Michael Burgan - Who Was Theodore Roosevelt?

Who Was
Theodore Roosevelt?

Who Was
Theodore Roosevelt?

By Michael Burgan
Illustrated by Jerry Hoare

Grosset & Dunlap

An Imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC

For all the history teachers who have inspired meMB

GROSSET & DUNLAP

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Text copyright 2014 by Michael Burgan. Illustrations copyright 2014 by Jerry Hoare. Cover illustration copyright 2014 by Nancy Harrison. All rights reserved. Published by Grosset & Dunlap, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014. GROSSET & DUNLAP is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN: 978-0-399-54009-7

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Who Was
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 assassins 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.

Chapter 1
New York Boyhood

In 1858, New York City was the largest city in the United States. Almost eight hundred thousand people lived there! Ships arrived at its port carrying a wide variety of goods, including fabric, clothing, and food, along with people from many countries. Horse-drawn carriages rumbled down crowded streets. And on October 27 of that year, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was born there.

His father, Theodore Sr., thought the newborn was a pretty baby, but his mother, Martha, nicknamed Mittie, wasnt so sure. She thought her new son looked like a turtle. The Roosevelts already had a daughter named Anna. She and young Theodore were later joined by a little brother, Elliott, and then baby Corinne. For a time Mrs. Roosevelts sister, Annie Bulloch, also lived with the family.

Teedie, as his parents soon called Theodore, was part of a family that had deep roots in America. The first Roosevelt had come to New York from the Netherlands in 1644. The family bought plate glass in Europe and sold it in America. Teedies family was quite wealthy. Mr. Roosevelt believed in using his time and his money to help others. One of his concerns was helping orphaned children in New York City to find homes.

ROOSEVELT HOME IN NEW YORK CITY

Young Teedie began his education at home, with his aunt Annie teaching him how to read. For much of his childhood, he battled asthma, which often left him gasping for air and forced him to stay inside. It was during this time that he discovered his great love of books. As he got older, he became healthy enough to develop his strength and become more athletic.

ANNIE BULLOCH

The Roosevelt children and their parents spent their summers in the country outside of New York City. Oyster Bay, on Long Island, later became the familys second home. In the country, Teedie explored his love of nature and animals.

At nine, he wrote a book describing many of the insects he had seen. Teedie also sometimes brought home the animals he studied. It was not uncommon for snakes and frogs to get loose in the house. Studying natureand studying in generalwas becoming more difficult for Teedie, because he had poor eyesight. He later wrote that he had no idea how beautiful the world was until he got glasses at age thirteen. Glasses known as pince-nez, which clipped onto his nose, later became one of his trademarks.

His parents loved to travel and took their children along whenever they could. By the time he was fourteen, Theodore had been to Europe twice and had also sailed down the Nile River in Egypt. Along that famous river, he discovered his love of hunting, which became one of his lifelong passions. During the familys travels, young Theodore also began learning German. Later he would also learn Latin, Greek, and French.