Was Theodore Roosevelt A Conservative Or Conservative?

Theodore Roosevelt was born October 27, 1858 in New York City. All throughout his childhood he was a weak and sickly child, often suffering from frequent illnesses such as asthma, nearsightedness, and a heart condition. Fortunately, through his adolescent years he developed mentally and physically. After high school Theodore Roosevelt was accepted into Harvard University in 1876, where he majored in science, even though he did most of his studies in History and English. He was not an exceptional student and was often viewed to be eccentric and odd. During his stay he met Alice Hathaway Lee, who persuaded him and alongside some of his other professors to turn his efforts toward science into politics. On October of 1880 they married and in that
same year he joined the Republican Party. Sadly in 1884 his first wife died while giving birth alongside her mother who died the same day. Due to the tragic event he decided to leave politics for a brief period of time and became a deputy sheriff.. In 1886 he later remarried and quickly jumped back into politics. He ran for governor of New York and although he lost, he became assistant secretary of the navy soon after. He later became William Mckinley’s vice president ,but didn’t last long due to his assassination 6 months later. He found America’s greatest evil to be too much power in the hands of corporate America.
He then became the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. “TR” as he would later be called was a man of contradictions. He was a conservative who fought for reform, and a hunter who started the conservation movement. He was known for being energetic, contradictory, shrewd, and a charismatic leader. Technically being a Republican , his views were both democratic and republican who never fought in terms of pure party politics. He fought for what was right for the American people.
One of his many beliefs was that America has a responsibility to civilize the rest of the world. In doing so he invoked the Monroe Doctrine and stated that the USA is now in charge of the Western Hemisphere. He would often analogize America as a ‘Police power” and that if someone was going to clean the neighborhood it’d be the US. Many people called his foreign policy as “Big Stick Diplomacy” as he would often tell the American people to “speak softly and carry a big stick.” He received a Nobel Peace Prize for these views by ending the first great war of the 20th century between the empires of Russia and Japan. He believed there should be a canal through the Central American isthmus owned by Columbia. His thought process was that the canal should be able to protect both seas of America. If in any moment the east coast was to be attacked then the west would come as quickly as possibly to give aid.
Also many European nations at the time were infiltrating Central America and he found their presence to be a major threat.
Throughout his presidency Theodore Roosevelt authorized many acts that would continually shape America for the better.
As the environmentalist he was, he released the Antiquity Act , fearing the loss of many treasurable lands of the US. This act was to halt the destruction of the American landscape, and due of this act he was able to protect 230 million acres of public land. Another act he created was the “Meat Inspection Act” and this act came about due to the novel “ The Jungle” which detailed the unsanitary conditions of meatpacking. Roosevelt disgusted by these findings sought to find a change and released the “Meat Inspection Act” to sanitize the meatpacking industry. He later released the “Pure Food and Drug Act” which was to stop manufacturers from adding dangerous preservatives to food in order to extend it’s shelf life. They would also put false propaganda through these drugs by saying these products can cure cancer, diabetes. ect . Roosevelt was enraged by these claims and passed the law putting a halt to the sales of contaminated foods and medicines. This act is also the reason we have the ingredients placed on packaging labels to inform the people what the product
contains. Through Theodore Roosevelt’s hard work he created better working conditions, business regulations, and built a strong and great America. He was able to get the American people to surpass the Great Depression which is why he’s considered one of the best presidents of all time.