10 Crazy Facts About Teddy Roosevelt

The shooting had occurred on October 14, 1912 as Roosevelt entered his car outside the Gilpatrick Hotel in Milwaukee. As he stood up in the open-air automobile and waved to the crowd, a bullet was shot from a Colt revolver. The bullet went through his 50 page manuscript, possibly saving his life and aiding the bullet in missing his heart. After being shot, Roosevelt continued reading his bullet-riddled, 50-page speech. Only when the speech was completed did he agree to visit the hospital.

After taking a bullet to the chest, he had this to say about it: “Fortunately I had my manuscript, so you see I was going to make a long speech, and there is a bullet—there is where the bullet went through—and it probably saved me from it going into my heart. The bullet is in me now, so that I cannot make a very long speech, but I will try my best.” He finished his hour and a half speech with a bullet lodged in his chest.

Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir camped in Yosemite in 1903 without presidential security. Environmentalist and naturalist John Muir was one of the earliest advocates for the idea of the national park. Whilst on this trip, he taught Roosevelt about the geology and natural history of California. Roosevelt fell in love with the Yosemite. The outdoorsman president recalled waking up in Glacier Point as, "the grandest day of my life." Muir was able to persuade Roosevelt to return Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove to federal protection as part of Yosemite National Park. This trip made a huge impression on Roosevelt and led to him making a big impact for national park services. This 3 day camping trip inspired Roosevelt to create the U.S Forest Service and provide federal protection to approximately 230 million acres of American land.

After becoming president in 1901, Roosevelt used his authority to establish 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, four national game preserves, five national parks and 18 national monuments on over 230 million acres of public land. In 1905 he established the U.S. Forest Service.

If it weren't for John Muir and his writings, we probably would not have Yosemite National Park as we know it today. He was also involved in the creation of the Grand Canyon, Kings Canyon, Petrified Forest, and Mt. Rainier as National Parks. “In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks” - John Muir

In 1902, candy store owners became inspired by news that President Roosevelt spared a bear cub while hunting and began selling the first stuffed bears. The store owner’s wife sewed the first bear as a window display for the candy shop but customers were quickly interested in purchasing the stuffed bear.

Teddy bears were often given to soldiers in WWI. These bears served as a cuddly link to their family and were often gifted by their sweethearts to remind them of what they were fighting for.

Since his youth, Roosevelt had a strong interest in boxing. He was trained by an ex-prizefighter and was a member of the Harvard Boxing Club. As police commissioner of New York City, he channeled his passion into building boxing clubs for underprivileged youth. When he became governor of New York, he continued to box and regularly challenged visitors to matches.

On February 14, 1884, Roosevelt was at work in the New York state legislature attempting to get a government reform bill passed when he was summoned home by his family. He returned home to find his mother, Mittie, had succumbed to typhoid fever. On the same day, his wife of four years, Alice Lee, died of Bright’s disease, a severe kidney ailment. Only two days before her death, Alice Lee had given birth to the couple’s daughter, Alice. This double tragedy devastated Roosevelt. A page from his journal documented on that day reads: “The light has gone out of my life.”

The Roosevelts weren’t out of the White House long before Alice was banned from returning to the residence. Just before her father’s term expired, she buried a voodoo doll of incoming First Lady, Nellie Taft, in the White House lawn. The Taft administration banned her from the grounds.

Alice Roosevelt had a reputation as a bit of a wild child, fashion icon, gossip magnet, and polarizing figure for her outspokenness in an era when young women were expected to be reserved.

Alice was also known to be a partier, a gambler, a smoker, and an all-around rule-breaker. Her father, Teddy Roosevelt once said, “I can either run the country or I can attend to Alice, but I cannot possibly do both.”

He continued to pay her salary, closed the post office and rerouted the town’s mail 30 miles away. He said he would only re-open when Minnie could safely return to her job. Minnie M. Cox became the first African-American woman to serve as a postmaster in the United States. She was excellent as postmaster and known for her efficiency and dedication. But during this time local white citizens wanted to expel all African-Americans from good jobs. After politician James K. Vardaman led a targeted campaign in the local newspaper calling for her resignation, citizens of Indianola voted for Cox to resign a year before her commission was due to expire.

Threats against Cox escalated and both the mayor and sheriff refused to protect her, so she subsequently sent her resignation and left town fearing for her safety. President Roosevelt refused to accept her resignation. Instead, he closed the Indianola post office on the condition that it would not reopen until Cox could safely resume her postmaster duties. Roosevelt made it clear to the Indianola citizens that all mail would be rerouted farther away until Mrs. Cox could resume her duties. The President told the U.S. Attorney General to prosecute any Indianola citizens who had threatened violence against Cox.

The controversy surrounding Mrs. Cox’s postmaster position made news across the nation on the headlines across the country. On February 7, 1903, the Cleveland Gazette ran the headline, “Mrs. Minnie Cox, Postmistress of Indianola- A Faithful and Efficient Official Driven From Office by Southern White Brutes.” This news sparked a debate about race, states' rights, and federal power. When Cox's appointment expired in 1904, the Indianola post office reopened with a different postmaster. Minnie Cox went on to co-found one of the earliest black-owned banks in the state, as well as an insurance company.

Basically turning the White House into a zoo, President Roosevelt had a bear named Jonathon Edwards, a hyena, badger, one legged rooster, blue parrot named Eli Yale, lizards, pig, snakes, cats, horses, guinea pigs named Admiral Dewey, Dr. Johnson, Bishop Doane, Fighting Bob Evans, and Father O'Grady. Teddy is said to have wrestled his pet bear as a form of recreation and also to show he was of course, the man of the house.

Vice President Roosevelt became president in 1901 immediately following the assassination of sitting president William McKinley. At the age of 42, he was and remains the youngest president in the country’s history. JFK- age 43 and Bill Clinton- age 46 are the next youngest ever to hold the position of President.

In 1909, his fleet that consisted of 16 destroyers completed a worldwide journey to establish alliances, trade agreements, and most importantly show the USA as a naval superpower. Roosevelt dispatched the Atlantic Fleet on a worldwide voyage of circumnavigation from December 1907 to February 1909. The hulls were painted white, the Navy's peacetime color scheme, decorated with gilded scrollwork with a red, white, and blue banner on their bows.

The purpose of the fleet deployment was multifaceted. It served as a showpiece of American goodwill, as the fleet visited numerous countries and harbors. In this, the voyage was not unprecedented. Before airplanes naval courtesy calls among world leaders were the norm in the 19th century. A lot of the time they were in conjunction with the birthdays of monarchs and other foreign celebrations. Port calls showcased pomp, ceremony, and militarism during a period of rising pre-war nationalism.

The United States began participating in these events in 1902 when Roosevelt invited Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany to send a squadron for a courtesy call to New York City. Invitations for U.S. Navy ships to participate in fleet celebrations in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany followed. Roosevelt used the Great White Fleet to show off the USA’s transition from wooden traditional ships to steel battle destroyers. It was an excellent show of power for his “Big stick” method of diplomacy.