American Experience (1988–…): Season 9, Episode 2 - T.R.: The Story of Theodore Roosevelt (Part II) - full transcript
The film of the ships in New York harbor at the time of T.R.'s return is run backwards, as the smoke is seen going back into the smoke stacks.
Narrator:
"BLACK CARE,"
THEODORE ROOSEVELT WROTE
"RARELY SITS BEHIND A RIDER
WHOSE PACE IS FAST ENOUGH."
HE HAD OUTPACED GRIEF
IN THE DAKOTA BADLANDS
SURVIVED THE EARLY DEATHS OF HIS
FATHER, HIS MOTHER AND HIS WIFE
CHARGED UP SAN JUAN HILL
TO FAME AND GLORY
BECOME PRESIDENT AT 42,
AND TRANSFORMED THE OFFICE
JUST AS HE HAD
ONCE TRANSFORMED HIMSELF.
BUT FINALLY, EVEN HIS PACE
WOULD NOT PROVE FAST ENOUGH
AND BLACK CARE WOULD CATCH HIM
IN THE END.
MARCH 4, 1905.
FLANKED BY AN HONOR GUARD
OF ROUGHRIDERS
THEODORE ROOSEVELT HEADED
UP PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE.
HE WAS JUST 46 YEARS OLD.
"MUCH HAS BEEN GIVEN US
AND MUCH WILL RIGHTFULLY
BE EXPECTED FROM US"
HE TOLD THE CROWD.
"WE HAVE DUTIES TO OTHERS
AND DUTIES TO OURSELVES
AND WE CANNOT SHIRK EITHER."
ROOSEVELT WAS IN HIGH SPIRITS,
STAMPING HIS FEET TO THE MUSIC
WAVING GREETINGS TO THE COWBOYS
AND CIVIL WAR VETERANS
WHO PARADED IN HIS HONOR.
SEVEN-YEAR-OLD QUENTIN ROOSEVELT
BALANCED ON THE SHOULDERS
OF A SUPREME COURT JUSTICE
TO GET A BETTER VIEW.
WHEN HIS OLDEST DAUGHTER, ALICE
WAVED TOO ENTHUSIASTICALLY
AT THE CROWD
ROOSEVELT ORDERED HER TO STOP.
"THIS IS MY INAUGURATION,"
HE TOLD HER.
IT WAS A PERFECT DAY.
"HOW I WISH FATHER COULD HAVE
LIVED TO SEE IT, TOO"
ROOSEVELT SAID.
BUT EVEN AS HE BEGAN
HIS FIRST FULL TERM IN OFFICE
ROOSEVELT KNEW THAT
IT WOULD ALSO BE HIS LAST.
HE HAD PLEDGED TO SERVE
JUST FOUR YEARS.
IF, AS HE BELIEVED, HE WAS
DESTINED TO ACHIEVE GREATNESS
HE HAD LITTLE TIME
TO DO GREAT THINGS.
HE WOULD BEGIN BY RENEWING
HIS BATTLE WITH THE TRUSTS
"THE DULL, PURBLIND FOLLY
OF THE RICH;
"THEIR GREED AND ARROGANCE
AND CORRUPTION HAVE PRODUCED
A VERY UNHEALTHY CONDITION,"
ROOSEVELT WROTE.
AND HIS IMPATIENCE MIRRORED
THE MOOD OF THE COUNTRY.
MANY AMERICANS WERE
DEMANDING AN END
TO THE UNFETTERED POWERS
OF BIG BUSINESS.
FARMERS WANTED RELIEF FROM
RAILROADS CHARGING HIGH PRICES.
CONSUMERS WANTED PROTECTION FROM
RANCID, DISEASE-RIDDEN MEAT...
AND FROM PATENT MEDICINE
COMPANIES
SELLING DRUGS LACED
WITH NARCOTICS AND ALCOHOL.
A CRUSADING PRESS EXPOSED
CORPORATE GREED AND CORRUPTION
THAT OUTRAGED
ORDINARY AMERICANS.
THEY LOOKED TO
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR HELP.
THE PRESIDENT WAS OUTRAGED, TOO.
HE CHARGED THOSE HE CALLED
"MALEFACTORS OF GREAT WEALTH"
WITH ARROGANTLY IGNORING
THE PUBLIC WELFARE
AND HE PROPOSED A SERIES OF LAWS
TO REGULATE INDUSTRY.
BUT TO GET THOSE LAWS
THROUGH CONGRESS
HE WOULD HAVE TO FIGHT
THE MEMBERS OF HIS OWN PARTY.
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY WAS DIVIDED
ESSENTIALLY INTO TWO FACTIONS.
ONE, AND BY FAR THE STRONGEST,
WAS THE CONSERVATIVE FACTION.
THE OTHER WAS
A PROGRESSIVE FACTION.
TO GET SOMETHING
THROUGH THE CONGRESS
THERE HAD TO BE SOME BENDING
ON BOTH SIDES
AND ROOSEVELT AS PRESIDENT
WAS THE MAN WHO TRIED
TO PERSUADE EACH GROUP TO BEND.
Narrator:
TO REPUBLICAN CONSERVATIVES
OPPOSED TO ANY FEDERAL
REGULATION OF INDUSTRY
ROOSEVELT WAS THE ENEMY.
"WE BOUGHT THE SON OF A BITCH"
COMPLAINED A LARGE
BUSINESS CONTRIBUTOR
TO HIS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
"AND THEN
HE DIDN'T STAY BOUGHT."
AS CARTOONISTS MYTHOLOGIZED HIM
THE PRESIDENT OUTMANEUVERED
THE CONSERVATIVE CONGRESSMEN
AND WON NEW LAWS
TO PROTECT CONSUMERS.
NOTHING LIKE IT HAD EVER
BEEN TRIED BEFORE.
TO PROTECT FARMERS
FROM RAILROADS CHARGING
EXCESSIVE RATES
HE CALLED FOR STRENGTHENING THE
INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION.
TO PROTECT CONSUMERS
FROM FILTHY CONDITIONS
IN STOCKYARDS
AND FOOD PROCESSING PLANTS
HE CHAMPIONED
FEDERAL MEAT INSPECTION.
AND HE MOVED TO ENSURE
THE PURITY AND SAFETY
OF DRUGS, MEDICINE AND FOOD
WITH THE PURE FOOD AND DRUG ACT.
WHILE ROOSEVELT BATTLED
REPUBLICAN CONSERVATIVES
HE GREW IMPATIENT
WITH REPUBLICAN PROGRESSIVES
WHEN THEY REFUSED TO COMPROMISE.
HE WAS WILLING
TO WEAKEN REFORM BILLS
IN ORDER TO ENSURE
THEIR PASSAGE THROUGH CONGRESS.
HIS PUBLIC MORALIZING WAS
WAS MATCHED BY SHREWD
POLITICAL REALISM.
"I BELIEVE IN MEN WHO TAKE
THE NEXT STEP," HE WROTE
"NOT THOSE WHO THEORIZE
ABOUT THE 200th STEP."
ROOSEVELT WAS WARY OF REFORMERS
ESPECIALLY THE CRUSADING
JOURNALISTS
WHO HAD FUELED THE COUNTRY'S
FEVER FOR CHANGE.
HE BELITTLED THEM
AS "MUCKRAKERS"
ADDING A PHRASE
TO THE POLITICAL LEXICON.
Man:
WHEN THEODORE ROOSEVELT USES
THE TERM "MUCKRAKE"
IT IS A VERY PEJORATIVE TERM
HE'S USING.
WHAT HE'S SAYING IS
THAT THESE PEOPLE
WHO ARE EXPOSING
THESE VARIOUS ILLS...
THEY'RE BEING TOO NEGATIVE;
THEY ARE EXCITING THE PUBLIC.
Woman:
HE THOUGHT THAT THE REPORTERS
WHO WERE DOING THIS WORK
WERE ONLY INTERESTED IN
UNCOVERING EVIL AND DEPRAVITY
AND THAT THEY WEREN'T INTERESTED
IN SAYING ANYTHING
OF WHAT WAS GOOD ABOUT AMERICA.
HE THOUGHT THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY
A VERY POTENT FORCE FOR EVIL...
OF HYSTERICAL ANTI-GOVERNMENT,
ANTI-AMERICAN FEELING.
HE THINKS THAT
THE PROPER KIND OF REFORM
IS THE KIND THAT IS LED
BY PEOPLE LIKE HIMSELF
BY EDUCATED PEOPLE
WITH A LARGER VISION
THAT THEY KNOW WHAT'S RIGHT
THAT THEY WON'T GO TOO FAR,
THEY WON'T BE IRRESPONSIBLE.
HE BELIEVES THAT HE OUGHT
TO BE CONTROLLING THE REFORM
VERY CAREFULLY HIMSELF.
Narrator:
ROOSEVELT PRESENTED HIMSELF
AS THE REASONABLE ALTERNATIVE
TO THE RADICALS.
"CONSTRUCTIVE CHANGE OFFERS
THE BEST METHOD
OF AVOIDING DESTRUCTIVE CHANGE,"
HE ARGUED.
"REFORM IS THE ANTIDOTE
TO REVOLUTION."
THERE WAS ONLY ONE ISSUE ON
WHICH HE WOULD NOT COMPROMISE...
CONSERVATION.
"DEAR KERMIT," HE WROTE HIS SON
"MOTHER AND I
HAVE JUST COME HOME
"FROM A LOVELY TRIP
TO PINE KNOT.
"IT IS REALLY A PERFECTLY
DELIGHTFUL LITTLE PLACE.
"IN THE MORNING
I FRIED BACON AND EGGS
"WHILE MOTHER BOILED THE KETTLE
FOR TEA AND LAID THE TABLE.
"IT WAS LOVELY TO SIT AND HEAR
THE BIRDS BY DAYTIME
"AND AT NIGHT,
THE WHIP-POOR-WILLS AND OWLS
AND LITTLE FOREST FOLK."
IN 1905, EDITH ROOSEVELT
PAID $195
FOR A CABIN DEEP IN THE WOODS
EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS
OF VIRGINIA.
SHE CALLED IT PINE KNOT.
Williams:
IT WAS VERY SIMPLE.
THERE WAS NO RUNNING WATER
NO FACILITIES OF ANY KIND
NO ELECTRICITY,
AND THEY WENT THERE TO BE AWAY.
IT WAS THEIR RETREAT.
Narrator:
AS A BOY, ROOSEVELT HAD DREAMED
OF BECOMING A NATURALIST
AND EVEN AS
A VERY BUSY PRESIDENT
HE NEVER COMPLETELY ABANDONED
HIS FIRST PASSION.
HE CONTINUED TO STUDY
EVOLUTIONARY THEORY
AND ADDED TO
HIS ALREADY EXPERT KNOWLEDGE
OF LARGE MAMMALS
AND SMALL BIRDS.
Theodore Roosevelt IV:
HE TAKES GREAT PRIDE
IN IDENTIFYING
A LARGE NUMBER OF BIRDS.
AND INDEED, WHEN
JOHN BURROUGHS COMES DOWN
THEY HAVE A RACE
THROUGH THE WOODS
TO SEE WHO CAN SEE
AND IDENTIFY THE MOST BIRDS.
IT'S PROBABLY NOT BIRDING
IN THE CONVENTIONAL SYSTEM
BECAUSE HE'S JUST CHARGING
THROUGH THE WOODS AT FULL SPEED.
HE PROBABLY KNEW MORE
ABOUT THE NATURAL WORLD
HAD A GREATER INTEREST
IN NATURAL HISTORY
THAN ANY PRESIDENT
SINCE JEFFERSON.
Narrator:
AND NO PRESIDENT HAD
EVER ACTED FORCEFULLY
TO CONFRONT THE DAMAGE
PRIVATE INTERESTS HAD DONE
TO THE NATION'S PUBLIC LANDS.
AMERICA'S NATURAL RESOURCES
HAD BEEN CHEAPLY GIVEN AWAY
THEN EXPLOITED AND DESTROYED.
FORESTS HAD BEEN DECIMATED
GRASSLANDS RUINED
BUFFALO SLAUGHTERED.
BY 1900, HALF OF AMERICA'S
ORIGINAL STAND OF TIMBER
AND BILLIONS OF TONS
OF PRECIOUS TOPSOIL WASHED AWAY.
TO SAVE AMERICA'S
NATURAL RESOURCES
AND PROTECT THE WILD AREAS
THAT MEANT SO MUCH TO HIM
ROOSEVELT WOULD STRETCH
THE POWER OF THE PRESIDENCY
TO THE LIMIT.
"WE MUST HANDLE THE WATER,
THE WOOD, THE GRASSES," HE WROTE
"SO THAT WE WILL HAND THEM
ON TO OUR CHILDREN
"AND CHILDREN'S CHILDREN
IN BETTER AND NOT WORSE SHAPE
THAN WE GOT THEM."
