President
Theodore Roosevelt
Compiled by D. A. Sharpe
President Theodore
Roosevelt (Teddy), the 26th President of the United
States, was born the same year that George Goethals was born (6/29/1858 -
1/21/1928), who is the American army engineer that directed construction of the
Panama Canal.
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Goethals
Published
family biographical sketches of the Roosevelt family indicate President
Theodore Roosevelt was born with that name, but his father was recorded as
Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. I've not noticed the President Roosevelt being
expressed with a "Jr." suffix.
President Theodore
Roosevelt is a fifth cousin to the 32nd President Franklin Delano Roosevelt,
who is my half eighth cousin. So,
Teddy is a cousin to a cousin.
Teddy's other relation to us is through his niece, Eleanor Roosevelt,
who married Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Another way to describe Teddy's relationship is that he is the brother
of the father-in-law of the seventh great grandson of my seventh fifth great
grandmother, Alice Carpenter. Another
way of describing his relationship to us is the he is the brother of father-in-law
of the 7th great grandson of my 7th great grandmother.
Though President Theodore
Roosevelt is not directly related to our first President, General George
Washington, Theodore's relative, Franklin, is related to General Washington as
a 13th cousin, eight times removed.
On July 1, 1898, Theodore
Roosevelt and his ''Rough
Riders'' waged a victorious assault on San Juan Hill in Cuba during the
Spanish American War. He was one of
the most conspicuous heroes of the war
Harry
Seth Sharpe, my grandfather, was a Private in Company L of the Texas Infantry
in the Spanish
American War.
He drew a pension as of November 21, 1927, Certificate #A-8-6-28, Company L, Texas
Infantry. In historic narratives
about the Spanish American War, it is noted that the then Col. Theodore
Roosevelt, the future President of the United States, had a recruiting effort
in San Antonio to garner soldiers for the war effort. Roosevelt's recruiting was at the Menger
Hotel, that gracious old place of hospitality across the street from the famed
Alamo. The recruiting story is
available at the hotel today, where we have visited several times. When my
parents lived in San Antonio in their senior years, the restaurant in the Menger Hotel
was the favorite place of luxury where my mother loved to dine for special
occasions. Though we do not have
information about Harry's recruitment, we believe it most likely took place at
this San Antonio event, as it is reasonably close to Georgetown (about 100
miles) where Harry lived.
After completing his
military work in Cuba, he campaighed for the Office
of Governor of New York, which he won in 1898 by a mere 1% margin. Due to the death of U.S. Vice President
Garret Hobart, Teddy was recruited to assume the Vice Presidency early in
1900. As Vice President, he
ascended to assume the Presidency when President William McKinley was
assassinated.
The first
public Presidential Car Ride was taken by President
Theodore Roosevelt on August 22, 1906.
This was a tour in areas of New England.
President Theodore
Roosevelt first used the term "muck-rake"
as he criticized what he saw as the excesses of investigative journalism in a
speech to the Gridiron Club in Washington on March 17, 1906.
On
the issue of immigration, President Roosevelt had a definite opinion. This is quoted from a 1907 speech: "In the first place, we should
insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American
and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with
everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because
of creed, or birthplace, or origin.
But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an
American, and nothing but an American ... There can be no divided allegiance
here. Any man who says he is an
American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the
American flag ... We have
room for but one language here, and that is the English language ... and we have
room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American
people."
"With the assassination
of President McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, not quite age 43, became
the youngest President in the Nation's history in September,
1901. He was elected in 1904. He served till his term ended January
20, 1909. He brought new
excitement and power to the Presidency, as he vigorously led Congress and the
American public toward progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy.
"He took the view
that the President, as a steward of the people, 'should take whatever action
necessary for the public good, unless expressly forbidden by law or the
Constitution.' I did not usurp
power," he wrote, "but I did greatly broaden the use of executive
power."
"Roosevelt's youth differed
sharply from that of the log cabin Presidents. He was born in New York City in 1858
into a wealthy family, but he, too, struggled --- against ill health --- and,
in his triumph, became an advocate of the strenuous life.
"In 1884 his first
wife, Alice
Lee Roosevelt, and his mother died on the same day. Roosevelt spent much of the next two
years on his
ranch in the Badlands of Dakota Territory. There he mastered his sorrow as he lived
in the saddle, driving cattle, hunting big game --- he even captured an
outlaw. On a visit to London, he
married Edith
Carow in December 1886.
"Boss Tom Platt,
needing a hero to draw attention away from scandals in New York State, accepted
Roosevelt as the Republican candidate for Governor in 1898. Roosevelt won and served with
distinction.
