Who Was Theodore Roosevelt?

He was only 42 years old when he was sworn in as President of the United States in 1901, making TR the youngest president ever. But did you know that he was also the first sitting president to win the Nobel Peace Prize? The first to ride in a car? The first to fly in an airplane?

Who Was Theodore Roosevelt?

Michael Burgan, Illustrated by Jerry Hoare.

Grosset & Dunlap

2014

Abstract

Theodore Roosevelt’s achievements as a naturalist, hunter, explorer, author, and soldier are as much a part of his fame as any office he held as a politician. Find out more about The Bull Moose, the Progressive, the Rough Rider, the Trust Buster, and the Great Hunter who was our larger-than-life 26th president in Who Was Theodore Roosevelt?

Theodore Roosevelt?

On October 14, 1912, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, crowd eagerly waited to hear Theodore Roosevelt speak. Roosevelt had served as president of the United States several years before, and he was campaigning once again for his old job.

His speech was written on fifty pages of paper that he had folded and stuck in his upper jacket pocket. Outside his hotel, Roosevelt never saw the saloonkeeper who approached him with a gun drawn. Someone in the crowd did see the gun and pushed the would-be assassin’s arm away, just as the trigger was pulled. The shooter fired once and Roosevelt fell to the ground, but quickly rose. He did not know he had been hit until someone noticed a hole in his overcoat. When he reached inside his coat, he realized he had been wounded. The bulky, folded speech in his pocket, along with the steel case for his glasses, saved his life.

Although he was bleeding, Roosevelt insisted that he give the speech. The crowd could not believe that he would continue to speak rather than go to the hospital after being shot. But Roosevelt told them, “It takes more than that to kill a bull moose.”

“Bull Moose” was just one of the nicknames Theodore Roosevelt earned during his long career in politics. Some of the others were Teedie, TR, Teddy (a nickname he hated), and the Trust Buster. But Bull Moose was a good choice for a man who was physically strong and who was always determined to do things his way.

“I care not what others think of what I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do! That is character!” he famously said. The Bull Moose was certainly a man of great character.

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