevelt agreed with Burroughs ' criticisms , and published several essays of his own denouncing the booming genre of " naturalistic " animal stories as " yellow journalism of the woods " . It was the President himself who popularized the negative term " nature faker " to describe writers who depicted their animal characters with excessive anthropomorphism . Character and beliefs . Roosevelt intensely disliked being called " Teddy , " and was quick to point out this fact to those who referred to him as such , though it would become widely used by newspapers during his political career . He attended church regularly . Of including the motto " In God We Trust " on money , in 1907 he wrote , " It seems to me eminently unwise to cheapen such a motto by use on coins , just as it would be to cheapen it by use on postage stamps , or in advertisements . " He was also a member of the Freemasons and Sons of the American Revolution . Roosevelt had a lifelong interest in pursuing what he called , in an 1899 speech , " The Strenuous Life " . To this end , he exercised regularly and took up boxing , tennis , hiking , rowing , polo , and horseback riding . As governor of New York , he boxed with sparring partners several times a week , a practice he regularly continued as President until once being hit so hard in the face he became blind in his left eye ( a fact not made public until many years later ) . Thereafter , he practiced judo attaining a third degree brown belt and continued his habit of skinny - dipping in the Potomac River during winter . He was an enthusiastic singlestick player and , according to " Harper ' s Weekly " , in 1905 showed up at a White House reception with his arm bandaged after a bout with General Leonard Wood . Roosevelt was an avid reader , reading tens of thousands of books , at a rate of several a day in multiple languages . Along with Thomas Jefferson , Roosevelt was the most well - read of all American politicians . Legacy . Historians credit Roosevelt for changing the nation ' s political system by permanently placing the presidency at center stage and making character as important as the issues . His notable accomplishments include trust busting and conservationism . He is a hero to liberals for his proposals in 1907 – 12 that presaged the modern welfare state of the New Deal Era , and put the environment on the national agenda . Conservatives admire his " big stick " diplomacy and commitment to military values . Dalton says , " Today he is heralded as the architect of the modern presidency , as a world leader who boldly reshaped the office to meet the needs of the new century and redefined America ' s place in the world . " However , liberals have criticized him for his interventionist and imperialist approach to nations he considered " uncivilized " . Conservatives reject his vision of the welfare state and emphasis on the superiority of government over private action . Historians typically rank Roosevelt among the top five presidents . Persona and masculinity . Dalton says Roosevelt is remembered as , " one of the most picturesque personalities who has ever enlivened the landscape . " His friend , historian Henry Adams proclaimed Recent biographers have stressed Roosevelt ' s personality . Cooper compared him with Woodrow Wilson , and discovered both of them played both the roles of warrior and priest . Dalton stressed his strenuous life . Sarah Watts examined the desires of the " Rough Rider in the White House . " Brands calls Roosevelt " the last romantic , " arguing that his romantic concept of life emerged from his belief that " physical bravery was the highest virtue and war the ultimate test of bravery . " TR as the exemplar of American masculinity has become a major theme . As president he repeatedly warned American men that they were becoming too office - bound , too complacent , too comfortable with physical ease and moral laxity , and were failing in their duties to propagate the race and exhibit masculine vigor . French historian Serge Ricard says , " the ebullient apostle of the Strenuous Life offers ideal material for a detailed psycho - historical analysis of aggressive manhood in the changing socio - cultural environment of his era ; McKinley , Taft , or Wilson would perhaps inadequately serve that purpose . " He promoted competitive sports and the Boy Scouts of America , founded in 1910 , as the way forward . Brands shows that heroic displays of bravery were essential to Roosevelt ' s image and mission : Memorials . Roosevelt was included with Presidents George Washington , Thomas Jefferson , and Abraham Lincoln at the Mount Rushmore Memorial , designed in 1927 with the approval of Republican President Calvin Coolidge . For his gallantry at