Roosevelt Happy Warrior

Theodore Roosevelt: Exploring the Happy Warrior

In the novel 1919, Dos Passos provides a comprehensive outlook on American life during the 20th century, with an emphasis on American efforts during the First World War. The novel employs several experimental devices: historically-grounded character narratives, collections of fragmented headlines, songs, and advertisements referred to as “Newsreels”, autobiographical episodes referred to as “The Camera Eye”, and historical biographies of famous figures in the period.

An entire biographical section of 1919 is dedicated to the life story of Theodore Roosevelt, nicknamed facetiously the “happy warrior.” The moniker highlights the happy and vigorous way in which Theodore Roosevelt led his life

as well as Roosevelt’s active support of American war efforts. Dos Passos uses Roosevelt to describe the ineffectiveness of past warriors like Roosevelt in fighting World War I.
Choosing to title the section The Happy Warrior emphasizes how Theodore Roosevelt employed the warrior mindset of vigorously tackling life’s challenges.

The section describes the entirety of Roosevelt’s life beginning with his childhood challenges. Theodore Roosevelt was a sickly boy who suffered from asthma. Dos Passos points out that “[TR’s] hands and feet were so small it was hard for him to learn to box” (pg.110). In order to overcome these shortcomings, TR developed a physically demanding exercise routine, devoting several hours each week to training with rings and parallel bars (Burns). This training resulted in the following assessment of Young Theodore:

[H]e got to be a good shot in spite of his glasses, a good walker in spite of his tiny feet and short legs, a fair horseman, an aggressive scrapper in spite of his short reach (pg.

111)
Roosevelt’s strong work ethic and perseverance allowed him to succeed despite physical limitations.
However, the reference to Theodore Roosevelt as the Happy Warrior is not only due to the warrior mindset but his actions. Theodore Roosevelt felt a strong sense of duty to his country which he showed by fighting for America and supporting American war efforts. One of Roosevelt’s pat phrases illustrates his positive outlook on war:
when men fear work or fear righteous war… they tremble on the brink of doom, and well it is that they should banish from the earth, where they are fit subjects for the scorn of all men and women who are themselves strong and brave and highminded. (pg. 112)
It is this warrior lifestyle which transformed Theodore Roosevelt from a member of the wealthy New York aristocracy into Teddy the roughrider.

Dos Passos describes the transformation:

He went out to the badlands of western Dakota to become a rancher on the Little Missouri River; when he came back to Manhattan he was Teddy, the straight shooter from the west, the elkhunter, the man in the Stetson hat, who rop’d steers, fought a grizzly hand to hand, acted as deputy sheriff (Dos Passos, pg. 111)

The wealthy aristocrat learned how to be a cowboy.

When the opportunity presented itself Roosevelt chose to fight for his country during the battle of San Juan Hill. Dos Passos is very critical of Roosevelt during the battle.

One of Theodore Roosevelt’s major accomplishments as President was building the Panama Canal.

After Roosevelt’s presidency he pursued big game hunting.

Roosevelt then attempted a return to the presidency through the Bull Moose campaign, an effort which Dos Passos describes as TR’s “last fight.” (pg.114). It is during this campaign that we see the end of the Happy Warrior. Dos Passos

explains:
Perhaps the River of Doubt had been too much for a man of his age; perhaps things weren’t so bully any more; T.R. … In Duluth a maniac shot him in the chest, his life was saved only by the thick bundle of manuscripts of the speech he was going to deliver. T.R. delivered the speech with the bullet still in him…but the spell was broken somehow. (pg. 114)
Roosevelt supported WWI but was not allowed to fight. Roosevelt’s son died in the war.