FREE ESSAY ON TEDDY ROOSEVELT

TEDDY ROOSEVELT

Ascension To The White House
As Governor of New York, Roosevelt would once again stand on his own and distance himself
from the political bosses and machines that got him elected. The head of the Republican
machine, Thomas Platt, had misgivings about making Roosevelt governor of New York because
of Roosevelt's total independence and his reform nature. But in the gubernatorial race of
1898, with the bad press the Republican Party was receiving, there seemed to be no one
else who had a chance. Roosevelt was riding the crest of the wave of being a true war
hero, and with Platt's help together they might keep the Democrats from winning the
office. Platt in return for his help expected Roosevelt to let him make the appointments
and carry the party line. Roosevelt had no intentions of being Platt's puppet, and as
soon as he got in office the two would begin to battle. Roosevelt had to be careful,
because to totally alienate Platt would cripple his chances to go any further politically
or even threaten his chances to be reelected governor. Roosevelt made his point by
declining to appoint Platt's first suggested appointee. After making his point, however,
Roosevelt tried to work with the Republican boss to the extent of not abandoning his own
principals. Platt for his part could not toss the war hero out on his ear in 1900, but at
the same time, he wanted to find a way to gracefully get Roosevelt out of his hair. 
Platt's opportunity to get rid of Roosevelt came with the approach of the presidential
election of 1900. McKinley was discretely looking for a new running mate to replace
Hobart in the upcoming election. It was fairly obvious that the Democrats would choose
William Jennings Bryan as their candidate of choice again, and McKinley would need a
fiery speaking running mate to offset Bryan's oratory abilities. McKinley would simply
sit back and look Presidential while his running mate would attack Bryan. Hobart was not
a gifted orator, and this decision to replace him became all that much easier when he
died just prior to the national Republican convention. Mark Hanna had run McKinley's
campaign in 1896 and wanted nothing to do with Roosevelt in 1900. Platt on the other hand
saw his opportunity to get rid of Roosevelt at the same time saving face in his own home
state of New York. The men of the west deeply distrusted Mark Hanna, and loved Roosevelt,
so a vote for Roosevelt would both serve to promote their hero, while at the same time
taking a shot at Hanna. 
Roosevelt for his part did not want the Vice Presidency, but instead he wished to be
reelected as governor of New York. As time went by, it became more and more apparent that
Platt did not want Roosevelt to remain in office and that, even if nominated, he would
have a tough time being reelected. From Roosevelt's perspective, the governor's job paid
much better than that of Vice President, plus the work of governor was more exciting.
Roosevelt knew that the position of Vice President was one of obscurity, and judging from
history wasn't the best approach to the White House. However, the Vice Presidency was
still better than no job at all so when the nomination came he was happy to except it.
Platt had arranged things so well, that by the time the convention rolled around, Hanna
could do nothing to stop Roosevelt's nomination. Hanna was furious at the convention
believing that the rest of the party had gone mad. When someone asked Hanna what was the
matter, he retorted, Matter! Matter! Why, everybody's going headlong for Roosevelt for
Vice President. Don't any of you realize that there's only one life between that madman
and the Presidency? Hanna then threw in the towel and made the nomination of Roosevelt
for Vice President unanimous. 
As the campaign began to wind up, Roosevelt consulted Hanna on what his part should be in
the election. Roosevelt was sent west to canvass the men with whom he connected so well.
Roosevelt played a successful role in the election, and McKinley won by a bigger majority
then he had in 1896. 
A problem arose when Roosevelt's press and popularity began to rival that of the
President himself. Jealousy raised its ugly head on the part of McKinley, and Roosevelt
would need to find a way to play second fiddle and not to upstage the boss. Immediately
after the election Roosevelt headed west for a hunting trip to try to lay low. While
hunting cougar and lynx the dogs had managed to tree a mountain lion. As Roosevelt and
his guide approached on horseback the cat, more afraid of them then the dogs, leaped from
the tree and took off again. Finally the dogs managed to tree the big cat again. This
time when the hunters approached and the cat leaped from the tree the dogs caught it and
began to fight with the mountain lion. The dogs were taking a beating from the big cat,
but were relentlessly going in again and again. Roosevelt not wanting to shoot one of the
dogs, but also wanting to keep the cat from inflicting any more damage on them jumped in
with a knife and stabbed the big cat behind the shoulder thrusting the blade into the
heart and killing it. Roosevelt wrote home to his son Ted, I have always wished to kill a
cougar as I did this one, with dogs and the knife. The story received so much press that
again he was upstaging his boss. For his part, if he wished to be president in 1904, he
would have to forego the hunting trips for fear of outshining the boss and losing favor
with the party. 