Cooper:
CONSERVATION IS THE ONE REAL
CAUSE FOR THEODORE ROOSEVELT
WHEN HE FIRST BECOMES PRESIDENT.
IT IS THE ONLY THING
IN DOMESTIC AFFAIRS
WHERE HE GETS OUT IN FRONT
EVEN OF REFORMERS.
Narrator:
"PUBLIC RIGHTS COME FIRST,"
ROOSEVELT SAID
"AND PRIVATE INTERESTS, SECOND."
ROOSEVELT WOULD FIGHT
A RUNNING BATTLE
AGAINST THE CONSERVATIVES
IN CONGRESS
TO PRESERVE THE NATION'S
NATURAL RESOURCES
AND SOME OF ITS
MOST FAMOUS LANDMARKS.
Tweed Roosevelt:
CONGRESS WAS REFUSING TO MAKE
THE GRAND CANYON
INTO A NATIONAL PARK
AND THE REASON WAS BECAUSE
THE DEVELOPERS WERE COMING ALONG
AND THEY WERE GOING
TO "IMPROVE" IT.
WHAT T.R. DID IS HE REALIZED
THAT HE HAD THE POWER
TO MAKE NATIONAL MONUMENTS AND
THE POWER TO MAKE GAME RESERVES
AND SO HE DECLARED THE SIDES OF
THE CANYON A NATIONAL MONUMENT
AND THE BASE OF IT
A GAME RESERVE
AND HE SAID, "CONGRESS WILL COME
TO ITS SENSES EVENTUALLY."
Narrator:
ROOSEVELT AGAIN WENT INTO ACTION
WHEN THE BIRDS
OF TINY PELICAN ISLAND...
A FOUR-ACRE SPECK OF LAND
OFF THE EAST COAST OF FLORIDA...
WERE THREATENED BY HUNTERS
COLLECTING FEATHERS
TO DECORATE WOMEN'S HATS.
"IS THERE ANY LAW," HE ASKED
"THAT WILL PREVENT ME
FROM DECLARING PELICAN ISLAND
A FEDERAL BIRD RESERVATION?"
TOLD THAT THERE WAS NONE
HE SAID, "VERY WELL,
I SO DECLARE IT."
Narrator:
PELICAN ISLAND BECAME THE FIRST
FEDERAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
AND ROOSEVELT
WOULD AUTHORIZE 50 MORE
SIMPLY BY DECLARING THEM
INTO EXISTENCE.
Harbaugh:
HE PUSHED THE LIMITS
OF THE PRESIDENCY
OR REALLY WHAT HE DID WAS HE
PUSHED THE LIMITS OF THE LAW.
Narrator:
HIS CONSERVATIVE OPPONENTS
GREW MORE AND MORE FURIOUS.
"THE PRESIDENT,"
THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE SAID
"HAS GOT NO MORE USE
FOR THE CONSTITUTION
THAN A TOMCAT HAS
FOR A MARRIAGE LICENSE."
IN 1907, HIS ENEMIES
IN CONGRESS STRUCK BACK.
IN A DELIBERATE BLOW
TO ROOSEVELT'S AUTHORITY
STRIPPING HIM OF THE POWER
TO DESIGNATE NATIONAL FORESTS
OPENING UP MILLIONS OF ACRES
OF TIMBER
TO LOGGERS AND DEVELOPERS.
BUT ROOSEVELT WAS
TOO QUICK FOR THEM.
JUST DAYS BEFORE THE BILL
BECAME LAW, HE RESPONDED
BY CREATING 16 MILLION MORE
ACRES OF NATIONAL FORESTS.
Cooper:
THIS IS IN UTTER,
BLATANT DEFIANCE
OF THE WILL OF CONGRESS.
AND HE GLORIED IN WHAT HE DID.
HE SAID, "WHEN OTHERS DITHERED
AND PREVENTED ACTION
I TOOK IT."
Narrator:
"OUR OPPONENTS," HE WROTE
"TURNED HANDSPRINGS
IN THEIR WRATH
"AND DIRE WERE THEIR THREATS
AGAINST THE EXECUTIVE
"BUT THE THREATS WERE REALLY
ONLY A TRIBUTE
TO THE EFFICIENCY
OF OUR ACTION."
Cooper:
FOR HIM, IT IS REALLY
A MORAL ISSUE.
WE NEED TO PRESERVE
THE WILDERNESS.
HE BELIEVED WHEN LIFE BEGINS
TO GET TOO EASY
AND THE ELEMENTS
OF DANGER AND OF RISK
AND OF HARDSHIP ARE REMOVED
WE HAVE TO EXPOSE
OURSELVES TO THOSE AGAIN.
AND WE NEED TO PRESERVE
THE PLACES WHERE WE CAN DO THAT.
WE NEED THE CHALLENGE.
AND HE'S DEEPLY WORRIED
THAT IN A SENSE
WE WON'T BE GOOD SOLDIERS.
WE WON'T... MEN ESPECIALLY
WON'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY
TO DEVELOP THE PHYSICAL
AND THE MORAL QUALITIES
THAT WILL MAKE THEM SOLDIERS
AND CITIZENS AND DO THE THINGS...
IN OTHER WORDS,
TO MAKE THEM BE LIKE HIM.
Narrator:
BEFORE HE WAS THROUGH
ROOSEVELT HAD CREATED
FIVE NEW NATIONAL PARKS
18 NATIONAL MONUMENTS,
150 NATIONAL FORESTS...
IN ALL, PLACING
230 MILLION ACRES
OF UNITED STATES LAND
UNDER PUBLIC PROTECTION.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S
MOST ENDURING LEGACY.
THE PRESIDENT'S FAMILY CONTINUED
TO FASCINATE THE NATION.
THE OLDER CHILDREN WERE
NOW OFTEN AWAY FROM HOME.
INCREASINGLY, QUENTIN BECAME THE
FOCUS OF HIS PARENTS' ATTENTION.
"QUENTIN IS A ROLY-POLY,
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY PERSONAGE"
ROOSEVELT WROTE, "THE BRIGHTEST
OF ANY OF THE CHILDREN."
Jackson:
HE WAS THE BABY.
EVERYBODY HAS A SPECIAL
FEELING FOR THE BABY
AND THEY JUST ADORED HIM
BECAUSE, I THINK
THAT HE HAD SOMEWHAT
SOME OF THE THINGS
THAT GRANDMOTHER
LOVED IN GRANDFATHER.
Narrator:
"HIS TOWHEAD WAS ALWAYS MUSSED,"
A BOYHOOD FRIEND REMEMBERED
"HIS TIE COMING UNTIED
"HIS STOCKINGS
REFUSING TO STAY UP.
"HE WAS AS IRREPRESSIBLE
MENTALLY AS HE WAS PHYSICALLY
AND, EITHER WAY, THERE WAS
NO HOLDING HIM DOWN OR BACK."
ROOSEVELT DELIGHTED
IN EVERYTHING QUENTIN DID.
WHEN THE BOY DROPPED
A FOUR-FOOT SNAKE
IN THE LAP
OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
THEN TROTTED
INTO THE ADJOINING ROOM
TO PRESENT IT
TO FOUR WAITING CONGRESSMEN
THE PRESIDENT COULD BARELY
RESTRAIN HIS LAUGHTER.
Tweed Roosevelt:
EVEN AS A CHILD,
I THINK T.R. KNEW
THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING
SPECIAL ABOUT QUENTIN
AND THAT OF ALL HIS CHILDREN
QUENTIN, IN MANY WAYS,
HAD THE MOST PROMISE.
AND, IN MANY WAYS,
HE WAS SO LIKE HIS FATHER
THAT T.R., I THINK, THOUGHT
THAT QUENTIN MIGHT WELL BE
THE ONE THAT FOLLOWED
IN HIS FOOTSTEPS.
Narrator:
EVENTS IN FAR-OFF ASIA
HAD WORRIED THEODORE ROOSEVELT
EVER SINCE HIS DAYS AS
ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE NAVY.
NOW JAPAN AND RUSSIA
WERE FIGHTING A BLOODY WAR THERE
LaFeber:
ROOSEVELT THOUGHT ASIA WAS VERY
IMPORTANT TO THE UNITED STATES.
HE THOUGHT
THAT THE UNITED STATES
WAS ENTERING INTO WHAT HE
CALLED THE "PACIFIC CENTURY"
AND HE BELIEVED
THAT THE UNITED STATES
HAD TO DOMINATE THE PACIFIC
IN THE 20th CENTURY.
Narrator:
ROOSEVELT FEARED
THAT IF EITHER RUSSIA OR JAPAN
OVERWHELMED THE OTHER
THE BALANCE OF POWER
IN THE REGION WOULD BE UPSET.
BY 1905, AFTER
A YEAR OF FIGHTING
JAPAN WAS BEATING RUSSIA BADLY.
LaFeber:
ROOSEVELT WATCHES THIS
AND UNDERSTANDS THAT WHAT IS
EMERGING HERE IS A NEW JAPAN
A JAPAN THAT IS IN A POSITION
TO DOMINATE ASIAN POLITICS;
A JAPAN WHICH WAS BECOMING
MILITARILY PARAMOUNT
ON THE MAINLAND OF ASIA
ESPECIALLY IN KOREA
AND SOUTH MANCHURIA.
AND THERE BEGAN TO BE A FEAR
IN THE UNITED STATES IN 1905
THAT THE NEXT PLACE JAPAN MIGHT
MOVE MIGHT BE THE PHILIPPINES
WHERE THE UNITED STATES...
WHICH THE UNITED STATES,
OF COURSE, HAD TAKEN IN 1898.
AND AS A CONSEQUENCE,
ROOSEVELT BELIEVED
THAT WE HAD TO COME
TO TERMS WITH JAPAN.
Narrator:
DETERMINED TO STOP THE FIGHTING
AND PROTECT THE PHILIPPINES
ROOSEVELT SENT HIS GOOD FRIEND
SECRETARY OF WAR
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT
TO NEGOTIATE A SECRET DEAL WITH
THE JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER.
TO CONCEAL THE REAL PURPOSE
OF THIS SENSITIVE MISSION
ROOSEVELT BILLED THE TRIP
AS PURELY A GOODWILL TOUR...
AND SENT ALONG HIS
21-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER
BY HIS FIRST MARRIAGE, ALICE.
THE EYES OF THE WORLD
FOCUSED ON ALICE
AS SHE WAS SHOWERED WITH GIFTS
AND ATTENTION.
"THE JAPANESE
WERE FIRMLY CONVINCED"
THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR WROTE
"THAT ALICE WAS
THE PRINCESS ROYAL OF AMERICA."
"WHILE THE WOMEN BOWED DOUBLE
AGAIN AND AGAIN
"ALICE CLUTCHED MY ARM
AND EXCLAIMED
'I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT!'"
FROM HER RECEPTION
BY THE EMPEROR
TO HER TOUR OF
HIS PRIVATE GARDENS
THE PRESS REPORTED
EVERY DETAIL OF ALICE'S TRIUMPH.
LaFeber:
THIS IS A BAD MISTAKE
BECAUSE AS THEY'RE
FOLLOWING ALICE AROUND
TAFT SITS DOWN WITH
THE JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER
AND SECRETLY
THEY WORK OUT A DEAL.
AND THE DEAL IS THAT THE UNITED
STATES WILL RECOGNIZE
THAT JAPAN CAN TAKE OVER KOREA,
AND IN RETURN IT IS UNDERSTOOD
THAT JAPAN WILL NOT
TOUCH THE PHILIPPINES.
IT IS SO SECRET THAT TAFT
AND ROOSEVELT KEEP IT SECRET...
IT'S NOT REVEALED
FOR ANOTHER 20 YEARS.
I THINK THAT THEY'RE ASHAMED
OF WHAT THEY DID TO KOREA.
THEY ESSENTIALLY SOLD
THE KOREANS OUT TO THE JAPANESE.
Narrator:
ROOSEVELT HAD PLACATED
THE JAPANESE
BUT TO RESTORE ORDER
TO THE REGION
HE STILL NEEDED
A FULL-FLEDGED PEACE.
THAT SUMMER, HE INVITED
RUSSIAN AND JAPANESE ENVOYS
TO THE UNITED STATES.
THEY MET ON
THE PRESIDENTIAL YACHT
ANCHORED IN THE HARBOR NEAR
HIS HOME AT SAGAMORE HILL.
THE RUSSIANS WERE WEARY OF WAR.
THE JAPANESE WERE WEARY, TOO
AND NOW THEY KNEW THAT
THEY WERE FREE TO TAKE KOREA.
BUT ROOSEVELT COULD STILL
NOT BE CERTAIN OF A SETTLEMENT.