"As President,
Roosevelt held the ideal that the Government should be the great arbiter of the
conflicting economic forces in the Nation, especially between capital and
labor, guaranteeing justice to each and dispensing favors to none.
"Roosevelt emerged
spectacularly as a "trust buster" by forcing the dissolution of a
great railroad combination in the Northwest. Other antitrust suits under the
Sherman Act followed.
"Roosevelt steered
the United States more actively into world politics. He liked to quote a favorite proverb, 'Speak
softly and carry a big stick. . . . ' This actually was a phrase in a speech
he delivered September 2, 1901 at the Minnesota State Fair as Vice President, a
mere 12 days prior to the assassination of President William McKinley.
"Aware of the
strategic need for a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans,
Roosevelt ensured the construction of the Panama Canal. His corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
prevented the establishment of foreign bases in the Caribbean and arrogated the
sole right of intervention in Latin America to the United States.
"He won the Nobel
Peace Prize on December 10, 1906 for mediating the
Russo-Japanese War, reached a Gentleman's Agreement on immigration with Japan,
and sent the Great White Fleet on a goodwill tour of the world."
Source:http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/tr26.html
He
was the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize. It was a prize that began world-wide
awards in 1901. The other of our
family members to win a Nobel Peace Prize was the sixth American to win
it. It was the former Senator from
Minnesota and who was the United States Secretary of State, Frank Billings
Kellogg.
Frank is my half sixth cousin, twice removed to me. I must admit that some of the more
contemporary winners of the Nobel Peace Prize have made me wonder whether the
value of that prize has not depreciated in its meaning.
"Some of Theodore
Roosevelt's most effective achievements were in conservation. He added
enormously to the national forests in the West, reserved lands for public use,
and fostered great irrigation projects.
"He crusaded
endlessly on matters big and small, exciting audiences with his high-pitched
voice, jutting jaw, and pounding fist. 'The life of strenuous endeavor' was a
must for those around him, as he romped with his five younger children and led
ambassadors on hikes through Rock
Creek Park in Washington, D.C.
"Leaving the
Presidency in 1909, Roosevelt went on an African safari, then jumped back into
politics. In 1912, he ran for President on a Progressive ticket. To reporters,
he once remarked that he felt as fit as a bull moose, the name of his new
party."
Source:http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/tr26.html
Theodore Roosevelt also a lifelong
friend to the Jewish people. After
the Spanish-American War, Theodore became New York City Police Commissioner.
During this time, an infamous anti-Semite was scheduled to deliver a
high-profile public address. TheodoreÕs commitment to free speech prevented him
from cancelling the appearance, so instead he assigned the man a security
detail of Jewish police officers.
In 1901, President William McKinley
ran for re-election, with Theodore on the ticket as his VP (McKinleyÕs previous
VP died of heart failure). McKinley won in a landslide, but less than a year
later he was felled by an assassinÕs bullet and Theodore Roosevelt became
President of the United States.
As President, Theodore Roosevelt,
known as TR, was beloved by many American Jews for his outspoken defense of the
persecuted Jews of Russia. In 1903, the brutal Kishniev pogrom led the Jewish
community to rally in support of their endangered brethren. They successfully
lobbied the President to send a letter of protest to the Czar of Russia. The
arrogant Czar refused to even accept TR's letter, which said in part, ÒI need
not dwell upon a fact so patent as the widespread indignation with which the
Americans heard of the dreadful outrages upon the Jews in Kishniev.Ó
Theodore Roosevelt made history by
being the first president to appoint a Jew to a Cabinet position. Oscar Straus
was a well-respected U.S. Ambassador to Ottoman Turkey during the 1880Õs and
90Õs. In 1906, TR reached out to Straus, saying, ÒI donÕt know whether you know
it or not, but I want you to become a member of my Cabinet. I have a very high
estimate of your character, your judgment and your ability, and I want you for
personal reasons. There is still a further reason: I want to show Russia and
some other countries what we think of Jews in this country.Ó
Oscar Straus served as United States
Secretary of Commerce and Labor for the rest of TRÕs term, which ended in 1909.
TR received a Nobel Peace Prize for his valiant efforts to settle the
Russo-Japanese War. He donated a large portion of his proceeds to the National
Jewish Welfare Board.
A passionate Zionist, TR believed in
the Jewish peopleÕs right to a nation state in their ancient homeland, at that
time occupied by Ottoman colonizers. After World War I
he said that Òpeace could only be real when the Armenians and the Arabs were
given their independence, and the Jews given control of Palestine.Ó
The text in red is attributed from the Facebook Page posting 2016-11-16 by the Accidental
Talmudist organization, a non-profit organization in Los Angeles, California
"Despite his
contention that he was 'as fit as a bull moose,' the Republican Party denied
Theodore Roosevelt its nomination for President and, instead, backed incumbent
William Taft. Four years earlier,
Taft was Roosevelt's handpicked successor for the presidency, but the two had a
falling out. Taft called TR a
'dangerous egotist' and a 'demagogue.'
