The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (1979) is a biography about the life of the 26th United States President Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris when the author was forty years old.It is the first in a trilogy continued more than twenty and thirty years later by Theodore Rex (2001) and Colonel Roosevelt (2010).It won the 1980 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography and the 1980 National Book Award in Biography.
The Rise covers the time from
Roosevelt's birth
through his ascendancy to the Presidency.
It includes the Roosevelt family history starting with his parents' influence, his turbulent childhood illnesses, education, involvement in politics, and political accomplishments that prepared him to be one of the most influential presidents of the modern era.
Specific topics include the philosophy of Roosevelt's father, mother, and his family.
His passion for learning despite severe illness is well documented.
Roosevelt is born in New York City to Mittie and Theodore Roosevelt, and he’s their second child.
He suffers asthma which embarrasses his father.
Doctors suggest he should spend a lot of time outdoors, but this isn’t good enough for Theodore Senior, who expects his son to strengthen himself up. He goes so far as installing a home gym, which Roosevelt loves—much to his doctor’s despair.
Roosevelt is naturally curious and loves to learn new things.
He’s self-motivated and studies as many books in his father’s library as he can.
Morris reports that Roosevelt probably read the equivalent of one book per day during his life.
Although he’s home-schooled, he’s accepted into Harvard University at just 17.
He studies law and natural history, both of which he excels at.
He also chooses his friends very carefully—he doesn’t believe everyone at Harvard is worthy of his time. When he’s not studying, he spends time with select people, but everyone notices his determination and aptitude for everything he does.
Morris examines his life as a young politician driven by a sense of public duty and stewardship, and captures multiple aspects of the events that shaped the character and performance of Roosevelt.
The book provides insight into the world of influence from a master of corporate power as opposed to leaders who practice personal power.
Topics include early childhood, education and hobbies, travels in Europe and Africa, New York legislature, frontier life, civil service commissioner, New York police commissioner, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, the Rough Riders and victory in Cuba, governor of New York, and short term as vice-president.
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt covers this time period, from his birth in 1858 to his first day in office as President in 1901 after William McKinley was shot.
The book opens with a rich anecdote of the annual New Year’s Day ritual in which citizens of the Capital would file through the White House to shake the President’s hand.
Morris cleverly introduces the story’s hero through the eyes of people that waited hours in freezing January temperatures to grip the President’s hand for no more than a second and a half.
Morris describes the incredible line of people stretching down Pennsylvania Avenue and the overwhelming impression each is left with when they look Roosevelt in the eyes and take his hand.
Through this we are shown not only the collective affection for the President but also his own will and love for the people as by 2:00pm he has shaken over 8,000 hands without pause.
We get a glimpse of the determination and integrity of a man that by many accounts should barely have lived past adolescence due to wave after wave of illness.
This episode sets the tone for the ensuing 900 pages, a battle of will for someone that is constantly knocked down and by sheer determination continues to get back up.
Before reading the book most may have a basic recollection of Teddy Roosevelt’s extensive resume of accomplishments, ranging from professional historian and zoologist to New York City Police Commissioner and Medal of Honor nominee.
It’s important then to recognize how skillful Morris is in thoroughly covering these accomplishments but not dwelling on them or letting them define both his book and its subject.
It would be too easy to simply recount the first half of Roosevelt’s life through his various titles and positions, yet Morris instead provides the perhaps more important personal context for those accomplishments. He paints a picture of the man through not only the extensive correspondence and journals he kept, but also descriptions of the world he lived in.
As much as Morris describes the world in which Roosevelt lived, he also depicts the world he shaped through an incredible cult of personality.
Morris utilizes quotes from several people that were in close proximity to Roosevelt both personally and professionally to describe the penetrating effect he had on those around him.
More often than not the quote will begin with an unrelenting first impression of a brash, awkward man who was direct almost to a fault, before giving way to a forgiving remark about a certain uncanny ability to win over both heart and mind.
In explaining how stoic, dry and emotionally stunted men like Henry Adams, Thomas Reed, and Henry Cabot Lodge tolerated the boisterous Roosevelt ,
Morris writes that they
“…grew dependent upon Roosevelt’s warmth, as lizards crave the sun” (164).