President By Assassination
As the events played out it would not take Roosevelt until 1904 to ascend to the
Presidency. The assassin's bullet would bring down McKinley at the Pan-American
Exposition at Buffalo. The anarchist, Leon Czolgosz, approached McKinley and shot him.
The surgeons who worked on him decided not to use the newly invented X-ray machine, which
was on display at the exposition. Instead they repaired the holes in his stomach and
hoped for his recovery. Roosevelt, upon receiving the news, came to the President's side
in Buffalo, but left to go on a family vacation in the Adirondacks when it appeared that
the President was out of the woods. On September 12th Roosevelt, while eating lunch on
his decent down a mountain, caught site of a man coming out of the woods on the trail
down below. By his appearance it was at once obvious that this man was no ordinary hiker.
Roosevelt knew that he was the bearer of bad news. They returned to the cabin, and later
in the evening when the news reached that the situation was grave, Roosevelt headed out
in the dark with a driver in a wagon bound for Buffalo. Before he could reach Buffalo
McKinley was dead. Roosevelt was given a briefing and rushed by train to Buffalo. He
would have to pay the respects of the nation to the fallen President. At 1:30 in the
afternoon of September 13th he arrived at where McKinley's body lay. He met with the
cabinet and took the oath of office. Theodore Roosevelt became the twenty-sixth president
of the United States. 
In replacing McKinley in light of the current catastrophe, Roosevelt wanted to reassure
the nation that not all was lost, that the anarchists would not overthrow the government,
and that the country would go on. He sought not to rock the boat, but promised to pick up
the mantle where McKinley had left it. As part of carrying on Roosevelt left the cabinet
which McKinley had selected in place and followed through with many other appointees
which McKinley had in the works. The nation was in the midst of an economic recovery, and
TR did not want to do anything to disrupt it. 
Roosevelt like most other public officials enjoyed the thrill of power. As President TR
sought to redefine the authority of the office of chief executive. Unlike most of his
predecessors, who believed that the President should only perform tasks granted by the
Constitution, Roosevelt inverted this and believed that the President should do
everything in his power for the people, except what was strictly forbidden by the
Constitution. He thus did a great deal to expand the powers of the Chief Executive. 
Trust Busting
The first major issue that would command the full attention of the new President and much
of the news of the day was the issue of trust busting. In 1895 the Supreme Court laid the
groundwork for TR's battle by ruling in the Knight case that the American Sugar Refining
Company's monopoly of sugar production could not legally be stopped by Congress since
Congress only had the authority to regulate interstate commerce. It ruled that the
American Sugar Refining Company only marginally dealt in commerce. With the doors thus
open many mergers were taking place in the nation forming huge monopolistic trusts. For
his part Theodore Roosevelt did not feel that all of these trusts were bad, only those
who sought to gain wealth through taking advantage of the people. Those corporations,
which kept as their goal the purpose of furthering the common good, would be left alone
to make an honest profit. One such company which Roosevelt felt must be taken on was the
Northern Securities Company. This holding company had formed under Roosevelt's watch, and
had bought up most of the railroads of the Northwest. Roosevelt's prior bad feelings in
dealings with the railroads as a cattleman didn't help the Northern Securities chances of
avoiding his watchful eyes. What made this case different from the Knight case was the
obvious fact that the railroads dealt constantly in interstate commerce, thereby falling
under the Sherman Act. It didn't hurt the fact that before this case could come before
the Supreme Court Roosevelt would have the chance to appoint a new judge to fill a
vacancy. His selection of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. helped to decide the case in favor
of Roosevelt and the government. His attack on the Northern Securities Company in
February of 1902 sent a chill through Wall Street. Roosevelt knew that he must be careful
in his dealings, because as a Republican, he would certainly need the help of big
business to get reelected. J.P. Morgan, the man behind the Northern Securities Company,
paid a visit to the White House to ensure that Roosevelt was not planning to attack all
of his interests. He left assured that Roosevelt would only attack those that he deemed
were doing something wrong. With this assurance a real panic on Wall Street was avoided.
