Theodore Roosevelt

At eleven years old, I visited Paris where this photo was taken 

in 1870

December 4th 1918

     I was born on October 27, 1858, in a four-story brownstone at 28 East 20th Street, in the modern-day Gramercy section of New York City.  I had an older sister, Anna, and two younger siblings: my brother Elliott and my sister Corrine. My father was the wealthy New York philanthropist Sr. Theodore Roosevelt and my mother was Martha "Mittie" Bulloch Roosevelt. My father was the son of Cornelius Van Schaak Roosevelt and Margaret Barnhill. He was a fourth-generation Dutch New Yorker and participant in the Roosevelt family business of plate-glass importing, Roosevelt and Son. She was the daughter of a wealthy southern plantation owner, and the niece of a noted Confederate cruiser captain. For most of my childhood life, I frequently suffered with severe asthma. I would spend the night fighting to breathe or would often be taken into the country for fresh air. In an effort to improve my health, my father emphasized the need for me to "make myself" physically. I took this to heart, and worked for hours on gym equipment my father bought my brother Elliot and  me. As a result I wasn’t extremely robust physically as a child, but I did improve and became average, with excellent stamina. This all happened thanks to the love my father put into this situation. He was the best man I ever knew. He combined strength and courage with gentleness, tenderness, and great generosity in our education. He would not tolerate selfishness or cruelty, idleness, cowardice, or untruthfulness in us children.

December 5th 1918

At Harvard

          I did not begin my education in classrooms, where teachers teach their students but at home. Tutors and my parents mostly home schooled me. I was solid in geography and history, strong in biology, languages French and German but poor in mathematics, Latin and Greek. I entered Harvard College in 1876. I was five feet, eight inches tall and one hundred and twenty-five pounds. My intention was to become a natural scientist where I took great interest. In Harvard I did well in science and philosophy but did poorly in Latin and Greek. My college friends remembered me as an active, enthusiastic student. While at Harvard, I was active in rowing, boxing, the Alpha Delta Phi literary society, the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and was a member of the Porcelain Club. I also edited a student magazine. I was runner-up in the Harvard boxing championship. Upon graduating, I underwent a physical examination, and my doctor advised me that because of serious heart problems, I should find a desk job and avoid strenuous activity. However later at college, my interest in politics was awakened. After graduation, I began attending Columbia Law School in New York City. Four months after my graduation in 1880, I married Alice Hathaway Lee, with whom I had a daughter.

December 6th 1918

At the age of 36, here is a family picture in 1895.
Quentin is still not born

          As my children were still growing-up I tried my best to spend as much time with them as my father did with me. My father Sr. Theodore Roosevelt (1831-1878), was a wealthy New Yorker. He was active in his fathers firm (Roosevelt & Sons). On the other hand, my mother Martha Bulloch Roosevelt (1835-1884) was known as Mittie and came from a prominent southern family. My mother was a house wife and lived off my father’s wealth, as did the rest of us. I was the second to oldest of 4 children. My older sister Anna Roosevelt (1855-1931), was 3 years older than me. In our family and later on when I became president Anna was know as Bamie. My sister Corinne Roosevelt (1861-1933), was 3 years younger than me and also had a nickname. She was known as Conie and I myself was know as Teddy. The runt of the family, young Elliott Bulloch Roosevelt had my mother’s maiden name and my fathers name. Four months after my high school graduation I married Alice Hathaway Lee (1884-1980), we had a daughter, Alice Lee Roosevelt (1884-1980). After Alice got married I had my first son in-law. This young man was Nicholas Longworth, so my daughter than became Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth. Several years later my first grand daughter was born. The name of this beautiful little baby girl was Paulina Longworth born in 1925 (death 1957). Later Alice died and got married to my childhood fiend, Edith Kermit Carow (1861-1948). Edith and I had 5 Children 4 sons and 1 daughter. Ethel Carow Roosevelt was a nurse and progressive activist, she was also the middle of the 4 boys. From eldest to youngest: Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. was an officer and politician (1887-1944); Kermit Roosevelt was also an officer and a laborer (1889-1943); then came Ethel; Archibald Bulloch Roosevelt, known as Archie was an executive and as his older brothers was also an officer (1894-1979); then came the runt of the family, young Quentin Roosevelt was a pilot (1897-1918). Our family spent a lot of time on holidays in our home in Long Island.

December 7th 1918

Jose Marti the man/cuban poet who lead the cubans
into a revolution

The Spanish-American war, war zone

The Rough Riders group picture

          The Spanish American war was a war that was during the years of 1898 and 1900. This war started because the Spanish had come to Cuba to settle in the Cuban Islands. Marti was a man whom lead the Cubans into a revolution against the Spanish settlers. These rebels burned the Spanish sugarcane fields, destroyed Spanish homes and buildings in hope to make the Spaniards evacuate. Sadly the Spaniards where powerful enough to herd more than 300,000 Cubans into fortified towns to break the Cuban morals. Due to this many Cubans died of salvation and diseases. Cubans struggled against the Spanish attacks. The United States felt sympathy towards the Cubans
and started wondering if this war could affect the U.S because Cuba is very close. The U.S with me in the head of their army lead the Americans to help the Cubans. A Rough Rider was a member of the cavalry unit in which I fought during the Spanish-American War. Although it was nice to help the Cubans the out come for American soldiers was not very good. More than five thousand Americans died of yellow fever, malaria, and other diseases. The Americans won the war.

