I’m interested in the Progressive Era of a century ago because in many ways its issues were the same as those of today—immigration, globalization, foreign military intervention and corrupt relationships between government and monopolistic business.
Theodore Roosevelt, a many-sided, larger-than-life figure, was the leading personality of that era. I recently finished reading The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, by Edmund Morris, which deals with TR’s pre-presidential career. It is as readable as a good novel, and won the Pulitzer Price for 1979. Morris later wrote Theodore Rex, about TR’s presidency, and Colonel Roosevelt, about his post-presidential career.
Roosevelt would not be considered a progressive today. He was an imperialist and a warmonger, although, unlike most of today’s warmongers, he was eager to take part in the fighting himself. He believed in British and American world supremacy, based on the superior qualities of the Anglo-Saxon “race”.
His pre-presidential progressivism consisted mainly in fighting for honest government, and in being willing to speak frankly of “the criminal rich class.” In that era, mere honesty was important and rare, just as it is today. It was necessary to break up the corrupt relationship between corporations and government before anything else constructive could be accomplished.
Most Americans know the story of how TR built himself up a weak, asthmatic young boy into a successful college boxer, cowpuncher, big game hunter and volunteer cavalry officer who led the Rough Riders in their famous charge up San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War.
The fact that he was a serious intellectual is not so well known. He held his own with people like Henry Adams. All his idle moments were devoted to serious reading. Once he went on vacation for a month and, to pass the time, wrote a biography of Oliver Cromwell. He wrote 14 books in all. At least two of his work, The Naval War of 1812 and The Winning of the West, are read by serious historians today.
That’s not all. He was a rancher who rode with cowboys in roundups. He was a deputy sheriff who tracked down desperadoes and brought them to justice. He made contributions to the science of ornithology and the art of taxidermy. He was one of the founders of the U.S. conservation movement. He had as wide a range of interests and as powerful an intellect as anyone who ever occupied the White House, with the exception of Thomas Jefferson.
Theodore Roosevelt – he hated to be called “Teddy” – does not fit into today’s liberal vs. conservative, Team Blue vs. Team Red categories. It is good to be reminded that today’s political divisions are not eternal, and that the political divisions of the past cut across different lines. It is also good to be reminded of what a real leader is like.
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