1 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:06,880 Speaker 1: In this episode of Newsworld. Theodore Roosevelt Junior was born 2 00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:10,319 Speaker 1: in New York City on October twenty seventh, eighteen fifty eight. 3 00:00:11,039 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 1: He was born into a well to do family. He 4 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:17,320 Speaker 1: was homeschooled and went to Harvard College. He dropped out 5 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:20,119 Speaker 1: of Columbia Law School to enter in local New York politics. 6 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:23,919 Speaker 1: In September nineteen oh one, at the age of forty two, 7 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 1: he became the twenty sixth President of the United States 8 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 1: after President William McKinley was assassinated. Roosevelt was a leader 9 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: of the progressive movement, and he championed his Square Deal 10 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:40,800 Speaker 1: domestic policies, promising the average citizen, fairness, breaking of trusts, 11 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:46,320 Speaker 1: regulation of railroads, and pure food and drugs. After leaving office, 12 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:50,959 Speaker 1: Roosevelt traveled the world, including trips to Africa and South America. 13 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: He was a lifelong conservationist. He passed away in his 14 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 1: sleep at his home Sagamore Hill and Cove Neck, New York, 15 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:02,840 Speaker 1: on January fifth, nineteen nineteen, at the age of sixty. 16 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:19,280 Speaker 1: I want to share with you the human whirlwind that 17 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:23,840 Speaker 1: was Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt was amazing both as an individual 18 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: and because in some ways. He personified the America that 19 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:34,039 Speaker 1: was emerging at the beginning of the twentieth century. I 20 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: find him to be one of the most extraordinary American 21 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:44,560 Speaker 1: presidents just because of the sheer range that he was 22 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:49,920 Speaker 1: capable of doing. He was obviously extraordinarily bright and wrote 23 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:53,080 Speaker 1: at a very early age a guide to birds in 24 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: New York State. He wrote a history of the Naval 25 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:03,480 Speaker 1: War of eighteen twelve, is still considered a remarkable book, 26 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 1: and that, by the way, was done at a very 27 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:11,240 Speaker 1: early age, I think in his early twenties. So here 28 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:15,560 Speaker 1: you got this guy who is born relatively weak at 29 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:21,280 Speaker 1: asthma and really went to work building up his physical strength, 30 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:27,040 Speaker 1: became ultimately a cowboy, was driven to be successful, to 31 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:30,359 Speaker 1: be unique, And while he was doing all of that, 32 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:35,960 Speaker 1: he got involved in politics. But it's fascinating because he 33 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:41,720 Speaker 1: didn't fit any pattern that you could have imagined. On 34 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:45,040 Speaker 1: the one hand, he was at Roosevelt and therefore in 35 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:48,440 Speaker 1: effect part of the aristocracy of that time, the kind 36 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:50,520 Speaker 1: of person who went to Harvard, the kind of person 37 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:53,920 Speaker 1: who had lots of nice outfits and went to nice events. 38 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: On the other hand, he was a politician, and he 39 00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: was determined to rise in politics as a great line 40 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:03,919 Speaker 1: where one of his friends says to him, how can 41 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:07,720 Speaker 1: you go out to these German and Irish bars and 42 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:11,920 Speaker 1: be hanging out with those normal working people. And Roosevelt's 43 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:15,799 Speaker 1: response was simply, he said, luck power in this city 44 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:20,040 Speaker 1: is in those bars. I want to be part of 45 00:03:20,040 --> 00:03:22,840 Speaker 1: how decisions are made. Now, you don't need to go 46 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:25,280 Speaker 1: to those bars, but then you're always going to be 47 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:27,720 Speaker 1: on the outside, and you're always going to come to 48 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:29,800 Speaker 1: somebody who's in the bar to get the decision made. 49 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:32,240 Speaker 1: And I want to be in that room. I want 50 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 1: to do that. And Roosevelt went out at a very 51 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:40,320 Speaker 1: early age and began developing a whole series of activities. 52 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:43,320 Speaker 1: He was always a reformer. I think it was partly 53 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:45,560 Speaker 1: because he's had this edge to him. On the one hand, 54 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:49,400 Speaker 1: he's sort of a puritan in his toughness and in 55 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:53,080 Speaker 1: his desire to fix things and improve things. On the 56 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 1: other hand, he loved life so much that he just 57 00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:58,320 Speaker 1: kind of bubbled over me. You have to think of 58 00:03:58,400 --> 00:04:01,520 Speaker 1: him almost as a pot of the stove, where every 59 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: day things are coming out of the pot and you 60 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:07,360 Speaker 1: have no idea what's going to happen next. So for example, 61 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:10,360 Speaker 1: at one point he becomes the police commissioner of New 62 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 1: York City and he decides to actually enforce the law, 63 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:16,440 Speaker 1: and the law said that you couldn't have bars and 64 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:20,760 Speaker 1: saloons open on Sunday, so he closed them. Well, people 65 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:24,640 Speaker 1: were enraged because he was violating the way in which 66 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 1: they had historically operated, and he said, well, if you 67 00:04:27,839 --> 00:04:30,039 Speaker 1: want them open, change the law, but as long as 68 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 