American Experience (1988–…): Season 9, Episode 1 - T.R.: The Story of Theodore Roosevelt (Part I) - full transcript

Narrator:
ON THE MORNING OF JULY 1, 1898

AMERICAN TROOPS IN CUBA
PREPARED TO MAKE THEIR ASSAULT

ON THE SPANISH FORCES
HOLDING SAN JUAN HILL.

IN THE JUNGLES BELOW

COLONEL THEODORE ROOSEVELT
AND HIS ROUGHRIDERS

WAITED IMPATIENTLY.

"THE INSTANT I RECEIVED
THE ORDER," ROOSEVELT REMEMBERED

"I SPRANG ON MY HORSE AND THEN
MY 'CROWDED HOUR' BEGAN."

"GENTLEMEN," HE SHOUTED

"THE ALMIGHTY GOD
AND THE JUST CAUSE ARE WITH YOU.

GENTLEMEN, CHARGE!"



WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY
IN THE CUBAN JUNGLES

WOULD MAKE THEODORE ROOSEVELT

ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS MEN
IN AMERICA

AND CATAPULT HIM
INTO THE PRESIDENCY.

McCullough:
HE IS EXACTLY THE RIGHT MAN
FOR THE TIMES.

BURSTING WITH ALL KINDS
OF WONDERFUL EXPECTATIONS

AND NEW INVENTIONS
AND NEW WAYS OF SEEING THINGS

AND HE'S YOUNG, HE'S FRESH.

THE COUNTRY JUST EMBRACED

THE WHOLE IDEA
OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT.

Narrator:
THEODORE ROOSEVELT
EMBODIED AMERICA

AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY.

THE CONFIDENCE, THE EXUBERANCE,
THE AGGRESSIVENESS...

IT WAS ALL THERE... ALL IN HIM.



ROOSEVELT, SOMEONE SAID,
WAS A STEAM ENGINE IN TROUSERS.

COWBOY, SOLDIER,
EXPLORER, SCIENTIST

A WORLD AUTHORITY ON LARGE
MAMMALS AND SMALL BIRDS

THE AUTHOR OF 36 BOOKS
AND MORE THAN 100,000 LETTERS

HE MADE HIMSELF PRESIDENT
BY THE AGE OF 42.

NONE OF IT WAS EASY.

SHADOWED BY ILLNESS

HAUNTED BY THE DEATHS
OF THOSE MOST DEAR TO HIM

HE LEARNED EARLY,
HE SAID, "THAT LIFE WAS

"ONE LONG CAMPAIGN
WHERE EVERY VICTORY

MERELY LEAVES THE GROUND
FREE FOR ANOTHER BATTLE."

"BLACK CARE," HE WROTE,
"RARELY SITS BEHIND A RIDER

WHOSE PACE IS FAST ENOUGH."

THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S FIRST
BATTLE WAS SIMPLY TO SURVIVE.

HE WAS BORN IN NEW YORK CITY
ON OCTOBER 27, 1858.

THERE WAS SOME DOUBT

THAT HE WOULD LIVE
BEYOND HIS FOURTH BIRTHDAY.

HE SUFFERED
FROM ASTHMA SO SEVERE

HE SOMETIMES COULD NOT
SUMMON THE STRENGTH

TO BLOW OUT HIS BEDSIDE CANDLE.

Woman:
ASTHMA'S A TERRIBLE THING.

IT'S A TERRIBLE,
SUFFOCATING ILLNESS.

HE WOULD HAVE TO SIT UPRIGHT,
BOLT UPRIGHT IN BED

AND STRUGGLING FOR BREATH.

McCullough:
IT'S AS THOUGH YOU'RE BEING
STRANGLED TO DEATH.

IT IS THOUGH YOU'RE
BEING DENIED LIFE

SUDDENLY AND MYSTERIOUSLY

AND IT COMES
ON YOU INVOLUNTARILY.

EVERYBODY AROUND YOU
IS GALVANIZED BY THE HORROR

OF THIS EXPERIENCE
THAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH.

IT'S AS IF THEY'RE
ATTENDING A HANGING

AND YOU ARE BEING HANGED.

Narrator:
NIGHT AFTER NIGHT,
HE STRUGGLED TO BREATHE

FRIGHTENED HE MIGHT NOT PULL
ENOUGH AIR INTO HIS LUNGS

TO MAKE IT THROUGH TO MORNING.

ONLY HIS FATHER
SEEMED ABLE TO COMFORT HIM.

DURING THE WORST
OF THEODORE'S SPELLS

HE WOULD GATHER HIS SON UP
AND WALK THE FLOOR WITH HIM.

McCullough:
THE FATHER WAS VERY MATERNAL
IN HIS WAY

BECAUSE THE FATHER REALIZED

THIS LITTLE BOY WAS DYING
IN HIS OWN ARMS.

Man:
HIS FATHER WOULD
PICK HIM UP OUT OF BED

AND GET THE CARRIAGE
HARNESSED UP

AND DRIVE THROUGH
THE STREETS OF NEW YORK

HOPING THAT AS THE BOY
GULPED IN AIR

THE BREATHING WOULD CLEAR
AND HE WOULD SURVIVE.

Narrator:
"MY FATHER GOT ME BREATH,
HE GOT ME LUNGS, STRENGTH, LIFE"

THEODORE REMEMBERED
MANY YEARS LATER.

"I COULD BREATHE, I COULD SLEEP,
WHEN HE HAD ME IN HIS ARMS."

THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S FATHER
WOULD BE HIS GUIDING SPIRIT

HIS SOURCE OF INSPIRATION
AND THE YARDSTICK

BY WHICH HE WOULD MEASURE
HIMSELF HIS ENTIRE LIFE.

McCullough:
NOW, THE FATHER WAS CALLED
"GREATHEART."

IN BUNYAN'S PILGRIM'S PROGRESS

GREATHEART IS
THE CHRISTIAN WARRIOR

THE PROTECTOR.

THE FATHER
WOULD NOT TOLERATE DECEIT

WOULD NOT TOLERATE COWARDICE.

EVERYBODY HAD TO MEASURE UP.

HE WAS GOD IN HIS HOUSE

AND LIKE GOD

YOU WALKED A LITTLE HUMBLY
IN HIS PRESENCE.

Narrator:
THEODORE, SR., CAME FROM
AN OLD DUTCH FAMILY

AND CUT A HANDSOME FIGURE
IN NEW YORK SOCIETY.

NEW YORK WAS A CITY OF MORE
THAN HALF A MILLION PEOPLE.

THE SELECT FEW,
LIKE THE ROOSEVELTS

WERE PROSPEROUS
AND SERENELY CONFIDENT.

THE IMMIGRANT POOR LIVED
CROWDED TOGETHER IN TENEMENTS

JUST A FEW BLOCKS
FROM THE ROOSEVELT FAMILY HOME.

THEODORE'S FATHER
CONTRIBUTED TO CHARITIES

FOR HOMELESS NEWSBOYS
AND ORPHANS.

HE TAUGHT SUNDAY SCHOOL

AND HELPED FOUND
THE CHILDREN'S AID SOCIETY.

HE HAD WHAT HE CALLED
"A TROUBLESOME CONSCIENCE."

Man:
HIS FATHER WAS
AN EXTREMELY MORAL MAN

WHO BELIEVED
IN HELPING THE POOR

AND SO YOUNG TEDDY WAS IMBUED

WITH A SENSE OF COMPASSION
ON THAT LEVEL

OR OBLIGATION MORE THAN
COMPASSION, SHALL WE SAY.

Man:
ONE TIME WHEN
THEODORE ROOSEVELT, SR.

WAS TRYING TO RAISE MONEY

HE BROUGHT SOME
OF HIS WEALTHIEST FRIENDS

IN TO HAVE DINNER.

AND HE OPENS UP THE DOORS
TO THE DINING ROOM...

AND AROUND A SPLENDID
ROSEWOOD TABLE

WERE A WHOLE NUMBER OF CHILDREN

WHO WERE CRIPPLED FROM DISEASES
OR UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENTS.

AND PEOPLE TOOK
A COLLECTIVE GASP OF HORROR.

AND THEN HE SAID,
"I NOW WANT MONEY FROM YOU

SO THAT THESE CHILDREN
CAN BENEFIT FROM THE MONEY."

AND OUT OF THAT BEGAN
SOME OF HIS PHILANTHROPIC WORK.

McCullough:
THE FATHER SAID,
"GET ACTION, SEIZE THE MOMENT.

"DON'T DWELL ON
THE INNER DARKNESS OF YOURSELF.

"REACH OUT.

HIS LITTLE SON THEODORE
ADORED HIM, WORSHIPPED HIM

AND I THINK TOOK HIS ROLE
AS BEING THAT FATHER'S SON

ENTIRELY TO HEART

BOTH WITH TREMENDOUS BENEFIT
AND WITH DIFFICULTY.

Narrator:
HE WAS "THE BEST MAN
I EVER KNEW," ROOSEVELT WROTE

"AND THE ONLY MAN OF WHOM
I WAS EVER REALLY AFRAID."

