WEBVTT - TR Vs. Christmas Trees

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<v Speaker 1>History Versus is a production of I Heart Radio and

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<v Speaker 1>Mental Flaws. It's six am on Christmas morning and Theodore

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<v Speaker 1>Roosevelt's children, Alice, Ted Kermit, Ethel, Archie and Quentin are

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<v Speaker 1>pounding at the President's bedroom door. As per tradition. Their stockings,

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<v Speaker 1>which Tier notes are all bulging out with queer angles

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<v Speaker 1>and rotundities, are hanging above the fireplace in their parents room.

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<v Speaker 1>Theater and his wife Edith get up, remove the stockings,

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<v Speaker 1>light a fire and let the children in. The kids

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<v Speaker 1>eagerly unpack their stockings, and after breakfast they open bigger

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<v Speaker 1>presents in the library. Each child's pile of gifts is

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<v Speaker 1>on a separate table. Among the presents are an electric

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<v Speaker 1>railroad for Quentin, a rifle in writing boots for Archie,

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<v Speaker 1>and a pile of books for Tier and Edith. But

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<v Speaker 1>the day holds an even bigger surprise than the goodies

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<v Speaker 1>the Roosevelt's opened. Sometime during the festivities, Archie turns to

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<v Speaker 1>his father. Just look here for a minute, he said,

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<v Speaker 1>as I want you to glance into this old closet.

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<v Speaker 1>He presses a button and opens the closet door to

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<v Speaker 1>reveal a Christmas tree. It's clear that eight year old

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<v Speaker 1>Archie has been scheming for some time. First he drafted

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<v Speaker 1>a steward to buy the tiny, two foot tall tree

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<v Speaker 1>for twenty cents at the market and smuggle it into

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<v Speaker 1>the White House. Then, with the help of the carpenter,

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<v Speaker 1>he'd rigged it up in a closet his mother rarely used.

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<v Speaker 1>The building's electrician had helped him string it with lights

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<v Speaker 1>which can be turned on at the push of a button.

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<v Speaker 1>Gifts for each family member and for Jack the dog,

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<v Speaker 1>Tom Courts the kitten, and Algonquin the pony adorn the branches,

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<v Speaker 1>as roosevelt friend Robert Lincoln O'Brien will write a year later.

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<v Speaker 1>All of the family were there, as was Quentin's nurse,

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<v Speaker 1>but none appeared more astonished than Mr Roosevelt himself at

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<v Speaker 1>the sight of this diminutive Christmas tree. You might be wondering,

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<v Speaker 1>why would a Christmas tree be so surprising? Well, the

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<v Speaker 1>Roosevelts didn't typically have a Christmas because, according to legend anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>Theodore Roosevelt, avid conservationist, had banned them. The stories would

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<v Speaker 1>have you believe that when Archie revealed his festive stunt,

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<v Speaker 1>his father gave him a patented tr lecture, but what

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<v Speaker 1>actually happened? From Mental Floss and I Heart Radio, this

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<v Speaker 1>is History Versus, a podcast about how your favorite historical

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<v Speaker 1>figures faced off against their greatest foes. I'm your host,

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<v Speaker 1>Aaron McCarthy, and this week, in honor of the upcoming

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<v Speaker 1>Christmas holiday, we're doing something a little different. We're looking

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<v Speaker 1>at the fact and fiction behind a pervasive theater Roosevelt

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<v Speaker 1>Christmas Tale. This episode is tr versus Christmas Trees. Theodore

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<v Speaker 1>Roosevelt loved Christmas, which he called an occasion of literally

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<v Speaker 1>delirious joy. That love began in his childhood with the

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<v Speaker 1>efforts of his parents than Middy, who strove to make

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<v Speaker 1>the holiday special. According to historian Kathleen Dalton, when Tier

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<v Speaker 1>and his siblings were kids, his mother gloried in piling

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<v Speaker 1>Christmas table high with toys for her children, and she

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<v Speaker 1>loved to watch their glee on Christmas morning. Tire recalled

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<v Speaker 1>those days in his autobiography, writing about nabbing big stockings

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<v Speaker 1>from the grownups, hanging them up the night before Christmas,

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<v Speaker 1>and opening them the morning of on his parents bed.

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<v Speaker 1>After breakfast, Thee and Mitty would throw open the doors

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<v Speaker 1>of the drawing room where each child had his or

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<v Speaker 1>her presence piled on their own table. They kept up

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<v Speaker 1>the tradition even when they were traveling, and when they

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<v Speaker 1>spent the holiday in the city, he would often go

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<v Speaker 1>to one of the charitable organizations he supported for dinner,

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<v Speaker 1>the Newsboys Lodging House, for example, and bring his kids along.

