The Early Life Of Theodore Roosevelt

His early life experiences influenced his later accomplishments. Born on October 27, 1858 (Morris 33), Theodore Roosevelt was the son of Theodore Roosevelt, Sr., a successful businessman and philanthropist, and Martha “Mittie” Bulloch Roosevelt, the daughter of a wealthy Georgia plantation family. Theodore Roosevelt was the second of four children born into the prominent Dutch and English family (“Roosevelt, Theodore”). At an early age, Roosevelt earned the nickname “Teedie” (Morris 34) and suffered from asthma, coughs, colds, fevers, and nausea (40). Physical fitness, an important trait to the Roosevelts, was encouraged to help overcome his illnesses; furthermore, Roosevelt’s father said he must “make his body” (60). In order to meet his father’s standards from that point on, Roosevelt focused on physical fitness and learned to love intense activity (“Roosevelt, Theodore”). As part of his education, Roosevelt was tutored privately and did not attend neither private nor public school; however, Arthur Hamilton Cutler, one of Roosevelt’s tutors, helped him enact his goal of going to Harvard through onerous studying and hard work (Morris 74).
While at Harvard Roosevelt became a member of the Porcellain Club, the highest social honor one could have at the university (Morris 101). In late January of 1880, Roosevelt became engaged to Alice Hathway Lee (123) and in June of the same year graduated magna cum laude with his bachelor of science (128). After Harvard Roosevelt went on to attend law school at Columbia University; however, he grew bored of the subject and sought to advance his political career (“Roosevelt, Theodore”). Politics appealed to Roosevelt and he sensed it suited his fiery personality perfectly.
At the age of twenty-...

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...evelt’s secretary of war, and J.P. Morgan worked to procure a compromise. Soon after the proposed agreement was presented to George F. Baer, representative of the railroad operatives, and approved. The plan called for an independent commission comprised of five men. Union members, angered that a union representative was not included on the commission, demanded that a union representative and a Catholic priest sit on the commission (“Anthracite Coal”).
With the price of coal rising rapidly, Roosevelt stepped in and puts E.E. Clark, the Grand Chief of Railway Conductors, on the commission. Shortly after, the commission reached a compromise and ended the strike. The miner’s received their concessions but did not earn union recognition. TR’s intervention saved the nation and was the turning point for Roosevelt’s increasingly popular administration (“Anthracite Coal”).