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Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt
26th President of the United States
September 14, 1901 to March 4, 1909
NE Corner of Main and 9th Streets
Born: October 27, 1858, New York, NY
Died: January 6, 1919, Oyster Bay, NY, age 60
Nickname: “T.R.”
Roosevelt overcame being a sickly child by embracing a strenuous life, and is well remembered for his energetic, cowboy image. After TR attended Harvard, his first historical book, The Naval War of 1812, published in 1882, earned him a reputation as a serious historian. 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. Roosevelt returned to New York City, where he gained attention by fighting police corruption. Effectively running the US Department of the Navy when the Spanish American War broke ou, he resigned and joined the Army to lead a small regiment in Cuba known as the Rough Riders, earning the Medal of Honor.
Returning to New York, he was elected Governor, and 2 years later became Vice President of the United States. When President McKinley was assassinated in 1901, Roosevelt became President at the age of 42. He coined the term “Square Deal” for his domestic agenda of standing up for the average citizen, and the phrase “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” for his foreign policy. He is credited with being the force behind completion of the Panama Canal and for negotiating an end to the Russo-Japanese War, for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize. Declining to run in 1908, he went on safari in Africa. When he returned, he attempted the Presidency again in 1912, establishing a third party, the Bull Moose Party, becoming the only third party candidate to come in second when he lost to Woodrow Wilson. After his loss, he embarked on a major expedition to South America which damaged his health. He has consistently been ranked by scholars as one of the Greatest U.S. Presidents.
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