THEODORE'S MOTHER
WAS FROM THE SOUTH.

McCullough:
MITTIE BULLOCH ROOSEVELT
WAS A SOUTHERN BELLE.

SHE WAS A GORGEOUS WOMAN...
DARK-HAIRED, PETITE

EFFERVESCENT.

AND SHE ALWAYS WORE
A GARDENIA OR SOMETHING

BEHIND HER EAR,
TUCKED INTO HER HAIR.

IT WAS THE FIRST TIME, I BELIEVE

IN THE ROOSEVELT FAMILY,
AT LEAST IN OUR LINE

THAT SOMEBODY MARRIED
OUT OF THE NEW YORK DUTCH LINE.

SHE CAME FROM A DIFFERENT WORLD.

THE SOUTH OF MITTIE BULLOCH'S
LIFE AS A YOUNG WOMAN

WAS THE SOUTH OF PLANTATIONS,
THE SOUTH OF SLAVERY.

SHE CAME FROM
THIS WILD, ROMANTIC

SOMETIMES VIOLENT,
SOMETIMES ERRATIC FAMILY

AND FOR HER TO COME TO NEW YORK

AND MOVE INTO THIS STIFF,
RATHER PHLEGMATIC

DUTCH BURGHER FAMILY
THAT HAD BEEN ESTABLISHED

SO VERY LONG
ON THE ISLAND OF MANHATTAN

WAS AS DIFFERENT AS IF SHE'D
COME FROM A DIFFERENT PLANET.

SHE IS AS RESPONSIBLE,
IF NOT MORE SO

FOR THE WAY THEODORE TURNED OUT.

HE'S MORE A BULLOCH
THAN A ROOSEVELT.

THE ROOSEVELTS
DIDN'T HAVE THAT ENERGY.

THE ROOSEVELTS DIDN'T HAVE
THAT VITALITY, THE FLAMBOYANCE

THE LOVE OF POETRY,
THE LOVE OF ROMANCE

THE LOVE OF TRAVEL,
THE ECCENTRICITY.

Narrator:
THE SOUTHERN BELLE
AND THE NORTHERN GENTLEMAN

LOVED ONE ANOTHER

BUT IN 1861, THE CIVIL WAR
DIVIDED THE ROOSEVELTS

JUST AS IT DIVIDED THE NATION.

THEODORE'S FATHER STOOD
FIRMLY AGAINST SLAVERY.

HIS MOTHER REMAINED LOYAL
TO THE SOUTH

AND SHE DID NOT WANT
HER HUSBAND GOING TO WAR

AGAINST HER BROTHERS,
WHO FOUGHT FOR THE CONFEDERACY.

THEODORE'S FATHER
PAID A SUBSTITUTE

TO FIGHT IN HIS PLACE.

McCullough:
IN A SOCIETY OF THE KIND

WHERE THE ROOSEVELTS
CIRCULATED AND BELONGED

THIS WAS BY NO MEANS SHAMEFUL.

THIS WAS QUITE COMMONLY DONE

BUT TO THE LITTLE BOY RAISED ON
THE HEROICS OF ADVENTURE STORIES

AND ON THE HEROICS
OF HIS MOTHER'S FAMILY

THIS WAS VERY HARD TO EXPLAIN...

VERY DIFFICULT
FOR HIM TO ACCEPT.

Narrator:
THEODORE'S FATHER DID PERFORM
CHARITABLE WORK

AMONG THE UNION SOLDIERS

BUT THEODORE WOULD NEVER FORGET

THAT HIS FATHER HAD NOT
ENLISTED... HAD NOT FOUGHT...

AND THE MEMORY
OF THAT EMBARRASSMENT

WOULD ONE DAY HELP DRIVE
THEODORE HIMSELF INTO BATTLE.

THEODORE WAS OBSESSED
WITH NATURAL HISTORY

MADE METICULOUS DRAWINGS

AND DREAMED OF BECOMING
A GREAT NATURALIST.

HE WAS A PRECOCIOUS,
IRREPRESSIBLE, ODD LITTLE BOY.

HE CARRIED FROGS IN HIS HAT

RAISED MICE
IN THE FAMILY ICEBOX

KEPT SNAKES IN HIS WATER PITCHER

AND BEGAN A COLLECTION OF BIRDS

WHICH HE INSISTED ON
STUFFING HIMSELF, AT HOME.

HE DEVOURED GROWN-UP BOOKS...
FICTION, HISTORY, POETRY,

SCIENCE... AND NOISILY REPORTED
EVERYTHING HE'D LEARNED

TO ANYONE WHO WOULD LISTEN.

BUT ASTHMA CONTINUED
TO RAVAGE HIM.

HE WAS ANXIOUS AND SUFFERED
FROM A RECURRING NIGHTMARE

THAT A WEREWOLF WAS LOOSE
IN HIS BEDROOM.

TRIED REMEDIES RECOMMENDED
BY THE BEST DOCTORS OF THE DAY.

THEODORE WAS DOSED WITH A
MEDICINE TO INDUCE VOMITING

MADE TO SWALLOW BLACK COFFEE,
EVEN FORCED TO SMOKE CIGARS.

AT ONE POINT,
HE NOTED IN HIS DIARY

HIS CHEST WAS RUBBED SO HARD
"THAT THE BLOOD CAME OUT."

WHEN HE WAS 11,
HIS FATHER TOOK HIM ASIDE.

McCullough:
HE SAID, "YOU HAVE BEEN BLESSED
WITH A WONDERFUL MIND

"BUT YOU HAVE
TO BUILD YOUR BODY.

YOU HAVE TO TAKE CHARGE
OF YOUR BODY."

IN A WAY... IN THE LARGER WAY,
HE WAS SAYING

"YOU HAVE TO TAKE CHARGE
OF YOUR LIFE."

Narrator:
DETERMINED TO BE WORTHY
OF HIS FATHER

THE SICKLY BOY
SPENT HOURS EVERY DAY

TRYING TO BUILD HIMSELF
A NEW BODY...

SLOWLY "WIDENING HIS CHEST,"
HIS SISTER REMEMBERED

"BY REGULAR, MONOTONOUS MOTION...
DRUDGERY INDEED."

HIS FATHER EVEN PAID
A PROFESSIONAL COACH

TO TEACH HIS SON HOW TO BOX.

AND EVERY SUMMER,
HE TOOK HIM ON CAMPING TRIPS

HIKING THROUGH MAINE
AND THE ADIRONDACKS...

AND AROUND
THE ROOSEVELT SUMMER HOME

AT OYSTER BAY ON THE SHORE
OF LONG ISLAND SOUND.

SLOWLY, THEODORE'S
NECK THICKENED

HIS CHEST EXPANDED, HE BEGAN
TO BREATHE A BIT MORE EASILY

BUT EVEN WHEN HE
LEFT HOME FOR HARVARD

HIS ASTHMA STUBBORNLY HUNG ON.

HE WAS 17 YEARS OLD

AND HAD NEVER BEEN AWAY
FROM HIS FAMILY BEFORE.

"AS I SAW THE LAST OF THE TRAIN
BEARING YOU AWAY"

"I REALIZED WHAT A LUXURY IT WAS
TO HAVE A BOY

"IN WHOM I COULD PLACE PERFECT
TRUST AND CONFIDENCE.

"TAKE CARE OF YOUR MORALS FIRST,
YOUR HEALTH NEXT

AND FINALLY YOUR STUDIES."

AT COLLEGE, THEODORE
WAS A SERIOUS STUDENT

WITH A GROWING SENSE THAT HE
WAS DESTINED FOR GREAT THINGS.

HIS CLASSMATES DIDN'T KNOW
WHAT TO MAKE OF HIM.

HE TOOK AN EIGHT MILE WALK
EVERY AFTERNOON

RAN FROM CLASS TO CLASS, AND
COULDN'T SEEM TO STOP TALKING.

McCullough:
THERE'S A GREAT MOMENT WHERE ONE
OF HIS PROFESSORS TURNS AND SAYS

"SEE, HERE, ROOSEVELT,
I'M RUNNING THIS CLASS."

Narrator:
THEN ON FEBRUARY 9, 1878,
DURING THEODORE'S SOPHOMORE YEAR

HIS FATHER DIED SUDDENLY
OF STOMACH CANCER

AT THE AGE OF 46.

THEODORE HURRIED BACK FROM
HARVARD TO A RAIN-SOAKED CITY.

HIS FATHER'S GOOD WORKS

WERE PRAISED FROM PULPITS
ALL ACROSS NEW YORK.

"I FEEL," THEODORE WROTE, "THAT
IF IT WERE NOT FOR THE CERTAINTY

THAT HE IS NOT DEAD BUT GONE
BEFORE, I SHOULD ALMOST PERISH."

SHATTERED, FOR MONTHS
HE POURED OUT HIS PAIN

AND BEWILDERMENT IN HIS DIARY.

"HOW LITTLE USE I AM
OR EVER SHALL BE."

"IF I HAD VERY MUCH TIME
TO THINK

I BELIEVE I SHOULD
ALMOST GO CRAZY."