1: I'm the police commissioner, we're closing them, at which point, 69 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:35,640 Speaker 1: of course they fired him because they didn't want to 70 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:38,240 Speaker 1: get involved in this, and he had a certain lack 71 00:04:38,279 --> 00:04:41,320 Speaker 1: of common sense in that sense. City was so driven 72 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: that again and again he would do things that would 73 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:48,360 Speaker 1: irritate people. He was very active in the Republican Party, 74 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:50,960 Speaker 1: and in fact, in the election of eighteen ninety six, 75 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:55,320 Speaker 1: it is Roosevelt and the mayor of Syracuse who come 76 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:58,560 Speaker 1: up with the best argument against William Jennings Bryan, an 77 00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:02,240 Speaker 1: argument which was then picked up by William McKinley, and 78 00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:08,159 Speaker 1: McKinley promptly won the election's over and he's won gives 79 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:11,240 Speaker 1: Roosevelt the appointment as the number two person in the 80 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:14,880 Speaker 1: Navy Department, and one weekend, the Secretary of the navy 81 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:18,159 Speaker 1: happens to be gone, and Roosevelt, on his own hook 82 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 1: sends out a note saying that he wants the American 83 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:24,000 Speaker 1: fleet under Dewey, which at that point was city in 84 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 1: Hong Kong, and he wants them to go to Manila. 85 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:30,040 Speaker 1: Now he had no authority to do that, he just 86 00:05:30,160 --> 00:05:34,000 Speaker 1: did it, and luckily for us, when the Spanish American 87 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 1: War broke out, the American fleet was ready to defeat 88 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:40,920 Speaker 1: the Spanish in the Battle of Manila Bay, and Roosevelt 89 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:44,960 Speaker 1: was heroic, even though he had totally exceeded his authority. 90 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:49,760 Speaker 1: Before that, his wife, who he adored, had died. He 91 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:53,279 Speaker 1: was very depressed, and he went out to the Dakotas 92 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:56,839 Speaker 1: bought a ranch and became a genuine rancher. Now again, 93 00:05:56,880 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: remember this is a guy who starts in life sort 94 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 1: of weak, physically builds himself up, becomes a boxer, becomes 95 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:08,919 Speaker 1: a rider, ends up now leaving behind all of his 96 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:13,120 Speaker 1: social friends, all of the Harvard connections, and is out 97 00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:16,440 Speaker 1: there ranching and having a great time and recovering from 98 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:19,040 Speaker 1: the death of his wife, and at one point actually 99 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:23,120 Speaker 1: helps arrest several wrestlers. He's genuinely a man of the West, 100 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:27,160 Speaker 1: and that becomes an advantage to him when the war 101 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:30,559 Speaker 1: breaks out with Spain, because he organizes what we're called 102 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:34,120 Speaker 1: Colonel Roosevelt's Rough Riders, a regiment that he pulled together 103 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:37,840 Speaker 1: of volunteers. Teddy is bringing friends of his from the 104 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:43,240 Speaker 1: Dakotas who are showing up Native Americans, cowboys, and the 105 00:06:43,279 --> 00:06:46,080 Speaker 1: New York Polo Club is sending people because after all, 106 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:50,160 Speaker 1: it's Theodore Roosald. So he is blending together these very 107 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:55,640 Speaker 1: elegant Ivy League Polo players and these very inelegant cowboys 108 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:59,520 Speaker 1: and Native Americans into the Rough Riders, and they actually 109 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:03,160 Speaker 1: end up along very well and end up charging up 110 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:06,320 Speaker 1: San Juan Hill, although technically it wasn't San Juan Hill, 111 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:09,159 Speaker 1: but is at Kettle Hill towards the San Juan Heights. 112 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:11,600 Speaker 1: But everybody at the time said, o san Juan Hill 113 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:14,559 Speaker 1: is Somebody once said, you have to choose between fact 114 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:18,400 Speaker 1: and legend. Print the legend. So Roosevelt comes home having 115 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:21,680 Speaker 1: led this heroic charge up the hill, and he's a 116 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:27,640 Speaker 1: genuine war hero. Next, the anti corruption candidate Roosevelt becomes 117 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:31,320 Speaker 1: Governor of New York, then Vice President of the United States, 118 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:38,680 Speaker 1: and at the end of this episode, I'll give you 119 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:42,640 Speaker 1: an audio sneak peek of chapter one of my new novel, Shakedown, 120 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:55,440 Speaker 1: And here's where it gets interested. Roosevelt is a reformer, 121 00:07:56,520 --> 00:08:01,120 Speaker 1: and the New York machine hated him. But they had 122 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:04,680 Speaker 1: a problem. They'd had a little bit of corruption and 123 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:07,440 Speaker 1: they were going to lose the next governor's race and 124 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:10,400 Speaker 1: all of the patronage and all the contracting power and 125 00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 1: all the money, and so they needed somebody to be 126 00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:17,240 Speaker 1: their front man. And so they went to Roosevelt and said, look, 127 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:21,520 Speaker 1: you're a hero, and we want you to run for governor. 128 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:26,880 Speaker 1: And Roosevelt who always was willing to take the next 129 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:29,600 Speaker 1: opportunity that came along, and in that sense, he's a 130 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:32,199 Speaker 1: little bit like Winston Churchill and that his life is 131 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:37,840 Speaker 1: a continuing series of enormously energetic gambles. So he runs 132 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 1: for the governor of New York, and he runs with 133 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:44,240 Speaker 1: a train which is celebrating the charge of San Juan Hill. 134 00:08:44,559 --> 00:08:47,320 Speaker 1: He has rough riders with him, they have people who 135 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:51,920 Speaker 1: can play the bugle. They basically are whipping up the patriotism. 