The nation had never before had such a boisterous and
energetic president as Theodore Roosevelt. He was a man of action,
a mover and shaker unlike anything the American people had seen
in Washington. At forty-two, the youngest man ever to become President, Roosevelt
shook the nation, defying convention and giving new life to the
office. Throughout his term, he strove to make the executive office
more powerful and more in touch with the common American.
Roosevelt's ability to communicate with the people proved
very useful throughout his political career, particularly during
his Presidency. Few men in American politics have been so endowed
with this gift–let alone men of Roosevelt's stature and social
standing. Theodore could speak with almost any man, woman, or crowd
and convince them that he was one of them, that he championed their
causes, and that he worked with their best interests in mind. While in
office, he made multiple campaign trips throughout America in order
to inform the public of his domestic and foreign policies. He was
a dynamic speaker who would often, without the aid of microphones,
project his voice to near breaking point to speak to an audience
of tens of thousands of people. His speeches were animated as well,
full of motion and gestures and energy to rouse the crowd. No other
president had spoken to the people this way before, and it is therefore
not surprising why so many rallied to hear his addresses.
In 1902, Roosevelt campaigned through the Midwest and
New England on a particularly adventurous tour. During this trip
he spoke out against the growing plutocracy and powerful trusts, trade
with Cuba, taxes, and the problem in the rebellion in the Philippines.
While in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, however, Roosevelt's carriage
was struck by an electric trolley car. Roosevelt emerged with a
swollen face and injured leg, but continued the tour for the day,
stopping in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to speak to a crowd of thirty
thousand. Although he initially assured the American people–as well
as several foreign dignitaries who expressed concern–that he was
unharmed, he eventually conceded to have the fluid drained from
an abscess that developed on his leg. He was confined to a wheelchair
for several weeks. The abscess would give him trouble until almost
the day he died.
Roosevelt also drastically transformed life in the White
House, both literally and figuratively. During his terms, the east
and west wings were added to the White House, increasing the house's square
footage significantly. Throughout his Presidency, the First Family
held several fashionable and expensive parties and social events
for the Washington elite. One particularly glamorous event was
young "Princess Alice's" debut ball in 1902, attended by all the young
men and women of Washington, including the daughter of a Russian
countess, the daughter of the British ambassador, and even Alice's
distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Alice's marriage to Republican
congressman Nicholas Longworth in 1906 was also held at the White
House.
The White House was rarely a quiet place. The Roosevelt
children and their friends had full reign of the house and soon
attracted national attention with their charm and characteristic
Roosevelt spirit of adventure. They soon became known as the "White
House Gang". The American people fell in love with the children,
particularly with the two younger boys, Archie and Quentin. Newspapers throughout
the country printed stories of Quentin's numerous pranks. In one
incident, he snuck a pony through the house, up an elevator, and
eventually into his brother's bedroom. There was also the time
he placed a four- foot long snake near his father's office, scaring
a group of congressmen. Spitballs were once found on a portrait
of Andrew Jackson, and during one of the children's pretend "attacks"
on the White House, Roosevelt played along and sent a warning that
they should call it off through the War Department.
Though now saddled with the gravity of the Presidential
office, Roosevelt refused to abandon his love for excitement, fitness,
and stretching personal boundaries. Indeed, many of his own recreational
activities added to the chaos in the White House. One of his favorite
pastimes was tennis, which he often played with the younger members
of his staff. These young men–as opposed to the older members of
his administration–subsequently came to be known as Roosevelt's
"Tennis Cabinet". Roosevelt also enjoyed horseback riding, rowing,
hiking, and chopping wood, and created various obstacle courses
that involved traversing difficult terrain in a small amount of
time. His favorite indoor sports to practice in the White House
included jujitsu, wrestling, and boxing. In 1905, while boxing
with a military aide, Roosevelt was punched in the left eye and
permanently blinded. He never admitted this to anyone, however,
until almost ten years later, in 1914, before undergoing another
operation.
Within a month of assuming the office, Roosevelt caused
an uproar throughout the nation when he invited Booker T. Washington
to dine with him in the White House. Washington, a former Southern
slave, was famous throughout the nation for becoming a learned
man and distinguished educator at his school, the Tuskeegee Institute.
The South was outraged that Roosevelt invited a black man to dine
with him, and even many Northerners had mixed feelings. Roosevelt
responded immediately that the nation's shocked response only indicated
that he made the correct decision. In several letters, he further
admonished the American people for basing judgments on color.