ALONG THE SHORES
OF LONG ISLAND SOUND

HE SOUGHT RELIEF
IN THE NATURAL WORLD

AND IN CEASELESS
PHYSICAL EXERTION.

HE RAN, HIKED, BOXED,
HUNTED, SWAM, WRESTLED.

EXACTLY WHAT HIS FATHER
HAD PREACHED...

GET ACTION, GET OUT, DO THINGS.

Narrator:
HE ROWED A BOAT ACROSS LONG
ISLAND SOUND AND BACK

IN A SINGLE DAY... 25 MILES.

HE RODE HIS HORSE
ALMOST TO DEATH

AND SHOT A NEIGHBOR'S DOG
JUST BECAUSE IT SNAPPED AT HIM.

THEN HE FLED TO THE MAINE WOODS.

"OH, FATHER, MY FATHER,"
HE WROTE

NO WORDS CAN TELL HOW I SHALL
MISS YOUR COUNSEL AND ADVICE."

MANY YEARS LATER

WHEN THEODORE WAS PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES

HIS SISTER WROTE,
"HE TOLD ME FREQUENTLY

"THAT HE NEVER TOOK ANY SERIOUS
STEP OR MADE ANY VITAL DECISION

"FOR HIS COUNTRY
WITHOUT THINKING FIRST

WHAT POSITION
HIS FATHER WOULD HAVE TAKEN."

WHEN THEODORE
RETURNED TO HARVARD

HE KEPT UP HIS FURIOUS PACE.

HE JOINED NEARLY EVERY CLUB,
BEGAN A BOOK ON NAVAL HISTORY

AND FOUGHT FOR THE LIGHTWEIGHT
BOXING CHAMPIONSHIP

OF THE SCHOOL... WHICH HE LOST.

SOMEHOW, THEODORE ALSO FOUND
THE TIME TO FALL IN LOVE.

HER NAME WAS ALICE HATHAWAY LEE

THE TALL, GOLDEN-HAIRED COUSIN
OF A CLASSMATE.

SHE WAS JUST 17.

HER FAMILY CALLED HER
"SUNSHINE."

"SEE THAT GIRL?"

THEODORE TOLD A FRIEND
SOON AFTER HE'D MET HER.

"I'M GOING TO MARRY HER.

SHE WON'T HAVE ME,
BUT I'M GOING TO HAVE HER."

McCullough:
HE WAS HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE
WITH ALICE LEE.

SHE HAD WEALTH, BACKGROUND,
SHE WAS VERY APPEALING

AND SHE WAS UNATTAINABLE.

HE MUST HAVE BEEN,
KIND OF, YOU KNOW...

HE HAD THIS HIGH VOICE AND
HE WAS NO GREAT SHAKES IN LOOKS

AND SHE DIDN'T THINK HE WAS
SUITABLE I DON'T THINK FOR HER.

HE PROBABLY DIDN'T DANCE,
FOR ALL I KNOW

BUT I'VE NEVER KNOWN A ROOSEVELT
WHO WAS SUCH A GREAT DANCER.

Narrator:
THEODORE DIDN'T DANCE, ONE WOMAN
FRIEND RECALLED, HE HOPPED.

HE WAS A JEALOUS SUITOR

SO FEARFUL THAT SOMEONE
MIGHT STEAL ALICE FROM HIM

THAT HE ORDERED A PAIR
OF DUELING PISTOLS FROM FRANCE.

AT LAST ON JANUARY 25, 1880,
HE NOTED IN HIS DIARY

"I DROVE OVER TO THE LEES',
AND AFTER MUCH PLEADING

MY OWN SWEET, PRETTY DARLING
CONSENTED TO BE MY WIFE."

THEY WERE MARRIED
ON OCTOBER 27, 1880.

ON A HIGH BLUFF
OVERLOOKING OYSTER BAY

THEY PLANNED
TO BUILD A BIG HOUSE.

THEODORE NAMED IT
FOR HIS BRIDE... "LEEHOLM."

"THERE IS HARDLY AN HOUR OF THE
24 THAT WE ARE NOT TOGETHER"

HE WROTE, "AND I AM LIVING
IN A DREAMLAND.

HOW I WISH
IT COULD LAST FOREVER."

THEODORE AND ALICE
BECAME PROMINENT MEMBERS

OF NEW YORK'S MOST
FASHIONABLE SOCIETY.

LAVISH DINNERS,
THEATER PARTIES, GALA BALLS.

HARDLY A DAY WENT BY
WITHOUT SOME GLITTERING AFFAIR.

BUT TO THE WONDER
OF MOST OF HIS FRIENDS

THEODORE WAS PART
OF ANOTHER WORLD.

HE HAD DECIDED
TO BECOME A POLITICIAN.

Man:
IN 1880, WHEN THEODORE ROOSEVELT
GRADUATED FROM HARVARD COLLEGE

GENTLEMEN, MEN OF GOOD BIRTH
AND COMPETENCE, MONEY

SIMPLY DID NOT GO INTO POLITICS
AS A CAREER.

POLITICS WAS FOR MUCKERS.

Narrator:
"POLITICS ARE LOW, RUN BY SALOON
KEEPERS, HORSECART CONDUCTORS

AND THE LIKE,"
THEODORE'S FRIENDS TOLD HIM.

"THAT MERELY MEANS," THEODORE
REPLIED, "THAT THE PEOPLE I KNOW

"DO NOT BELONG
TO THE GOVERNING CLASS

AND I INTEND TO BE ONE
OF THE GOVERNING CLASS."

HE WENT INTO POLITICS,
IF INITIALLY PERHAPS ONLY TO SEE

WHAT IT TASTED LIKE

BASICALLY BECAUSE
HE WANTED TO GOVERN.

ROOSEVELT LOVED POWER.

Narrator:
WITH THE MONEY TO FINANCE
HIS OWN CAMPAIGN

ROOSEVELT WAS SOON RUNNING
AS A REPUBLICAN

FOR THE STATE ASSEMBLY

AND HIS WEALTH, HIS EAGERNESS,
AND HIS FATHER'S GOOD NAME

ALL HELPED HIM TO VICTORY.

HE WAS THE YOUNGEST MAN
IN THE ALBANY LEGISLATURE...

JUST 23 YEARS OLD.

ALBANY HAD NEVER SEEN ANYBODY
LIKE THEODORE ROOSEVELT.

HE WORE THICK SPECTACLES

AND HE HAD A RATHER HIGH-PITCHED
PATRICIAN INTONATION.

HE WOULD STAND UP THERE

IN THE HALLS
OF THE OLD CAPITOL IN ALBANY

AND SAY, "MISTAH SPEAKAH,
MISTAH SPEAKAH."

Blum:
WHEN THAT SQUEAKY VOICE BEGAN
TO MAKE MORALISTIC STATEMENTS

ON THE FLOOR
OF THE NEW YORK ASSEMBLY

WHICH WAS FILLED WITH
COUNTRY LAWYERS, MORTICIANS

SALOON-KEEPERS, AND THE LIKE

THE NEWSPAPERMEN
MADE A LOT OF IT

Narrator:
REPORTERS CALLED HIM
"HIS LORDSHIP," "A JANE-DANDY"

AND JUST PLAIN "SILLY."

McCullough:
AND THERE HE IS

AMONG SOME VERY TOUGH, PROFANE,
COLORFUL, ROUGH CHARACTERS.

Narrator:
WHEN A DRUNKEN
DEMOCRATIC ASSEMBLYMAN

THEODORE REMEMBERED THE BOXING
LESSONS HIS FATHER HAD PAID FOR.

HE KNOCKED THE MAN DOWN,
LET HIM GET UP

KNOCKED HIM DOWN AGAIN

THEN ORDERED HIM
TO GO AND WASH HIMSELF.

"WHEN YOU'RE IN THE PRESENCE
OF GENTLEMEN," HE TOLD THE MAN

"CONDUCT YOURSELF
LIKE A GENTLEMAN."

Man:
WHAT HE WANTS TO PROVE
IS THAT HE HIMSELF

AND PEOPLE LIKE HIM... IN OTHER
WORDS, CHILDREN OF PRIVILEGE...

CAN HOLD THEIR OWN...

CAN HOLD THEIR OWN
WITH THE ROUGHS OF THE WORLD.

Narrator:
DENOUNCING THE BOSSES
IN BOTH PARTIES

THEODORE DEMANDED TO BE HEARD
ON NEARLY EVERY BILL

AND CRUSADED FOR
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM.

NEWSPAPERS BEGAN CALLING HIM
THE CYCLONE ASSEMBLYMAN.

Harbaugh:
HE WAS SO APPEALING THAT
IN SPITE OF HIS GREENNESS

IN SPITE OF CHALLENGING
THE REPUBLICAN MACHINE

VIRTUALLY THE FIRST DAY HE WAS
IN THE NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY

THEY DIDN'T REALLY DISLIKE HIM.

THEY DIDN'T RUN HIM OFF.

