Biography of Theodore Roosevelt for Kids: Meet the American President for Kids - FreeSchool

Today we're going to learn about the American President, Theodore Roosevelt. Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, was born on October 27, 1858, in New York City. He had asthma as a child, which sometimes made it hard for him to breathe that night. He was too weak and sick to attend school, so he was homeschooled. It was at this time that his interest in nature began, and among other things Roosevelt studied animals, taxidermy, and insects. Teddy Roosevelt's father was determined to help his son overcome his physical weakness, and built him a gym where he practiced weightlifting and boxing. And by the time he became a teenager, Roosevelt was a strong and athletic young man. In 1876, he was admitted into Harvard, and in 1880 he married Alice Hathaway Lee. In 1881 he was elected to the New York State Assembly, and in 1884 his first daughter was born. Sadly, his wife Alice died two days later, and his mother died the same day. Roosevelt was devastated. He got out of politics and moved to the Badlands of Dakota, where he learned to ride western-style, rope and hunt, as well as becoming a deputy sheriff. Two years later, in 1886, he returned to New York City, remarried, and ran for mayor as the Cowboy of the Dakotas. He lost, but in 1885 he became a police commissioner. Two years later, in 1897, he was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy. In 1898, Roosevelt left that position to serve in the Spanish-American War. He formed a volunteer cavalry unit known as the Rough Riders, a ragtag band of cowboys, hunters, polo players, Native Americans, and college boys. In Cuba, the Rough Riders played a major part in the Battle of San Juan Hill, for which Theodore Roosevelt was awarded the Medal of Honor, the only president to receive this award. After the war, he returned to New York and was elected governor, and in 1901 he became the Vice President of the United States. Six months later, President McKinley was assassinated, and Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office on September 14, 1901. At only 42 years old, he was the youngest man ever to become president. He was famous for the saying, speak softly and carry a big stick, and under his leadership America became a world power. He was instrumental in the construction of the Panama Canal and negotiated peace between Russia and Japan, for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize, not only the first president but also the first American to win it. At home, he was known for the Square Deal, a series of policies designed to give all Americans an equal opportunity to be successful. He was also one of the first presidents to emphasize conservation of natural resources. During his presidency, he created five national parks, 18 national monuments, and 150 national forests, protecting more than 230 million acres of land. On a hunting trip in 1902, he refused to shoot a black bear that was tied up, saying it was unsportsmanlike. The story became famous, and toy makers began making stuffed bears that they named after him, teddy bears. By 1909, he had served two full terms as president and announced that he would not run for a third. He went on safari to Africa and killed and collected thousands of animals, everything from insects to elephants, and sent them back to Washington to be displayed in the Smithsonian as well as other museums. When he returned from Africa, Roosevelt didn't much like the way that the next president, William Howard Taft, was running things, and so he decided to run for president again. He couldn't get a nomination from the Republican or Democratic parties, so he formed his own political party, known as the Bull Moose Party. One day while he was campaigning, Roosevelt was shot. Instead of going to a hospital, he stood up and gave a speech that took an hour and a half, saying, it takes more than that to kill a bull moose. He lost the election and went on to mount an expedition to South America. Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to fly in an airplane, go underwater in a submarine, own a car, and have a telephone in his home. He wrote at least 35 books and hundreds of magazine articles. He was a hunter and an adventurer, and he was very active with the Boy Scouts of America. On January 6, 1919, Theodore Roosevelt died in his sleep at age 60. It was said that death had to take Roosevelt sleeping, or if he had been awake, there would have been a fight. Theodore Roosevelt was one of the most remarkable American presidents. A hunter, a fighter, an activist, and a conservationist, he had a lasting impact. Today he is memorialized on Mount Rushmore alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln. I hope you enjoyed learning about Theodore Roosevelt today. Goodbye till next time!