"I HAVE LED THE HORSES TO
WATER," ROOSEVELT WROTE A FRIEND
"BUT HEAVEN ONLY KNOWS
WHETHER THEY WILL DRINK
OR START KICKING ONE ANOTHER
BESIDE THE TROUGH."
OFFICIALLY, THE PRESIDENT PLAYED
NO PART IN THE NEGOTIATIONS
BUT HE REMAINED ACTIVE
BEHIND THE SCENES
PUSHING AND PRODDING
THE NEGOTIATORS
TOWARD A SETTLEMENT.
"I AM HAVING MY HAIR
TURNED GRAY," HE WROTE HIS SON.
"THE JAPANESE ASK TOO MUCH
"BUT THE RUSSIANS ARE
TEN TIMES WORSE THAN THE JAPS
BECAUSE THEY ARE SO STUPID
AND WON'T TELL THE TRUTH."
"WHAT I REALLY WANT TO DO,"
HE CONFIDED TO A FRIEND
"IS TO GIVE UTTERANCE
TO WHOOPS OF RAGE
"AND JUMP UP AND KNOCK
THEIR HEADS TOGETHER.
"WELL, ALL I CAN HOPE FOR
IS THAT SELF-REPRESSION
WILL BE ULTIMATELY
GOOD FOR MY CHARACTER."
THE FUTURE OF ASIA WAS AT STAKE.
THE BICKERING
AND BARGAINING GREW HEATED.
BUT AFTER THREE TENSE WEEKS, THE
DELEGATES AGREED TO END THE WAR.
Blum:
THE SETTLEMENT
WAS ESSENTIALLY FAIR.
IT ACCOMPLISHED
ROOSEVELT'S PURPOSE.
IT RE-ESTABLISHED
THE BALANCE OF POWER IN ASIA
WHICH IS WHAT
HE'D SET ABOUT TO DO.
Narrator:
ALTHOUGH NEITHER SIDE
WAS COMPLETELY SATISFIED
ROOSEVELT WAS DELIGHTED.
"THIS IS SPLENDID,
THIS IS MAGNIFICENT"
ROOSEVELT TOLD A FRIEND.
"IT'S A MIGHTY GOOD
THING FOR RUSSIA
"AND A MIGHTY GOOD
THING FOR JAPAN
AND A MIGHTY GOOD
THING FOR ME, TOO."
CONGRATULATIONS POURED IN
FROM AROUND THE WORLD
AND THEODORE ROOSEVELT...
WHO BELIEVED IN THE CLEANSING
MORAL POWER OF WAR
AND FIRST WON FAME FOR LEADING
THE CHARGE UP SAN JUAN HILL
WAS AWARDED THE NOBEL PRIZE
FOR PEACE.
IN LATE 1905, ALICE ROOSEVELT
AGAIN MADE HEADLINES
FOR HER FATHER.
FOLLOWING HER TRIUMPH IN JAPAN
"PRINCESS ALICE"
ANNOUNCED HER ENGAGEMENT
TO CONGRESSMAN
NICHOLAS LONGWORTH.
"ALICE IS REALLY IN LOVE,"
EDITH ROOSEVELT TOLD A FRIEND.
AMERICA WAS SWEPT UP
IN THE ROMANCE.
THE ROOSEVELTS WERE RELIEVED.
ALICE'S ECCENTRIC,
ERRATIC BEHAVIOR
HAD MADE LIFE DIFFICULT FOR THE
PRESIDENT AND THE FIRST LADY.
ALICE HAD BEEN AN INSECURE CHILD
ALWAYS CLAMORING FOR ATTENTION.
IN THE CLOSE-KNIT
ROOSEVELT FAMILY
SHE WAS ALWAYS AN OUTSIDER.
"FATHER DOESN'T CARE FOR ME,"
SHE ONCE CONFIDED TO HER DIARY
"ONE-EIGHTH AS MUCH AS HE DOES
FOR THE OTHER CHILDREN."
ALICE HAD BEEN TOLD NOTHING
ABOUT HER OWN MOTHER
BECAUSE HER FATHER
NEVER COULD BRING HIMSELF
TO SPEAK ABOUT THE DEATH
OF HIS BELOVED FIRST WIFE.
BUT AMERICANS
KNEW NONE OF THIS.
ON THE DAY OF THE WEDDING
LONG LINES WAITED
OUTSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE
FOR A GLIMPSE
OF THE BRIDE AND GROOM.
HUNDREDS OF GUESTS CROWDED
INTO THE EAST ROOM
AND REPORTERS,
PEEKING THROUGH THE DOOR
WERE ENCOURAGED
TO COVER EVERY DETAIL.
ALICE'S COUSIN
FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT
ARRANGED THE TRAIN OF HER GOWN
FOR THE OFFICIAL
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPH.
"MY FATHER ALWAYS WANTED
TO BE THE BRIDE AT EVERY WEDDING
AND THE CORPSE AT EVERY
FUNERAL," ALICE ONCE SAID.
SHE MADE SURE SHE REMAINED
THE CENTER OF ATTENTION
EVEN BORROWING A SWORD
FROM ONE OF THE PRESIDENT'S
MILITARY AIDES
TO CUT THE WEDDING CAKE.
THE MARRIAGE WOULD BE A FAILURE
BUT THE WEDDING WAS
A SPECTACULAR SUCCESS.
THANKS TO THE PRESS
AND THE PRESIDENT'S EAGERNESS
TO COOPERATE WITH IT
MILLIONS OF AMERICANS
HAD BEEN MADE TO FEEL
AS IF THEY HAD ATTENDED IT
AS PRIVILEGED GUESTS.
AT THE TRADITIONAL
NEW YEAR'S DAY RECEPTION
ON JANUARY 1, 1907, THOUSANDS
OF ORDINARY CITIZENS TURNED OUT
TO SHAKE THE PRESIDENT'S HAND.
ROOSEVELT DELIGHTED IN THE TASK
PUMPING 50 HANDS A MINUTE,
3,000 AN HOUR.
MIDWAY THROUGH
HIS SECOND TERM IN OFFICE
HE WAS AT THE HEIGHT
OF HIS POWER AND POPULARITY
AND AMERICA WAS
AT THE HEIGHT OF PROSPERITY.
ON THAT SAME NEW YEAR'S DAY,
THE WASHINGTON EVENING STAR
REPORTED THAT THE COUNTRY'S
WEALTH "HAS BEEN ROLLING UP
AT THE RATE OF
4.6 BILLION PER YEAR."
WE ARE "THE MIGHTIEST REPUBLIC
ON WHICH THE SUN EVER SHONE."
Strouse:
EVERYBODY'S PROSPERING.
THERE'S A LOT
OF SPECULATION ON WALL STREET.
THERE'S ACTUALLY BEEN A BOOM FOR
THE YEARS BETWEEN 1904 AND 1907.
EVERYTHING IS GOING...
HAS GONE RIGHT UP TO THAT POINT.
HE'S PUT THROUGH
MAJOR LEGISLATION.
HE'S MEDIATED
THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR.
HE'S DONE ALL
OF THESE GREAT THINGS.
THINGS ARE GOING GREAT.
AS FAR AS POLITICS GOES,
AS FAR AS EFFECTIVENESS GOES...
IT'S DOWNHILL FOR HIM,
AND IT'S DOWNHILL FAST.
Narrator:
IN THE FALL OF 1907, ROOSEVELT
WAS STALKING GAME IN LOUISIANA
WHEN WORD REACHED HIM THAT THERE
WAS TROUBLE ON WALL STREET.
A LARGE TRUST COMPANY
HAD FAILED.
THE STOCK MARKET
SPUN OUT OF CONTROL.
AN OBSOLETE BANKING SYSTEM
WAS NOT UP TO HANDLING
THE DEMANDS OF A MODERN
INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY.
STOCK PRICES COLLAPSED.
INTEREST RATES SOARED.
THERE WAS A RUN ON THE BANKS.
IT WAS CALLED
THE "PANIC OF 1907."
Strouse:
THERE WAS AN UNSTABLE
ECONOMIC SITUATION
BUT IF PEOPLE
HADN'T ALL TRIED
TO GET THEIR MONEY
OUT OF THE BANKS AT ONCE
IT WOULDN'T HAVE MATTERED.
ROOSEVELT ISN'T PAYING
A LOT OF ATTENTION
TO THIS PART OF HIS JOB.
IT'S JUST NOT REALLY
BEEN THOUGHT OF
HE'S INTERESTED IN POLITICS, IN
HIS POLICIES WITH CONSERVATION
AND AGAINST THE TRUSTS
BUT ECONOMICS WAS NEVER
HIS STRONG SUIT.
Narrator:
DEEP IN THE LOUISIANA CANEBRAKES
THE PRESIDENT
SEEMED UNCONCERNED.
INSTEAD OF TALKING TO REPORTERS
ABOUT THE PANIC
HE TALKED ABOUT HUNTING...
"WE GOT THREE BEARS,
SIX DEER, ONE WILD TURKEY
12 SQUIRRELS, ONE DUCK,
ONE OPOSSUM AND ONE WILDCAT.
WE ATE THEM ALL,
EXCEPT THE WILDCAT."
BUT WALL STREET WAS BLAMING
THE PANIC ON ROOSEVELT
AND THE PRESIDENT QUICKLY
RETURNED TO WASHINGTON.
Strouse:
HIS POLICIES THAT WERE
TRYING TO REGULATE THE RAILROADS
TRYING TO BUST UP
SOME OF THE TRUSTS
TRYING TO PUT IN FOOD
AND DRUG REGULATIONS
THEY THOUGHT
WERE HAMPERING BUSINESS.
THAT WAS ACTUALLY NOT THE CASE,
AND ROOSEVELT SAID SO.
HE POINTED OUT VERY CAREFULLY
THAT THIS WAS
A WORLDWIDE SITUATION.
Narrator:
IT WAS THE WALL STREET TYCOON
WHOSE POWER HE
HAD CHALLENGED IN 1902
WHO NOW CAME TO THE NATION'S
RESCUE... J.P. MORGAN.
MORGAN ORGANIZED TEAMS
OF WALL STREET FINANCIERS
TO PUT UP MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
AND WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK
FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS
HE EFFECTIVELY STOPPED THE PANIC
AND FORESTALLED A DEPRESSION.
BUT ROOSEVELT HAD
BECOME VULNERABLE.
FOR MORE THAN FIVE YEARS, HE HAD
SKILLFULLY MANIPULATED CONGRESS.
NOW, WITH THE END
OF HIS PRESIDENCY IN SIGHT
OLD GUARD REPUBLICANS
REJECTED HIS LEADERSHIP.
Blum:
HIS POWER ON THE HILL
BEGAN TO WANE
BECAUSE HE WASN'T
GOING TO RUN IN 1908.
CONGRESSMEN NO LONGER
HAD TO WORRY
ABOUT LOOKING OVER THEIR
SHOULDER AT THE WHITE HOUSE.
Narrator:
CHARGES THAT HE WAS AUTOCRATIC,
IMPULSIVE, OBSTINATE, ARBITRARY
AND THAT ABOVE ALL ELSE
HE WANTED POWER
RESOUNDED IN CONGRESS.
Cooper:
THE CRITICISM THAT HE
HIMSELF WAS SENSITIVE TO
IS THAT HE'S A POWER GRABBER.
HIS CRITICS ARE
ALWAYS LEVELING THAT AT HIM
AND WITH SOME JUSTIFICATION.
I MEAN, THIS IS A MAN
WHO DEARLY LOVED POWER
AND SOUGHT IT
AND AGGRANDIZED IT.
Narrator:
"HE IS THE MOST DANGEROUS FOE
TO HUMAN LIBERTY
THAT HAS EVER SET FOOT
ON AMERICAN SOIL"
Strouse:
ROOSEVELT HAS A GREAT MANY
CRITICS AT THIS TIME
PARTLY BECAUSE
HE'S SO AUTOCRATIC
AND TAKES HIMSELF
AS THE MEASURE OF VALUE.
HE IS THE STATE.
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT
SHOULD AND SHOULDN'T DO.
HE DID HAVE THE CHARISMA
AND THE FORCE
TO MAKE THE EXECUTIVE
OFFICE MORE POWERFUL.
IT'S ALSO WHAT CAUSED HIM
A LOT OF TROUBLE.
Cooper:
HIS CRITICS BELIEVE
HE'S GONE TOO FAR.
THEY BELIEVE THAT
HE HAS BEEN INTERFERING
WITH THE ECONOMY TOO MUCH
THAT HE HAS BEEN
GRASPING RADICAL IDEAS
AND HE RUNS INTO
THIS BRICK WALL OF OPPOSITION
FROM THE CONSERVATIVES
OF HIS OWN PARTY.