THEY SENSED THAT THERE
WAS TOO MUCH QUALITY HERE

TO PUT THIS MAN
COMPLETELY ASIDE

AND ANYWAY, HE WOULDN'T HAVE
LET THEM DO IT, YOU SEE.

HE WAS SO VIGOROUS.

Narrator:
ROOSEVELT WAS ABOVE ALL
A MORALIST.

EVERY ISSUE BECAME A CLASH
BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL.

THE OTHER WAS THE SIDE
OF CORRUPTION OR SELF-INTEREST.

HE TOLD A FRIEND, "I HONESTLY
MEAN TO ACT ON ALL QUESTIONS

AS I THINK FATHER WOULD
HAVE DONE HAD HE LIVED."

IN 1882, WHEN A BILL
WAS INTRODUCED IN THE ASSEMBLY

TO PROTECT CIGAR WORKERS FROM
EXPLOITATION BY THEIR EMPLOYERS

THEODORE WENT TO NEW YORK'S
LOWER EAST SIDE

TO SEE FOR HIMSELF
THE CONDITIONS

UNDER WHICH THEY LIVED.

"I HAVE ALWAYS
REMEMBERED ONE ROOM

IN WHICH TWO FAMILIES WERE
LIVING," THEODORE RECALLED.

"THE TOBACCO WAS STOWED
ABOUT EVERYWHERE

"ALONGSIDE THE FOUL BEDDING

"AND IN A CORNER WHERE
THERE WERE SCRAPS OF FOOD.

"THE MEN, WOMEN AND
CHILDREN WORKED BY DAY

AND FAR INTO THE EVENING,
AND THEY SLEPT AND ATE THERE."

BROUGHT UP BY HIS FATHER
TO BELIEVE IN PRIVATE CHARITY

NOW, FOR THE FIRST TIME

THEODORE BEGAN TO SEE
HOW GOVERNMENT COULD HELP

IN WAYS THAT PHILANTHROPY
COULD NOT.

HE FOUGHT FOR THE BILL
TO PROTECT THE WORKERS

WHO MADE CIGARS AT HOME

AND IT WON, ONLY TO BE
RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL

BY THE NEW YORK
COURT OF APPEALS

WHICH INSISTED
GOVERNMENT HAD NO RIGHT

TO INTERFERE WITH BUSINESS.

THEODORE DELIGHTED IN POLITICS

AND EVERYTHING SEEMED
TO BE GOING HIS WAY.

BY 1884, HE HAD BEEN ELECTED
ASSEMBLYMAN THREE TIMES

NAMED MINORITY LEADER

AND HIS WIFE WAS PREGNANT.

HE WAS JUST 25 YEARS OLD.

ON THE MORNING OF FEBRUARY 13,
HE WAS IN ALBANY

WHEN HE RECEIVED A TELEGRAM
FROM NEW YORK.

ALICE HAD GIVEN BIRTH
TO A BABY GIRL.

A FRIEND REMEMBERED, HE WAS
"FULL OF LIFE AND HAPPINESS."

BUT THEN A SECOND,
OMINOUS TELEGRAM

HAD SENT HIM RACING
FOR THE TRAIN.

A THICK FOG HAD SETTLED
OVER THE CITY.

A MORNING PAPER CALLED IT
"SUICIDE WEATHER."

GUIDED BY STREETLAMPS THAT
"LOOKED AS THOUGH GRAY CURTAINS

HAD BEEN DRAWN AROUND THEM"

HE RUSHED TO THE FAMILY HOME.

McCullough:
HE PULLS UP IN A CARRIAGE,
GETS DOWN, GOES UP THE STAIRS.

RAINING, THE FOG.

HE'S FULL OF APPREHENSION.

AND THE DOOR IS SUDDENLY FLUNG
OPEN BY HIS BROTHER

WHO STANDS THERE IN ANGUISH

SAYING, "MOTHER IS DYING
AND YOUR WIFE IS, TOO."

Narrator:
THEODORE RAN UPSTAIRS.

ALICE COULD NO LONGER
RECOGNIZE HIM.

SHE WAS DYING OF BRIGHT'S
DISEASE, KIDNEY FAILURE.

HELPLESS, HE HELD HER
IN HIS ARMS.

IN A BEDROOM DOWNSTAIRS

HIS MOTHER WAS MORTALLY ILL
WITH TYPHOID FEVER.

WITHIN THE NEXT FEW HOURS,
BOTH WOMEN WERE DEAD.

HIS MOTHER WAS ONLY 48...

ALICE, JUST 22.

McCullough:
AND THE CURTAIN CAME
DOWN FOR HIM.

WHAT MORE DID HE HAVE
TO LIVE FOR?

THIS TRAGEDY COMING
LIKE SLEDGEHAMMER BLOWS

WITHIN HOURS ON THE SAME NIGHT.

HE NEVER GOT OVER IT.

HE NEVER, EVER GOT OVER IT.

Narrator:
HE WAS "IN A STUNNED, DAZED
STATE," A FRIEND SAID.

"HE DOES NOT KNOW
WHAT HE DOES OR SAYS."

IN HIS DIARY HE WROTE, "THE
LIGHT HAS GONE OUT OF MY LIFE."

THE BABY SURVIVED.

THREE DAYS AFTER
HER MOTHER'S DEATH

HIS DAUGHTER WAS
CHRISTENED ALICE.

BUT THEODORE SHOWED
NO INTEREST IN HER

TURNED HER OVER
TO THE CARE OF HIS SISTER.

NO ONE EVER HEARD HIM SPEAK
OF HIS WIFE AGAIN

AND NEVER ONCE
IN ALL THE COMING YEARS

WOULD HE MENTION ALICE LEE
TO THE DAUGHTER

HE HAD NAMED IN HER MEMORY.

AFTER THE DEATH
OF HIS WIFE AND MOTHER

THEODORE ROOSEVELT FLED WEST
TO THE BADLANDS

IN DAKOTA TERRITORY.

FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS

ROOSEVELT WOULD THROW HIMSELF
INTO A LIFE

OF ALMOST CONSTANT ACTION.

"BLACK CARE," HE WROTE

"RARELY SITS BEHIND A RIDER
WHOSE PACE IS FAST ENOUGH."

McCullough:
HE GOES TO THE BADLANDS
OF NORTH DAKOTA

WHICH ARE NAMED
BECAUSE THEY ARE GRIM.

THEY LOOK BAD.

IN ONE OF HIS VIVID
FIGURES OF SPEECH

HE SAID, "THEY LOOK
LIKE POE SOUNDS."

HE WANTED TO FIND SOME
MANIFESTATION IN NATURE

OF THIS DARK, TRAGIC,
OVERWHELMING LANDSCAPE WITHIN.

Narrator:
"I GROW VERY FOND OF THIS PLACE"

THEODORE WROTE
HIS SISTER THAT SUMMER.

"IT CERTAINLY HAS
A DESOLATE, GRIM BEAUTY."

ROOSEVELT SETTLED INTO A SPREAD
ON THE LITTLE MISSOURI

AND BECAME A RANCHER...
ON HIS OWN TERMS.

McCullough:
WHEN HE WENT WEST AS A COWBOY,
HE WENT ALL STOPS OUT.

HE HAD HIS SPURS
AND HIS BELT BUCKLES

AND HIS PEARL-HANDLED REVOLVERS
ALL DONE FOR HIM BY TIFFANY.

HE HAD A WOMAN MAKE HIM A COWBOY
SHIRT WITH FRINGE AND ALL

THAT COST A HUNDRED DOLLARS.

WELL, THAT WOULD BE A THOUSAND
DOLLARS OR $1,500 TODAY.

IMAGINE GETTING YOURSELF UP IN
A THOUSAND-DOLLAR COWBOY SHIRT.

Narrator:
THE COWBOYS CALLED HIM
"FOUR EYES" AND "STORM WINDOWS"

AND TEASED HIM
ABOUT HIS FANCY GRAMMAR.

McCullough:
THEY WOULD GO CHARGING OFF
BY HORSEBACK

AND HE WOULD SHOUT OVER TO THEM,
"HASTEN FORWARD QUICKLY THERE."

THEY'D JUST ABOUT
FALL OUT OF THE SADDLE

IT WAS SO HILARIOUS.

Narrator:
DESPITE HIS EASTERN MANNERS

ROOSEVELT IMPRESSED
EVERYONE HE MET

WITH HIS GRIT AND DETERMINATION.

McCullough:
THEODORE ROOSEVELT
WAS NOT A VERY GOOD SHOT.

HE WASN'T A VERY GOOD RIDER.

IT'S JUST THAT HE TRIED HARDER
THAN EVERYBODY ELSE.

HE WENT ON ROUNDUPS.

HE BRAVED EVERY KIND OF WEATHER.

IN THE WINTER, IT WAS PUNISHING

SOMETIMES 35, 40
EVEN 65 BELOW ZERO.

GRADUALLY, THIS COMIC CHARACTER
WHO THEY HAD MADE SUCH SPORT OF

BECAME ADMIRED
BECAUSE HE COULD TAKE IT.

