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Teddy Roosevelt
Aug. 16th, 2012 10:30 amLate supper with the History Grad Students Association last night. We discussed musicals (Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote a lot of disturbing stories) and argued about our least favorite presidents.
One girl took a stringently anti-Theodore Roosevelt position, and could not be stirred despite our protestations of his awesomeness. The problem with arguing about Roosevelt is that, if his personality appeals to you, then it's hard to make a dent in that.
I mean, sure he was totally racist, and dabbled in eugenics, and refused to let Geronimo go home when he was old and only wanted to go back to Arizona to die.
But he once got shot by a would-be assassin as he mounted the stage to give a speech, announced to his audience, "I don't know if you realize that I've just been shot," and proceeded with his hour-long speech! Can you say badass?
Moreover, he rescued the American presidency from the malaise that had fallen over it post-Grant, when newspapers and corporations ran the country far more than the government. (William Randolph Hearst liked to boast that his newspaper conglomerate pushed the US into the Spanish-American War.) He busted trusts! (Where's Teddy when we need him?) He reformed the hideously unsanitary meat-packing industry! He created Yellowstone!
And as if that's not enough, he's the only president with a stuffed toy named after him. And he stopped being president because he wanted to go on a safari! And one of his long-suffering aides once commented to a foreign ambassador, as Teddy dragged them out on yet another jaunt, "You must always remember that the President is about six." That infectious enthusiasm and endless curiosity: that's what I find so appealing about Teddy Roosevelt.
I am suddenly surrounded by people who have extremely strong emotions about historical figures. I think this will be glorious.
One girl took a stringently anti-Theodore Roosevelt position, and could not be stirred despite our protestations of his awesomeness. The problem with arguing about Roosevelt is that, if his personality appeals to you, then it's hard to make a dent in that.
I mean, sure he was totally racist, and dabbled in eugenics, and refused to let Geronimo go home when he was old and only wanted to go back to Arizona to die.
But he once got shot by a would-be assassin as he mounted the stage to give a speech, announced to his audience, "I don't know if you realize that I've just been shot," and proceeded with his hour-long speech! Can you say badass?
Moreover, he rescued the American presidency from the malaise that had fallen over it post-Grant, when newspapers and corporations ran the country far more than the government. (William Randolph Hearst liked to boast that his newspaper conglomerate pushed the US into the Spanish-American War.) He busted trusts! (Where's Teddy when we need him?) He reformed the hideously unsanitary meat-packing industry! He created Yellowstone!
And as if that's not enough, he's the only president with a stuffed toy named after him. And he stopped being president because he wanted to go on a safari! And one of his long-suffering aides once commented to a foreign ambassador, as Teddy dragged them out on yet another jaunt, "You must always remember that the President is about six." That infectious enthusiasm and endless curiosity: that's what I find so appealing about Teddy Roosevelt.
I am suddenly surrounded by people who have extremely strong emotions about historical figures. I think this will be glorious.
