Theodore Roosevelt was born in New York City on October
27, 1858, to parents Theodore Roosevelt, Sr., and Martha Bulloch Roosevelt.
He was to be the second oldest of four children, along with an
older sister, Anne; a younger sister, Corinne; and a younger brother,
Elliott. Mostly out of affection, but partly to distinguish his name
from his father's, Theodore's family often referred to him as "Teedie"
and continued to call him this name into his late teenage years.
The Roosevelt family had a long, distinguished history
in New York City and had earned its way into affluent social circles.
More than seven generations of Roosevelts had been born on Manhattan, nearly
all of them following the family profession to become businessmen
and merchants. In 1644, Teedie's ancestor Klaes Martensen van Roosevelt
(also spelled Claes van Rosenvelt) sailed across the Atlantic from
Holland to become one of the first settlers in New York City, which
was called New Amsterdam at the time. By the 1800s, the Roosevelts
operated a hardware and industrial glass firm, Roosevelt &
Son, which was eventually run by Teedie's grandfather, Cornelius
Van Schaack Roosevelt. This family business contributed significantly
to the family's wealth. Teedie's father, Theodore Sr., eventually
inherited control of the family firm along with Teedie's uncle,
James Roosevelt. Most of the Roosevelt wealth, however, came from
land holdings in and around New York City.
Teedie's mother came from a similarly prominent family
in the South. Originally from Scotland, the Bulloch family first
immigrated to South Carolina, but eventually settled in Georgia
to become plantation owners. Theodore's great- grandfather, Archibald
Bulloch, served as the first Revolutionary President of Georgia,
while many more Bullochs fought in the American Revolution against
Great Britain. A slave-owning family, the Bullochs sent their sons
to fight for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Martha's brother
and Teedie's uncle, James Bulloch, served as an admiral in the
Confederate Navy and was responsible for bringing the infamous
warship Alabama from England. James's brother,
Irvine Bulloch, also served in the Confederate Navy as a midshipman on
the same warship. Although Teedie's family favored opposites sides
during the war–Theodore Sr. and the children supported the Union
while the Bulloch women supported the cause of the Confederacy–the
war did not cause any serious hardships for the family.
Teedie was a weak and sickly child for many years. He
suffered from severe asthma, a seriously debilitating condition
that was not entirely understood at the time. To combat the coughing
and respiratory problems, doctors prescribed everything from vacations
on the coast to smoking cigars to drinking coffee and whiskey.
Teedie also suffered from headaches, toothaches, and abdominal pains.
The Roosevelts tried every suggested treatment but none worked. As
a result, Teedie was often confined indoors and unable to play with
other children his age. He was entirely privately tutored until he
entered college. His confinement indoors was probably the reason
he began writing his thoughts, feelings, and experiences in journals,
a practice he continued until the night of his death. Teedie also became
much closer to his father because of his asthma; Theodore Sr. spent
many sleepless nights with his son, reading to him, talking with
him, and taking him for midnight carriage rides through the city
to distract him from his pains. Teedie idolized his father, considered
him to be his best friend, and inherited a strict moral conscience
from him. For the rest of his life Roosevelt evaluated everything
he experienced through this sense of morality; he saw things in
terms of black and white, right and wrong.
While confined indoors, Teedie also discovered the joy
of reading and learning. He was interested in all types of books
but particularly enjoyed tales of adventure, a love that never
diminished. Somewhat ironically in light of his health, Teedie
also loved the outdoors. Asthma permitting, he spent as much time
as possible outside, observing nature and collecting plants and
animals to inspect. His bedroom in the Roosevelt family mansion
often smelled of preserving chemicals and dead animal specimens
he planned to stuff. When Teedie was twelve, Theodore Sr. lectured
him on the importance of developing the body in order to fully
develop the mind. According to legend, Teedie was taunted by a couple
older and stronger boys several months after this lecture, and
afterwards determined to build his strength so that he would never
feel such shame again. Theodore Sr. built Teedie a small gymnasium
in the house for him to improve his strength. The boy also began
boxing lessons. Eventually Teedie's asthma disappeared and his
strength increased.
When Teedie was ten and fourteen, the Roosevelt family
took two extensive vacations throughout Europe and the Middle East. The
trips took them through England, Holland, France, Prussia (Germany),
Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Hungry, Turkey, Greece, Egypt, and
modern-day Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. Teedie was particularly
fascinated with Egypt. While on a trip up the Nile River, he marveled
at Alexandria, Cairo, Thebes, the Pyramids of Giza, and the various
tombs and temples along the way. He also used this opportunity
to collect various species of plant life and to hunt birds and
small animals to add to his budding natural history collection. Although
later on Roosevelt claimed he was much too young to fully appreciate
his first trip to Europe, he never forgot the sites hew saw and
the general spirit of adventure he gleaned from his second trip
as a teenager.
In 1876, when he was eighteen, young Theodore entered
Harvard College. Like many freshmen, he found his first year rather rocky,
but by the second year had found his place and was earning honors
grades in his courses. Later in life he would write that he "thoroughly
enjoyed" his time at Harvard. He originally intended to become
a scientist, but realized later that the scientist's life was not
for him. Although he continued to take science and natural history
courses, he also concentrated on history, philosophy, political economy,
and German.
Theodore was quite popular with the other men on campus.
He was invited to join the prestigious Porcellian and Hasty Pudding Clubs,
and became president of Alpha Delta Phi, vice-president of the
Natural History Society, joined the glee club, was a member of the
Class Committee, and edited The Harvard Advocate, an
undergraduate publication. He was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa, taught
Sunday school every week, and boxed for the Harvard boxing team.
His classmates began calling him "Teddy," and the name stuck. One
of his classmates, Robert Bacon, later became his Secretary of
State during the end of his presidency. Teddy graduated from Harvard
in 1880.