136 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:54,200 Speaker 1: If you were a patriot, you were for Theodore Roosevelt. 137 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:56,600 Speaker 1: And if you just were one of those people who 138 00:08:56,600 --> 00:08:59,559 Speaker 1: wanted Tammany Hall back to with its corruption. Then you're 139 00:08:59,559 --> 00:09:04,360 Speaker 1: going to vote. So he wins, and he is now 140 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:07,600 Speaker 1: the governor of the largest state in the country. And 141 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:11,920 Speaker 1: that leads to a very different situation because it turns 142 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:15,400 Speaker 1: out that Roosevelt really is as he has always been, 143 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:19,959 Speaker 1: a reformer, and so he uses the governorship to start 144 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:23,240 Speaker 1: reforming New York State government. Well, the machine is horrified. 145 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:26,520 Speaker 1: I mean, they elected him to keep power so that 146 00:09:26,559 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 1: they could use the power for their own enrichment, and 147 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:33,200 Speaker 1: here he is taking apart their system. So they want 148 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:36,719 Speaker 1: to get rid of him. They're desperate to get him 149 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:40,679 Speaker 1: out of the state. And along comes an opportunity for 150 00:09:40,920 --> 00:09:44,760 Speaker 1: Roosevelt to become the vice presidential nominee. There's a great 151 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:48,920 Speaker 1: story that McKinley's great adviser, one of the greatest managers 152 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:53,760 Speaker 1: of American political history, was not in town the day 153 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:56,760 Speaker 1: this decision was made, and he turned and he said, 154 00:09:56,800 --> 00:10:00,320 Speaker 1: when he was told about it, do you realize there's 155 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:03,720 Speaker 1: only one heartbeat between that damned cowboy and the White House. 156 00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 1: And in fact, McKinley was shot and died. And here 157 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:13,920 Speaker 1: you are in nineteen oh one with Theodore Roosevelt as president. Now, 158 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:18,360 Speaker 1: you could not possibly in early eighteen ninety seven, before 159 00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:21,320 Speaker 1: the Spanish American morps, you couldn't possibly have figured out 160 00:10:21,679 --> 00:10:25,400 Speaker 1: how four short years later Theodore Roosevelt would end up 161 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:30,440 Speaker 1: being president. But he was president, and when he became president, 162 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:35,600 Speaker 1: he was the most sophisticated populist to occupy the White 163 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:40,240 Speaker 1: House in modern times. For example, he understood that the 164 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:44,040 Speaker 1: Associated Press, which at that time was the dominant method 165 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:47,120 Speaker 1: of communicating for the news media in the country. The 166 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:50,640 Speaker 1: Associated Press every Sunday night had a huge hold on 167 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:53,199 Speaker 1: what it was covering. There was nothing going on, and 168 00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:55,760 Speaker 1: yet they had to fill up for the Monday morning papers. 169 00:10:56,480 --> 00:11:01,240 Speaker 1: So every Sunday afternoon Roosevelt would issue a statement which 170 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:04,160 Speaker 1: we get picked up and given huge coverage because it 171 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:08,440 Speaker 1: meant the Associated Press's need to have something. And so 172 00:11:08,679 --> 00:11:12,120 Speaker 1: Roosevelt began to become much better known than any president 173 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:16,600 Speaker 1: suld save Graham Lincoln. He was also just an amazingly 174 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:19,920 Speaker 1: personable guy. At one point, he's boxing in the White 175 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:23,400 Speaker 1: House and the retina of one of his eyes is 176 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:27,040 Speaker 1: detached and he can't see, and he doesn't want his 177 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 1: wife to learn that he had just lost sight in 178 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:34,120 Speaker 1: one of his eyes, so he kept boxing but trying 179 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:35,640 Speaker 1: to avoid the guy hitting him on that side of 180 00:11:35,679 --> 00:11:38,040 Speaker 1: his head. And he would do stuff like this all 181 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:41,079 Speaker 1: the time. He was an archer. He was a hunter. 182 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:44,640 Speaker 1: One of the things that made him amazingly popular was 183 00:11:44,679 --> 00:11:47,280 Speaker 1: in nineteen o two he went on a hunting trip 184 00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:51,000 Speaker 1: out west and there was a bear cub that somebody 185 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:54,400 Speaker 1: had tied to a tree. So Roosevelt consuming resultive, I'm 186 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:57,280 Speaker 1: not gonna kill a bear cub, are you crazy? Well, 187 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:02,559 Speaker 1: a Brooklyn toymaker decided that he would create a stuffed bear, 188 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:07,640 Speaker 1: which at the time was called Teddy's Bear, and then became, 189 00:12:07,679 --> 00:12:11,000 Speaker 1: of course a Teddy Bear, and it became wildly popular. 190 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:16,560 Speaker 1: And so Harry have a president who is continuing to 191 00:12:16,679 --> 00:12:19,640 Speaker 1: be sort of slightly a wild man. But he is 192 00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:23,120 Speaker 1: a wild man with a big smile, and people love him. 193 00:12:23,480 --> 00:12:25,880 Speaker 1: He is so much energy. He's bouncing all over the place, 194 00:12:26,160 --> 00:12:28,640 Speaker 1: so lots of people get to see him. In nineteen 195 00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:32,559 Speaker 1: o five, his daughter Alice married Nicholas Longworth, a congressman 196 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:35,040 Speaker 1: from Ohio, and it was the biggest social event of 197 00:12:35,040 --> 00:12:38,839 Speaker 1: the decade. Somebody once said of Roosevelt. To truly understand Teddy, 198 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:42,199 Speaker 1: you have to recognize he wants to be the bride 199 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:45,320 Speaker 1: at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral. It 200 00:12:45,559 --> 00:12:49,040 Speaker 1: literally was how Roosevelt operated. It was his whole excitement 201 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:53,160 Speaker 1: about life. He wrote constantly, had published many books, and 202 00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:58,000 Speaker 1: he had a pretty serious sense of what he believed 203 00:12:58,040 --> 00:13:00,840 Speaker 1: in and what he was trying to do. And he 204 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:04,280 Speaker 1: was faced with a huge crisis in nineteen o two 205 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:07,920 Speaker 1: because it was a big coal strike and it became 206 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:13,000 Speaker 1: obvious during the coal strike that the mine owners thought 207 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:16,959 Speaker 1: that they were more powerful than the United States government. 