Teddy Roosevelt Part I: The early years

Teddy Roosevelt, during his Medora days.

In 2015 my wife, Jean and I were privileged to join family and friends to take part in a cruise, marking the 100th Anniversary of the Panama Canal. The trip was sponsored by the Medora Foundation and called attention to the close relationship that Theodore Roosevelt had with North Dakota, and his part in making the Panama Canal a reality. As a way of introducing Joe Wiegand/T.R. to McCook [see photo, page 1], we would like to take another look at Teddy Roosevelt, his life, his time in the West, his experience in Cuba, the Presidency, and The Panama Canal. From the Archives

Each summer the little town of Medora, in the Badlands of Western North Dakota, becomes the destination of choice for thousands of tourists. Medora is located on Interstate #94, on the route from Minnesota to the Black Hills. It is also billed as the Gateway to Roosevelt National Park. But the main attraction of the restored Old West Town is that it once was the home of Teddy Roosevelt, and its citizens have banded together to let visitors have a good time while they learn about Teddy Roosevelt, the old west, and Medora in bygone days. There are the usual quaint shops, old time saloons and restaurants, and horseback trail rides, and especially, as it has been for 40 years, the musical revue, "The Best Show in the West". This is a top-notch variety show, with a very talented troupe of boys and girls, plus varied headliners from the Broadway stage, who change monthly during the season. The show is a lot of fun, and during the course of the evening, the audience learns a lot about President Teddy Roosevelt.

Roosevelt was probably the most unlikely cowboy that ever rode a horse. He was born in a 4-story brownstone house in New York City in 1858. The Roosevelts were an influential family, and very wealthy (hardware, glass importing, real estate). They had been in New York State since the 17th Century, and were confidants and supporters of George Washington, in the Revolutionary War and Abraham Lincoln, in the Civil War. The Roosevelt family was probably as close to royalty as we get in the US.

As a youth, Theodore was a sickly child, so asthmatic that he had to sleep propped up in a chair most nights. In addition to asthma, he was bothered by a long list of other ailments, to the extent that he rarely ventured outside during his first years. However, there was nothing the matter with his mind, and he became a voracious reader, with a special interest in zoology.

But, far from pampering his son, Theodore's father encouraged the boy to exercise, to combat his poor health. Always anxious to please his father, Theodore took up exercise with enthusiasm and gradually got better. When Theodore was bothered by bullies his father hired a local boxing champion to teach his son the manly art of boxing. He loved boxing and mastered that sport., which not only enabled him to solve the bullying problem, but he got so he enjoyed sparring with professionals, including World Champion, John L. Sullivan, even after he was in the White House. Years after, TR admitted that when he was only 30 years old he had taken a blow to his left eye that had permanently blinded that eye. Thankfully, it was his left eye---he could still shoot.

When it came time for college Theodore took the physical exam for admission to Harvard. He was told that he suffered from a heart defect and should plan on a desk job, free from stress, as his life's work. Instead, he chose an active life, and at Harvard was a member of the rowing team and the boxing team (runner-up in the school championship), in addition to excelling in his academic studies.

After Columbia Law School Roosevelt tried his hand at politics and was elected to the New York State Assembly. He married a beautiful girl, Alice Lee, and life seemed good, with a promising future. However, in 1884 his mother passed away, and on the very same day his wife, Alice, died in childbirth, delivering their daughter, Alice. Roosevelt wrote a touching tribute to his wife, and then put that part of his life into the past. He never mentioned his wife, Alice, again, much to the regret of the family.

After his twin tragedies, Roosevelt effectively withdrew from the world in which he grew up. He was disillusioned with politics and burdened with his personal grief. He decided to go to the North Dakota Badlands, where he bought a ranch near the boomtown of Medora, on the banks of the Little Missouri. He took considerable abuse from the natives over his very correct Eastern speech, his eyeglasses (Old Four Eyes his neighbors called him), and his high moral standards, but he learned to ride western style and to rope and hunt, while mastering the basics of the ranching business. Gradually, he earned the grudging respect and admiration of the cowboys, with whom he lived and worked.

Never one to let time waste, in his spare time at the ranch, Roosevelt began to write stories of the frontier life, which he sold to the Eastern magazines. He also became a deputy sheriff. In this capacity, he captured a gang of thieves who had stolen his river boat, and delivered his prisoners to the jail in Dickinson, ND, all by himself---a trip of some 40 hours from Medora. He stayed awake during this time by reading a novel by Tolstoy. After he finished the Tolstoy book, he read the prisoners' own dime novels.

Roosevelt's foray into the cattle business was short-lived. The unusually severe winter of 1886 nearly wiped out his and his fellow ranchers' herds. It forced Roosevelt to return to New York. He married his childhood sweetheart, Edith Carow in late 1886 and the couple honeymooned in Europe. To this union were born four more children, Theodore Jr., Kermit, Ethel, Archie, and Quentin. All the Roosevelt children were talented and had outstanding careers. Alice, from his first marriage, was a free spirit in Washington; Ethel preserved the family home in Oyster Bay, New York; Quentin, the youngest boy, was killed in aerial combat in France, during WW I. Theodore Jr., Kermit, and Archie were much-decorated heroes in both WW I, and WW II, and were successful in business and politics in civilian life.

After TR's return from North Dakota he continued his writing, finishing what became the definitive book on the US Navy during the War of 1812. He was drawn again to politics, and was elected to be President of the New York Police Commission, where he energetically cleaned up a corrupt department. A diligent Commissioner, he regularly walked the beats with NY policemen, to see that they were doing their job.

In 1897, Roosevelt was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy and helped the United States Navy prepare for its war with Spain (The Spanish-American War). However, when the US did go to war with Spain, TR resigned his post in the Navy Department to recruit a regiment of cavalry volunteers, which became known as "The Rough Riders". This was a unique group, made up of his cowboy cronies from North Dakota and his Polo playing pals from New York. They bonded well and were heroes in the war, especially in their capture of San Juan Hill, in Cuba. For this battle TR was recommended for a Medal of Honor, but it was not until much later, in 1997, that the honor was finally awarded to him, posthumously.

Roosevelt returned to New York from the conflict in Cuba as a genuine War Hero. He built upon his war record to become Governor of New York, and subsequently was selected as Republican President McKinley's choice for Vice President, for the McKinley's successful 2nd Presidential Campaign in 1900. When President McKinley was assassinated in 1901, TR became the youngest US President at age 42. He ran for and was elected to a second term in his own right, in 1904.