Perhaps as significant to the casual reader as historical accuracy and citation, the book is remarkably well paced for such a large volume. Morris does well to keep the story moving even when there’s opportunity for much more elaborate description or inferences and seems to keep the reader’s sanity in mind at all times. He is no doubt writing for both the history enthusiast and uninitiated and plays to both throughout the book, writing like a novelist but introducing enough primary source material to keep scholars content.
Descriptions are rich in detail and even the action reads like a thriller at times but there is also an extensive section of notes and bibliography at the back of the book.
It should be said though that Morris’ depiction is colored by a somewhat romantic reverence for Roosevelt.
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt is almost Homer-esque, a sprawling epic poem in which the hero is determined to overcome the countless obstacles through cunning and determination on his way home from battle.
Both Odysseus and Teddy are imprisoned at the beginning of each story (One on Calypso’s Island, one by illness), and both authors are sympathetic to their characters by forgiving any personality flaws as a product of their hardship.
While this doesn’t exactly take away from the integrity of the book as its only “a feeling”, it does make me wonder if there were any more less than glowing accounts of his personality or ability.
In total The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt is a very well written and extensively researched book on one our greatest President’s and should go down as an authoritative account of his life before taking office.
Theodore Roosevelt Quotes
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”
“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
“The only man who never makes mistakes is the man who never does anything.”
“When you’re at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on.”
“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
“Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength.”
“I am a part of everything that I have read.”
“Knowing what’s right doesn’t mean much unless you do what’s right.”
“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.”
“To educate a person in the mind but not in morals is to educate a menace to society.”
“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.”
“Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.”
“Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.”
“A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.”
“Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell ’em, ‘Certainly I can!’ Then get busy and find out how to do it.”
“Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering.”
“When you play, play hard; when you work, don’t play at all.”
“It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.”
“People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader leads, and the boss drives.”
“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”
“Let us rather run the risk of wearing out than rusting out.”
“Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
“The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”
“With self-discipline, almost anything is possible.”
“The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.”
“The boy who is going to make a great man must not make up his mind merely to overcome a thousand obstacles, but to win in spite of a thousand repulses and defeats.”
“Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones.”
“Nine-tenths of wisdom is being wise in time.”
“Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you’ve got to start young.”
“Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage.”
“I care not what others think of what I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do! That is character!”
“No man is worth his salt who is not ready at all times to risk his well-being, to risk his body, to risk his life, in a great cause.”
“This country has nothing to fear from the crooked man who fails. We put him in jail. It is the crooked man who succeeds who is a threat to this country.”
“A stream cannot rise larger than its source.”
“It is impossible to win the great prizes of life without running risks, and the greatest of all prizes are those connected with the home.”
“If I must choose between peace and righteousness, I choose righteousness.”
“Peace is normally a great good, and normally it coincides with righteousness, but it is righteousness and not peace which should bind the conscience of a nation as it should bind the conscience of an individual; and neither a nation nor an individual can surrender conscience to another’s keeping.”
“All the resources we need are in the mind.”
“Our chief usefulness to humanity rests on our combining power with high purpose. Power undirected by high purpose spells calamity, and high purpose by itself is utterly useless if the power to put it into effect is lacking.”
“There is only one quality worse than hardness of heart and that is softness of head.”
“In life, as in a football game, the principle to follow is: hit the line hard.”
“The men and women who have the right ideals… are those who have the courage to strive for the happiness which comes only with labor and effort and self-sacrifice, and those whose joy in life springs in part from power of work and sense of duty.”
“We need the iron qualities that go with true manhood. We need the positive virtues of resolution, of courage, of indomitable will, of power to do without shrinking the rough work that must always be done.”
“At sometime in our lives a devil dwells within us, causes heartbreaks, confusion and troubles, then dies.”
“We must remember not to judge any public servant by any one act, and especially should we beware of attacking the men who are merely the occasions and not the cause of disaster.”
“Order without liberty and liberty without order are equally destructive.”
“Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike.”
“Every reform movement has a lunatic fringe.”
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