208 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:20,920 Speaker 1: And Roosevelt brought them into the White House and he said, look, 209 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:25,120 Speaker 1: here's the situation. I am the President of the United States. 210 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:31,160 Speaker 1: I am prepared to send the US Army in to 211 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:35,240 Speaker 1: take over your minds. So unless you want to lose 212 00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:39,400 Speaker 1: control of your minds potentially permanently, you're going to sit 213 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:42,040 Speaker 1: down and work out a deal with the strikers. And 214 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:44,680 Speaker 1: I just want all of you remember I'm the president 215 00:13:44,679 --> 00:13:48,079 Speaker 1: and you're not. And it was the first really big 216 00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:54,440 Speaker 1: imposition of executive power on large businesses in America, and 217 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:58,400 Speaker 1: it stunned them. They began also to create a gap 218 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:01,720 Speaker 1: between the Reform Republic and the Old Guard and the 219 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:04,880 Speaker 1: Old Guard was in favor of the big businesses, and 220 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:07,679 Speaker 1: the Reformers were in favor of the public interest at 221 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:10,280 Speaker 1: large and were willing to take on the big businesses. 222 00:14:10,640 --> 00:14:13,720 Speaker 1: And Roosevelt clearly was in the group that was in 223 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:17,800 Speaker 1: favor of taking on a big business. It wasn't that 224 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:20,760 Speaker 1: he was for small things. It's important to remember that 225 00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:25,160 Speaker 1: there's been several efforts to build a canal across the Isthmus, 226 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:29,320 Speaker 1: both in Nicaragua and in Panama. And actually one of 227 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:31,840 Speaker 1: the more fun things was, as they were trying to 228 00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:35,440 Speaker 1: decide whether to go to Nicaragua or to Panama, one 229 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:38,120 Speaker 1: of the people who favored Panama convinced the post office 230 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:42,160 Speaker 1: to issue a series of stamps selling volcanoes going off 231 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:45,560 Speaker 1: in Nicaragua. And that was one of the more subtle 232 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:49,360 Speaker 1: examples of lobbying, because people began to figure out, well, gosh, 233 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:51,720 Speaker 1: if they have all those volcanoes, maybe that's not the 234 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:55,600 Speaker 1: right place to put the canal. However, Panama was owned 235 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:58,880 Speaker 1: by Columbia. Columbia had a contract with the French, who 236 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:02,520 Speaker 1: had failed. There are a number of technical problems digging 237 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:06,800 Speaker 1: the canal, and in addition, yellow fever killed the workers 238 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:11,400 Speaker 1: at an alarming rate, and in nineteen oh three, probably 239 00:15:11,760 --> 00:15:15,800 Speaker 1: with the encouragement of the United States, there was a 240 00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:19,280 Speaker 1: rebellion in Panama, and the United States happened to have 241 00:15:19,320 --> 00:15:22,880 Speaker 1: a warship nearby, which happened to block the Columbia Navy 242 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:26,320 Speaker 1: from going back to imposed order. And therefore it was 243 00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:29,360 Speaker 1: fair to say that Roosevelt invented Panama. In order to 244 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:32,840 Speaker 1: build the canal, he then undertook a project which would 245 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:36,560 Speaker 1: take until nineteen fourteen to complete. And if you've ever 246 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:38,880 Speaker 1: been to the Panama Canal, you realize what a huge 247 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:41,880 Speaker 1: engineering achievement this was. It was also a huge public 248 00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:45,120 Speaker 1: health achievement because in fact, Walter Reid was the medical 249 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:48,120 Speaker 1: doctor for the US Army, and he discovered how to 250 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:52,840 Speaker 1: stop yellow fever, and the result was an enormous improvement 251 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:57,760 Speaker 1: in health. So Roosevelt undertakes what is an enormous project 252 00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:02,080 Speaker 1: and changes history. The Panama Canal has been a major 253 00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:04,920 Speaker 1: part of world commerce. It's been a major part of 254 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:08,000 Speaker 1: American national security because it allows us to move ships 255 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:11,960 Speaker 1: back and forth between the Atlantic and Pacific dramatically faster 256 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:13,720 Speaker 1: than if you have to go all the way around 257 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:17,200 Speaker 1: South America. The Russians and the Japanese have been fighting 258 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:20,480 Speaker 1: a very very tough war. The Russians had been losing, 259 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:23,600 Speaker 1: but the Japanese were running out of money and so 260 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:27,040 Speaker 1: they were pretty desperate to find a solution. And Roosevelt 261 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:30,320 Speaker 1: invited them both to come to New Hampshire, to Portsmouth, 262 00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:33,040 Speaker 1: where they had a peace conference in nineteen o four, 263 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:37,440 Speaker 1: and Roosevelt got them to sign an agreement ending the war, 264 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:41,000 Speaker 1: and in nineteen o six he got the Nobel Peace Prize. 