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7 2 Sagamore Cowboy, Theodore Roosevelt Though Roosevelt and Wood had much in common, their personalities were quite different. Roosevelt was ebullient, loquacious, even frenetic by nature ; Wood, though no recluse, was relatively reserved, as befitted his New England birth and upbringing. Roosevelt was a politician whose success depended on the success with which he promoted himself. Wood, as part of the established military society, knew his place and kept it. Neither man could change, and neither had any desire to do so. —————————————————— Theodore Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858, in New York City, the first son and second child of Theodore Roosevelt Sr. and Martha Bulloch Roosevelt.1 Although the name Roosevelt is automatically associated with privilege, the members of Theodore’s branch of the family, in contrast to Franklin’s, were not very wealthy; they had to work to maintain their comfortable standard of living. The elder Theodore Roosevelt made a good living as a glass importer and later as a banker. The family loved the outdoors and spent as much time as possible at their weekend retreat at Oyster Bay, Long Island . The father also owned property in what was then the Dakota Territories. Zeal for the wide–open spaces never left young Theodore Roosevelt. As a child, young Theodore Roosevelt was afflicted with serious asthma, which made him sickly. For that and other reasons, he was educated at home until he entered Harvard in 1876 at the age of eighteen. He was, however , energetic, curious, and determined, far from subdued by his malady. He played sports with zest. He also developed a strong interest in nature, 1. It is easy to confuse the names, because the son and future president was born a junior . He dropped the “junior” on his father’s death. 8 Teddy Roosevelt and Leonard Wood especially ornithology. He seemed to need physical activity. Professor Aloysius Norton describes one incident that occurred when Theodore was at Harvard University:“While skating on Fresh Pond with [Harvard] classmate Richard Welling on a bitter winter day, Roosevelt went endlessly round and round. Welling from boyhood had accepted heavy weather as a challenge, but this day was just too much for him. When Roosevelt shouted, ‘Isn’t this bully?’ Welling could only wonder. He later commented,‘It puzzled me how this youngster who had not my health, for he was asthmatic, and he not my muscle, could want more of that winter gale.’”2 The elder Roosevelt exercised an unusual influence on his son. The boy respected and loved his opinionated mother, a belle who had never accepted the defeat of the South in the Civil War, but it was his father to whom young Theodore looked for guidance. One dark spot of his father’s past haunted the boy, however. Theodore was aware that his father had avoided service in the Civil War by hiring a substitute. At Harvard, Roosevelt stood high in his class, high enough to be invited to join Phi Beta Kappa on graduation. However, he seems to have made no effort to reach the very top. Unfortunately, his father died during his sophomore year, and his grief was almost overwhelming. It has been said that the anguish stemming from that loss hardened him to face later similar experiences. He would have his full share of them. Roosevelt never regarded his experience at Harvard as one that had done much for him, and he may have been right; formal academics had never enchanted him. But the period was significant for the outside activities he participated in. He made hunting and fishing trips to Maine, where his zest for the outdoors was whetted and where he came in contact with many working men. Perhaps to his surprise, he found himself to be completely comfortable with them. His respect for the“ordinary” people stayed with Roosevelt all his life. In early 1879, while he was visiting family friends in Cambridge, Roosevelt met a young lady named Alice Lee. Immediately taken by her, he quickly resolved to make her his wife. She, however, was not so sure. During his entire senior year at Harvard, Theodore wooed her ardently but without success. Finally , he determined to bring matters to a head; he demanded that she marry him and made it clear that if she refused, he would seek a wife elsewhere. Alice, realizing that it was now or never, dropped her coy attitude and consented . They were married in October 1880. Just a few days before...

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