American History

Theodore Roosevelt was in every sense, the first modern president. He distrusted Congress and tried to undermine its powers at every turn. He justified the expansion of his powers in the name of national security. He won popularity by pursuing ruthlessly a tough guy image and an assertive foreign policy that glorified personal and presidential toughness. He was indeed the last romantic of the 19th century.

The youngest president, Roosevelt was perhaps the most knowledgeable person to hold that office. He was fond of reading treatises, biographies, poems, and political novels. Graphs, pie charts, and numbers were his specialty. For Roosevelt, the essence of being a president is being able to consolidate technique and number. This, according to him, is the basis of domestic policies. Indeed, the contour of policy making not only depended on personal wit but also on political urgency.

When Roosevelt took office, the federal government was just recovering from the injuries of the Civil War (succeeding William McKinley). Industries were beginning to develop in urban centers. Manufacturing firms began to implement mass recruitments. Indeed, an air of prosperity entered the nostril of the common man. These developments posed problems for the American economy. It needed new markets outside the bounds of the West. There was also a growing internal capital flows from Europe to America. If the United States wanted to lead the West towards economic development, it must increase its labor force. Capital flows can only be efficiently utilized if there is a large labor market. Here comes immigration. Roosevelts large policy was aimed essentially in increasing the productive capacity of the country and maintaining high tariff rates. Roosevelt aimed for the enlargement of the countrys domestic market  a prelude to overseas market expansionism.

A rousing activist, he delivered a 20 000 word address to Congress in December 2001, asking the august body to curb the power of large corporations (called trusts). A politician remarked, what a trust-buster Trust-buster indeed, President Roosevelt stirred the nation with his sense of pride and patriotism.
A man of a house, as one senator said, Roosevelt loved the presidency. He took cabinet members on long, dangerous hunts. He was well-versed in boxing and other forms of physical endeavor. In fact, he was blinded in one eye during one of his boxing bouts. He enjoyed eating and conversations. Cabinet members were invited to dine and listen to his political ideas. He was thoughtful of grace  of the opportunity given to air his concerns.

In 1904, he ran for president and won a landslide victory. True as a romantic, Roosevelt made the White House the center of news every day, providing the media personal interviews and photos. One day, when he saw White House reporters huddled by rain, he gave them their own rooms inside. Roosevelt essentially invented the presidential press briefing  the first in the history of the United States.

A staunch progressive, he was all determined to create what he called a square deal between business and labor. The president pressed for progressive legislation in the Congress. Indeed, Roosevelts presidency was the age of progressivism in the United States. In its epistemological sense, progressivism meant technical expertise  the use of science and technology to identify and solve the nations problems. Roosevelt himself, a trained biologist, believed that scientific method is a tool of progress. Progressivism had another side. In its ideological sense, progressivism means hatred of large corporations and fear of political organizations like unions and federations. Roosevelt knew the dangers posed by these organizations. He was determined to reduce their influence and set the tone towards a moralistic politics.

Roosevelts adamant firmness was indeed exhilarating. At one time, he threatened to send the army to take over the local mines during a strike, forcing the owners to negotiate with the union. He pressed for the creation of natural parks (known as the National Park System). While the Supreme Court struck down regulation, Roosevelt got Congress to expand federal regulations over the inspection of food and drugs. He purchased land for the construction of the Panama Canal. He sent an American force to occupy Havana without the authorization of the US Congress. He increased American naval presence in the Caribbean without the financial backing of Congress.

It is often the trait of the last romantic to treat war as if it were a kind of sport. He hosted negotiations that ended the Russo-Japanese War (he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize). He ended the guerilla war in the Philippines by offering magnanimous terms to the rebels. He persuaded Wilhelm Kaiser to defuse German battleships in South America. Indeed, Roosevelt was an advocate of international law and arbitration. He believed that, although war was a natural act, it is the duty of international law to regulate it.

The Last Romantic was a multifaceted dimension of American history and politics. At all time, he tried to be holistic and logical. Action and not inaction was his governing principle. It was not dedication to a set of strict moral laws which governed his mindset. It was dedication to greatness and political glorification. Here, his achievements continue to awe the spectators of the American nation.