To regulate much of the trust issues the Roosevelt Administration began the Department of
Commerce and Labor and within that department the Bureau of Corporations. 
The Philippines
Not all of Roosevelt's problems in his first year in office were of a domestic nature. As
a strong nationalist, Roosevelt believed that the United States should hold on to the
Philippines, which had been taken during the Spanish American war. Many in the nation
were still clamoring that the Philippines should be given its independence. Roosevelt
believed it was the moral duty of the United States to hang on to the Philippines until
the Filipinos could be brought to a higher standard of civilization and self-government.
This issue, however, came to a head when it was revealed that American military
authorities in the Philippines had been engaging in all kinds of horrific torture in
order to keep the rebels down. Ironically these tortures were far worse then the ones the
Spanish had inflicted on the Cuban's which had TR screaming for Cuban independence before
the Spanish American War. Roosevelt would not change his nationalistic view of the
Philippines, but he did see that justice was brought against those responsible for the
torture. 
The Coal Strike
In the spring of 1902 Roosevelt again faced a problem which would gain the attention of
the nation, and more importantly of the big business interests. For the second time in
two years the coal miners under the leadership of John Mitchell would go out on strike,
protesting the poor work conditions and salaries of the coal miners. Roosevelt watched
the situation carefully, but didn't believe that Constitutionally he could do a thing
about the situation. Mark Hanna, the man behind McKinley had stepped in only two years
earlier and convinced the owners of the mine to give the miners a 10 percent raise, and
thus avoid the more chilling thought of William Jennings Bryan, the Great Commoner, in
the White House. The settlement two years prior had made neither side happy, so when
Roosevelt approached Hanna to work out another deal, both sides flatly refused. 
The economic and political ramifications of the coal strike could prove to be disastrous
to Roosevelt. If he sided with the coal miners, he could further alienate the big
business men whom he would need to gain the presidency of his own accord in 1904. Yet,
with coal being the main source of fuel in the nation at that time, to let it go on could
shut down the nation economically and have many Americans suffering from the cold if the
strike dragged on into the winter. Roosevelt decided to try to bring the two parties
together, with himself being the mediator. After this first meeting, Roosevelt quickly
realized that John Mitchell was the level headed one, and that the coal operators were
pig headed and arrogant. The talks quickly broke down, and Roosevelt knew that he must
come up with an alternative plan to get the owners to come to their senses. As luck would
have it, one of the operators wrote a letter, which was published, in which he described
the operators of the mines as ordained by God to manage the mines in the way they saw
fit. Being thus ordained by God, the miners should accept the terms of the operators as
the very will of God. This letter which mysteriously came into print served to outrage
the public against the operators. Roosevelt also laid plans with General J.M. Schofield
to be prepared to take over and run the mines should the need arise. These plans were
also mysteriously leaked to the operators, and they instantly became far more willing to
negotiate. The operators of the mines thus agreed to binding arbitration by a panel of
experts. Here also there was a sticking point. The operators wished to have the panel
stacked in their favor. The minors as expected rejected the panel as presented by the
operators, but came back with an alternative panel. This offer the operators flatly
refused. After pushing the operators very hard, Roosevelt finally got a panel, which was
satisfactory to both sides and the crisis was averted. 
With the Congressional elections of 1902 quickly approaching Roosevelt would once again
take to the stump to further the cause of the Republican Party. Not only would the
election of Republicans make his work as President easier, it would also indirectly show
if the people of the nation were behind his policies as President. A poor showing by
Republicans would no doubt be construed as a vote against Roosevelt. This campaign
however almost proved to be fatal for the President. On September 3, 1902 while traveling
in a carriage with the Governor of Massachusetts and his private secretary George
Cortelyou, the carraige was struck by an out-of-control trolley car. The impact instantly
killed on of Roosevelt's bodyguards, and badly injured Roosevelt's leg. After a short
rest at Oyster Bay, he once again attempted to take to the campaign trail. The leg
quickly became infected, and emergency surgery became necessary to save his leg, and
possibly his life. After the surgery, Roosevelt was forced to rest and confined to a
wheelchair for several weeks. 
