Theodore Roosevelt served as President of the United States of America from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt was born into a wealthy family on October 27, 1858 in Manhattan , New York City, NY and was a very sickly child. He died on January 6, 1919 and is buried at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, Cove Neck, New York. Roosevelt's illness as a child is thought to be the reason he became an adventurer and risk-taker as an adult. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Roosevelt ran for governor of New York in 1898 and won in part due to his successful exploits as leader of the "Rough Riders." In 1899, Roosevelt was nominated for vice president by William McKinley and was confirmed by majorities in both the House and Senate (elected November 6, 1900; served as vice president from March to September 1901) (insert quote – mom 2), when the vice president, Garret Hobart, died while in office. Roosevelt then became president after the assassination of President William McKinley and became the youngest president of the United States at the age of forty-two (1901 to 1909). His background before taking public office included: graduating from Harvard, magna cum laude in 1880, and getting married; he attended Columbia Law School, but in 1882 he turned to politics by joining the Republican Party. He was also a prolific writer (articles, speeches and books (over 40 of them from 1882 to 1919). Among the many great things accomplished by our 26th president, the most notable are: Lieutenant Colonel of the Rough Riders (July 1, 1898) Progression of monuments and national parks (1901 – 1909)The Square Deal slogan for his 1906 presidential campaignWinning the Nobel Peace Prize (1906).Creation of the Progressive Party (Bull Moose) – 1912)Construction of the Panama Canal (1903-1914) ). Before Roosevelt's presidency he served in the Navy and worked his way up to Assistant Secretary. When the Spanish War began, many urged Roosevelt to retain his position as Under Secretary of the Navy. Roosevelt ignored the request of his family and colleagues and declared: "...I have always said that if my country ever went to war, I should take part in it, so I will leave tomorrow..." Roosevelt was colonel of the First Cavalry United States volunteer in 1898 in the Spanish-American War. It was nicknamed the Rough Riders. The Rough Riders received membership requests from across the country from men who admired Roosevelt and wanted to serve under him. The Rough Riders were made up of a very diverse group that included college graduates, cowboys, miners, law enforcement, American Jews, and Native Americans. The Rough Riders' most substantial victory was the sweep over San Juan Hill. The Rough knights joined the black soldiers and stormed the hill. The United States lost approximately eighty-nine soldiers to injury and death. The gruesome capture of San Juan caused the Spanish to retreat, and the United States was declared victorious shortly thereafter. Roosevelt's presidency is immortalized on Mount Rushmore as a spectacular reminder of his accomplishments during his term for all who visit Keystone National Monument. , South Dakota (sculptor was Gutzon Borglum). The monument is wonderfully appropriate because Roosevelt spearheaded the creation of many national parks and monuments while in office. Although Ulysses S. Grant was the first president to establish a national park in 1872 (Yellowstone National Park), Theodore Roosevelt's advocacy for nature conservation is one of the most admired.Roosevelt loved the outdoors and spent a lot of time hunting. During his hunting expeditions he often kept notes on the animals he hunted and the surrounding habitat. Roosevelt observed that the resources around him were running out and concluded that humans were the cause. DuringDuring his presidency, the American Antiquities Preservation Act was established in 1906. It stated: "...to declare by proclamation historic monuments, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historical and scientific interest... to be monuments national". To help preserve natural habitats and resources, Roosevelt used this act to create five national parks, eighteen national monuments, four national hunting refuges, 51 bird sanctuaries, and 100 million acres of national forest (National Geographic). Although Roosevelt's obvious passion was the outdoors, he was able to build more monuments than parks because monuments did not require congressional approval. Roosevelt's passion for the outdoors included animals and began when he was very young. Roosevelt learned taxidermy and, at the age of twelve, began donating some of his animals to the American Natural History Museum. Roosevelt ultimately donated a total of 622 birds to the Smithsonian during his lifetime. Roosevelt was also called a “confidence cheat”; a phrase that arose due to Roosevelt's negative sentiment towards the wealthy confidence titans (Wall Street financiers) of industry. It was his belief that too many wealthy citizens felt more important than their elected officials and that the public would start a violent riot if nothing changed. He also wanted to end the monopoly on the big railroad, and later, when the Sherman Anti-Trust Act was enacted, further restrictions on big business occurred. The Square Deal was essentially an oath from