265 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:46,240 Speaker 1: Here a many ways a militaristic personality, a guy who 266 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:48,920 Speaker 1: cheerfully went off to war in Cuba, a guy who 267 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,760 Speaker 1: cheerfully sent the navy off to war in Manila, and 268 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:55,480 Speaker 1: yet he is a very very good diplomat, very successful 269 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:59,200 Speaker 1: and as you can imagine, somewhere between the Panama Canal, 270 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:02,440 Speaker 1: Teddy Bear and everything else he was doing, he was 271 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:05,840 Speaker 1: wildly popular. And in nineteen o four and the only 272 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:08,520 Speaker 1: time he really had run up to that point nationally, 273 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:12,240 Speaker 1: because he was the vice presidential nominee under McKinley nineteen hundred, 274 00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:16,480 Speaker 1: but he beat the Democratic contender, Alton Parker three hundred 275 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:19,119 Speaker 1: and thirty six to one hundred and forty in electoral votes, 276 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:23,040 Speaker 1: and the margin was just enormous. I would say Roosevelt 277 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:26,359 Speaker 1: may have, at his peak been the most popular American 278 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:30,760 Speaker 1: president since George Washington. That people just really liked him. 279 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:35,560 Speaker 1: They thought he personified American nationalism, that his energy, his drive. 280 00:17:36,119 --> 00:17:38,879 Speaker 1: He was also daring. In nineteen o nine, he becomes 281 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:41,399 Speaker 1: the first president to ride in a car, which at 282 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:44,200 Speaker 1: that period was a fairly daring thing to do. I've 283 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:48,960 Speaker 1: always liked the story that in nineteen o six, Roosevelt 284 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:52,320 Speaker 1: was eating breakfast while he was reading Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, 285 00:17:53,040 --> 00:17:55,720 Speaker 1: which has a scene in which a worker falls into 286 00:17:55,760 --> 00:18:00,520 Speaker 1: a vat and becomes sausage. And Roosevelt was way through 287 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:04,600 Speaker 1: his breakfast sausage as he read this scene, and he 288 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:07,080 Speaker 1: promptly sent up a note to create the Food and 289 00:18:07,119 --> 00:18:09,960 Speaker 1: Drug Administration. Now I don't know that that's totally true, 290 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:13,640 Speaker 1: but it's always struck me such a wonderfully apocryphal story 291 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:16,720 Speaker 1: that it should be true. Roosevelt was an activist in 292 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:20,560 Speaker 1: foreign policy. In nineteen o five, he forced the Dominican 293 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:24,800 Speaker 1: Republic to install an American Economic adviser who's really in 294 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:28,480 Speaker 1: fall pact purposes, the country's financial director, running it as 295 00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:31,840 Speaker 1: an economic protectorate. In nineteen o six, he set up 296 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:35,040 Speaker 1: a military protectorate in Cuba. He put pressure on Canada 297 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:38,480 Speaker 1: in a boundary dispute over Alaska. So again he's constantly 298 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:41,879 Speaker 1: doing things. Because he loved the outdoors and because he 299 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:45,560 Speaker 1: was part of the progressive reform wing of the Republican Party. 300 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:49,239 Speaker 1: He urged Congress to create the Forest Service so that 301 00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:52,920 Speaker 1: the government would manage their forest reserves in a professional way. 302 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:57,800 Speaker 1: He developed almost five times as much land as all 303 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:03,080 Speaker 1: of his predecessors combined. In fact, Roosevelt set aside a 304 00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:06,800 Speaker 1: hundred and ninety four million acres by nineteen o seven. 305 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:11,000 Speaker 1: He has a real diplomatic quarrel because the Japanese government 306 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:15,119 Speaker 1: is very angry about anti Japanese sentiment in California, and 307 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:17,919 Speaker 1: he works out what was called the Gentleman's Agreement, in 308 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:21,800 Speaker 1: which an effect, we would not pass laws against the Japanese, 309 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:26,120 Speaker 1: but the Japanese government would restrict Japanese immigration, so sort 310 00:19:26,119 --> 00:19:29,320 Speaker 1: of a face saving win win. Nineteen oh eight, his 311 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:32,480 Speaker 1: hand picked successor succeeded him, and this was one of 312 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:36,320 Speaker 1: the sad moments, if you will, in American politics. William 313 00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:41,920 Speaker 1: Howard Taft was a remarkable man physically enormous and had 314 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:46,520 Speaker 1: been a very successful governor of the Philippines. Came from 315 00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:50,800 Speaker 1: a very successful Cincinnati legal family, would aldamnly later in 316 00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:53,639 Speaker 1: his life become the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. 317 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:59,480 Speaker 1: Taft was a very smart, very sincere guy. Roosevelt thought 318 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:04,159 Speaker 1: he would is Roosevelt's disciple, and after Taft one in 319 00:20:04,280 --> 00:20:07,199 Speaker 1: nineteen o eight, Roosevelt left the country in order to 320 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:10,760 Speaker 1: give Taft the time to be on his own to 321 00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:14,840 Speaker 1: get things done without Roosevelt looking over his shoulder. The 322 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:19,080 Speaker 1: thing that's fascinating is Roosevelt tours Europe, where they're all 323 00:20:19,119 --> 00:20:22,800 Speaker 1: thrilled to see him, and he's received as a gigantic celebrity. 