The Big Stick
Before the end of 1902 another international crisis would face Roosevelt and the nation.
Germany was a nation on the rise, and looking to expand their commercial base. Germany
had thus opened a line of credit to several of the South American countries. The problem
arose when Venezuela, under the leadership of Cipriano Castro, decided not to pay back
the loans owed to Germany, using the loans as a rallying cry for national unity. The
Germans wanting their money with the help of the British, who were also owed money, set
up a blockade around Venezuela. Roosevelt believed that the rebellious South American
country deserved a good spanking, but the thought of the Germans gaining a foothold in
South America gave Roosevelt cause for alarm. Under the Monroe Doctrine, the United
States had set the Americas off limits to the Europeans and Roosevelt with all of his
national pride could not back down to the European intervention. Kaiser Wilhelm III
intended to send German troops ashore to occupy the land temporarily until the Venezuela
came up with the money. Roosevelt did not trust the Kaiser and recommended that the
Germans resolve the problem through arbitration. The Germans refused arbitration and
insisted that the occupation would only be temporary. What temporary meant was any one's
guess, but Roosevelt didn't intend to find out. Roosevelt sent word to Admiral Dewey to
assemble the battle fleet for 'maneuvers' near Puerto Rico and to be ready at a moments
notice for Venezuela. Roosevelt then informed the German ambassador, Theodor von
Hollenben, that if the Germans did not seek arbitration with Venezuela that he would send
in the American fleet to insure that the Germans would not occupy Venezuela. The
ambassador then asked Roosevelt if he were aware of the consequences of that move, with
Roosevelt assuring him that he was. A week passed with no response. When finally the
ambassador met again with Roosevelt their conversation came to a close with no comment on
the response from Germany on Roosevelt's statement. When Roosevelt asked the ambassador
if he had a response from his government the von Hollenben said that he did not.
Roosevelt then informed him that in that case he would step up the time table twenty-four
hours from his original schedule and occupy Venezuela with the American fleet. This
certainly got the ambassador's attention and shortly before the deadline a response came
from the Kaiser that indeed they would seek arbitration in the Venezuela matter. The
arbitration occurred at the Hague and once again a national conflict was avoided by
Roosevelt's use of the 'Big Stick.' 
Panama Canal
In 1903 Roosevelt turned his attention to the Isthmian Canal. The main issue was which
route would the canal take. One proposed route was through Panama and the other through
Nicaragua. Panama at the time was under the government control of Colombia. Over the past
several decades, however, the Panamanians had revolted scores of times seeking their
independence from Colombia. The Colombians over the last few years only maintained
control through the help of the U.S. fleet. With the debate raging in the U.S. over which
site to choose, both countries were courting the U.S. to choose their site. A volcano in
Nicaragua may have been the final straw in making the choice for Panama. At the
Pan-American Congress in Mexico the Colombian delegate signed the Hay-Herran Treaty to
insure that Panama would be the site. 
The Republic of Colombia was under the control of a dictator, J.M. Maroquin, who had
seized power in July of 1900. At the time he had been elected Vice-President, but assumed
office when he had the President M. A. Sanclamente killed. In 1903 the French Panama
Company had rights to build a canal through Panama. The U.S., however, prior to the
Hay-Herran Treaty worked with the French Panama Company and signed the Hay-Pauncefote
treaty in order to get rights to build the canal. The U.S. Hay-Herran treaty offered the
payment of $250,000 a year plus a $10 million dollar signing bonus to give the U.S.
control of a six mile wide strip of land for ninety-nine years. This treaty would need to
be ratified by both countries before the digging could begin. To Roosevelt's surprise the
Colombian government rejected the treaty. It was believed that Maroquin wanted to try to
squeeze more money from the Americans and thus created a puppet Congress to reject the
legislation. The puppet Congress suggested that the U.S. wait another year before the
Congress would reconvene and possibly ratify the treaty. The Colombians wanted to wait
another year, because by that time the French Panama Company would have to forfeit its
rights to build the canal, thus leaving more money for the government of Colombia. 