THERE WAS AN INCIDENT ONE NIGHT

WHERE A BULLY WHO'D BEEN
DRINKING HEAVILY

CAME AT HIM IN A BAR

AND THIS YOUNG HARVARD FELLOW
WITH THE GLASSES

AND THE STRANGE WAY OF TALKING,
DECKED HIM, KNOCKED HIM COLD

AND, OF COURSE, THAT ENDEARED
HIM TO HIS COWBOYS QUITE A LOT.

Narrator:
"ALL STRANGENESS
PASSED OFF," HE WROTE.

"THE ATTITUDE OF
MY FELLOW COWPUNCHERS

"BEING ONE OF
FRIENDLY FORGIVENESS

EVEN TOWARD MY SPECTACLES."

McCullough:
HE LIKED TO SAY, "THERE WERE
ALL KINDS OF THINGS

"OF WHICH I WAS AFRAID...

"MEAN HORSES, GUNFIGHTERS
AND GRIZZLY BEARS.

"BUT BY ACTING AS IF I WERE NOT
AFRAID, WASN'T AFRAID AT ALL

I FOUND THAT I WASN'T AFRAID."

Narrator:
THE WEST TOUGHENED
THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S BODY.

HIS ASTHMA WOULD
ONLY RARELY RETURN

AND IT REVIVED
HIS FAILING SPIRIT.

McCullough:
THE ROBUST THEODORE ROOSEVELT

THE MAN THAT WE KNOW WHO BECOMES
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

CAME OUT OF THE BADLANDS,
RETURNED TO NEW YORK

REMADE PHYSICALLY,
EMOTIONALLY AND MENTALLY.

Williams:
IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR THE TIME
THAT HE WAS IN THE BADLANDS

HE NEVER WOULD HAVE
BEEN PRESIDENT.

HE KNEW THAT HE HAD
TO CARRY ON

AND IT TOOK HIM QUITE
A LONG TIME TO DECIDE

I THINK THEN HE BEGAN TO THINK
MORE ABOUT MY GRANDMOTHER.

Narrator:
EDITH CAROW HAD KNOWN
THEODORE ROOSEVELT

HE HAD BEEN HER FIRST LOVE,
AND SHE HAD NEVER FORGOTTEN HIM.

Man:
EDITH HAD LIVED
JUST A FEW HOUSES AWAY

FROM THE ROOSEVELT FAMILY

AND WAS VIRTUALLY THE SAME AGE
AS THEODORE'S SISTER CORRINE.

WHEN EDITH WAS
ABOUT FOUR YEARS OLD

SHE DEVELOPED
A VERY STRONG ATTACHMENT

TO CORRINE'S
OLDER BROTHER THEODORE

WHO WAS ALL OF SEVEN YEARS OLD.

Jackson:
THEY USED TO WRITE
EACH OTHER ALL THE TIME.

HE'D TELL HER ALL ABOUT
THE BUGS HE'D COLLECTED.

IT'S SO ADORABLE.

THEY REALLY KNEW
EACH OTHER WELL.

Narrator:
WHEN THEODORE NEEDED COMFORT

AFTER THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER,
IT WAS EDITH TO WHOM HE TURNED.

Kermit Roosevelt:
HIS DIARY REFLECTS SPENDING
VIRTUALLY EVERY DAY WITH HER

ROWING ONE DAY,
RIDING THE NEXT DAY

PICNICS, ETC., ETC.

AND THEN SUDDENLY, TWO WEEKS
AFTER HER 17th BIRTHDAY

THERE'S A REFERENCE
TO A MEETING IN THE SUMMER HOUSE

AND A SQUABBLE, A BLOWUP

AND NEITHER EDITH
NOR THEODORE EVER TOLD ANYBODY

WHAT HAPPENED THAT AFTERNOON.

Narrator:
THE DEATH OF ALICE LEE HAD LEFT
THEODORE FREE TO MARRY AGAIN

BUT HE STRONGLY DISAPPROVED OF
SECOND MARRIAGES FOR WIDOWERS.

THEY REVEALED A "WEAKNESS
IN A MAN'S CHARACTER," HE SAID

AND IMPLIED DISLOYALTY
TO THE MEMORY OF HIS DEAD WIFE.

Tweed Roosevelt:
HE KNEW THAT EDITH WAS A THREAT

AFTER ALICE'S DEATH...
A THREAT IN HIS MIND TO HIS IDEA

THAT HE WOULD REMAIN CONSTANT
TO HIS FIRST WIFE.

THAT WHEN HE CAME BACK
TO NEW YORK FROM THE WEST

ON HIS OCCASIONAL VISITS

TO MAKE SURE THAT
EDITH WASN'T AROUND.

SISTERS DON'T ALWAYS DO
WHAT BROTHERS TELL THEM TO DO

AND IN FACT SHE HAD AN ENTIRELY
DIFFERENT THING IN MIND.

SO AFTER MAYBE HIS THIRD
OR FOURTH TRIP

CLEARLY NOT BY ACCIDENT

EDITH WAS THERE
AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS

WHEN T.R. RETURNED FROM THE WEST

AND IT WAS ALL OVER
FROM THEN ON.

Jackson:
IMMEDIATELY HE SEES EDITH, ALL
THE OLD FEELINGS SURGE UP AGAIN

AND HE'S PASSIONATELY
IN LOVE AGAIN.

McCullough:
THERE ARE MOMENTS

WHEN OTHERS WOULD HEAR HIM
PACING THE ROOM UPSTAIRS SAYING

"I HAVE NO CONSTANCY,
I HAVE NO CONSTANCY."

HE TOOK HIMSELF VERY SERIOUSLY.

Narrator:
THEIR COURTSHIP WAS
CONDUCTED IN SECRECY.

THEY KEPT THEIR ENGAGEMENT
TO THEMSELVES FOR ALMOST A YEAR.

EDITH EVEN MOVED
WITH HER FAMILY TO LONDON

WHERE SHE AND THEODORE
WERE FINALLY MARRIED

IN A QUIET CEREMONY
ON DECEMBER 2, 1886.

HER LONG WAIT FOR HIM WAS OVER.

EDITH AND THEODORE WENT TO LIVE

IN THE HILLTOP HOUSE
AT OYSTER BAY

WHICH HE RENAMED SAGAMORE HILL.

"SAGAMORE" WAS AN ABNAKI
INDIAN WORD FOR "CHIEFTAIN."

ALICE, THEODORE'S
THREE-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER

WAS FINALLY BROUGHT
TO LIVE WITH HER FATHER

BUT BOTH THEODORE AND EDITH

ACTED AS IF HER REAL MOTHER
HAD NEVER EXISTED.

McCullough:
IMAGINE RAISING A CHILD AND YOU
WILL NOT TALK WITH THAT CHILD

ABOUT HER OWN MOTHER...
TELL HER ABOUT HER MOTHER

WHAT DID SHE LOOK LIKE,
HOW DID SHE SPEAK

WHAT WAS THE SOUND OF HER VOICE,
WHAT WAS SO WONDERFUL ABOUT HER

WHY DID HE LOVE HER SO.

Narrator:
IN 1887, THEODORE
AND EDITH'S FIRST CHILD

THEODORE, JR., WAS BORN.

EVENTUALLY, SIX CHILDREN
WOULD TUMBLE ACROSS THE LAWNS

AT SAGAMORE HILL.

Williams:
SHE HAD A SORT OF A,
A LEVELING INFLUENCE ON HIM.

THEY WERE A PERFECTLY
SUITED COUPLE, REALLY

BECAUSE THEY HAD VERY
MANY DIFFERENT INTERESTS.

SHE LOVED MUSIC.

HE WAS TONE DEAF.

HE, OF COURSE,
LOVED THE OUTDOORS.

SHE DIDN'T DO ANY OF THE
VERY ACTIVE THINGS THAT HE DID.

McCullough:
AND I THINK SHE SAW,
AS WELL AS PERHAPS ANYONE DID

WHAT MIGHT BE IN STORE FOR HIM

THAT THIS REALLY WAS
AN EXTRAORDINARY HUMAN BEING

AND THERE WAS VERY LITTLE LIMIT
TO HOW FAR HE COULD GO.

Narrator:
THEODORE LOVED MARRIED LIFE,
LOVED SAGAMORE HILL

AND HIS PRODIGIOUS ENERGY
FOUND AN OUTLET IN WRITING.

BOOK AFTER BOOK
BEGAN TO FLOW FROM HIS PEN...

HUNTING TRIPS OF A RANCHMAN,
ESSAYS ON PRACTICAL POLITICS

AND A SERIES OF BOOKS THAT WOULD
EVENTUALLY BECOME A BEST SELLER:

THE WINNING OF THE WEST
IN FOUR VOLUMES.

BUT ROOSEVELT COULDN'T STAY AWAY
FROM PUBLIC LIFE.

IN 1886, HE RAN IN A THREE-WAY
RACE FOR MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY

AND FINISHED THIRD.

HE WENT TO WASHINGTON
AS A CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSIONER

AND MADE THE MOST OF IT.