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<v Speaker 1>In his autobiography, tr wrote that I never knew anyone

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<v Speaker 1>else have what seemed to me such attractive Christmases, and

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<v Speaker 1>in the next generation I tried to reproduce them exactly

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<v Speaker 1>for my own children. And he did just that, repeating

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<v Speaker 1>the stocking breakfast presence on the table tradition year after year.

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<v Speaker 1>Of one Christmas morning, in when Tira was in d C.

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<v Speaker 1>Serving on this of All Service Commission, he wrote to

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<v Speaker 1>his sister Baby that the children enjoyed it with the

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<v Speaker 1>same wild rapture we ourselves felt twenty five years ago.

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<v Speaker 1>In three he wrote to his sister Karin, I wonder

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<v Speaker 1>whether there can ever come in life a thrill of

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<v Speaker 1>greater exaltation and rapture than that which comes to one

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<v Speaker 1>between the ages of say, six and fourteen, when the

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<v Speaker 1>library door is thrown open and you walk in to

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<v Speaker 1>see all the gifts like a materialized fairyland arraid on

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<v Speaker 1>your special table. The family loved snow around Christmas. The

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<v Speaker 1>kids would have all kinds of romps in the snow

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<v Speaker 1>to your wrote one year coasting, having snowball fights and

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<v Speaker 1>doing everything in the grounds back of the White House.

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<v Speaker 1>When in Long Island, they'd bundle up and take a

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<v Speaker 1>sleigh ride to church on Christmas Eve, and there's plenty

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<v Speaker 1>of physical activity, of course. The Roosevelts finished up their

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<v Speaker 1>first holiday in the White House by dancing a Virginia

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<v Speaker 1>reel in the east room. According to historian Edmund Morris,

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<v Speaker 1>tears wild dance moves made Edith laugh until she cried.

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<v Speaker 1>On Christmas two year and Ted took a three hour

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<v Speaker 1>long horse ride, and the President played a game of

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<v Speaker 1>single stick with some friends that left him with a

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<v Speaker 1>bump over one eye and a swollen wrist. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>typical theater Roosevelt stuff. But though they had many beloved

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<v Speaker 1>traditions surrounding the holiday, a Christmas tree wasn't one of them.

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<v Speaker 1>And while that seems weird to us now, Christmas was

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<v Speaker 1>celebrated much differently in the nineteenth century than it is today.

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<v Speaker 1>In a blog post for the Theatre Roosevelt Center website.

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<v Speaker 1>Carrie young Strand notes that back then, Christmas was a

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<v Speaker 1>quiet religious holiday, marked by private family traditions brought from

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<v Speaker 1>the old world. As Jamie Lewis writes at the Far

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<v Speaker 1>Society's History blog, up until the late eighteen forties, many

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<v Speaker 1>Americans thought Christmas trees were pagan symbols, so they weren't

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<v Speaker 1>pervasive in homes. The same held true for the Executive Mansion.

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<v Speaker 1>Christmas trees wouldn't become an integral part of the holiday

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<v Speaker 1>celebration there until the nineteen twenties. But what makes the

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<v Speaker 1>Roosevelt case somewhat unusual was that in the nineteenth century,

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<v Speaker 1>Americans often did have a tree if the household had

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<v Speaker 1>young children. Lewis writes that adults would presents under or

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<v Speaker 1>on the tree for the kids. Grover Cleveland and Benjamin

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<v Speaker 1>Harrison both had trees in the White House. At home

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<v Speaker 1>in Oyster Bay, the Roosevelts provided a Christmas tree, which

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<v Speaker 1>tr cut down himself in the woods of Sagamore Hill

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<v Speaker 1>with the help of an employee to kof Neck Elementary School,

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<v Speaker 1>where it was decorated by a teacher. Then Roosevelt acted

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<v Speaker 1>as Santa Claus. According to article in the New York Tribune,

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<v Speaker 1>when the tree was unveiled, Tier was on hand early,

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<v Speaker 1>his arms full with the store of mysterious packages and bundles,

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<v Speaker 1>and his eyes critically appraising the last minute decorations. The colonel,

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<v Speaker 1>beaming from ear to ear, announced that he had been

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<v Speaker 1>delegated by St. Nick to act as his emissary, and

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<v Speaker 1>began reading from the packages which crowded the foot of

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<v Speaker 1>the tree, the names of the various fortunate recipients. He