President Roosevelt to the American people promising that he would not favor any group of Americans. “A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to receive an honest deal afterwards. No man is entitled to anything more, and no man shall be entitled to anything less.” - Theodore Roosevelt This was the main reason for Roosevelt's Square Deal policy, which was also the slogan of his successful presidential campaign of 1906. Roosevelt's Square Deal policy is easily remembered by summarizing it with the three Cs: Square Deal: Control of Corporations Square Deal: Consumer Protection Square Deal: Natural Resource Conservation. The control of corporations occurred thanks to the “Laissez-Faire” economic system. The current system had no regulations on large or small companies. Laissez-faire dissuaded the government from interfering with businesses and prohibited equitable distribution of wealth. Roosevelt had no legal authority over big business, but he threatened businesses that treated their employees unfairly. In 1903, after a coal strike, Roosevelt created the Department of Commerce and Labor which regulated safe and healthy working conditions for all Americans. Another part of the Square Deal included consumer protections that were enacted after Upton Sinclair's novel “The Jungle.” Roosevelt signed the Meat Inspection Act which mandated federal inspection of the meatpacking industry. The Meat Inspection Act was then followed by the Pure Food and Drug Act which provided: “health standards for slaughterhouses and meat processing plants, authorized the United States Department of Agriculture to conduct continuous monitoring and inspection of operations of slaughter and processing, the mandatory inspection of livestockbefore slaughter and the mandatory post-mortem inspection of each carcass after slaughter”. The last segment of the Square Deal was about conserving natural resources. As previously mentioned, natural resource conservation began with the National Forest Services, the establishment of new national parks and monuments, and bird sanctuaries. Theodore Roosevelt was the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906. Roosevelt's victory was met with much controversy as it was awarded due to the Treaty of Portsmouth. The Treaty of Portsmouth ended the war between Japan and Russia, but Roosevelt was often criticized for being war-hungry and conquering Japan and the Philippines.Roosevelt also wanted America to move forward and progress as a strong nation. He was considered the leader of the progressive movement. Progressivism is often associated with science, engineering, technology, and the social sciences. The Progressive movement focused on modernizing America which included stopping corruption and removing ineffective branches of government. The Bull Moose Party was an alternative name for the progressive movement and came about because there was an attempt on his life during Roosevelt's campaign for president in Milwaukee. After the failed assassination, Roosevelt announced that "...it takes more to kill a Bull Moose...", giving the Progressive Party yet another name by which to be known, the "Bull Moose" Party. The Progressive Party was created to reform the Republican Party in opposition to William Howard Taft's conservative ideals for Republicans. The Progressive Party Platform of 1912 provided a detailed outline of a complete overhaul of the Republican Party; they said their top priority was justice. The following partial list of discussion topics on the party platform gives a good idea of the direction the party was going: “…the old parties, a pact with the people, government by the people, amending the constitution, nation and state, equality suffrage, corrupt practices, advertising and public service, courts. Furthermore, the platform also discussed the administration of justice, social and industrial justice, the Department of Labor, life in the country, the high cost of living, health, business, patents..." The Republican Party was divided between Progressives and Conservatives. When Roosevelt first took office he believed he had to support McKinley's policies and refused to change anyone's position in government. Roosevelt also expanded the future president's power into a legitimate manor and encouraged foreign policy. The Panama Canal was an idea that had been in motion for centuries. Ulysses S. Grant planned expeditions of the territory to see if building a canal was a good investment for the Americans. The French began digging the canal in 1881. The French quickly realized that the risk of disease and death was rampant. Thousands of people died from mosquito-borne diseases. In addition to the deaths and improper hospitalization of patients, fraud was said to be involved in the channel. French investors lost around $287 million. When Theodore Roosevelt took office, he also wanted to take charge of the massive canal project. Roosevelt believed that he could be the one to complete the canal, which would be a boon to the United States for trade and military. When the Americans began to manage the work on the canal, they quickly ran into the same problems as the French. The canal project then took on John Stevens who had overseen the Great Northern Railroad. Stevens has seen the working conditions and has.
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