President's Day

In a bit of a strange coincidence I finished reading The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt yesterday. Rise is Edward Morris's Pulitzer Prize winning chronicle of nearly the first 43 years of, duh, Theodore Roosevelt's life. The book ends just as Theodore Roosevelt learns that President McKinley had died and that he was now President of the United States.

That's how amazing this guy was. He has a 780 page book (920 if you count the bibliography and index) written about him, and it doesn't even include the years when he was President! Think about that for a second. As I read this book, I couldn't help but compare everything that Ol' Teddy accomplished with what I've done with my life. The comparison left me feeling pretty inadequate, but I think there's very few people who wouldn't feel the same way. I mean, just take a look at some of these highlights:

October 27, 1858 - Born.

June 30, 1880 - Graduates from Harvard magna cum laude, 21st in a class of 177

December 3, 1881 - At the age of 23, hands in his first book to his publisher, The Naval War of 1812. It was the first of 38 books that he would write throughout his life. Within in 2 years, it went through 3 editions and became a textbook at several colleges; and in 1886 at least one copy would be ordered to be on board every U.S. Navy vessel.

January 1, 1883 - Appointed Minority Leader of the New York State Assembly, despite being the youngest member of the Legislature

June 20, 1885 - After personal tragedies, Roosevelt ventured West to the Dakota Territories and became a rancher. Despite being initially looked down upon by westerners for wearing glasses and being a blue blood from New York, he soon proved his mettle by doing things like riding in a roundup for 32 days (longer than most of the other cowboys on the roundup). This is made even more impressive considering that the distance he covered in that time was nearly 1,000 miles.

October 15, 1886 - Having returned to New York, Roosevelt, not quite 28, is unanimously nominated by the Republican convention as their candidate for mayor (he loses the race, but still, even then New York City was New York City...).

May 13, 1889 - Appointed Civil Service Commissioner by President Benjamin Harrison.

May 6, 1895 - Appointed as one of 4 Police Commissioners of New York City. The same day he became President of the Board of Commissioners.

April 19, 1897 - Takes office as Assistant Secretary of the Navy upon being appointed by President William McKinley. Supposedly, this was/is the most difficult department in the U.S. government.

April 19, 1898 - Roosevelt resigns from his post to fight in Spanish-American War in Cuba saying: "One of the commonest taunts directed at men like myself is that we are armchair and parlor Jingos who wish to see others do what we only advocate doing. I care very little for such a taunt, except as it affects my usefulness; but I cannot afford to disregard that fact that my power for good, whatever it may be, would be gone if I didn't try to live up to the doctrines I have to preach." Roosevelt is offered the rank of colonel and command of the first regiment of a new provision of volunteers who would come to be called the Rough Riders. Knowing that he is not the best man for the job he turns the offer down.

July 1, 1898 - Roosevelt gets his colonelcy due to yellow fever striking many of the commanding officers. Under his his command, his contingent of Rough Riders take Kettle Hill in an action that many military strategists would deem impossible. Namely, they stormed and captured a high enemy position over open ground, with fewer and inferior weapons. In doing so, they had been the first to break Spanish defenses, which after charging on, led to the taking and holding of the final crest overlooking Santiago. No small feat for a man who never fought in a military action before, let alone commanded a regiment!

October 27, 1898 - Roosevelt turns 40 and wins governorship of New York State.

June 19, 1900 - After the November 1899 death of Vice-President Garrett Hobart, Roosevelt accepts the nomination Vice-Presidential nomination at the 1900 Republican Convention. By the way, Roosevelt's nomination would have been unanimous, had he not not cast the single dissenting vote himself!

March 4 - March 8, 1901- The entire duration of Roosevelt's formal services as Vice-President, as after March 8, the Senate adjourned until December.

September 13, 1901 - President William McKinley dies a week after being shot by Leon Czolgosz. Six weeks before he turned 43, Theodore Roosevelt becomes President of the United States.

All of these feats would alone make for an amazing life, but T.R. was just getting started! It boggles the mind, especially when you consider all of the adventures and excursions I left out in my summary coupled with the fact that Roosevelt was, to put it mildly, a sickly youth. He was afflicted with asthma, what his family euphemistically called cholera morbus, and a weak heart. In fact, one part of the book details his physical exam from March 26 1880, shortly before he graduated from college:

Theodore's heart, strained by years of asthmatic heavings and over-exercise, was in trouble. Far form climbing mountains in Maine, he must in the future refrain from even running upstairs. He must live quietly, and choose a sedentary occupation, otherwise, [Dr. Dudley A.] Sargent warned, he would not live long.

"Doctor," came the reply, " I'm going to do all the things you tell me not to do. If I've got to live the sort of live you have described, I don't care how short it is."

In short, T.R. was a badass. He's the type of guy they don't make anymore. And in this age of focus groups and polling, he's definitely the type of politician they don't make anymore either. Despite the fact that we live in a very different time, I still think it's important, especially this time of year, to look back at the lives of the great men who worked to shape the character of this country into something that we can still be proud of.

I know that there will never be another Theodore Roosevelt and I also know that it's already impossible for me to live a life comparable to his. But by looking back at those who came before, I can learn something, anything, so that I too can make our country just a little bit better. Or, at the very least, lead a life that at least I can be proud of. Hopefully, enough of us will do the same, and maybe together, we can make up for the current lack of Theodore Roosevelt's. Yeah, it's a pretty big dream, but what better time to dream big than on President's Day?