HE EVEN INSISTED
ON EXPOSING FRAUD

WITHIN THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE
PRESIDENT WHO HAD APPOINTED HIM.

AND THEN IN 1895, TOOK ON
A NEW KIND OF CORRUPTION.

HE WAS APPOINTED

ONE OF FOUR NEW YORK CITY
POLICE COMMISSIONERS

AND SPENT THE NEXT TWO YEARS

NOISILY CLEANING UP
THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.

INSISTED THAT THE LAW
THAT CLOSED SALOONS ON SUNDAYS

BE ENFORCED
AGAINST RICH AND POOR ALIKE

AND HE DEMANDED THAT
ALL NEW YORK CITY POLICE

MEET CERTAIN STANDARDS.

Man:
THEY HAD TO BE ABLE
TO READ AND WRITE

AND THEY HAD TO HAVE TRAINING.

THERE WAS NO TRAINING
IN ORDNANCE, IN THE USE OF GUNS

NOR WAS THERE
ANY REQUIRED WEAPON...

YOU SUPPLIED YOUR OWN PISTOL.

SO HE INTRODUCED STANDARD
WEAPONS, PISTOL PRACTICE

AND THAT PISTOL SCHOOL
THAT HE STARTED

IS THE BASIS
OF THE PRESENT POLICE ACADEMY

AND WAS ONE OF THE FIRST
TWO SCHOOLS FOR POLICE TRAINING

IN THE UNITED STATES.

Narrator:
COMMISSIONER ROOSEVELT
WAS TIRELESS.

HE PROWLED THE STREETS
AT NIGHT IN DISGUISE

MAKING SURE HIS MEN
WERE ON THE JOB.

"THESE MIDNIGHT RAMBLES
ARE GREAT FUN," ROOSEVELT SAID.

"MY WORK BRINGS ME INTO CONTACT
WITH EVERY CLASS OF PEOPLE.

I GET A GLIMPSE OF THE REAL LIFE
OF THE SWARMING MILLIONS."

REPORTERS TRAILED HIM
EVERYWHERE.

STRANGERS NOW SHOUTED "TEDDY!"
AS HE PASSED BY.

PAPERS AS FAR AWAY AS LONDON
HEADLINED HIS EXPLOITS

AND STREET HAWKERS BEGAN TO SELL
BIG CELLULOID TEETH

IN IMITATION OF HIS REAL ONES.

THE ROOSEVELT LEGEND
WAS GROWING.

Cooper:
THIS IS WHEN THE CARTOONISTS
REALLY BEGIN

TO TAKE UP THEODORE ROOSEVELT.

MUSTACHE, GLASSES, AND TEETH...
HE IS THE CARTOONIST'S DREAM.

AND THIS IS WHAT MAKES HIM
THE FAMILIAR FIGURE.

Narrator:
"HE MUST BE PRESIDENT SOME DAY,"
ONE OBSERVER SAID

"A MAN YOU CAN'T CAJOLE,
CAN'T FRIGHTEN, CAN'T BUY."

IN 1897, ROOSEVELT WAS READY
TO MOVE ON TO BIGGER THINGS.

WHEN THE NEW REPUBLICAN
PRESIDENT, WILLIAM McKINLEY

OFFERED HIM THE POST OF
ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE NAVY

HE JUMPED AT THE CHANCE.

ROOSEVELT BELIEVED
IN AMERICA'S DESTINY

Cooper:
THEODORE ROOSEVELT WANTED TO BE
ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE NAVY

BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE
THE ACTION WAS.

HE BELIEVED THAT NO NATION
COULD BE GREAT

COULD BE TRULY GREAT
IN THE WORLD

UNLESS IT WAS GREAT ON THE SEAS.

FASTER SHIPS, BIGGER SHIPS...

THIS IS WHERE THE GREAT
ARMS RACE IS GOING ON.

Narrator:
BY THE END OF THE 19th CENTURY

AMERICA HAD BECOME THE RICHEST
AND MOST PRODUCTIVE COUNTRY

IN THE WORLD

AND WAS READY TO ASSUME
THE ROLE OF A WORLD POWER.

IN THE CONTEST
FOR COMMERCIAL MARKETS

WITH COUNTRIES
LIKE ENGLAND AND GERMANY

ROOSEVELT WAS PREPARED
TO LEAD THE WAY.

Man:
IN THE 1880s AND THE 1890s

ASIA, AFRICA,
EVEN PARTS OF LATIN AMERICA

WERE BEING DIVIDED
AMONG THE IMPERIAL POWERS.

THE BRITISH, THE FRENCH,
THE GERMANS WERE VERY ACTIVE

THAT IF THE UNITED STATES
DID NOT ENTER THIS RACE

IT WOULD BE LEFT BEHIND.

Blum:
IT WAS A MATTER FOR HIM
OF NATIONAL PRIDE

AND OF HIS CURIOUS CONCEPT
OF MANLINESS.

MANLINESS AS A VIRTUE INVOLVED
A WILLINGNESS TO FIGHT...

NOT TO BE A BULLY, NECESSARILY,
HE DIDN'T LIKE THAT WORD...

BUT A WILLINGNESS TO STAND UP
AND ASSERT YOURSELF.

Narrator:
AND JUST AS A MAN NEEDED
TO STAND UP AND FIGHT

SO, ROOSEVELT BELIEVED,
DID A NATION.

IN THE STRUGGLE FOR
INTERNATIONAL POWER, HE ARGUED

McCullough:
ROOSEVELT FELT THAT A WAR
WOULD BE GOOD FOR THE COUNTRY.

IT WOULD STIR UP THE BLOOD.

IT WOULD BRING US TOGETHER.

IT WAS A NOBLE ASPIRATION

RATHER THAN THE KIND
OF SELF-SERVING, GRIMY BUSINESS

OF... OF COMMERCE

AND THE MERCANTILE AMBITIONS
OF THE COUNTRY.

Narrator:
JUST MONTHS AFTER
HE WAS APPOINTED

ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE NAVY

ROOSEVELT SPOKE
AT THE NAVAL WAR COLLEGE:

"COWARDICE," HE SAID,
"IS THE UNPARDONABLE SIN.

"NO TRIUMPH OF PEACE
IS QUITE SO GREAT

"AS THE SUPREME TRIUMPHS OF WAR.

"THE NATION MUST BE WILLING
TO POUR OUT ITS BLOOD

"ITS TREASURE,
AND ITS TEARS LIKE WATER

RATHER THAN SUBMIT TO
THE LOSS OF HONOR AND RENOWN."

ROOSEVELT WOULD HAVE THE CHANCE

TO PUT HIS THEORY OF WAR
TO THE TEST

IN THE JUNGLES OF CUBA.

FOR TWO YEARS,
CUBAN REVOLUTIONARIES

HAD BEEN STRUGGLING
TO OVERTHROW THE SPANISH

WHO HAD RULED THE
ISLAND FOR CENTURIES.

ROOSEVELT SIDED
WITH THE CUBAN PEOPLE

AND SET OUT TO CONVINCE
PRESIDENT McKINLEY

TO STRIKE AT THE SPANISH EMPIRE

IN BOTH CUBA
AND IN THE PHILIPPINES.

LaFeber:
THE SPANISH EMPIRE

HAD BEEN DECLINING
FOR GENERATIONS.

IT WAS SIMPLY SITTING THERE
WAITING TO BE TAKEN

AND ROOSEVELT UNDERSTOOD THAT
SPAIN WOULD BE AN EASY VICTORY.

Narrator:
THEN ON FEBRUARY 15, 1898,
IN HAVANA HARBOR

THE U.S. BATTLESHIP MAINE
BLEW UP.

266 AMERICANS WERE KILLED.

ROOSEVELT, EAGER TO PLACE
THE BLAME, RESPONDED AT ONCE:

"THE MAINE WAS SUNK
BY AN ACT OF DIRTY TREACHERY

ON THE PART OF THE SPANISH,"
HE SAID.

"THE BLOOD OF THE MURDERED MEN
OF THE MAINE

"CALLS FOR THE FULL MEASURE
OF ATONEMENT

"WHICH CAN ONLY COME

BY DRIVING THE SPANIARD
FROM THE NEW WORLD."

BUT IN SPITE
OF THE LURID HEADLINES

IT WAS NOT AT ALL CLEAR

WHAT HAD CAUSED THE MAINE
TO EXPLODE

AND McKINLEY
HESITATED TO DECLARE WAR.

PRIVATELY, ROOSEVELT SAID
THAT THE PRESIDENT

HAD THE BACKBONE
"OF A CHOCOLATE ECLAIR."

"WE WILL HAVE THIS WAR,"
ROOSEVELT SAID

AND HE DIDN'T HESITATE
TO REACH BEYOND HIS AUTHORITY

TO PREPARE FOR IT.

ON FEBRUARY 25, 1898

WHEN ROOSEVELT'S BOSS, SECRETARY
OF THE NAVY JOHN D. LONG

TOOK THE DAY OFF

ROOSEVELT CABLED SQUADRON
COMMANDERS ALL OVER THE WORLD

PUTTING THEM
IN A STATE OF HIGH ALERT.