WHAT THEY DO IS
EFFECTIVELY STYMIE
ANY FURTHER DOMESTIC
INITIATIVES THAT HE TRIES.
Harbaugh:
T.R. KNEW THAT HE WAS
A LAME DUCK PRESIDENT.
HE KNEW THAT HE
COULD NOT GET MUCH
THROUGH THE CONGRESS
OF THE UNITED STATES.
AND I THINK THAT
THAT PARTLY EXPLAINS
THE ALMOST FRENZIED QUALITY OF
THESE LAST TWO YEARS IN OFFICE.
Narrator:
ON JANUARY 31, 1908
ROOSEVELT ABANDONED
ANY EFFORT TO COMPROMISE.
DEFYING THE CONSERVATIVES
IN HIS OWN PARTY
HE SENT A BLISTERING MESSAGE
TO CONGRESS
LASHING OUT AT "THOSE RICH MEN
"WHOSE LIVES
ARE EVIL AND CORRUPT...
"THE REPRESENTATIVES
OF PREDATORY WEALTH
"ACCUMULATED
BY ALL FORMS OF INIQUITY
"FROM THE OPPRESSION
OF WAGEWORKERS
TO UNFAIR METHODS
OF CRUSHING OUT COMPETITION."
Cooper:
IN THEODORE ROOSEVELT,
THERE IS THIS COMBATIVE ELEMENT.
THERE'S THIS JOY IN STRUGGLE,
JOY IN COMBAT.
IN ALL OF AMERICAN HISTORY
THERE'S NOBODY ELSE
I CAN THINK OF
WHO MORE FITS THAT TERM
"THE HAPPY WARRIOR"...
SOMEBODY WHO JUST GENUINELY
ENJOYED A GOOD SCRAP.
Narrator:
ROOSEVELT CHALLENGED CONGRESS
CALLING FOR A WHOLE
SERIES OF REFORMS:
WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION,
CHILD LABOR LAWS
THE EIGHT-HOUR WORKDAY, AN
INCOME TAX, AN INHERITANCE TAX
AND THE STRICT REGULATION
OF SECURITIES
ARGUING THAT THERE
"IS NO MORAL DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN GAMBLING AT CARDS AND
GAMBLING IN THE STOCK MARKET."
CONSERVATIVES BEAT BACK
EVERY BILL.
ROOSEVELT WAS NOW
POWERLESS TO STOP THEM.
Cooper:
HE GOES MUCH FURTHER IN THIS
PROGRESSIVE REFORMIST DIRECTION
THAN HE HAS GONE BEFORE.
I THINK PART OF IT
IS FRUSTRATION.
IT IS FRUSTRATION
WITH THE OPPOSITION
THE STYMIEING THAT IS HAPPENING
FROM THE CONSERVATIVE BARONS
ON CAPITOL HILL.
HE IS ALSO SENSITIVE
TO THE RISING TIDE
OF REFORM IN THE COUNTRY.
I THINK THERE MAY BE
ANOTHER ELEMENT, TOO.
I THINK THERE MAY BE
A PERSONAL ELEMENT IN IT.
HE SEES THE END OF HIS
PRESIDENCY APPROACHING
AND HE'S BEGINNING TO THINK
ABOUT WHAT HE HAS
AND, ESPECIALLY,
HAS NOT ACCOMPLISHED.
T.R.'S GREAT ROLE MODEL, IDEAL
AND STANDARD OF COMPARISON
IS ABRAHAM LINCOLN
AND WHAT HE'S SEEING IS THAT
HE'S HAD A SUCCESSFUL PRESIDENCY
BUT A PRESIDENCY
NOT IN GREATLY DEMANDING TIMES...
NOT WITH A WAR,
NOT WITH A GREAT CAUSE.
I THINK IT'S HARD TO MISS
A TONE OF REGRET THERE
THAT "I DIDN'T HAVE THAT"...
YOU KNOW, "I WISH I HAD..."
Narrator:
"A MAN HAS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE
OF HIS OPPORTUNITIES"
ROOSEVELT SAID, "BUT THE
OPPORTUNITIES HAVE TO COME.
"IF THERE IS NOT
THE GREAT OCCASION
"YOU DON'T GET
THE GREAT STATESMAN.
"IF LINCOLN HAD LIVED
IN TIMES OF PEACE
NO ONE WOULD HAVE KNOWN
HIS NAME NOW."
ROOSEVELT'S PRESIDENCY
WAS COMING TO A CLOSE.
HE WAS NEARLY 50 YEARS OLD.
HIS WRISTS AND KNUCKLES
NOW SWELLED PAINFULLY
WHEN HE WRESTLED, AND A BLOW
HE RECEIVED WHILE BOXING
LEFT HIM BLIND IN ONE EYE... A
TIGHTLY HELD WHITE HOUSE SECRET.
"THREE OR FOUR PERSONS CLOSE TO
THE PRESIDENT HAVE ASSURED ME"
"THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME,
EVEN HE COMPLAINS OF FATIGUE."
AS THE ELECTION DREW NEAR,
ROOSEVELT FELT BOUND
BY HIS PROMISE FOUR YEARS
EARLIER NOT TO RUN AGAIN.
Harbaugh:
I THINK HE WAS MUCH SADDENED
BY THE FACT THAT HE
WAS LEAVING OFFICE.
HE WAS TIRED,
BUT ONLY TO A POINT.
I THINK THAT HE WOULD HAVE LIKED
TO HAVE CONTINUED
AS PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES.
HE HATED TO LEAVE
THE PRESIDENCY.
IT ALSO FORCED HIM
TO LOOK FOR A SUCCESSOR.
Narrator:
THE PRESIDENT CHOSE HIS FRIEND
THE SECRETARY OF WAR,
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT
AND DETERMINED TO WIN HIM
THE REPUBLICAN NOMINATION
AND THEN MAKE HIM PRESIDENT.
AMERICANS LIKED TAFT.
THEY JOKED ABOUT HIS 300 POUNDS
OF UNDULATING FLESH
BUT TAFT NEVER SEEMED TO MIND.
"I THINK TAFT HAS
THE MOST LOVABLE PERSONALITY
I'VE EVER COME IN CONTACT
WITH," ROOSEVELT SAID.
"I ALMOST ENVY A MAN POSSESSING
A PERSONALITY LIKE TAFT'S.
ONE LOVES HIM AT FIRST SIGHT."
Harbaugh:
ROOSEVELT AND TAFT
LIKED EACH OTHER VERY MUCH.
THEY TRUSTED EACH OTHER.
I THINK THAT ROOSEVELT BELIEVED
THAT TAFT WAS MORE ATTUNED
TO HIM THAN HE WAS
BECAUSE TAFT WOULD ACQUIESCE.
HE WAS A LOYAL SUBORDINATE.
Narrator:
ROOSEVELT WAS CONVINCED
THAT TAFT WAS AS COMMITTED
TO REFORM AS HE WAS.
TAFT APPEARED
TO BELIEVE IT, TOO.
"I AGREE HEARTILY AND
EARNESTLY," HE SAID
"WITH THE POLICIES WHICH
HAVE COME TO BE KNOWN
AS THE 'ROOSEVELT POLICIES.'"
IN FACT,
TAFT WOULD HAVE PREFERRED
TO SIT ON THE SUPREME COURT, BUT
HIS AMBITIOUS WIFE AND BROTHER
WANTED HIM TO BE PRESIDENT
AND SO HE RELUCTANTLY
AGREED TO RUN.
AT THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION
ROOSEVELT SECURED TAFT HIS
PARTY'S NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT
ALTHOUGH NOT UNTIL AFTER
A 49-MINUTE DEMONSTRATION
IN FAVOR OF A THIRD TERM
FOR ROOSEVELT HIMSELF.
THEN, AS THE CAMPAIGN
GOT UNDER WAY
ROOSEVELT LENT HIM
SUPPORT AND COUNSEL.
"HIT THEM HARD, OLD MAN!"
HE TOLD HIM.
"AND DON'T," HE WARNED, "LET THE
PHOTOGRAPHERS TAKE YOUR PICTURE
ON THE GOLF COURSE."
BUT THE GOOD-NATURED TAFT
DIDN'T OBJECT.
"LET THE AUDIENCE SEE YOU
SMILE," ROOSEVELT ADVISED
"BECAUSE I FEEL THAT YOUR NATURE
SHINES OUT SO TRANSPARENTLY
WHEN YOU DO SMILE, YOU BIG,
GENEROUS, HIGH-MINDED FELLOW."
BY THE LARGEST POPULAR MAJORITY
UNTIL THAT TIME
EXCEPT FOR ONE PRESIDENTIAL
CANDIDATE... ROOSEVELT HIMSELF.
IT WAS FOR ROOSEVELT
THE PERFECT VICTORY.
THE PRESIDENT-ELECT
SENT HIM HIS THANKS:
"THE FIRST LETTER I WISH
TO WRITE IS TO YOU
BECAUSE MY SELECTION AND
ELECTION ARE CHIEFLY YOUR WORK."
NEVER AGAIN WOULD THE TWO MEN
BE SO CLOSE.
AS ROOSEVELT'S FINAL DAYS
AS PRESIDENT WOUND DOWN
WHITE HOUSE REPORTERS
WERE OPENLY UPSET.
MOST OF THEM GENUINELY
LIKED THE PRESIDENT
AND HE MADE SUCH GOOD COPY.
HIS 7 1/2 YEARS IN OFFICE
ALL CAME FLOATING BACK...
THE BATTLES WITH THE TRUSTS,
THE COAL STRIKE
THE REGULATION OF THE RAILROADS
AND THE FOOD AND DRUG INDUSTRIES
THE PANAMA CANAL, THE
INTERVENTIONS IN LATIN AMERICA
THE CONSERVATION PROGRAM,
THE NOBEL PRIZE.
"I HAVE ENJOYED MYSELF IN THE
WHITE HOUSE," ROOSEVELT SAID.
"I AM GOING
TO ENJOY MYSELF THOROUGHLY
WHEN I LEAVE THE WHITE HOUSE."
FEBRUARY 1909.
WITH ONLY TEN DAYS
LEFT IN OFFICE
ROOSEVELT MADE HIS LAST DRAMATIC
SHOW OF PRESIDENTIAL POWER.
14 MONTHS EARLIER, ROOSEVELT HAD
SENT THE FLEET AROUND THE WORLD
TO DISPLAY AMERICAN MIGHT
AND IMPRESS THE JAPANESE.
CONGRESS HAD REFUSED
TO ALLOCATE THE FUNDS
BUT ROOSEVELT IGNORED THEM.
HE TOLD THE ENRAGED CONGRESSMEN
HE WOULD SEND THE SHIPS
TO THE PACIFIC ANYWAY.
IT WOULD BE UP TO THEM
TO PROVIDE THE MONEY
TO GET THEM BACK.
NOW, AFTER STEAMING 46,000 MILES
THE GREAT WHITE FLEET
WAS RETURNING HOME.
"IT WAS ESSENTIAL,"
ROOSEVELT WROTE
"THAT WE SHOULD HAVE IT
CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD
THAT THE PACIFIC WAS AS MUCH OUR
HOME WATERS AS THE ATLANTIC."
THAT THE JAPANESE HAD NOT BEEN
ESPECIALLY IMPRESSED
BY THE GREAT WHITE FLEET
BUT HE WAS KEEPING
THAT KNOWLEDGE TO HIMSELF.
THE SHIPS BOOMED THEIR SALUTES.
THE CROWDS CHEERED
AND THE ENTIRE NATION REJOICED.
"I COULD NOT ASK,"
THE PRESIDENT SAID
"A FINER CONCLUDING SCENE
TO MY ADMINISTRATIONS."
ON MARCH 4, 1909,
THE DAY OF TAFT'S INAUGURATION
A BITTER WINTER STORM
CUT WASHINGTON OFF
FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD.
TAFT TOOK THE OATH
THEN PROMISED TO PRESERVE
AND ENFORCE
HIS PREDECESSOR'S REFORMS.
"GOD BLESS YOU, OLD MAN,"
ROOSEVELT SAID AFTERWARDS.
"IT IS A GREAT STATE DOCUMENT."
BUT ROOSEVELT'S BRAVE EXTERIOR
MASKED DEEP DISAPPOINTMENT.
"MY DEAR FELLOW,"
HE TOLD A FRIEND
"FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, DON'T TALK
ABOUT MY HAVING A FUTURE.
MY FUTURE IS IN THE PAST."
Cooper:
THIS MAN, WHEN HE LEFT THE WHITE
HOUSE, WAS ONLY 50 YEARS OLD...
YOUNGER WHEN HE LEFT
THE WHITE HOUSE
THAN ALL BUT FOUR MEN HAVE BEEN
WHEN THEY ENTERED
THE WHITE HOUSE.