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<v Speaker 1>even brought them his favorite hard candy from when he

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<v Speaker 1>was a kid. In the words of his friend Jacob Brice,

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<v Speaker 1>Mr Roosevelt made a good Santa Claus, but still there

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<v Speaker 1>was no tree at home. We'll be right back. The

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<v Speaker 1>fact that the Roosevelt's, with a household full of young kids,

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<v Speaker 1>didn't have a Christmas tree in the White House made

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<v Speaker 1>national news basically every year. In nineteen o one, the

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<v Speaker 1>New York Daily Tribune noted that, following an established custom

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<v Speaker 1>in the Roosevelt household, there will be no Christmas tree

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<v Speaker 1>this year at the White House. That same year, the

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<v Speaker 1>Washington Times said that White House attendees were disappointed about

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<v Speaker 1>the lack of tree, writing that they had supposed that

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<v Speaker 1>with so many children, the tree would be indispensable. The

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<v Speaker 1>following year, The New York Sun reported the same thing,

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<v Speaker 1>no tree, although thanks to archie surprise, they would be wrong.

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<v Speaker 1>In nineteen o three, George's The Brunswick Daily said that

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<v Speaker 1>following the custom of last year, it has been decided

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<v Speaker 1>to have no Christmas tree at the White House. And

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<v Speaker 1>in nineteen o four, well, you get the idea. After

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<v Speaker 1>Archie went rogue, though Lewis writes that the papers wondered

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<v Speaker 1>each holiday season for the rest of tiers president and

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<v Speaker 1>see what will happen and if Archie will pull a

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<v Speaker 1>fast one. There was much speculation as to why the

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<v Speaker 1>Roosevelts went treeless on Christmas. The Washington Times reported that

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<v Speaker 1>the Roosevelt kids didn't even like trees, and that t

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<v Speaker 1>are preferred to celebrate according to the customs of Holland.

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<v Speaker 1>The Dutch version of Santa or Center Class, was big

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<v Speaker 1>on leaving gifts and footwear. South Carolina's Greenville News roade

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<v Speaker 1>in nineteen o four that Santa would visit the White

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<v Speaker 1>House as he did other homes in the US, but

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<v Speaker 1>he would not furnish a Christmas tree, and the President

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<v Speaker 1>and his wife do not bother about providing one. Whether

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<v Speaker 1>they think Santa Claus would not like for them to

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<v Speaker 1>do something he had failed to do cannot be officially stated,

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<v Speaker 1>But as soon as nineteen o three, another explanation had

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<v Speaker 1>emerged that Tier opposed Christmas trees because of environmental concerns.

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<v Speaker 1>As O'Brien wrote in Ladies Home Journal, the President's love

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<v Speaker 1>for the living things of the forest in their own

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<v Speaker 1>natural setting is so great it has been suggested that

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<v Speaker 1>he prefers not to encourage the wanton slaughter of small trees.

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<v Speaker 1>By December nineteen o nine, it was being reported as

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<v Speaker 1>fact in the press. Gifford Pinchot, chief of the Division

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<v Speaker 1>of Forestry, was thrown into the tail for good measure.

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<v Speaker 1>He supposedly sided with Santa Claus and showed how Christmas

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<v Speaker 1>tree cutting to the forest good in many places. It's

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<v Speaker 1>true that Tierra was no fan of destructive lumbering practices.

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<v Speaker 1>After all, this is the guy who created the U. S.

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<v Speaker 1>Forest Service and established a hundred and fifty national forests.

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<v Speaker 1>In five he gave a speech titled The Forest in

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<v Speaker 1>the Life of a Nation, in which he noted that

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<v Speaker 1>things like fire and destructive lumbering practices, combined with legitimate lumbering,

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<v Speaker 1>are destroying our forest resources far more rapidly than they

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<v Speaker 1>are being replaced, and that if there was nothing done

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<v Speaker 1>to curb the destruction of forests, a timber famine would

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<v Speaker 1>be inevitable. Remember, he added that you can prevent such

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<v Speaker 1>a timber famine occurring by wise action taken in time,

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<v Speaker 1>but once the famine occurs, there is no possible way

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<v Speaker 1>of hurrying the growth of the trees necessary to relieve it.

