Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Carried a gun for personal protection, even while President
Wife had a tennis court built on White House grounds for him (White House was restored while he was in office. He lived elsewhere during this renovation). He played year round and "forced" others to play with him, including Cabinet members. The court was just south of the West Wing, but was later moved to its current location.
The Teddy Bear was named after him because he once went bear hunting in Mississippi but after a few days was unable to find a bear to kill. Finally, some of the men with Roosevelt felt sorry for him so they wounded a bear to be brought to Roosevelt so that Roosevelt could have the "honor" of actually shooting and killing it. But Roosevelt refused and ordered the bear to be put out of its misery with a blow to the head.
. he had 5 pairs of eyeglasses shot off his face, but he had as many more spare pairs stashed in the crown of his hat.
That seems rather difficult to believe. I could accept one miraculous case of his glasses being shot off without any damage to his face, but five times in one action?
While he certainly had many positive traits, he was also a devout eugenicist. Such beliefs weren't necessarily uncommon at the time, but reading some of his quotes on the matter (easily found on the internet), leaves me feeling a bit uneasy about him.
Is eugenecist the right term? He certainly had prejudices, but he firmly believed that any race could become the equal of whites. The races were unequal in his view, but he didn't believe they always would be. I tend to think of his prejudices as more forgivable because of that fact. He accepted there was a future for equality.
That seems rather difficult to believe. I could accept one miraculous case of his glasses being shot off without any damage to his face, but five times in one action?
What is your source for this story?
LOL I agree.
By the way, I read today that at his inauguration Roosevelt wore a ring that had one of Abe Lincoln's hairs on it. Not sure how accurate this is, but I do know Teddy thought of Abe as his hero.
Until recently, like Ulysses S. Grant, Roosevelt record of achievements with regards to Civil Rights has been largely under-recognized or appreciated by the general public. Both Presidents were way a head of their times and deserve as much recognition as any president other than Lincoln himself and that includes FDR, Truman, Kennedy or Johnson.
Is eugenecist the right term? He certainly had prejudices, but he firmly believed that any race could become the equal of whites. The races were unequal in his view, but he didn't believe they always would be. I tend to think of his prejudices as more forgivable because of that fact. He accepted there was a future for equality.
Where did you read/learn that he saw the races as unequal?
It's true.
During his time as deputy sheriff, he once set off after 3 cattle rustlers in the dead of winter alone. He found them and got the drop on them, then commandeered a rowboat to transport them downriver to the closest jail. He sat in the stern of the boat with a rifle trained on them for the next 36 hours without sleeping while they took turns rowing the boat.
Roosevelt was a sickly child in a robust family, and devoted himself to becoming healthy, strong and full of stamina. He sought out hard tough men like him all his life, and constantly created challenges for himself that were intentionally daunting. Buying his S. Dakota ranch was one. While many weathly easterners bought ranches in the west as investments with romantic attachments, Roosevelt wanted to prove to himself that he was the equal of the toughest men of the west, and he accomplished gaining high respect from the cowboys who worked for him and the region's other ranchers. In a time when money could buy a ranch but not respect from the men who worked on it, Roosevelt was the real deal. He was never the most skilled range hand, but he was always participating in the hardest work and always stuck with the job to the very end.
This respect was the foundation for the Rough Riders. The regiment's non-commissioned officers were all his former employees or old friends from the west, and cowboys constituted half the regiment. The other half were all young men from the blueboooded families of New York and high society, out to prove themselves the equals to the cowboys. Only Roosevelt, who was equally at home in either group, could have put such a regiment together.
The Rough Riders were a cavalry unit, but never served as cavalry. They fought as infantry, and the battle of San Juan hill was as fierce a fight as had ever been fought in any of our previous wars. It was the bloodiest battle of that war, and the Spanish were all well equipped with better weaponry than the Americans. San Juan hill was actually a running ridge with promontories. The Rough Riders actually captured Kettle hill, then turned and assisted in the assault on San Juan.
While most of the troops who took San Jaun were black Buffalo Soldiers, the Americans had 5 times more casualties than the Spanish, but the Spanish lost more men to the fighting. Most of the American casualties came from lack of water and heat exhaustion. The Americans all wore heavy wool uniforms in the 100+ heat, and the assault was a steep and very prolonged fight. The Rough Riders lost a lot of men on Kettle Hill, and the fighting there went hand to hand at the summit. Many of the cowboys and their socialite comrades were buried side by side in a New York cemetery.
Roosevelt is the only President to hold a Medal of Honor. It was awarded posthumously for his actions by President Clinton. He was mounted partway through the battle which made him an easy target. he had 5 pairs of eyeglasses shot off his face, but he had as many more spare pairs stashed in the crown of his hat.
On most of what is bolded I'm going to disagree with you. The New York 24th Infantry (which was an all colored unit) with remnants of the 13th, 16th and 24th New York Regulars are the ones that took San Juan Hill. Credit for the charge is due to a Lieutenant Colonel Wiley, chief of staff to General Schaefer, Gen's Hawkins and Wheeler. At one point Roosevelt and his Roughriders had to be rescued by Lieutenant Pershing and the 10th Cavalry. This is from my great grandfather's diary who was a member of the New York 16th Regulars, he received the presidential citation for his actions at San Juan Hill and he is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. I am in possession of his diary. By the way, there were no horses at the charge of San Juan Hill.
Interesting and disturbing. I know some folks say his views of race are excusable because of the times, but he was so far ahead of his time in so many other areas, it's really disappointing to learn that he was a racist.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
