With the assassination of President McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, not quite 43, became the youngest
President in the Nation's history. He brought new excitement and power to the Presidency, as he
vigorously led Congress and the American public toward progressive reforms and a strong foreign
policy. 

He took the view that the President as a "steward of the people" should take whatever action
necessary for the public good unless expressly forbidden by law or the Constitution." I did not
usurp power," he wrote, "but I did greatly broaden the use of executive power." 

Roosevelt's youth differed sharply from that of the log cabin Presidents. He was born in New York
City in 1858 into a wealthy family, but he too struggled--against ill health--and in his triumph
became an advocate of the strenuous life. 

In 1884 his first wife, Alice Lee Roosevelt, and his mother died on the same day. Roosevelt spent
much of the next two years on his ranch in the Badlands of Dakota Territory. There he mastered his
sorrow as he lived in the saddle, driving cattle, hunting big game--he even captured an outlaw. On
a visit to London, he married Edith Carow in December 1886. 

During the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt was lieutenant colonel of the Rough Rider Regiment,
which he led on a charge at the battle of San Juan. He was one of the most conspicuous heroes of
the war. 

Boss Tom Platt, needing a hero to draw attention away from scandals in New York State, accepted
Roosevelt as the Republican candidate for Governor in 1898. Roosevelt won and served with
distinction. 

As President, Roosevelt held the ideal that the Government should be the great arbiter of the
conflicting economic forces in the Nation, especially between capital and labor, guaranteeing
justice to each and dispensing favors to none. 

Roosevelt emerged spectacularly as a "trust buster" by forcing the dissolution of a great railroad
combination in the Northwest. Other antitrust suits under the Sherman Act followed. 

Roosevelt steered the United States more actively into world politics. He liked to quote a favorite
proverb, "Speak softly and carry a big stick. . . . " 

Aware of the strategic need for a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific, Roosevelt ensured the
construction of the Panama Canal. His corollary to the Monroe Doctrine prevented the establishment
of foreign bases in the Caribbean and arrogated the sole right of intervention in Latin America to
the United States. 

He won the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating the Russo-Japanese War, reached a Gentleman's Agreement
on immigration with Japan, and sent the Great White Fleet on a goodwill tour of the world. 

Some of Theodore Roosevelt's most effective achievements were in conservation. He added enormously
to the national forests in the West, reserved lands for public use, and fostered great irrigation
projects. 

He crusaded endlessly on matters big and small, exciting audiences with his high-pitched voice,
jutting jaw, and pounding fist. "The life of strenuous endeavor" was a must for those around him,
as he romped with his five younger children and led ambassadors on hikes through Rock Creek Park in
Washington, D.C. 

Leaving the Presidency in 1909, Roosevelt went on an African safari, then jumped back into
politics. In 1912 he ran for President on a Progressive ticket. To reporters he once remarked that
he felt as fit as a bull moose, the name of his new party. 

While campaigning in Milwaukee, he was shot in the chest by a fanatic. Roosevelt soon recovered,
but his words at that time would have been applicable at the time of his death in 1919: "No man has
had a happier life than I have led; a happier life in every way."