WHAT'S THEODORE ROOSEVELT GOING
TO DO WITH THE REST OF HIS LIFE?
"BLACK CARE,"
THEODORE ROOSEVELT WROTE
"RARELY SITS BEHIND A RIDER
WHOSE PACE IS FAST ENOUGH."
HE HAD OUTPACED GRIEF
IN THE DAKOTA BADLANDS
SURVIVED THE EARLY DEATHS OF HIS
FATHER, HIS MOTHER AND HIS WIFE
CHARGED UP SAN JUAN HILL
TO FAME AND GLORY
BECOME PRESIDENT AT 42,
AND TRANSFORMED THE OFFICE
JUST AS HE HAD
ONCE TRANSFORMED HIMSELF.
BUT FINALLY, EVEN HIS PACE
WOULD NOT PROVE FAST ENOUGH
AND BLACK CARE WOULD CATCH HIM
IN THE END.
MARCH 4, 1905.
FLANKED BY AN HONOR GUARD
OF ROUGHRIDERS
THEODORE ROOSEVELT HEADED
UP PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE.
HE WAS JUST 46 YEARS OLD.
"MUCH HAS BEEN GIVEN US
AND MUCH WILL RIGHTFULLY
BE EXPECTED FROM US"
HE TOLD THE CROWD.
"WE HAVE DUTIES TO OTHERS
AND DUTIES TO OURSELVES
AND WE CANNOT SHIRK EITHER."
ROOSEVELT WAS IN HIGH SPIRITS,
STAMPING HIS FEET TO THE MUSIC
WAVING GREETINGS TO THE COWBOYS
AND CIVIL WAR VETERANS
WHO PARADED IN HIS HONOR.
SEVEN-YEAR-OLD QUENTIN ROOSEVELT
BALANCED ON THE SHOULDERS
OF A SUPREME COURT JUSTICE
TO GET A BETTER VIEW.
WHEN HIS OLDEST DAUGHTER, ALICE
WAVED TOO ENTHUSIASTICALLY
AT THE CROWD
ROOSEVELT ORDERED HER TO STOP.
"THIS IS MY INAUGURATION,"
HE TOLD HER.
IT WAS A PERFECT DAY.
"HOW I WISH FATHER COULD HAVE
LIVED TO SEE IT, TOO"
ROOSEVELT SAID.
BUT EVEN AS HE BEGAN
HIS FIRST FULL TERM IN OFFICE
ROOSEVELT KNEW THAT
IT WOULD ALSO BE HIS LAST.
HE HAD PLEDGED TO SERVE
JUST FOUR YEARS.
IF, AS HE BELIEVED, HE WAS
DESTINED TO ACHIEVE GREATNESS
HE HAD LITTLE TIME
TO DO GREAT THINGS.
HE WOULD BEGIN BY RENEWING
HIS BATTLE WITH THE TRUSTS
"THE DULL, PURBLIND FOLLY
OF THE RICH;
"THEIR GREED AND ARROGANCE
AND CORRUPTION HAVE PRODUCED
A VERY UNHEALTHY CONDITION,"
ROOSEVELT WROTE.
AND HIS IMPATIENCE MIRRORED
THE MOOD OF THE COUNTRY.
MANY AMERICANS WERE
DEMANDING AN END
TO THE UNFETTERED POWERS
OF BIG BUSINESS.
FARMERS WANTED RELIEF FROM
RAILROADS CHARGING HIGH PRICES.
CONSUMERS WANTED PROTECTION FROM
RANCID, DISEASE-RIDDEN MEAT...
AND FROM PATENT MEDICINE
COMPANIES
SELLING DRUGS LACED
WITH NARCOTICS AND ALCOHOL.
A CRUSADING PRESS EXPOSED
CORPORATE GREED AND CORRUPTION
THAT OUTRAGED
ORDINARY AMERICANS.
THEY LOOKED TO
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR HELP.
THE PRESIDENT WAS OUTRAGED, TOO.
HE CHARGED THOSE HE CALLED
"MALEFACTORS OF GREAT WEALTH"
WITH ARROGANTLY IGNORING
THE PUBLIC WELFARE
AND HE PROPOSED A SERIES OF LAWS
TO REGULATE INDUSTRY.
BUT TO GET THOSE LAWS
THROUGH CONGRESS
HE WOULD HAVE TO FIGHT
THE MEMBERS OF HIS OWN PARTY.
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY WAS DIVIDED
ESSENTIALLY INTO TWO FACTIONS.
ONE, AND BY FAR THE STRONGEST,
WAS THE CONSERVATIVE FACTION.
THE OTHER WAS
A PROGRESSIVE FACTION.
TO GET SOMETHING
THROUGH THE CONGRESS
THERE HAD TO BE SOME BENDING
ON BOTH SIDES
AND ROOSEVELT AS PRESIDENT
WAS THE MAN WHO TRIED
TO PERSUADE EACH GROUP TO BEND.
Narrator:
TO REPUBLICAN CONSERVATIVES
OPPOSED TO ANY FEDERAL
REGULATION OF INDUSTRY
ROOSEVELT WAS THE ENEMY.
"WE BOUGHT THE SON OF A BITCH"
COMPLAINED A LARGE
BUSINESS CONTRIBUTOR
TO HIS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
"AND THEN
HE DIDN'T STAY BOUGHT."
AS CARTOONISTS MYTHOLOGIZED HIM
THE PRESIDENT OUTMANEUVERED
THE CONSERVATIVE CONGRESSMEN
AND WON NEW LAWS
TO PROTECT CONSUMERS.
NOTHING LIKE IT HAD EVER
BEEN TRIED BEFORE.
TO PROTECT FARMERS
FROM RAILROADS CHARGING
EXCESSIVE RATES
HE CALLED FOR STRENGTHENING THE
INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION.
TO PROTECT CONSUMERS
FROM FILTHY CONDITIONS
IN STOCKYARDS
AND FOOD PROCESSING PLANTS
HE CHAMPIONED
FEDERAL MEAT INSPECTION.
AND HE MOVED TO ENSURE
THE PURITY AND SAFETY
OF DRUGS, MEDICINE AND FOOD
WITH THE PURE FOOD AND DRUG ACT.
WHILE ROOSEVELT BATTLED
REPUBLICAN CONSERVATIVES
HE GREW IMPATIENT
WITH REPUBLICAN PROGRESSIVES
WHEN THEY REFUSED TO COMPROMISE.
HE WAS WILLING
TO WEAKEN REFORM BILLS
IN ORDER TO ENSURE
THEIR PASSAGE THROUGH CONGRESS.
HIS PUBLIC MORALIZING WAS
WAS MATCHED BY SHREWD
POLITICAL REALISM.
"I BELIEVE IN MEN WHO TAKE
THE NEXT STEP," HE WROTE
"NOT THOSE WHO THEORIZE
ABOUT THE 200th STEP."
ROOSEVELT WAS WARY OF REFORMERS
ESPECIALLY THE CRUSADING
JOURNALISTS
WHO HAD FUELED THE COUNTRY'S
FEVER FOR CHANGE.
HE BELITTLED THEM
AS "MUCKRAKERS"
ADDING A PHRASE
TO THE POLITICAL LEXICON.
Man:
WHEN THEODORE ROOSEVELT USES
THE TERM "MUCKRAKE"
IT IS A VERY PEJORATIVE TERM
HE'S USING.
WHAT HE'S SAYING IS
THAT THESE PEOPLE
WHO ARE EXPOSING
THESE VARIOUS ILLS...
THEY'RE BEING TOO NEGATIVE;
THEY ARE EXCITING THE PUBLIC.
Woman:
HE THOUGHT THAT THE REPORTERS
WHO WERE DOING THIS WORK
WERE ONLY INTERESTED IN
UNCOVERING EVIL AND DEPRAVITY
AND THAT THEY WEREN'T INTERESTED
IN SAYING ANYTHING
OF WHAT WAS GOOD ABOUT AMERICA.
HE THOUGHT THAT IT WAS ACTUALLY
A VERY POTENT FORCE FOR EVIL...
OF HYSTERICAL ANTI-GOVERNMENT,
ANTI-AMERICAN FEELING.
HE THINKS THAT
THE PROPER KIND OF REFORM
IS THE KIND THAT IS LED
BY PEOPLE LIKE HIMSELF
BY EDUCATED PEOPLE
WITH A LARGER VISION
THAT THEY KNOW WHAT'S RIGHT
THAT THEY WON'T GO TOO FAR,
THEY WON'T BE IRRESPONSIBLE.
HE BELIEVES THAT HE OUGHT
TO BE CONTROLLING THE REFORM
VERY CAREFULLY HIMSELF.
Narrator:
ROOSEVELT PRESENTED HIMSELF
AS THE REASONABLE ALTERNATIVE
TO THE RADICALS.
"CONSTRUCTIVE CHANGE OFFERS
THE BEST METHOD
OF AVOIDING DESTRUCTIVE CHANGE,"
HE ARGUED.
"REFORM IS THE ANTIDOTE
TO REVOLUTION."
THERE WAS ONLY ONE ISSUE ON
WHICH HE WOULD NOT COMPROMISE...
CONSERVATION.
"DEAR KERMIT," HE WROTE HIS SON
"MOTHER AND I
HAVE JUST COME HOME
"FROM A LOVELY TRIP
TO PINE KNOT.
"IT IS REALLY A PERFECTLY
DELIGHTFUL LITTLE PLACE.
"IN THE MORNING
I FRIED BACON AND EGGS
"WHILE MOTHER BOILED THE KETTLE
FOR TEA AND LAID THE TABLE.
"IT WAS LOVELY TO SIT AND HEAR
THE BIRDS BY DAYTIME
"AND AT NIGHT,
THE WHIP-POOR-WILLS AND OWLS
AND LITTLE FOREST FOLK."
IN 1905, EDITH ROOSEVELT
PAID $195
FOR A CABIN DEEP IN THE WOODS
EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS
OF VIRGINIA.
SHE CALLED IT PINE KNOT.
Williams:
IT WAS VERY SIMPLE.
THERE WAS NO RUNNING WATER
NO FACILITIES OF ANY KIND
NO ELECTRICITY,
AND THEY WENT THERE TO BE AWAY.
IT WAS THEIR RETREAT.
Narrator:
AS A BOY, ROOSEVELT HAD DREAMED
OF BECOMING A NATURALIST
AND EVEN AS
A VERY BUSY PRESIDENT
HE NEVER COMPLETELY ABANDONED
HIS FIRST PASSION.
HE CONTINUED TO STUDY
EVOLUTIONARY THEORY
AND ADDED TO
HIS ALREADY EXPERT KNOWLEDGE
OF LARGE MAMMALS
AND SMALL BIRDS.
Theodore Roosevelt IV:
HE TAKES GREAT PRIDE
IN IDENTIFYING
A LARGE NUMBER OF BIRDS.
AND INDEED, WHEN
JOHN BURROUGHS COMES DOWN
THEY HAVE A RACE
THROUGH THE WOODS
TO SEE WHO CAN SEE
AND IDENTIFY THE MOST BIRDS.
IT'S PROBABLY NOT BIRDING
IN THE CONVENTIONAL SYSTEM
BECAUSE HE'S JUST CHARGING
THROUGH THE WOODS AT FULL SPEED.
HE PROBABLY KNEW MORE
ABOUT THE NATURAL WORLD
HAD A GREATER INTEREST
IN NATURAL HISTORY
THAN ANY PRESIDENT
SINCE JEFFERSON.
Narrator:
AND NO PRESIDENT HAD
EVER ACTED FORCEFULLY
TO CONFRONT THE DAMAGE
PRIVATE INTERESTS HAD DONE
TO THE NATION'S PUBLIC LANDS.
AMERICA'S NATURAL RESOURCES
HAD BEEN CHEAPLY GIVEN AWAY
THEN EXPLOITED AND DESTROYED.
FORESTS HAD BEEN DECIMATED
GRASSLANDS RUINED
BUFFALO SLAUGHTERED.
BY 1900, HALF OF AMERICA'S
ORIGINAL STAND OF TIMBER
AND BILLIONS OF TONS
OF PRECIOUS TOPSOIL WASHED AWAY.
TO SAVE AMERICA'S
NATURAL RESOURCES
AND PROTECT THE WILD AREAS
THAT MEANT SO MUCH TO HIM
ROOSEVELT WOULD STRETCH
THE POWER OF THE PRESIDENCY
TO THE LIMIT.
"WE MUST HANDLE THE WATER,
THE WOOD, THE GRASSES," HE WROTE
"SO THAT WE WILL HAND THEM
ON TO OUR CHILDREN
"AND CHILDREN'S CHILDREN
IN BETTER AND NOT WORSE SHAPE
THAN WE GOT THEM."