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<v Speaker 1>The guy clearly loved trees, and national sentiment at the

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<v Speaker 1>time was decidedly anti Christmas tree. An editorial suggested that

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<v Speaker 1>an inventor create a wire Christmas tree, warranted to bear

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<v Speaker 1>a gift for every member of the family and to

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<v Speaker 1>be absolutely fireproof. As wire is durable, a large family

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<v Speaker 1>of children could be brought up on one Christmas tree

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<v Speaker 1>and much timber would be saved. According to Lewis, President

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<v Speaker 1>McKinley got letters asking him to forego a tree. The

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<v Speaker 1>writers called cutting down trees for Christmas arboreal infanticide, and

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<v Speaker 1>by the time Tire became president, opposition to the practice

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<v Speaker 1>had reached its peak, with the public arguing against cutting

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<v Speaker 1>trees for reasons ranging from destructive harvesting practices to wastefulness.

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<v Speaker 1>One paper called the trees an absurd fad that we're

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<v Speaker 1>resulting in the woods being stripped. In his piece for

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<v Speaker 1>Ladies Home Journal, O'Brien noted that if t are disapproved

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<v Speaker 1>of the practice on conservation grounds, he has not so

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<v Speaker 1>informed his closest friends. Lewis writes that Theodore Roosevelt never

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<v Speaker 1>came out specifically against harvesting Christmas trees, and when he

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<v Speaker 1>spoke with writer Bridget Cats for a Mental Fluss piece

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<v Speaker 1>on this subject, Lewis was emphatic. Ultimately, Roosevelt had no

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<v Speaker 1>ban on Christmas trees, he told Cats. As for why

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<v Speaker 1>the press was so interested in the Roosevelt's lack of tree,

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<v Speaker 1>Lewis had an explanation for us. He said that not

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<v Speaker 1>only were the Roosevelt's a dynamic, fascinating family that the

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<v Speaker 1>press loved covering, but that the papers might have been

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<v Speaker 1>wanting for content as the holiday approached. Lewis told Cats

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<v Speaker 1>that Congress would have adjourned weeks before, so the media

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<v Speaker 1>is desperate for copy, and here we have this fascinating family.

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<v Speaker 1>I think some of the myth and legend is born

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<v Speaker 1>out of boredom. Frankly, still, despite the lack of evidence,

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<v Speaker 1>tr supposed stance on Christmas trees and the story about

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<v Speaker 1>pin Shows stepping into set him straight are still reported

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<v Speaker 1>as fact today. Theodore Roosevelt's ban on Christmas trees even

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<v Speaker 1>made it into an episode of Drunk History. We'll be

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<v Speaker 1>right back. The fact of the matter is, we may

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<v Speaker 1>never really know why the Roosevelts didn't have a tree.

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<v Speaker 1>Perhaps it's because Baby had one at her house and

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<v Speaker 1>the Roosevelts were there most Christmases, Or perhaps, as O'Brien wrote,

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<v Speaker 1>it was because the Roosevelt's favorite simplicity, the White House

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<v Speaker 1>was in decorated goddily for the season. Either or maybe,

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<v Speaker 1>as the Baltimore Sun posited in December nine, one, with

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<v Speaker 1>so many children and so many visitors, there was a

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<v Speaker 1>room for one and that Baby's tree would just have

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<v Speaker 1>to suffice. Or as Louis told Autlice Obscura, it could

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<v Speaker 1>be that Edith put the Kabbash on a tree. After all,

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<v Speaker 1>the Roosevelts had six kids and a veritable zoo of pets,

0:12:41.040 --> 0:12:45.040
<v Speaker 1>which included at one time or another, opossums flying squirrels

0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:49.120
<v Speaker 1>and kangaroo rats, a pig named Maud, a badger named Josiah,

0:12:49.400 --> 0:12:52.840
<v Speaker 1>a hyaena named Bill, a one legged rooster, guinea pigs

0:12:52.840 --> 0:12:55.720
<v Speaker 1>with names like Father O'Grady and Fighting Bob Evans, and

0:12:55.840 --> 0:12:58.559
<v Speaker 1>of course tomp Courts the Kitten, Algonquin the pony, and

0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:02.240
<v Speaker 1>Jack the Dog, among many many others to worry about.