Roosevelt countered by referring to Taft as a 'fathead' and a
'puzzlewit.' William Howard Taft is
the first cousin of the husband of my seventh cousin, once removed, Eleanor
Kellogg Chase.
"With his defeat,
Roosevelt bolted the Republican Party to run under the banner of the
Progressive Party - renamed the Bull Moose Party in his honor. Feeling the pressure, Taft broke with
precedent and became the first President to campaign actively on his own behalf
while in office. The election
turned into a two-way race between Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, with Taft
running a distant third. Roosevelt
called for a 'Square Deal' and would control monopoly by regulating it. Wilson spoke of the 'New Freedom' and
called for the breakup of big business as a means of restoring economic
competition.
"In the end,
Republicans split their vote between Roosevelt and Taft, allowing Wilson to
gain the presidency with a 42% plurality.
Wilson's victory made him only the second Democrat to win the
presidency, since the Civil War.
Taft was humiliated, gaining only 8 electoral votes to Roosevelt's
88."
Source:http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/votr.htm
Roosevelt was "Shot
in the chest while entering an automobile outside the Hotel
Gilpatrick in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by would-be assassin
John Nepomuk Schrank at about 8:00p.m.
Campaigning on the 'Bull Moose' ticket, Roosevelt delivered a 90-minute
speech at the Auditorium in Milwaukee before seeking medical attention. The bullet would never be removed."
Source:http://www.opm.gov/about_opm/tr/phototimeline.asp
President
Roosevelt was a strong outdoors man and hunter. In an account about the Winchester rifle
history, it was reported that "President Teddy Roosevelt was also a
Winchester devotee, using the1895 model on his famous 1909
African safari, which historians credited with boosting the
sale of Winchester sporting rifles."
Source: "Great Days
Outdoors Magazine," March 2006, published monthly by Alan White,
Stapleton, Alabama (www.gdomag.com), page 9
Teddy Roosevelt's tenure
as President ultimately was honored with the naming of a room after him in the
White House. Here's the story:
"The windowless Roosevelt Room occupies
the original site of the president's office when the West Wing was built in
1902. Seven years later, the room
became a part of two waiting rooms when the West Wing was expanded and the Oval
Office was built. When Franklin
Roosevelt relocated the Oval Office from the center of the building to the
southeast corner in 1934, this room received a skylight.Ó
Theodore Roosevelt was a man of Christian faith
and had reverence for the validity of the Bible. Here is a quotation indicating his
faith:
ÒThe teachings of the Bible are so interwoven
and entwined with our whole civic and social life that it would be literally É
I do not mean figuratively, I mean literally ... impossible for us to figure
ourselves what that life would be, if these teachings were removed. We would lose almost all the standards
by which we now judge both public and private morals É all the standards toward
which we, with more-or-less resolution, strive to raise ourselves. Almost every man who has by his
life-work added to the sum of human achievement of which the race is proud É of
which our people are proud É almost every such man has based his life-work
largely upon the teachings of the Bible.Ó
Source:
Bible Society Record (New York: The American Bible Society, 1901), Vol.
46, p. 99, Number 7, ÒVice President Theodore Roosevelt Addresses the Long
Island Bible SocietyÓ
On the
night of January 5, 1919, Roosevelt suffered breathing problems. After
receiving treatment from his physician, Dr. George W. Faller, he felt better
and went to bed. Roosevelt's last words were "Please put out that light,
James" to his family servant James Amos. Between 4:00 and 4:15 the next
morning, Roosevelt died in his sleep at Sagamore Hill after
a blood clot had detached from a vein and traveled to his lungs. He was sixty
years old.
Upon
receiving word of his death, his son Archibald telegraphed his siblings:
"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." Following a private farewell service in the North Room at Sagamore
Hill, a simple funeral was held at Christ Episcopal Church in Oyster Bay. Vice
President Thomas R. Marshall, Charles Evans Hughes, Warren Harding, Henry Cabot
Lodge, and William Howard Taft were among the mourners. The snow-covered
procession route to YoungÕs Memorial Cemetery was
lined with spectators and a squad of mounted policemen who had ridden from New
York City. Roosevelt was buried on a hillside overlooking Oyster Bay.
Data
& Information gathered and composed by:
Cousin
Dwight Albert (D. A.) Sharpe
805
Derting Road East
Aurora,
TX 76078-3712
C: 817-504-6508
FB: Dwight
Albert Sharpe
January
1, 2018