ONE CABLE ORDERED
COMMODORE GEORGE DEWEY

TO PREPARE TO ATTACK THE
SPANISH FLEET IN THE PHILIPPINES

"THE VERY DEVIL SEEMED
TO POSSESS ROOSEVELT YESTERDAY"

LONG SAID WHEN HE RETURNED.

OUTRAGED,
LONG TOLD THE PRESIDENT

BUT McKINLEY LET ROOSEVELT'S
ORDER TO DEWEY STAND.

LaFeber:
McKINLEY WAS GOING TO WAR
ALL RIGHT

BUT HE WAS DOING IT
ON HIS OWN TIME

AND HE WAS GOING TO ENSURE

THAT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
WERE BEHIND HIM.

AND I THINK THAT IT'S
A COMMENTARY ON ROOSEVELT

THAT McKINLEY WAS GOING TO WAR

BUT HE WASN'T GOING TO WAR FAST
ENOUGH FOR THEODORE ROOSEVELT.

Narrator:
TWO MONTHS LATER,
CONGRESS DECLARED WAR ON SPAIN

AND COMMODORE DEWEY STEAMED
INTO MANILA HARBOR

AND DESTROYED THE ENTIRE
SPANISH FLEET IN THE PHILIPPINES

WITHOUT LOSING
A SINGLE AMERICAN LIFE.

AMERICA, ROOSEVELT HAD SAID,
NEEDED A WAR.

NOW AMERICA HAD A WAR

AND ROOSEVELT COULDN'T WAIT
TO GET INTO IT.

WHEN THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR
BEGAN, ROOSEVELT WAS 39

THE FATHER OF A
BOISTEROUS SWARM OF CHILDREN.

HIS SIXTH CHILD
HAD JUST BEEN BORN.

HE AND EDITH NAMED HIM QUENTIN.

HE DELIGHTED IN HIS FAMILY

REVELED IN HIS JOB
AT THE NAVY DEPARTMENT

WAS PROUD OF HIS GROWING
REPUTATION AS AN AUTHOR.

BUT HE WAS WILLING
TO RISK IT ALL

FOR THE CHANCE OF GLORY
IN BATTLE.

"I HAD DETERMINED
THAT IF A WAR CAME

SOMEHOW OR OTHER I WAS GOING
TO THE FRONT," HE WROTE.

Cooper:
HE WAS GOING
TO SEE COMBAT HIMSELF.

HE SAID, "I HAVE BEEN
ADVOCATING EXPANSION.

"I HAVE BEEN ADVOCATING
THIS WAR.

I'VE GOT TO PRACTICE
WHAT I PREACH."

Narrator:
HE RESIGNED HIS POST
AND ACCEPTED

A LIEUTENANT COLONEL'S
COMMISSION IN THE ARMY.

"THEODORE IS WILD TO FIGHT AND
HACK AND HEW," A FRIEND WROTE.

Cooper:
HE AS ABSOLUTELY DETERMINED

THAT HE WAS GOING TO FIGHT,
NO MATTER WHAT.

HE SAID HE WOULD HAVE LEFT
HIS WIFE'S DEATHBED

IN ORDER TO GO AND FIGHT.

McCullough:
HIS FATHER HAD NOT GONE TO WAR.

I DON'T THINK
THERE'S ANY DENYING

THAT WAS AT THE ROOT
OF THE DECISION.

HE WOULD DO
WHAT HIS FATHER HADN'T DONE

BECAUSE HIS FATHER
MIGHT APPROVE OF THAT

BUT ALSO BECAUSE
HE COULD DO SOMETHING

HIS FATHER HAD NEVER DONE,
IN THAT WAY OUT-DO THE FATHER.

Narrator:
WITH 12 PAIRS
OF EXTRA SPECTACLES

AND A BRAND-NEW BLUE UNIFORM

SPECIALLY RUN UP FOR HIM
BY BROOKS BROTHERS

THEODORE ROOSEVELT
WAS OFF TO WAR.

Blum:
HE WAS TERRIBLY MYOPIC.

HE WAS GOING INTO BATTLE
WITH VISION

THAT IT WOULD HAVE NOT
BEEN PERMITTED

IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR
OF A PRIVATE.

Narrator:
ROOSEVELT GOT PERMISSION
TO FORM HIS OWN REGIMENT

AND CALLED FOR VOLUNTEERS.

FROM THE MORE THAN 20,000
WHO APPLIED

WHO REFLECTED HIS OWN
WIDELY VARIED CONNECTIONS.

THERE WERE IVY LEAGUERS
AND COWBOYS

YACHTSMEN AND A SCOTTISH LAIRD

FOUR NEW YORK CITY POLICEMEN,
AN ARIZONA SHERIFF

THE TENNIS CHAMPION
OF THE UNITED STATES

CHOCTAW, CHEROKEE
AND CREEK INDIANS

AND THE WORLD'S
GREATEST POLO PLAYER...

ALL BROUGHT TOGETHER

BY THE PROSPECT OF FIGHTING
UNDER THEODORE ROOSEVELT.

ROOSEVELT HAILED THEM

AS "THE CHILDREN
OF THE DRAGON'S BLOOD."

THE NEWSPAPERS CALLED THEM
"ROOSEVELT'S ROUGHRIDERS."

"THE FIRST VOLUNTEER CAVALRY,
WROTE ONE REPORTER

"WAS THE SOCIETY PAGE,
FINANCIAL COLUMN

AND WILD WEST SHOW
ALL WRAPPED UP IN ONE."

ON JUNE 8, 1898,
ROOSEVELT AND HIS ROUGHRIDERS

BEGAN BOARDING SHIPS
IN TAMPA, FLORIDA

FOR THE SHORT JOURNEY TO CUBA.

Cooper:
HE HAD REPORTERS ALONG,
HE HAD PHOTOGRAPHERS

AND HE ALSO HAD A COUPLE
OF MOVIE CAMERAMEN

VERY EARLY MOVIE CAMERAMEN.

IN FACT,
HE DELIBERATELY MADE ROOM...

THERE WAS SOME PROTEST
FROM SOME OF THE ARMY BRASS...

BUT HE MADE ROOM TO MAKE SURE
THAT THEY COME ALONG.

Narrator:
THERE WAS SO LITTLE ROOM
ON BOARD

THAT ONLY ROOSEVELT
AND OTHER SENIOR OFFICERS

WERE PERMITTED TO BRING
THEIR HORSES.

THE ROUGHRIDERS
WOULD HAVE TO FIGHT ON FOOT.

ROOSEVELT WAS IMPATIENT
TO GET HIS REGIMENT INTO ACTION.

"IT WILL BE AWFUL," HE WROTE

"IF THE GAME IS OVER
BEFORE WE GET INTO IT."

THE ROUGHRIDERS SET SAIL
FOR CUBA TO THE POPULAR TUNE

"THERE'LL BE A HOT TIME
IN THE OLD TOWN TONIGHT."

LaFeber:
THERE WERE OFTEN ORCHESTRAS,
SMALL STRINGED ORCHESTRAS

PLAYING ON THE SHIPS

AND THERE ARE ACCOUNTS WE HAVE

OF THESE WONDERFUL
MOONLIT NIGHTS

AS THE SOLDIERS ARE ANTICIPATING
COVERING THEMSELVES WITH GLORY

LISTENING TO THIS MUSIC
AS THEY SAIL INTO BATTLE.

IT WAS A WONDERFUL
ROMANTIC NOTION

AND, OF COURSE,
ROOSEVELT PERSONIFIED IT.

HE THOUGHT THAT WAR
COULD BE GLORIOUS.

Narrator:
"THE NEARING FUTURE," HE WROTE

"HELD MANY CHANCES OF DEATH,
OF HONOR AND RENOWN."

ON JUNE 22, 1898, THE
ROUGHRIDERS WENT ASHORE IN CUBA.

ROOSEVELT WROTE
IN HIS DIARY: "LANDED."

THE NIGHT BEFORE, HE AND
HIS MEN HAD DRUNK A TOAST

TO THE OFFICERS.

"MAY THEY GET KILLED,
WOUNDED OR PROMOTED."

12 MILES AWAY, THE SPANISH
WERE FORTIFYING THE HILLS

SURROUNDING THE CITY
OF SANTIAGO.

AN AMERICAN VICTORY ON
THE HILLS OVERLOOKING THE CITY

WOULD END THE WAR.

AS ROOSEVELT LED
THE ROUGHRIDERS INLAND

THROUGH THE DENSE UNDERGROWTH,
THEY WERE CAUGHT IN AN AMBUSH.

ROOSEVELT GAVE CHASE,
AND THE SPANISH RETREATED.

EIGHT ROUGHRIDERS WERE KILLED,
34 MORE WERE WOUNDED.

ROOSEVELT WAS ENJOYING
EVERY MINUTE OF IT.

Blum:
ONE EVENING, WITHIN
THE RANGE OF SPANISH SNIPERS

HE TOOK HIS SWAGGER STICK,
THE EMBLEM OF HIS COLONEL'S RANK

AND WALKED BACK AND FORTH
IN THE TWILIGHT

WITH THE ENEMY SHOOTING AT HIM.