0:13:04.559 --> 0:13:07.319
<v Speaker 1>But the most likely explanation seems to be that Roosevelt

0:13:07.440 --> 0:13:10.800
<v Speaker 1>loved the Christmas traditions of his childhood, and those traditions

0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:14.280
<v Speaker 1>didn't include a tree, so there was no tree, at

0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:17.240
<v Speaker 1>least not until two. What we do know is that

0:13:17.360 --> 0:13:20.080
<v Speaker 1>Archie's antics appear to have been met with delight, not

0:13:20.200 --> 0:13:22.760
<v Speaker 1>a lecture from the President, and may have even started

0:13:22.800 --> 0:13:26.560
<v Speaker 1>a new Roosevelt family tradition. In nineteen o six, Tier

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<v Speaker 1>wrote to Karin that Archie and Quentin had created a

0:13:29.480 --> 0:13:32.280
<v Speaker 1>variant on what is otherwise a strictly inherited form of

0:13:32.280 --> 0:13:35.720
<v Speaker 1>our celebration, for they fix up, or at least Archie

0:13:35.720 --> 0:13:39.560
<v Speaker 1>fixes up a special Christmas tree in Archie's room. While

0:13:39.559 --> 0:13:42.640
<v Speaker 1>tr and Edith were admiring Archie's tree, two kids snuck

0:13:42.679 --> 0:13:44.760
<v Speaker 1>out of the room to set up a small lighted

0:13:44.800 --> 0:13:48.400
<v Speaker 1>Christmas tree in their parents room. It had tr wrote

0:13:48.559 --> 0:13:52.280
<v Speaker 1>two huge stockings for Edith and myself. The next year

0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:54.560
<v Speaker 1>he wrote to Baby that there was a Christmas tree

0:13:54.559 --> 0:13:58.160
<v Speaker 1>of archies in as far as Society blog, Louis notes

0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:01.480
<v Speaker 1>that the casualness of Trs comments may suggest that by

0:14:01.559 --> 0:14:05.200
<v Speaker 1>this point a tree was actually expected, and perhaps that

0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:07.040
<v Speaker 1>fact is what led the kids to provide a tree

0:14:07.080 --> 0:14:11.280
<v Speaker 1>for their parents. They wanted to surprise tr once again.

0:14:11.960 --> 0:14:15.520
<v Speaker 1>Today Archie's exploits live on and Gary Hines's children's book

0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:18.400
<v Speaker 1>A Christmas Tree in the White House. And if this

0:14:18.440 --> 0:14:20.360
<v Speaker 1>episode has made you wonder whether you should go with

0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:23.240
<v Speaker 1>a real tree on Christmas, it's worth noting that at

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<v Speaker 1>least these days, Christmas trees are crops grown on farms.

0:14:26.840 --> 0:14:28.800
<v Speaker 1>According to the New York Times, it takes under a

0:14:28.840 --> 0:14:30.880
<v Speaker 1>decade for a tree to reach five or six ft,

0:14:31.120 --> 0:14:32.960
<v Speaker 1>and it's replaced with a new tree when a farmer

0:14:33.000 --> 0:14:37.120
<v Speaker 1>cuts it down. Christmas tree farming practices are sustainable, and

0:14:37.120 --> 0:14:39.080
<v Speaker 1>the trees do a lot for the environment before they're

0:14:39.080 --> 0:14:41.560
<v Speaker 1>cut down, and they have the potential to do more

0:14:41.600 --> 0:14:44.240
<v Speaker 1>after two if you compost them or donate them to

0:14:44.280 --> 0:14:46.360
<v Speaker 1>a zoo where they can be used as in Richmond

0:14:46.360 --> 0:14:50.920
<v Speaker 1>toys or snacks for animals. We'll be back next week

0:14:50.920 --> 0:14:53.440
<v Speaker 1>with a regular episode of History Versus. We hope you

0:14:53.440 --> 0:14:59.280
<v Speaker 1>have a great holiday. History Versus is hosted by me

0:14:59.360 --> 0:15:02.240
<v Speaker 1>Aaron mcarth. This episode was written by me, with fact

0:15:02.320 --> 0:15:06.200
<v Speaker 1>checking by Austin Thompson. The executive producers are Aaron McCarthy,

0:15:06.280 --> 0:15:10.520
<v Speaker 1>Julie Douglas, and Tyler Klang. The supervising producer is Dylan Fagan.

0:15:11.200 --> 0:15:14.040
<v Speaker 1>The show was edited by Dylan Fagan and lowbra Ante.

0:15:14.400 --> 0:15:17.200
<v Speaker 1>To learn more about this episode and Theodore Roosevelt, check

0:15:17.200 --> 0:15:20.400
<v Speaker 1>out our website at mental fluss dot com, slash History Versus.

0:15:20.440 --> 0:15:23.120
<v Speaker 1>That's mental fluss dot com, slash hi s t o

0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:26.480
<v Speaker 1>r y vs. History Versus is the production of I

0:15:26.520 --> 0:15:36.440
<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio and Mental Floss. For more podcasts from my

0:15:36.520 --> 0:15:39.480
<v Speaker 1>heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple podcast,

0:15:39.640 --> 0:15:41.680
<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.