Cooper:
CONSERVATION IS THE ONE REAL
CAUSE FOR THEODORE ROOSEVELT
WHEN HE FIRST BECOMES PRESIDENT.
IT IS THE ONLY THING
IN DOMESTIC AFFAIRS
WHERE HE GETS OUT IN FRONT
EVEN OF REFORMERS.
Narrator:
"PUBLIC RIGHTS COME FIRST,"
ROOSEVELT SAID
"AND PRIVATE INTERESTS, SECOND."
ROOSEVELT WOULD FIGHT
A RUNNING BATTLE
AGAINST THE CONSERVATIVES
IN CONGRESS
TO PRESERVE THE NATION'S
NATURAL RESOURCES
AND SOME OF ITS
MOST FAMOUS LANDMARKS.
Tweed Roosevelt:
CONGRESS WAS REFUSING TO MAKE
THE GRAND CANYON
INTO A NATIONAL PARK
AND THE REASON WAS BECAUSE
THE DEVELOPERS WERE COMING ALONG
AND THEY WERE GOING
TO "IMPROVE" IT.
WHAT T.R. DID IS HE REALIZED
THAT HE HAD THE POWER
TO MAKE NATIONAL MONUMENTS AND
THE POWER TO MAKE GAME RESERVES
AND SO HE DECLARED THE SIDES OF
THE CANYON A NATIONAL MONUMENT
AND THE BASE OF IT
A GAME RESERVE
AND HE SAID, "CONGRESS WILL COME
TO ITS SENSES EVENTUALLY."
Narrator:
ROOSEVELT AGAIN WENT INTO ACTION
WHEN THE BIRDS
OF TINY PELICAN ISLAND...
A FOUR-ACRE SPECK OF LAND
OFF THE EAST COAST OF FLORIDA...
WERE THREATENED BY HUNTERS
COLLECTING FEATHERS
TO DECORATE WOMEN'S HATS.
"IS THERE ANY LAW," HE ASKED
"THAT WILL PREVENT ME
FROM DECLARING PELICAN ISLAND
A FEDERAL BIRD RESERVATION?"
TOLD THAT THERE WAS NONE
HE SAID, "VERY WELL,
I SO DECLARE IT."
Narrator:
PELICAN ISLAND BECAME THE FIRST
FEDERAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
AND ROOSEVELT
WOULD AUTHORIZE 50 MORE
SIMPLY BY DECLARING THEM
INTO EXISTENCE.
Harbaugh:
HE PUSHED THE LIMITS
OF THE PRESIDENCY
OR REALLY WHAT HE DID WAS HE
PUSHED THE LIMITS OF THE LAW.
Narrator:
HIS CONSERVATIVE OPPONENTS
GREW MORE AND MORE FURIOUS.
"THE PRESIDENT,"
THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE SAID
"HAS GOT NO MORE USE
FOR THE CONSTITUTION
THAN A TOMCAT HAS
FOR A MARRIAGE LICENSE."
IN 1907, HIS ENEMIES
IN CONGRESS STRUCK BACK.
IN A DELIBERATE BLOW
TO ROOSEVELT'S AUTHORITY
STRIPPING HIM OF THE POWER
TO DESIGNATE NATIONAL FORESTS
OPENING UP MILLIONS OF ACRES
OF TIMBER
TO LOGGERS AND DEVELOPERS.
BUT ROOSEVELT WAS
TOO QUICK FOR THEM.
JUST DAYS BEFORE THE BILL
BECAME LAW, HE RESPONDED
BY CREATING 16 MILLION MORE
ACRES OF NATIONAL FORESTS.
Cooper:
THIS IS IN UTTER,
BLATANT DEFIANCE
OF THE WILL OF CONGRESS.
AND HE GLORIED IN WHAT HE DID.
HE SAID, "WHEN OTHERS DITHERED
AND PREVENTED ACTION
I TOOK IT."
Narrator:
"OUR OPPONENTS," HE WROTE
"TURNED HANDSPRINGS
IN THEIR WRATH
"AND DIRE WERE THEIR THREATS
AGAINST THE EXECUTIVE
"BUT THE THREATS WERE REALLY
ONLY A TRIBUTE
TO THE EFFICIENCY
OF OUR ACTION."
Cooper:
FOR HIM, IT IS REALLY
A MORAL ISSUE.
WE NEED TO PRESERVE
THE WILDERNESS.
HE BELIEVED WHEN LIFE BEGINS
TO GET TOO EASY
AND THE ELEMENTS
OF DANGER AND OF RISK
AND OF HARDSHIP ARE REMOVED
WE HAVE TO EXPOSE
OURSELVES TO THOSE AGAIN.
AND WE NEED TO PRESERVE
THE PLACES WHERE WE CAN DO THAT.
WE NEED THE CHALLENGE.
AND HE'S DEEPLY WORRIED
THAT IN A SENSE
WE WON'T BE GOOD SOLDIERS.
WE WON'T... MEN ESPECIALLY
WON'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY
TO DEVELOP THE PHYSICAL
AND THE MORAL QUALITIES
THAT WILL MAKE THEM SOLDIERS
AND CITIZENS AND DO THE THINGS...
IN OTHER WORDS,
TO MAKE THEM BE LIKE HIM.
Narrator:
BEFORE HE WAS THROUGH
ROOSEVELT HAD CREATED
FIVE NEW NATIONAL PARKS
18 NATIONAL MONUMENTS,
150 NATIONAL FORESTS...
IN ALL, PLACING
230 MILLION ACRES
OF UNITED STATES LAND
UNDER PUBLIC PROTECTION.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S
MOST ENDURING LEGACY.
THE PRESIDENT'S FAMILY CONTINUED
TO FASCINATE THE NATION.
THE OLDER CHILDREN WERE
NOW OFTEN AWAY FROM HOME.
INCREASINGLY, QUENTIN BECAME THE
FOCUS OF HIS PARENTS' ATTENTION.
"QUENTIN IS A ROLY-POLY,
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY PERSONAGE"
ROOSEVELT WROTE, "THE BRIGHTEST
OF ANY OF THE CHILDREN."
Jackson:
HE WAS THE BABY.
EVERYBODY HAS A SPECIAL
FEELING FOR THE BABY
AND THEY JUST ADORED HIM
BECAUSE, I THINK
THAT HE HAD SOMEWHAT
SOME OF THE THINGS
THAT GRANDMOTHER
LOVED IN GRANDFATHER.
Narrator:
"HIS TOWHEAD WAS ALWAYS MUSSED,"
A BOYHOOD FRIEND REMEMBERED
"HIS TIE COMING UNTIED
"HIS STOCKINGS
REFUSING TO STAY UP.
"HE WAS AS IRREPRESSIBLE
MENTALLY AS HE WAS PHYSICALLY
AND, EITHER WAY, THERE WAS
NO HOLDING HIM DOWN OR BACK."
ROOSEVELT DELIGHTED
IN EVERYTHING QUENTIN DID.
WHEN THE BOY DROPPED
A FOUR-FOOT SNAKE
IN THE LAP
OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
THEN TROTTED
INTO THE ADJOINING ROOM
TO PRESENT IT
TO FOUR WAITING CONGRESSMEN
THE PRESIDENT COULD BARELY
RESTRAIN HIS LAUGHTER.
Tweed Roosevelt:
EVEN AS A CHILD,
I THINK T.R. KNEW
THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING
SPECIAL ABOUT QUENTIN
AND THAT OF ALL HIS CHILDREN
QUENTIN, IN MANY WAYS,
HAD THE MOST PROMISE.
AND, IN MANY WAYS,
HE WAS SO LIKE HIS FATHER
THAT T.R., I THINK, THOUGHT
THAT QUENTIN MIGHT WELL BE
THE ONE THAT FOLLOWED
IN HIS FOOTSTEPS.
Narrator:
EVENTS IN FAR-OFF ASIA
HAD WORRIED THEODORE ROOSEVELT
EVER SINCE HIS DAYS AS
ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE NAVY.
NOW JAPAN AND RUSSIA
WERE FIGHTING A BLOODY WAR THERE
LaFeber:
ROOSEVELT THOUGHT ASIA WAS VERY
IMPORTANT TO THE UNITED STATES.
HE THOUGHT
THAT THE UNITED STATES
WAS ENTERING INTO WHAT HE
CALLED THE "PACIFIC CENTURY"
AND HE BELIEVED
THAT THE UNITED STATES
HAD TO DOMINATE THE PACIFIC
IN THE 20th CENTURY.
Narrator:
ROOSEVELT FEARED
THAT IF EITHER RUSSIA OR JAPAN
OVERWHELMED THE OTHER
THE BALANCE OF POWER
IN THE REGION WOULD BE UPSET.
BY 1905, AFTER
A YEAR OF FIGHTING
JAPAN WAS BEATING RUSSIA BADLY.
LaFeber:
ROOSEVELT WATCHES THIS
AND UNDERSTANDS THAT WHAT IS
EMERGING HERE IS A NEW JAPAN
A JAPAN THAT IS IN A POSITION
TO DOMINATE ASIAN POLITICS;
A JAPAN WHICH WAS BECOMING
MILITARILY PARAMOUNT
ON THE MAINLAND OF ASIA
ESPECIALLY IN KOREA
AND SOUTH MANCHURIA.
AND THERE BEGAN TO BE A FEAR
IN THE UNITED STATES IN 1905
THAT THE NEXT PLACE JAPAN MIGHT
MOVE MIGHT BE THE PHILIPPINES
WHERE THE UNITED STATES...
WHICH THE UNITED STATES,
OF COURSE, HAD TAKEN IN 1898.
AND AS A CONSEQUENCE,
ROOSEVELT BELIEVED
THAT WE HAD TO COME
TO TERMS WITH JAPAN.
Narrator:
DETERMINED TO STOP THE FIGHTING
AND PROTECT THE PHILIPPINES
ROOSEVELT SENT HIS GOOD FRIEND
SECRETARY OF WAR
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT
TO NEGOTIATE A SECRET DEAL WITH
THE JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER.
TO CONCEAL THE REAL PURPOSE
OF THIS SENSITIVE MISSION
ROOSEVELT BILLED THE TRIP
AS PURELY A GOODWILL TOUR...
AND SENT ALONG HIS
21-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER
BY HIS FIRST MARRIAGE, ALICE.
THE EYES OF THE WORLD
FOCUSED ON ALICE
AS SHE WAS SHOWERED WITH GIFTS
AND ATTENTION.
"THE JAPANESE
WERE FIRMLY CONVINCED"
THE AMERICAN AMBASSADOR WROTE
"THAT ALICE WAS
THE PRINCESS ROYAL OF AMERICA."
"WHILE THE WOMEN BOWED DOUBLE
AGAIN AND AGAIN
"ALICE CLUTCHED MY ARM
AND EXCLAIMED
'I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT!'"
FROM HER RECEPTION
BY THE EMPEROR
TO HER TOUR OF
HIS PRIVATE GARDENS
THE PRESS REPORTED
EVERY DETAIL OF ALICE'S TRIUMPH.
LaFeber:
THIS IS A BAD MISTAKE
BECAUSE AS THEY'RE
FOLLOWING ALICE AROUND
TAFT SITS DOWN WITH
THE JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER
AND SECRETLY
THEY WORK OUT A DEAL.
AND THE DEAL IS THAT THE UNITED
STATES WILL RECOGNIZE
THAT JAPAN CAN TAKE OVER KOREA,
AND IN RETURN IT IS UNDERSTOOD
THAT JAPAN WILL NOT
TOUCH THE PHILIPPINES.
IT IS SO SECRET THAT TAFT
AND ROOSEVELT KEEP IT SECRET...
IT'S NOT REVEALED
FOR ANOTHER 20 YEARS.
I THINK THAT THEY'RE ASHAMED
OF WHAT THEY DID TO KOREA.
THEY ESSENTIALLY SOLD
THE KOREANS OUT TO THE JAPANESE.
Narrator:
ROOSEVELT HAD PLACATED
THE JAPANESE
BUT TO RESTORE ORDER
TO THE REGION
HE STILL NEEDED
A FULL-FLEDGED PEACE.
THAT SUMMER, HE INVITED
RUSSIAN AND JAPANESE ENVOYS
TO THE UNITED STATES.
THEY MET ON
THE PRESIDENTIAL YACHT
ANCHORED IN THE HARBOR NEAR
HIS HOME AT SAGAMORE HILL.
THE RUSSIANS WERE WEARY OF WAR.
THE JAPANESE WERE WEARY, TOO
AND NOW THEY KNEW THAT
THEY WERE FREE TO TAKE KOREA.
BUT ROOSEVELT COULD STILL
NOT BE CERTAIN OF A SETTLEMENT.
