President Theodore Roosevelt: Biography

Theodore was the twenty-sixth president of the United States of America. He is known for many actions, such as his creation of the ""Bull Moose"" Party, and his political background in New York.

Roosevelt attended Harvard College, studying law. He did not pursue his higher education very long, for he joined the New York State Assembly, breaking the record for the youngest to ever serve as a representative in that assembly. After that, he held several other positions, including captain of the National Guard. He ran to be New York City mayor, but was defeated. All of these jobs must have helped him to gain publicity to become governor of New York in 1898, and won the vice presidency under William McKinley.

During his second term, McKinley was assassinated, making Roosevelt the president at age 42 (this also broke the record for youngest to ever become president at that time).

Roosevelt's domestic policy was shaped by enforcing the Sherman Antitrust Act, the first piece of federal legislature to outlaw monopolies. Another domestic policy of Roosevelt's was his ""Square Deal."" The Square Deal was very progressive for its time, and sought to reform industry, and allow big business to coexist with labor unions. In his second term, Roosevelt was advised to dismiss soldiers involved with an incident of a shooting rampage a rampage that accused African American soldiers of shooting one white man to dead and leaving another one wounded. He waited until after the November midterm election elections where African Americans would vote for Republicans, and then fired all the 167 African American soldiers involved with the incident such that none would receive a pension.

Roosevelt's foreign policy included aiding the completion of the Panama Canal. This was achieved by giving money to the revolution in Panama, and issuing a naval blockade preventing Columbian forces from reaching Panama (Panama was rebelling against Columbia). These actions much reduced the time it took to sail between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Roosevelt also helped to negotiate the end of the Russo-Japanese War believing that Japan could not beat Russia because it would lead to an ""imbalance of power,"" which would have to be sorted out by the U.S. later on anyways. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 for this action. Yet another piece of Roosevelt's foreign policy was the (originally named) Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. This corollary further demonstrated the U.S.'s role as ""policeman"" of the Western Hemisphere.

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