324 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:25,920 Speaker 1: He goes to Africa, where he shoots everything he can 325 00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:28,000 Speaker 1: and sends it back to the American Museum and Natural 326 00:20:28,040 --> 00:20:31,360 Speaker 1: History or the Smithsonian. Then he comes home and he 327 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:37,440 Speaker 1: realizes the Taft has in fact fundamentally undermine what Roosevelt 328 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:43,480 Speaker 1: was doing. And it's a fact that Roosevelt really thought 329 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:46,800 Speaker 1: the Taft would be his disciple. Taft really came to 330 00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:51,400 Speaker 1: the conclusion that Roosevelt was wrong, and the Taft actually 331 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:56,040 Speaker 1: was part of the traditional wing of the party that 332 00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:59,720 Speaker 1: did not favor reform, and so Taft was in many 333 00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:04,560 Speaker 1: ways siding with the old guard against Roosevelt. So Roosevelt 334 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:09,960 Speaker 1: decides that there's an obligation to run for president and 335 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:16,480 Speaker 1: take on Taft. Next on the campaign trail, Roselt survives 336 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:25,080 Speaker 1: an assassination attempt, and stay tune at the end of 337 00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:28,399 Speaker 1: this episode, I'll give you an audio sneak peek of 338 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:39,320 Speaker 1: my new novel, shake Down. This was the very beginning 339 00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:42,359 Speaker 1: of the period when they were primaries. Most states still 340 00:21:42,359 --> 00:21:45,840 Speaker 1: picked their delegates in closed systems where the power the 341 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:51,320 Speaker 1: bosses really had control. Where there were primaries, Roosevelt won decisively. 342 00:21:51,359 --> 00:21:54,840 Speaker 1: Where the people could directly express themselves with their votes, 343 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:59,080 Speaker 1: Roosevelt one, But there weren't enough primaries, and so where 344 00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:03,520 Speaker 1: there weren't primary William Howard Taft one. Well. Roosevelt wasn't 345 00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:08,359 Speaker 1: about to allow the party bosses to cheat him of 346 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:13,760 Speaker 1: the nomination. So Roosevelt decides that he has no choice 347 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:16,600 Speaker 1: except to run as a third party candidate, and he 348 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:20,800 Speaker 1: becomes the most important third party candidate in American history, 349 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:24,000 Speaker 1: and in fact gets more votes than William Howard Daft. 350 00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:27,600 Speaker 1: In the middle of that as a perfectly Rooseveltian moment. 351 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:30,920 Speaker 1: He's out campaigning as the third party. It was called 352 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:33,760 Speaker 1: the bull Moose Party in sort of an honor of 353 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:39,560 Speaker 1: Roosevelt himself. And on October fourteenth, nineteen twelve, he's campaigning 354 00:22:39,560 --> 00:22:43,280 Speaker 1: a Milwaukee, he's giving a speech, and he's shot. Now, 355 00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:46,160 Speaker 1: the fact is that the bullet went through his overcoat, 356 00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:50,639 Speaker 1: a fifty page manuscript, a steel eyeglass case, and then 357 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:56,280 Speaker 1: lodged in his chest. He coughed into his hand. There 358 00:22:56,359 --> 00:22:59,000 Speaker 1: was no blood, so he concluded that the bullet did 359 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:02,720 Speaker 1: not enter his lung. So he ignored the effort to 360 00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:06,199 Speaker 1: get him to go to a doctor and finished his speech. 361 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:10,800 Speaker 1: Will imagine the electrifying effect of a guy who was 362 00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:14,800 Speaker 1: that strong, that courageous. His line was, I don't know 363 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:17,840 Speaker 1: whether you fully understand that I have been shot, but 364 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:20,159 Speaker 1: it takes more than that to kill a bull moose. 365 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:23,280 Speaker 1: The doctor's actually, when they did finally look at him, 366 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:25,199 Speaker 1: decided it was safer to leave the bullet in his 367 00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:28,280 Speaker 1: chest and had stayed there for the rest of his life. 368 00:23:28,760 --> 00:23:32,919 Speaker 1: The person who shot him was John Flaming Shrank. Shrank 369 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:35,920 Speaker 1: opposed a sitting presents ability to seek a third term 370 00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:39,359 Speaker 1: in office and he had a bizarre dream where he 371 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:41,800 Speaker 1: was advised by the ghost of William mc kinley to 372 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:46,160 Speaker 1: avenge his death while pointing to a picture of Theodore Rooseo. Actually, 373 00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:50,000 Speaker 1: in Shrank's case, the doctors decided he was suffering from 374 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:54,960 Speaker 1: quote insane delusions. Grandiose in character declared him insane, and 375 00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:57,760 Speaker 1: he was sentenced to a mental hospital in Wisconsin, where 376 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:01,080 Speaker 1: he remained until his death. After he loses the presidency 377 00:24:01,119 --> 00:24:04,680 Speaker 1: in nineteen twelve, splitting the Republican vote in such a 378 00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:09,440 Speaker 1: way that Woodrow Wilson becomes the first Democratic president since 379 00:24:09,480 --> 00:24:14,080 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety two, Roosevelt then goes off to Brazil, goes 380 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:19,480 Speaker 1: up the Amazon, catches several really bad diseases, almost dies. 381 00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:22,600 Speaker 1: A remarkable story of his entire trip on the Amazon. 382 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:25,520 Speaker 1: It's one of those places where he just pushed his luck, 383 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:28,480 Speaker 1: and he was getting older, he was sort of a 384 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:31,520 Speaker 1: little bit worn down, and then he almost really did 385 00:24:31,600 --> 00:24:35,320 Speaker 1: have a serious problem and took a long time to recover. 386 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:40,080 Speaker 1: When World War One broke out, Roosevelt was very pro English, 387 00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:44,280 Speaker 1: really wanted to help the Allies. Tried to convince Woodrow 388 00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:47,760 Speaker 1: Wilson to let him serve. Wilson would not do that. 389 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:50,560 Speaker 1: His sons did serve in the military, and in fact, 390 00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:54,160 Speaker 1: Theodore Roosevelt Junior landed at Normandy in nineteen forty four 391 00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:57,960 Speaker 1: carrying a cane, wandering around as a brigadier general, helping 392 00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:01,680 Speaker 1: get people off the beach. So the about family tradition continued. 