San Juan Hill , Roosevelt ' s commanders recommended him for the Medal of Honor . In the late 1990s , Roosevelt ' s supporters again took up the flag for him . On January 16 , 2001 , President Bill Clinton awarded Theodore Roosevelt the Medal of Honor posthumously for his charge up San Juan Hill , Cuba , during the Spanish – American War . The United States Navy named two ships for Roosevelt : the , a submarine that was in commission from 1961 to 1982 ; and the , an aircraft carrier that has been on active duty in the Atlantic Fleet since 1986 . On November 18 , 1956 , the United States Postal Service released a 6¢ Liberty Issue postage stamp honoring Roosevelt . A second stamp of face value 32¢ was issued on February 3 , 1998 as part of the Celebrate the Century stamp sheet series . In 2008 Columbia Law School awarded a law degree to Roosevelt , posthumously making him a member of the class of 1882 . In Chicago , the city renamed 12th Street to Roosevelt Road four months after Roosevelt ' s death . Theodore Roosevelt Association . The Theodore Roosevelt Association organization was founded in 1919 by friends and supporters of the president originally as the Permanent Memorial National Committee . Soon renamed the Roosevelt Memorial Association ( RMA ) , it was chartered under Title 36 of the United States Code in 1920 . In parallel with the RMA was an organization for women , The Women ' s Theodore Roosevelt Association that had been founded in 1919 by an act of the New York State Assembly . Both organizations merged in 1956 under the current name . This organization preserved Roosevelt ' s papers in a 20 year project , preserved his photos and established four public sites : the reconstructed Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site , New York City , dedicated in 1923 and donated to the National Park Service in 1963 ; Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park , Oyster Bay , Long Island , New York , dedicated in 1928 and given to the people of Oyster Bay ; Theodore Roosevelt Island in the Potomac in Washington , D . C . , given to the federal government in 1932 ; and Sagamore Hill , Roosevelt ' s Oyster Bay home , which opened to the public in 1953 and , together with nearby Old Orchard , home to Theodore Roosevelt Jr . , was donated to the National Park Service in 1963 . The organization has its own web site at http : / / www . theodoreroosevelt . org and maintains a Facebook page at https / / www . facebook . com / pages / Theodore - Roosevelt - Association / 41852696878 In popular culture . Roosevelt ' s 1901 saying " Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick " is still quoted by politicians and columnists in different countries — not only in English but also in translation to various other languages . One lasting popular legacy of Roosevelt is the stuffed toy bears — teddy bear s — named after him following an incident on a hunting trip in Mississippi in 1902 . Roosevelt famously refused to shoot a defenseless black bear . After the cartoonist Clifford K . Berryman illustrated the President with a bear , a toy maker heard the story and named the teddy bear after Roosevelt . Bears and later bear cubs became closely associated with Roosevelt in political cartoons thereafter , despite Roosevelt openly despising being called " Teddy " . On June 26 , 2006 , Roosevelt made the cover of " TIME " magazine with the lead story , " The Making of America — Theodore Roosevelt — The 20th Century Express " : " At home and abroad , Theodore Roosevelt was the locomotive President , the man who drew his flourishing nation into the future . " In 1905 , Roosevelt , an admirer of various western figures , named Captain Bill McDonald of the Texas Rangers , as his bodyguard and entertained the legendary Texan in the White House . Ironically , in the 1912 campaign , McDonald was Woodrow Wilson ' s bodyguard . Wilson thereafter named the Democrat McDonald as U . S . Marshal for the Northern district of Texas . Roosevelt has been portrayed many times in film and on television . Karl Swenson played him in the 1967 western picture " Brighty of the Grand Canyon " , the story of a real - life burro who guided Roosevelt on a hunting trip to find mountain lion s . Brian Keith played Roosevelt in the 1975 film " The Wind and the Lion " . He was also portrayed by actor Tom Berenger in 1997 for the TNT movie " Rough Riders " , a made - for - cable film about his exploits during the Spanish – American War in Cuba . Frank Albertson played Roosevelt in the episode " Rough and Ready " of the CBS series " My Friend Flicka . " " " " Robin Williams portrayed Roosevelt in the form of a wax mannequin that comes to life in " Night at the Museum " and its sequels " " and " " .