Roosevelt was outraged by this and began to think of other plans. The Panamanians still
seeking there independence from Colombia saw a golden opportunity in the Colombian
rejection of the treaty. Roosevelt received information that the Panamanians might again
be ready to revolt. Once again U.S. warships were sent to Panama only this time they were
sent to protect the insurgents. Panama declared its independence and the United States
immediately recognized their independence. A treaty was signed with Panama and the U.S.
began construction of the Panama Canal. In November of 1906 Roosevelt would break
precedence by going to Panama to inspect the work of the canal and thus become the first
sitting President to leave American soil. 
The 1904 election was very important to Roosevelt. His ascent to the Presidency was
through the death of McKinley, and he desperately wanted to win the prize of his own
accord. His Democratic counterpart was New York jurist Alton Parker. Parker and the
Democrats attacked the Republicans saying that they were shaking down the large trusts to
get the financial backing they needed to carry on the campaign. In the end the election
did not wind up being close as Roosevelt received 7.6 million votes to Parker's 5.1
million. In the electoral college Parker only received 140 votes to Roosevelt's 336. The
most shocking thing about the entire election was TR's statement on election night that
he would not run for a third term. The statement would come back to haunt him in later
years, but in 1908 he remained true to his promise. 
In 1904 a war broke out between Japan and Russia. The Japanese defeated the Russians
early using a sneak attack (the same approach they would use years later against the
Americans in World War II). The Japanese continued to win victory after victory, but the
Russians were not seeking peace. They instead counted on their Baltic battle fleet to
deliver a decisive blow to the Japanese fleet. A decisive blow was given, but not by the
Russians. The Japanese fleet annihilated this Russian force in May of 1905. The Japanese
for their part had won significant gains and sought a quick peace so as not to bring on
the ire of the rest of the European nations. The Russians after the defeat of their
Baltic fleet understood they would not be able to win back what was already lost. Both
sides looked for peace, but the terms of that peace would be the sticking point. 
The Japanese, not wanting to look like they were looking for peace, quietly came to
Roosevelt asking him to approach the Russians about a peace. The czar also not wanting to
appear to be seeking peace, also agreed to come to the table. Both sides wanting the
peace table to be in Washington and not at the Hague with Roosevelt himself as the
mediator. Because of the heat in Washington during the summer months, Roosevelt had the
negotiations moved to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. 
The primary problem was that each side had over zealous expectations as to what to get
out of the peace. The Russians for their part did not want to pay any indemnity to the
Japanese even though a defeat of that nature would have required it. The Japanese had
promised their people at home a large indemnity and it would be difficult for them to
save face with their people returning home with less. 
Roosevelt worked both sides trying to get them closer together. The Japanese accepted
Roosevelt's suggestion to change the terms of the agreement from indemnity to a payment
for the transfer of control of lands to ease the language and help the czar safe face,
but the Russians would have nothing to do with this. Nicolas had fears of revolution from
his own people, and felt that showing any weakness toward the Japanese would push the
revolutionaries over the edge. Roosevelt also worked on the Japanese by insisting that
holding up the peace negotiations over an indemnity might cost them more in the long run
due to the expense of the war. Roosevelt also appealed to the Japanese high moral
standard in the advent of them being a world leader to bring peace. At the same time,
Roosevelt appealed to the British, who had much closer ties to Japan, to put pressure on
the Japanese. 
Roosevelt appealed to the German Kaiser to speak with the czar in order to get the czar
to move on the issues. Roosevelt hoped that the Kaiser, whom the czar trusted, would be
far more convincing than anything which came from Washington, of whom the czar did not
trust. Finally the Japanese agreed to drop all thoughts of receiving any indemnity,
realizing that Roosevelt was right that it would in the long run cost them more to
continue the war. In the end, Roosevelt persevered and brought peace to the region. For
his part in the Russo-Japanese Treaty Roosevelt would win a Nobel Peace Prize in 1906,
becoming the first American to win any Nobel Prize.