393 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:07,159 Speaker 1: I think that to really understand Theodore Roosevelt's importance, you 394 00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:12,280 Speaker 1: have to go almost to psychology and culture. He came 395 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:17,960 Speaker 1: for most Americans to personify a sense of certainty, a 396 00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:24,720 Speaker 1: sense of candooism, a sense of optimism. He was adamant 397 00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:27,800 Speaker 1: that we all are Americans. That he did not want 398 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:31,919 Speaker 1: hyphenated people. He didn't want Greek Americans, or Italian Americans 399 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:35,200 Speaker 1: or African Americans. He wanted everyone to be an American. 400 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:39,360 Speaker 1: He was enormously proud of the country. People I think 401 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:43,800 Speaker 1: identified identified with his energy, They identified with his good humor. 402 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:48,560 Speaker 1: They identified with his sense of grandiose dreams. He thought big. 403 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:51,000 Speaker 1: He thought we were a big country, and he wanted 404 00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:54,119 Speaker 1: us to do big things. He also wanted people to 405 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:57,359 Speaker 1: live a big life, so he pushed people pretty hard 406 00:25:57,359 --> 00:26:00,560 Speaker 1: to say get out there and get involved. One of 407 00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:05,280 Speaker 1: his most stirring statements was about the man in the arena, 408 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:07,840 Speaker 1: the person who actually is trying to get the job done, 409 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:11,880 Speaker 1: and that nobody else outside the arena understands what it's 410 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:14,280 Speaker 1: like to be the man in the arena. I once 411 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:18,600 Speaker 1: said the remarkable experience of having Richard Nixon read me 412 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:22,600 Speaker 1: that passage, and you could tell that, after his resignation 413 00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:26,240 Speaker 1: from office and trying to rethink and sort of recenter 414 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:31,119 Speaker 1: his own life, that Nixon found Roosevelt comforting in the 415 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:34,520 Speaker 1: idea that he Nixon had also been in the arena. 416 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:37,040 Speaker 1: And I think it was this sense for most Americans 417 00:26:37,800 --> 00:26:41,119 Speaker 1: that Roosevelt was in the arena every day of his life. 418 00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:43,320 Speaker 1: And in a sense, he woke up each morning and 419 00:26:43,359 --> 00:26:45,520 Speaker 1: tried to figure out where the arena was, and he 420 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:48,480 Speaker 1: went there, and he carried people with him. And I 421 00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:52,680 Speaker 1: think that of all the presidents, you can make an 422 00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:58,919 Speaker 1: argument that no one so captured our imagination between Lincoln 423 00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:04,280 Speaker 1: and FDR as Theodore Roosevelt did, and that he personified 424 00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:08,840 Speaker 1: a kind of reform republicanism that was very much in 425 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:13,040 Speaker 1: favor of national parks, of the scientific management of forests, 426 00:27:13,119 --> 00:27:16,480 Speaker 1: of concern for conserving animals. While he was a hunter, 427 00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:19,359 Speaker 1: he was a hunter who wanted to make sure that 428 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:23,240 Speaker 1: the species flourished and that every generation had an opportunity 429 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:26,560 Speaker 1: to be out in the wilderness. He was also an 430 00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:29,919 Speaker 1: American nationalist. Part of that probably came because he was 431 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:32,760 Speaker 1: a child of the Civil War era and had grown 432 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:35,800 Speaker 1: up surrounded by people who fought for the Union and 433 00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:39,600 Speaker 1: took it very, very seriously. Partly because you know, seeing 434 00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:42,119 Speaker 1: in his generation, we were now the biggest economy in 435 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:46,359 Speaker 1: the world. Roosevelt sponsored the development of the Navy, both 436 00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:49,960 Speaker 1: as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under McKinley and then 437 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:53,320 Speaker 1: as president. He sent the Great Light Fleet around the world. 438 00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:56,200 Speaker 1: It only had enough money to get halfway around the world, 439 00:27:56,200 --> 00:27:58,520 Speaker 1: and he said, well, Congress has a choice. They can 440 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:00,720 Speaker 1: either pass the rest of the money and will bring 441 00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:03,520 Speaker 1: him home, or they can let the fleet stay in Japan, 442 00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:06,600 Speaker 1: knowing that of course Congress would collapse and pay for it. 443 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:10,119 Speaker 1: But those typical of Roosevelt, they would send the modern 444 00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:13,960 Speaker 1: battle fleet to the United States without congressional approval, using 445 00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:16,320 Speaker 1: up all the money to get him halfway around the world, 446 00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:18,840 Speaker 1: and then dare the Congress to not finish it up. 447 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:22,399 Speaker 1: And of course they caved and did exactly what he wanted. Roosevelt, 448 00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:27,080 Speaker 1: I think would have been successful in any part of 449 00:28:27,119 --> 00:28:30,720 Speaker 1: American history because he had the energy, he had the intelligence, 450 00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:34,000 Speaker 1: he had to drive, he wanted it that badly, and 451 00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:37,560 Speaker 1: he was really good with people. So on the one hand, 452 00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:40,240 Speaker 1: you have this huge intellect, on the other hand, you 453 00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:43,600 Speaker 1: have this frenzied physical behavior, and then you have this 454 00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:46,840 Speaker 1: guy who's just is charming, and all of it comes together. 