December 8th 1918

Election Poster for governor of New York

          I was the thirty sixth governor of New York. I was a republican governor. My Lt.governor was Timothy L. Woodruff. I had 

w12on the elections against William Jennings Bryan in a landslide in 1898 because of my help in the navy and winning the war in Cuba. Though I was elected in 1898 I only entered office in 1899. During my campaign against William Jennings Bryan we debated about the Filipinos’ during the Spanish American war. I was encouraging the United States to take over the Philippines during the times of war, but William denounced that he thought it was a bad idea.

December 9th 1918

 Here on a New England tour in 1902 as of United States

          I became the youngest President in the Nation in history. On September 6 1901, with the assassination of President McKinley while at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, at the age of 43, I became the youngest President in the Nation in history. As I heard reports in the succeeding days, the doctors suggested his condition was improving, so I embarked on a vacation at Mount Marcy in northeastern New York with my family. It was a wonderful Saturday morning and I was returning from a climb to the summit. Then, a park ranger brought me a telegram informing me that McKinley's condition had worsened, and he was near death. As soon as I heard the news, my family and I departed for Buffalo. I reached North Creek, at 5:19 am on September 14, and I then received another telegram informing me that McKinley had died a few hours earlier. I then arrived in Buffalo that afternoon, and was and took the oath of office as President at 3:55 pm by U.S. Judge John R. Hazel at the Ansley Wilcox House. The first thing I did as a president was to continue McKinley's policies as an act of respect. During my time as President I have had numerous accomplishments. I drove the United States more actively into the world of global empire. As a result, in 1903, construction of the Panama Canal began, aware of the strategic need for a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific so that the United States could connect to the world. I additionally won the Nobel Peace Prize for arbitrating the Russo-Japanese War. My most lasting achievements were in conservation. I added enormously to the national forests in the Westreserved lands for public use.

December 10th 1918

 In the White House. [1903]

          I’m not the president of the United State for no reason, I am the press biggest popular character and I appear almost every week in the newspapers. Everyone in America likes me, except the people from the Republican Party. If they don’t like me, it is because I divided their party to create a new American political party the Progressive Party, also known as the Bull Moose Party. It is consisted of rules, rights and achievements for a socially better life, for example: the National Health Service, social insurance, a minimum wage law for women, an eight-hour workday, a federal securities commission, farm relief, worker’s compensation for work related injuries, an inheritance tax... For this and much more, I won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906. It is known as one of my best achievement with the ending of the Panama Canal construction. In fact, without me, the Panama Canal would stay unfinished due to all the diseases that have touched the workers and forced them to stop, I made the decision to finish it, in respect for the workers who died to build it.  Unfortunately, in the middle of all of this, there was the war, and I had to send hundreds of American soldiers go die for the sake of their country.

December 11th 1918

"Grandfather" hugs to baby   

granddaughter Edith Roosevelt Derby, 1918.

As I am getting old and tired, I remember my past and I realize that many persons all over America and the rest of the world admired me. Even today I am admired as a national icon. I did write many books that were beloved as The Rough Riders and I was the first president to have been ever filmed given speeches on camera. When I was campaigning in Milwaukee in the Wisconsin, on October 14 1912, a saloonkeeper called John Shrank shot me but the bullet arrived in my chest only after passing my 50 pages speech I carried in my jacket. They told me to go to a hospital immediately but I knew it wasn’t too bad so I did my 90 minutes speech with blood dripping in my shirt. My opening comment was: "Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose." In fact, this man’s only motive to shot me was that I was president.

            Now I am helping World War I by supporting the Allies and doing other actions in the country. I believe that in the world, every one has a purpose, mine is to take care of the United States, and I will stick to this purpose until I die. But I also realize my duty is more than to take care of US civilians, I need to help Europeans to keep their country from Germany’s dictatorship. Right now, I am Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt of the Rough Riders. 

January 1919 in Youngs Memorial Cemetery, Oyster Bay, NY

December 12th 1918

At the moment,  I am in my bed in my House in Oyster Bay, very ill. I can’t help anyone or do anything now, and it’s now a month since it began. My illness is so terrible I often get annoyed when people come to see me, even my family. The doctor says that I have inflammatory rheumatism, that it is ok and I will recover soon. I don’t believe him. I am already 60 years old and I heard him talking to my wife, saying there is no chance I can get out of this. I spend my last days talking to my family and enjoy the last joys of life. I love watching my children play and grow, I’m sure they will be good persons older. As I think it is the last entry I make, I’d like to tell the American people that I won’t see the end of war but they will do and my child too, party with the other the end of the war that already killed so much people, as much Americans as Europeans and other nationalities. I hope that now there won’t be conflicts for hundreds of years with America included in it.