"I HAVE LED THE HORSES TO
WATER," ROOSEVELT WROTE A FRIEND
"BUT HEAVEN ONLY KNOWS
WHETHER THEY WILL DRINK
OR START KICKING ONE ANOTHER
BESIDE THE TROUGH."
OFFICIALLY, THE PRESIDENT PLAYED
NO PART IN THE NEGOTIATIONS
BUT HE REMAINED ACTIVE
BEHIND THE SCENES
PUSHING AND PRODDING
THE NEGOTIATORS
TOWARD A SETTLEMENT.
"I AM HAVING MY HAIR
TURNED GRAY," HE WROTE HIS SON.
"THE JAPANESE ASK TOO MUCH
"BUT THE RUSSIANS ARE
TEN TIMES WORSE THAN THE JAPS
BECAUSE THEY ARE SO STUPID
AND WON'T TELL THE TRUTH."
"WHAT I REALLY WANT TO DO,"
HE CONFIDED TO A FRIEND
"IS TO GIVE UTTERANCE
TO WHOOPS OF RAGE
"AND JUMP UP AND KNOCK
THEIR HEADS TOGETHER.
"WELL, ALL I CAN HOPE FOR
IS THAT SELF-REPRESSION
WILL BE ULTIMATELY
GOOD FOR MY CHARACTER."
THE FUTURE OF ASIA WAS AT STAKE.
THE BICKERING
AND BARGAINING GREW HEATED.
BUT AFTER THREE TENSE WEEKS, THE
DELEGATES AGREED TO END THE WAR.
Blum:
THE SETTLEMENT
WAS ESSENTIALLY FAIR.
IT ACCOMPLISHED
ROOSEVELT'S PURPOSE.
IT RE-ESTABLISHED
THE BALANCE OF POWER IN ASIA
WHICH IS WHAT
HE'D SET ABOUT TO DO.
Narrator:
ALTHOUGH NEITHER SIDE
WAS COMPLETELY SATISFIED
ROOSEVELT WAS DELIGHTED.
"THIS IS SPLENDID,
THIS IS MAGNIFICENT"
ROOSEVELT TOLD A FRIEND.
"IT'S A MIGHTY GOOD
THING FOR RUSSIA
"AND A MIGHTY GOOD
THING FOR JAPAN
AND A MIGHTY GOOD
THING FOR ME, TOO."
CONGRATULATIONS POURED IN
FROM AROUND THE WORLD
AND THEODORE ROOSEVELT...
WHO BELIEVED IN THE CLEANSING
MORAL POWER OF WAR
AND FIRST WON FAME FOR LEADING
THE CHARGE UP SAN JUAN HILL
WAS AWARDED THE NOBEL PRIZE
FOR PEACE.
IN LATE 1905, ALICE ROOSEVELT
AGAIN MADE HEADLINES
FOR HER FATHER.
FOLLOWING HER TRIUMPH IN JAPAN
"PRINCESS ALICE"
ANNOUNCED HER ENGAGEMENT
TO CONGRESSMAN
NICHOLAS LONGWORTH.
"ALICE IS REALLY IN LOVE,"
EDITH ROOSEVELT TOLD A FRIEND.
AMERICA WAS SWEPT UP
IN THE ROMANCE.
THE ROOSEVELTS WERE RELIEVED.
ALICE'S ECCENTRIC,
ERRATIC BEHAVIOR
HAD MADE LIFE DIFFICULT FOR THE
PRESIDENT AND THE FIRST LADY.
ALICE HAD BEEN AN INSECURE CHILD
ALWAYS CLAMORING FOR ATTENTION.
IN THE CLOSE-KNIT
ROOSEVELT FAMILY
SHE WAS ALWAYS AN OUTSIDER.
"FATHER DOESN'T CARE FOR ME,"
SHE ONCE CONFIDED TO HER DIARY
"ONE-EIGHTH AS MUCH AS HE DOES
FOR THE OTHER CHILDREN."
ALICE HAD BEEN TOLD NOTHING
ABOUT HER OWN MOTHER
BECAUSE HER FATHER
NEVER COULD BRING HIMSELF
TO SPEAK ABOUT THE DEATH
OF HIS BELOVED FIRST WIFE.
BUT AMERICANS
KNEW NONE OF THIS.
ON THE DAY OF THE WEDDING
LONG LINES WAITED
OUTSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE
FOR A GLIMPSE
OF THE BRIDE AND GROOM.
HUNDREDS OF GUESTS CROWDED
INTO THE EAST ROOM
AND REPORTERS,
PEEKING THROUGH THE DOOR
WERE ENCOURAGED
TO COVER EVERY DETAIL.
ALICE'S COUSIN
FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT
ARRANGED THE TRAIN OF HER GOWN
FOR THE OFFICIAL
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPH.
"MY FATHER ALWAYS WANTED
TO BE THE BRIDE AT EVERY WEDDING
AND THE CORPSE AT EVERY
FUNERAL," ALICE ONCE SAID.
SHE MADE SURE SHE REMAINED
THE CENTER OF ATTENTION
EVEN BORROWING A SWORD
FROM ONE OF THE PRESIDENT'S
MILITARY AIDES
TO CUT THE WEDDING CAKE.
THE MARRIAGE WOULD BE A FAILURE
BUT THE WEDDING WAS
A SPECTACULAR SUCCESS.
THANKS TO THE PRESS
AND THE PRESIDENT'S EAGERNESS
TO COOPERATE WITH IT
MILLIONS OF AMERICANS
HAD BEEN MADE TO FEEL
AS IF THEY HAD ATTENDED IT
AS PRIVILEGED GUESTS.
AT THE TRADITIONAL
NEW YEAR'S DAY RECEPTION
ON JANUARY 1, 1907, THOUSANDS
OF ORDINARY CITIZENS TURNED OUT
TO SHAKE THE PRESIDENT'S HAND.
ROOSEVELT DELIGHTED IN THE TASK
PUMPING 50 HANDS A MINUTE,
3,000 AN HOUR.
MIDWAY THROUGH
HIS SECOND TERM IN OFFICE
HE WAS AT THE HEIGHT
OF HIS POWER AND POPULARITY
AND AMERICA WAS
AT THE HEIGHT OF PROSPERITY.
ON THAT SAME NEW YEAR'S DAY,
THE WASHINGTON EVENING STAR
REPORTED THAT THE COUNTRY'S
WEALTH "HAS BEEN ROLLING UP
AT THE RATE OF
4.6 BILLION PER YEAR."
WE ARE "THE MIGHTIEST REPUBLIC
ON WHICH THE SUN EVER SHONE."
Strouse:
EVERYBODY'S PROSPERING.
THERE'S A LOT
OF SPECULATION ON WALL STREET.
THERE'S ACTUALLY BEEN A BOOM FOR
THE YEARS BETWEEN 1904 AND 1907.
EVERYTHING IS GOING...
HAS GONE RIGHT UP TO THAT POINT.
HE'S PUT THROUGH
MAJOR LEGISLATION.
HE'S MEDIATED
THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR.
HE'S DONE ALL
OF THESE GREAT THINGS.
THINGS ARE GOING GREAT.
AS FAR AS POLITICS GOES,
AS FAR AS EFFECTIVENESS GOES...
IT'S DOWNHILL FOR HIM,
AND IT'S DOWNHILL FAST.
Narrator:
IN THE FALL OF 1907, ROOSEVELT
WAS STALKING GAME IN LOUISIANA
WHEN WORD REACHED HIM THAT THERE
WAS TROUBLE ON WALL STREET.
A LARGE TRUST COMPANY
HAD FAILED.
THE STOCK MARKET
SPUN OUT OF CONTROL.
AN OBSOLETE BANKING SYSTEM
WAS NOT UP TO HANDLING
THE DEMANDS OF A MODERN
INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY.
STOCK PRICES COLLAPSED.
INTEREST RATES SOARED.
THERE WAS A RUN ON THE BANKS.
IT WAS CALLED
THE "PANIC OF 1907."
Strouse:
THERE WAS AN UNSTABLE
ECONOMIC SITUATION
BUT IF PEOPLE
HADN'T ALL TRIED
TO GET THEIR MONEY
OUT OF THE BANKS AT ONCE
IT WOULDN'T HAVE MATTERED.
ROOSEVELT ISN'T PAYING
A LOT OF ATTENTION
TO THIS PART OF HIS JOB.
IT'S JUST NOT REALLY
BEEN THOUGHT OF
HE'S INTERESTED IN POLITICS, IN
HIS POLICIES WITH CONSERVATION
AND AGAINST THE TRUSTS
BUT ECONOMICS WAS NEVER
HIS STRONG SUIT.
Narrator:
DEEP IN THE LOUISIANA CANEBRAKES
THE PRESIDENT
SEEMED UNCONCERNED.
INSTEAD OF TALKING TO REPORTERS
ABOUT THE PANIC
HE TALKED ABOUT HUNTING...
"WE GOT THREE BEARS,
SIX DEER, ONE WILD TURKEY
12 SQUIRRELS, ONE DUCK,
ONE OPOSSUM AND ONE WILDCAT.
WE ATE THEM ALL,
EXCEPT THE WILDCAT."
BUT WALL STREET WAS BLAMING
THE PANIC ON ROOSEVELT
AND THE PRESIDENT QUICKLY
RETURNED TO WASHINGTON.
Strouse:
HIS POLICIES THAT WERE
TRYING TO REGULATE THE RAILROADS
TRYING TO BUST UP
SOME OF THE TRUSTS
TRYING TO PUT IN FOOD
AND DRUG REGULATIONS
THEY THOUGHT
WERE HAMPERING BUSINESS.
THAT WAS ACTUALLY NOT THE CASE,
AND ROOSEVELT SAID SO.
HE POINTED OUT VERY CAREFULLY
THAT THIS WAS
A WORLDWIDE SITUATION.
Narrator:
IT WAS THE WALL STREET TYCOON
WHOSE POWER HE
HAD CHALLENGED IN 1902
WHO NOW CAME TO THE NATION'S
RESCUE... J.P. MORGAN.
MORGAN ORGANIZED TEAMS
OF WALL STREET FINANCIERS
TO PUT UP MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
AND WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK
FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS
HE EFFECTIVELY STOPPED THE PANIC
AND FORESTALLED A DEPRESSION.
BUT ROOSEVELT HAD
BECOME VULNERABLE.
FOR MORE THAN FIVE YEARS, HE HAD
SKILLFULLY MANIPULATED CONGRESS.
NOW, WITH THE END
OF HIS PRESIDENCY IN SIGHT
OLD GUARD REPUBLICANS
REJECTED HIS LEADERSHIP.
Blum:
HIS POWER ON THE HILL
BEGAN TO WANE
BECAUSE HE WASN'T
GOING TO RUN IN 1908.
CONGRESSMEN NO LONGER
HAD TO WORRY
ABOUT LOOKING OVER THEIR
SHOULDER AT THE WHITE HOUSE.
Narrator:
CHARGES THAT HE WAS AUTOCRATIC,
IMPULSIVE, OBSTINATE, ARBITRARY
AND THAT ABOVE ALL ELSE
HE WANTED POWER
RESOUNDED IN CONGRESS.
Cooper:
THE CRITICISM THAT HE
HIMSELF WAS SENSITIVE TO
IS THAT HE'S A POWER GRABBER.
HIS CRITICS ARE
ALWAYS LEVELING THAT AT HIM
AND WITH SOME JUSTIFICATION.
I MEAN, THIS IS A MAN
WHO DEARLY LOVED POWER
AND SOUGHT IT
AND AGGRANDIZED IT.
Narrator:
"HE IS THE MOST DANGEROUS FOE
TO HUMAN LIBERTY
THAT HAS EVER SET FOOT
ON AMERICAN SOIL"
Strouse:
ROOSEVELT HAS A GREAT MANY
CRITICS AT THIS TIME
PARTLY BECAUSE
HE'S SO AUTOCRATIC
AND TAKES HIMSELF
AS THE MEASURE OF VALUE.
HE IS THE STATE.
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT
SHOULD AND SHOULDN'T DO.
HE DID HAVE THE CHARISMA
AND THE FORCE
TO MAKE THE EXECUTIVE
OFFICE MORE POWERFUL.
IT'S ALSO WHAT CAUSED HIM
A LOT OF TROUBLE.
Cooper:
HIS CRITICS BELIEVE
HE'S GONE TOO FAR.
THEY BELIEVE THAT
HE HAS BEEN INTERFERING
WITH THE ECONOMY TOO MUCH
THAT HE HAS BEEN
GRASPING RADICAL IDEAS
AND HE RUNS INTO
THIS BRICK WALL OF OPPOSITION
FROM THE CONSERVATIVES
OF HIS OWN PARTY.
WHAT THEY DO IS
EFFECTIVELY STYMIE
ANY FURTHER DOMESTIC
INITIATIVES THAT HE TRIES.
