Topic: Theodore Roosevelt
Introduction
Theodore Roosevelt was the twenty-sixth President of the United States of America. He was popularly known for his dedication to conversation, environment, domestic policy as well as a range of public works projects like the Panama Canal. He is famed as the first modern president of the United States of America of his role that established the country as the center of world power. He invigorated the executive branch in the domestic together with the foreign arena (Ruffin). It is therefore acknowledged that it was under Roosevelt’s administration that the execution of government policy in the U.S. changed forever. Under him there was modernization of the role of the presidency as well as the conversion of America’s newly established industrial nation into a world power. His achievements continue to resonate through the government and societal beliefs of Americans in present day. These include his revolutionary idea that the federal government has the responsibility to take a prominent role in the implementation of essential programs for the greater benefit of the society.
Career Background of Theodore Roosevelt
Before becoming the twenty-sixth president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt served in a number of public and political posts. He started off by becoming a New York state assemblyman and later became a U.S. civil service commissioner. He later served as president of the board of the New York City Police Department. He also found the National Collegiate Athletic (NCAA) together with the Long Island Bird Club. His additional political experience was gained in his capacity as Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Ruffin).
Theodore Roosevelt was significant to the improvement of the U.S. military especially through his contributions as a research author. He began a systematic study of the role of the nascent US Navy in the War of 1812 while at Harvard University. His carefully researched input was comparable to modern doctoral dissertations as it included drawings of individual ship maneuvers, and charts showing the differences in iron throw weights of cannon shot between British and American forces. Therefore, Theodore Roosevelt was instrumental in making the US Navy for the Spanish-American War besides being and ardent supporter of testing the U.S. military in combat (Ford). The Naval War of 1812 book remains a standard study if the war and thus continues to be reprinted in modern day.
Roosevelt was vice-presidential running mate to the Republic presidential candidate William McKinley in 1900, a contest which they were triumphant. Ten months later, Theodore Roosevelt became president following the assassination of President McKinley by anarchist Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, New York. Roosevelt was sworn as president in September 14, 1901 at the of 42. He took office at the youngest age of any United States President in history.
Significance of Theodore Roosevelt
The significance of President Theodore Roosevelt in the United States was brought about by his forceful personality. He is noted have an exuberant personality – he had strong virtues of honesty and efficiency in politics, virtues of consideration and fair dealing in business. As such his moral integrity coupled with concern for fairness endeared him to the people, making him a champion of the common person besides being a media magnet (Ford). He is also famous because of this “Square Deal” in which he described his domestic agenda that emphasized on average citizen getting a fair share under his policies. On the world stage, Roosevelt was significant for his policies that were characterized by his slogan of “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” He was the brain behind the Great White Fleet that toured the world to demonstrate the American power.
The effort by Roosevelt to have the government involved in the social welfare along with fair business practices was a very innovative idea which made American history to unfold with Progressive reform in domestic policy (Banks). He is known for promotion of the Pendleton Act in which he helped replace the spoils of political appointment with a more significant merit system that relied on the ability of a person for a given job. He was a president with charismatic persuasive skills and use of the the press that he employed in pressuring the Congress to implement important programs. His foreign policy was based on the open trade of American goods worldwide, and a powerful defense system as well as U.S. arbitration over war as an issue of America’s global moral duty (Ruffin).
However, his greatest significance can be said to be his successful negotiations to end the Russo-Japanese War, an effort that ultimately won him a first Nobel Peace Prize to an American in any field. He was also posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions, especially his leadership of the Rough Riders in 1898.
Summary
During his political lifetime, Roosevelt established himself as a champion of truth, honesty, as well as environmental conversation. In all his positions of leadership, he made sure to exhaust all resources available to him to fight corruption, along with preserving the natural resources of wonders of the United States. President Theodore Roosevelt fought for laws to manage how large corporations conducted their business (Banks). He brought about protection for the environment by setting aside massive land for the creation of parks, national forests, as well as game preserves. The President also takes credit for the construction of the Panama Canal, which is a waterway in Central America that was and still is central to the trade and military interests of the United States.
References:
Banks, E. Charles. Theodore Roosevelt: Typical American. New Jersey, Digital Antiquaria, 2004.
Ford, Gentile, Nancy. The Great War and America: civil-military relations during World War I. California, ABC-CLIO, 2008.
Ruffin, E. Frances. How to draw the life and times of Theodore Roosevelt. New York, The Rosen