455 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:49,120 Speaker 1: If you get a chance someday to go to his 456 00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:52,320 Speaker 1: home on Long Island, it's absolutely worth the visit, and 457 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:55,560 Speaker 1: you get a flavor of just a guy who jumped 458 00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:58,160 Speaker 1: up in the morning, living life to the fullest, ran 459 00:28:58,280 --> 00:29:00,600 Speaker 1: all day long, collapsed at the end of the day, 460 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:03,280 Speaker 1: got to enough sleep to jump up the next morning 461 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:06,160 Speaker 1: and live life to the fullest. And I think that's 462 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:09,000 Speaker 1: the kind of America that Theodore Roosevelt hoped we would become, 463 00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:11,640 Speaker 1: and why I think he really is, in many ways 464 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:18,840 Speaker 1: an immortal. At a time when many Americans are divided, 465 00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:23,040 Speaker 1: unsure the nature of our country, not certain about the future, 466 00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:26,960 Speaker 1: there are few presidents who can offer us more hope, 467 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:30,760 Speaker 1: more insight, and a greater sense of what being an 468 00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:35,480 Speaker 1: American potentially is all about than Theodore Roosevelt, and that's 469 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:39,320 Speaker 1: why I think it's particularly useful to look at Teddy's life, 470 00:29:39,640 --> 00:29:43,320 Speaker 1: think about what Teddy did, and ask ourselves, what is 471 00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:46,280 Speaker 1: it we can learn from him that can make our future, 472 00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:52,240 Speaker 1: in our children's future even better. You can read more 473 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:55,160 Speaker 1: about the life of Teddy Roosevelt on our show page 474 00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:59,040 Speaker 1: at newtsworld dot com. Newtsworld is produced by Gingwish three 475 00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:03,280 Speaker 1: sixty and Heart Media. Our executive producer is Debbie Myers 476 00:30:03,480 --> 00:30:06,520 Speaker 1: and our producer is Garnsey Slump. The artwork for the 477 00:30:06,560 --> 00:30:09,520 Speaker 1: show was created by Steve Penley. Thank you to the 478 00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:13,320 Speaker 1: team at Ginger Street sixty. Please email me with your 479 00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:17,960 Speaker 1: comments at newtat newtsworld dot com. If you've been enjoying Newtsworld, 480 00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:21,160 Speaker 1: I hope you'll go to Apple Podcast and both rate 481 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:24,240 Speaker 1: us with five stars and give us a review so 482 00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:35,720 Speaker 1: others can learn what it's all about. Thanks for listening 483 00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:39,240 Speaker 1: to Newtsworld. And now a special sneak peek of my 484 00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:44,200 Speaker 1: new novel, Shakedown. Here is chapter one. The old man 485 00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:48,280 Speaker 1: bent down tried but couldn't slip the envelope under his 486 00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:53,400 Speaker 1: neighbor's door check the empty hallway, turned and began walking 487 00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:56,720 Speaker 1: toward the floor's elevator. While pulling a pistol from under 488 00:30:56,760 --> 00:31:00,480 Speaker 1: his jacket, pressed the call button and took a deep 489 00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:04,920 Speaker 1: breath to calm his nerves. Ding he tightened his index 490 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:09,920 Speaker 1: finger on the handgun's trigger, anticipating the opening doors. Sucked 491 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:14,640 Speaker 1: in another calming breath. No one was inside, tucked his 492 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:19,840 Speaker 1: handgun between his belt and watermelon belly, stepped inside. The 493 00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:23,440 Speaker 1: building's lobby was empty. The security guard had gone home 494 00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:26,959 Speaker 1: at ten pm. The condo board didn't believe it necessary 495 00:31:27,280 --> 00:31:31,080 Speaker 1: to have him stay longer. Their Rosalind, Virginia neighborhood was 496 00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:34,640 Speaker 1: relatively crime free. The man walked to a wall of 497 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:38,760 Speaker 1: mailboxes directly across from the elevator, ran a finger along 498 00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:42,240 Speaker 1: the tenants mailboxes, stopping at the second box on the 499 00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:46,400 Speaker 1: third column, his neighbors. He inserted the envelope into it. 500 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:49,880 Speaker 1: From his jacket, he drew a second envelope, which he 501 00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:54,000 Speaker 1: dropped in the outgoing mail. Behind him, the sound of 502 00:31:54,120 --> 00:31:57,840 Speaker 1: laughter a couple entering the building through its double glass doors. 503 00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:02,680 Speaker 1: The man at the mailboxes noticed that the woman was younger, giggling, 504 00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:07,320 Speaker 1: holding her male companion's arm, her loud chatter, and wobbly 505 00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:11,840 Speaker 1: walked suggested she was drunk a Saturday night date, perhaps 506 00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:15,120 Speaker 1: a one night stand. The condo building was across the 507 00:32:15,160 --> 00:32:19,600 Speaker 1: Potomac River from the nation's capital, an inexpensive uber ride 508 00:32:19,880 --> 00:32:26,440 Speaker 1: from popular Georgetown pick up bars. The approaching couple appeared harmless. Still, 509 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:29,440 Speaker 1: the man returned to the elevator and pushed the call button, 510 00:32:29,720 --> 00:32:32,920 Speaker 1: hoping to board and depart before they reached him. The 511 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:37,040 Speaker 1: couple quickened their pace. The old man reached inside his jacket, 512 00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:40,920 Speaker 1: resting his hand on his pistol. He noticed that she 513 00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:44,719 Speaker 1: was wearing a gray wool stocking cap and scarf. He 514 00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:48,320 Speaker 1: wore a red Washington National's baseball cap, and the collar 515 00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:51,800 Speaker 1: of his dark blue coat was turned up, difficult to 516 00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:58,160 Speaker 1: see faces. The elevator doors opened. The woman straightened, lunged forward, 517 00:32:58,520 --> 00:33:01,600 Speaker 1: grabbed the old man's left arm. At the same moment, 518 00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:05,040 Speaker 1: her male accomplice slipped in front of him a blade. 519 00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:08,360 Speaker 1: Before the old man could draw his handgun directly into 520 00:33:08,400 --> 00:33:13,600 Speaker 1: his heart. One thrust, one twist, no time to cry out, 521 00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:17,719 Speaker 1: who would hear? The woman steadied him, pushed the man's 522 00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:21,920 Speaker 1: body forward. He hit the elevator floor hard face first. 523 00:33:22,040 --> 00:33:25,640 Speaker 1: Its door shut. I am new kingwish this is new 524 00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:26,080 Speaker 1: Tworld