Harbaugh:
T.R. KNEW THAT HE WAS
A LAME DUCK PRESIDENT.
HE KNEW THAT HE
COULD NOT GET MUCH
THROUGH THE CONGRESS
OF THE UNITED STATES.
AND I THINK THAT
THAT PARTLY EXPLAINS
THE ALMOST FRENZIED QUALITY OF
THESE LAST TWO YEARS IN OFFICE.
Narrator:
ON JANUARY 31, 1908
ROOSEVELT ABANDONED
ANY EFFORT TO COMPROMISE.
DEFYING THE CONSERVATIVES
IN HIS OWN PARTY
HE SENT A BLISTERING MESSAGE
TO CONGRESS
LASHING OUT AT "THOSE RICH MEN
"WHOSE LIVES
ARE EVIL AND CORRUPT...
"THE REPRESENTATIVES
OF PREDATORY WEALTH
"ACCUMULATED
BY ALL FORMS OF INIQUITY
"FROM THE OPPRESSION
OF WAGEWORKERS
TO UNFAIR METHODS
OF CRUSHING OUT COMPETITION."
Cooper:
IN THEODORE ROOSEVELT,
THERE IS THIS COMBATIVE ELEMENT.
THERE'S THIS JOY IN STRUGGLE,
JOY IN COMBAT.
IN ALL OF AMERICAN HISTORY
THERE'S NOBODY ELSE
I CAN THINK OF
WHO MORE FITS THAT TERM
"THE HAPPY WARRIOR"...
SOMEBODY WHO JUST GENUINELY
ENJOYED A GOOD SCRAP.
Narrator:
ROOSEVELT CHALLENGED CONGRESS
CALLING FOR A WHOLE
SERIES OF REFORMS:
WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION,
CHILD LABOR LAWS
THE EIGHT-HOUR WORKDAY, AN
INCOME TAX, AN INHERITANCE TAX
AND THE STRICT REGULATION
OF SECURITIES
ARGUING THAT THERE
"IS NO MORAL DIFFERENCE
BETWEEN GAMBLING AT CARDS AND
GAMBLING IN THE STOCK MARKET."
CONSERVATIVES BEAT BACK
EVERY BILL.
ROOSEVELT WAS NOW
POWERLESS TO STOP THEM.
Cooper:
HE GOES MUCH FURTHER IN THIS
PROGRESSIVE REFORMIST DIRECTION
THAN HE HAS GONE BEFORE.
I THINK PART OF IT
IS FRUSTRATION.
IT IS FRUSTRATION
WITH THE OPPOSITION
THE STYMIEING THAT IS HAPPENING
FROM THE CONSERVATIVE BARONS
ON CAPITOL HILL.
HE IS ALSO SENSITIVE
TO THE RISING TIDE
OF REFORM IN THE COUNTRY.
I THINK THERE MAY BE
ANOTHER ELEMENT, TOO.
I THINK THERE MAY BE
A PERSONAL ELEMENT IN IT.
HE SEES THE END OF HIS
PRESIDENCY APPROACHING
AND HE'S BEGINNING TO THINK
ABOUT WHAT HE HAS
AND, ESPECIALLY,
HAS NOT ACCOMPLISHED.
T.R.'S GREAT ROLE MODEL, IDEAL
AND STANDARD OF COMPARISON
IS ABRAHAM LINCOLN
AND WHAT HE'S SEEING IS THAT
HE'S HAD A SUCCESSFUL PRESIDENCY
BUT A PRESIDENCY
NOT IN GREATLY DEMANDING TIMES...
NOT WITH A WAR,
NOT WITH A GREAT CAUSE.
I THINK IT'S HARD TO MISS
A TONE OF REGRET THERE
THAT "I DIDN'T HAVE THAT"...
YOU KNOW, "I WISH I HAD..."
Narrator:
"A MAN HAS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE
OF HIS OPPORTUNITIES"
ROOSEVELT SAID, "BUT THE
OPPORTUNITIES HAVE TO COME.
"IF THERE IS NOT
THE GREAT OCCASION
"YOU DON'T GET
THE GREAT STATESMAN.
"IF LINCOLN HAD LIVED
IN TIMES OF PEACE
NO ONE WOULD HAVE KNOWN
HIS NAME NOW."
ROOSEVELT'S PRESIDENCY
WAS COMING TO A CLOSE.
HE WAS NEARLY 50 YEARS OLD.
HIS WRISTS AND KNUCKLES
NOW SWELLED PAINFULLY
WHEN HE WRESTLED, AND A BLOW
HE RECEIVED WHILE BOXING
LEFT HIM BLIND IN ONE EYE... A
TIGHTLY HELD WHITE HOUSE SECRET.
"THREE OR FOUR PERSONS CLOSE TO
THE PRESIDENT HAVE ASSURED ME"
"THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME,
EVEN HE COMPLAINS OF FATIGUE."
AS THE ELECTION DREW NEAR,
ROOSEVELT FELT BOUND
BY HIS PROMISE FOUR YEARS
EARLIER NOT TO RUN AGAIN.
Harbaugh:
I THINK HE WAS MUCH SADDENED
BY THE FACT THAT HE
WAS LEAVING OFFICE.
HE WAS TIRED,
BUT ONLY TO A POINT.
I THINK THAT HE WOULD HAVE LIKED
TO HAVE CONTINUED
AS PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES.
HE HATED TO LEAVE
THE PRESIDENCY.
IT ALSO FORCED HIM
TO LOOK FOR A SUCCESSOR.
Narrator:
THE PRESIDENT CHOSE HIS FRIEND
THE SECRETARY OF WAR,
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT
AND DETERMINED TO WIN HIM
THE REPUBLICAN NOMINATION
AND THEN MAKE HIM PRESIDENT.
AMERICANS LIKED TAFT.
THEY JOKED ABOUT HIS 300 POUNDS
OF UNDULATING FLESH
BUT TAFT NEVER SEEMED TO MIND.
"I THINK TAFT HAS
THE MOST LOVABLE PERSONALITY
I'VE EVER COME IN CONTACT
WITH," ROOSEVELT SAID.
"I ALMOST ENVY A MAN POSSESSING
A PERSONALITY LIKE TAFT'S.
ONE LOVES HIM AT FIRST SIGHT."
Harbaugh:
ROOSEVELT AND TAFT
LIKED EACH OTHER VERY MUCH.
THEY TRUSTED EACH OTHER.
I THINK THAT ROOSEVELT BELIEVED
THAT TAFT WAS MORE ATTUNED
TO HIM THAN HE WAS
BECAUSE TAFT WOULD ACQUIESCE.
HE WAS A LOYAL SUBORDINATE.
Narrator:
ROOSEVELT WAS CONVINCED
THAT TAFT WAS AS COMMITTED
TO REFORM AS HE WAS.
TAFT APPEARED
TO BELIEVE IT, TOO.
"I AGREE HEARTILY AND
EARNESTLY," HE SAID
"WITH THE POLICIES WHICH
HAVE COME TO BE KNOWN
AS THE 'ROOSEVELT POLICIES.'"
IN FACT,
TAFT WOULD HAVE PREFERRED
TO SIT ON THE SUPREME COURT, BUT
HIS AMBITIOUS WIFE AND BROTHER
WANTED HIM TO BE PRESIDENT
AND SO HE RELUCTANTLY
AGREED TO RUN.
AT THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION
ROOSEVELT SECURED TAFT HIS
PARTY'S NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT
ALTHOUGH NOT UNTIL AFTER
A 49-MINUTE DEMONSTRATION
IN FAVOR OF A THIRD TERM
FOR ROOSEVELT HIMSELF.
THEN, AS THE CAMPAIGN
GOT UNDER WAY
ROOSEVELT LENT HIM
SUPPORT AND COUNSEL.
"HIT THEM HARD, OLD MAN!"
HE TOLD HIM.
"AND DON'T," HE WARNED, "LET THE
PHOTOGRAPHERS TAKE YOUR PICTURE
ON THE GOLF COURSE."
BUT THE GOOD-NATURED TAFT
DIDN'T OBJECT.
"LET THE AUDIENCE SEE YOU
SMILE," ROOSEVELT ADVISED
"BECAUSE I FEEL THAT YOUR NATURE
SHINES OUT SO TRANSPARENTLY
WHEN YOU DO SMILE, YOU BIG,
GENEROUS, HIGH-MINDED FELLOW."
BY THE LARGEST POPULAR MAJORITY
UNTIL THAT TIME
EXCEPT FOR ONE PRESIDENTIAL
CANDIDATE... ROOSEVELT HIMSELF.
IT WAS FOR ROOSEVELT
THE PERFECT VICTORY.
THE PRESIDENT-ELECT
SENT HIM HIS THANKS:
"THE FIRST LETTER I WISH
TO WRITE IS TO YOU
BECAUSE MY SELECTION AND
ELECTION ARE CHIEFLY YOUR WORK."
NEVER AGAIN WOULD THE TWO MEN
BE SO CLOSE.
AS ROOSEVELT'S FINAL DAYS
AS PRESIDENT WOUND DOWN
WHITE HOUSE REPORTERS
WERE OPENLY UPSET.
MOST OF THEM GENUINELY
LIKED THE PRESIDENT
AND HE MADE SUCH GOOD COPY.
HIS 7 1/2 YEARS IN OFFICE
ALL CAME FLOATING BACK...
THE BATTLES WITH THE TRUSTS,
THE COAL STRIKE
THE REGULATION OF THE RAILROADS
AND THE FOOD AND DRUG INDUSTRIES
THE PANAMA CANAL, THE
INTERVENTIONS IN LATIN AMERICA
THE CONSERVATION PROGRAM,
THE NOBEL PRIZE.
"I HAVE ENJOYED MYSELF IN THE
WHITE HOUSE," ROOSEVELT SAID.
"I AM GOING
TO ENJOY MYSELF THOROUGHLY
WHEN I LEAVE THE WHITE HOUSE."
FEBRUARY 1909.
WITH ONLY TEN DAYS
LEFT IN OFFICE
ROOSEVELT MADE HIS LAST DRAMATIC
SHOW OF PRESIDENTIAL POWER.
14 MONTHS EARLIER, ROOSEVELT HAD
SENT THE FLEET AROUND THE WORLD
TO DISPLAY AMERICAN MIGHT
AND IMPRESS THE JAPANESE.
CONGRESS HAD REFUSED
TO ALLOCATE THE FUNDS
BUT ROOSEVELT IGNORED THEM.
HE TOLD THE ENRAGED CONGRESSMEN
HE WOULD SEND THE SHIPS
TO THE PACIFIC ANYWAY.
IT WOULD BE UP TO THEM
TO PROVIDE THE MONEY
TO GET THEM BACK.
NOW, AFTER STEAMING 46,000 MILES
THE GREAT WHITE FLEET
WAS RETURNING HOME.
"IT WAS ESSENTIAL,"
ROOSEVELT WROTE
"THAT WE SHOULD HAVE IT
CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD
THAT THE PACIFIC WAS AS MUCH OUR
HOME WATERS AS THE ATLANTIC."
THAT THE JAPANESE HAD NOT BEEN
ESPECIALLY IMPRESSED
BY THE GREAT WHITE FLEET
BUT HE WAS KEEPING
THAT KNOWLEDGE TO HIMSELF.
THE SHIPS BOOMED THEIR SALUTES.
THE CROWDS CHEERED
AND THE ENTIRE NATION REJOICED.
"I COULD NOT ASK,"
THE PRESIDENT SAID
"A FINER CONCLUDING SCENE
TO MY ADMINISTRATIONS."
ON MARCH 4, 1909,
THE DAY OF TAFT'S INAUGURATION
A BITTER WINTER STORM
CUT WASHINGTON OFF
FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD.
TAFT TOOK THE OATH
THEN PROMISED TO PRESERVE
AND ENFORCE
HIS PREDECESSOR'S REFORMS.
"GOD BLESS YOU, OLD MAN,"
ROOSEVELT SAID AFTERWARDS.
"IT IS A GREAT STATE DOCUMENT."
BUT ROOSEVELT'S BRAVE EXTERIOR
MASKED DEEP DISAPPOINTMENT.
"MY DEAR FELLOW,"
HE TOLD A FRIEND
"FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, DON'T TALK
ABOUT MY HAVING A FUTURE.
MY FUTURE IS IN THE PAST."
Cooper:
THIS MAN, WHEN HE LEFT THE WHITE
HOUSE, WAS ONLY 50 YEARS OLD...
YOUNGER WHEN HE LEFT
THE WHITE HOUSE
THAN ALL BUT FOUR MEN HAVE BEEN
WHEN THEY ENTERED
THE WHITE HOUSE.
WHAT'S THEODORE ROOSEVELT GOING
TO DO WITH THE REST OF HIS LIFE?