HIS TENTMATE SAID TO HIM
WHEN HE GOT BACK

HE SAID, "COLONEL, DIDN'T YOU
REALIZE YOU COULD BE KILLED?"

AND ROOSEVELT SAID,
"OF COURSE I REALIZED IT

"BUT THAT'S BEEN THE TROUBLE
ALL AFTERNOON.

"BECAUSE THE MEN WERE
AFRAID OF BEING KILLED.

I WAS GOING TO SHOW THEM THERE
WAS NOTHING TO BE AFRAID OF."

WELL, THAT WAS
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.

MOST OF US ARE AFRAID
OF BEING KILLED.

Narrator:
AFTER MORE THAN A WEEK

OF FIGHTING THEIR WAY
THROUGH THE JUNGLE

THE ROUGHRIDERS REACHED THE
HILLS OVERLOOKING SANTIAGO.

ON THE MORNING OF JULY 1,
THEY WERE ORDERED TO ATTACK.

WHILE HIS MEN WAITED
FOR HIS SIGNAL

ROOSEVELT PREPARED TO MOUNT
HIS CHESTNUT STALLION, TEXAS.

McCullough:
THIS WAS TO BE
HIS "CROWDED HOUR"...

HIS GREAT MOMENT.

AND THEY'RE ABOUT
TO TAKE THE HILL

AND HE SAYS,
"GENTLEMEN, CHARGE."

"ALL MEN WHO FEEL ANY POWER
OF JOY IN BATTLE," HE WROTE

"KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE WHEN
THE WOLF RISES IN THE HEART."

AS IF HE WERE DRIVEN
BY SOME ELEMENTAL FORCE

ROOSEVELT RACED UP THE SLOPE.

BULLETS NICKED HIS ELBOW,
PUNCTURED HIS BOOT

CUT DOWN MEN
ON EITHER SIDE OF HIM.

NEARLY A QUARTER OF HIS MEN
WERE KILLED OR WOUNDED.

WHEN SOME HESITATED UNDER THE
DEADLY FIRE, HE SHOUTED AT THEM:

"ARE YOU AFRAID TO STAND UP
WHEN I AM ON HORSEBACK?"

COMING UPON A DYING ROUGHRIDER,
HE STOPPED, SHOOK HIS HAND

AND SAID, "WELL, OLD MAN,
ISN'T THIS SPLENDID?"

THE ROUGHRIDERS TOOK THE HILL,
BUT ROOSEVELT KEPT GOING.

HE LED ANOTHER CHARGE UP
A SECOND HILL... SAN JUAN HILL.

IT WAS, HE SAID,
"THE GREAT DAY OF MY LIFE."

"I AM QUITE CONTENT TO GO NOW

AND TO LEAVE MY CHILDREN
AT LEAST AN HONORABLE NAME."

THE SANTIAGO GARRISON FELL.

THE SPANISH SURRENDERED.

WHAT REMAINED
OF THE 400-YEAR-OLD EMPIRE

THAT BEGAN WITH COLUMBUS

HAD BEEN DESTROYED
IN LESS THAN 50 DAYS.

AMERICAN SOLDIERS
WERE HEADING HOME.

LaFeber:
SECRETARY OF STATE
JOHN HAY CALLED IT

BUT IN MANY RESPECTS IT WAS
A VERY CHEAP, ROMANTIC WAR.

THE UNITED STATES WON,
ESSENTIALLY, AN EMPIRE

TO THE ACCOMPANIMENT OF STRINGED
ORCHESTRAS IN ABOUT SIX WEEKS.

ROOSEVELT THOUGHT
THAT THIS WAS GOING TO BE

THE WAY OF WAR IN THE FUTURE

AND HE NEVER BELIEVED
THAT THERE WOULD BE

THE KIND OF TERROR
AND HORROR AND BLOODSHED

THAT FINALLY OCCURRED
IN 1914 AND '15.

IT WAS A VERY
DIFFERENT KIND OF WAR.

Narrator:
ROOSEVELT RETURNED HOME
A NATIONAL HERO...

A PERFECT CANDIDATE
FOR HIGHER POLITICAL OFFICE.

THE CALL CAME FROM SENATOR
THOMAS COLLIER PLATT.

KNOWN AS "THE EASY BOSS"

BECAUSE OF HIS POLISHED MANNERS
AND QUIET VOICE

HE RAN REPUBLICAN POLITICS
IN NEW YORK STATE

WITH A GRIP OF IRON.

JUST 33 DAYS AFTER ROOSEVELT
RETURNED FROM CUBA

PLATT SUMMONED HIM
TO THE FIFTH AVENUE HOTEL

AND OFFERED HIM THE REPUBLICAN
NOMINATION FOR GOVERNOR.

BUT THE PARTY BOSS WAS WORRIED.

HE DIDN'T LIKE THEODORE
ROOSEVELT'S RECORD AS A REFORMER

AND WANTED TO MAKE CERTAIN
THAT THE UNPREDICTABLE WAR HERO

WOULD BE A LOYAL SOLDIER
IN THE REPUBLICAN RANKS.

PLATT AND ROOSEVELT
STRUCK A DEAL.

Blum:
HE PROMISED TO CONSULT THE
MACHINE IN MAKING APPOINTMENTS.

HE DIDN'T PROMISE ALWAYS TO TAKE
THE MACHINE'S RECOMMENDATION.

HE WAS SAYING, "I'M NOT GOING
TO BE AN INDEPENDENT.

"I'M GOING TO BE
A GOOD REPUBLICAN

AND WE'RE GOING TO WORK
TOGETHER AT THIS."

ROOSEVELT CAMPAIGNED
UP AND DOWN THE STATE

ESCORTED BY UNIFORMED
ROUGHRIDERS.

EVERY SPEECH WAS PRECEDED
BY A BUGLE-BLOWING "CHARGE."

"AT CARTHAGE IN JEFFERSON
COUNTY," A FRIEND REMEMBERED

"HE SPOKE ABOUT TEN MINUTES...
THE SPEECH WAS NOTHING

"BUT THE MAN'S PRESENCE
WAS EVERYTHING.

IT WAS ELECTRICAL, MAGNETIC."

HIS REPUTATION AS A WAR HERO

AND THE SHEER FORCE
OF HIS PERSONALITY

WON HIM A NARROW VICTORY.

"I HAVE PLAYED IT WITH BULL LUCK
THIS SUMMER," HE WROTE A FRIEND.

"FIRST TO GET INTO THE WAR,
THEN TO GET OUT OF IT

BOSS PLATT SOON FOUND THAT
HE HAD MADE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE.

AS GOVERNOR, ROOSEVELT REFUSED
TO BE CONTROLLED.

HE CHALLENGED PLATT'S
NOMINEES FOR OFFICE

SUPPORTED REGULATION OF
FACTORIES AND TENEMENT WORKSHOPS

FOUGHT TO PRESERVE STATE FORESTS

EVEN WORKED CLOSELY
WITH SOME LABOR LEADERS.

"I WANT TO GET RID OF THE
BASTARD," PLATT SAID.

"I DON'T WANT HIM RAISING HELL
IN MY STATE ANY LONGER.

ROOSEVELT HAD A SENSE OF WHAT
WAS NECESSARY FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE

WHICH DIDN'T RUN QUITE
WITH THE BUSINESS INTERESTS

WHO WERE SUPPORTING PLATT.

SO PLATT THOUGHT
IT WOULD BE A LOT SAFER

IF HE COULD KICK ROOSEVELT
UPSTAIRS TO THE VICE-PRESIDENCY.

Narrator:
BUT ROOSEVELT KNEW

THE VICE-PRESIDENCY
CARRIED WITH IT NO REAL POWER.

"I WOULD RATHER
BE ANYTHING," HE SAID

"SAY, A PROFESSOR OF HISTORY."

BUT AT THE REPUBLICAN
CONVENTION IN 1900

THE PARTY FAITHFUL
CLAMORED FOR HIM

AND PLATT WAS DETERMINED
TO HAVE HIS WAY.

ROOSEVELT WAS NOMINATED
OVERWHELMINGLY

WINNING EVERY VOTE
BUT ONE... HIS OWN.

MARCH 4, 1901...
INAUGURATION DAY.

WILLIAM McKINLEY AND THEODORE
ROOSEVELT HAD WON IN A LANDSLIDE

THE BIGGEST REPUBLICAN TRIUMPH
IN MORE THAN A QUARTER-CENTURY.

BOSS PLATT WAS IN THE CROWD.

HE WANTED, HE SAID,
TO SEE THEODORE TAKE THE VEIL.

HE HAD ENDED ROOSEVELT'S
POLITICAL CAREER FOREVER.

BUT OTHERS WERE NOT SO SURE.

McKINLEY'S CLOSEST
ADVISOR WARNED:

"THERE'S ONLY ONE LIFE BETWEEN
THIS MADMAN AND THE PRESIDENCY."