Who Was Theodore Roosevelt A Man Of Great Action?

Who was Theodore Roosevelt? Theodore Roosevelt was a man of great action. He rode in to war as a Rough Rider. He had a love for nature. He helped build the navy one of the most powerful military branches. He is considered one of the most important president by many.
Theodore Roosevelt saw the Spanish as a threat to Cubans because the Cubans had revolted against the Spanish. Word had reached the US that the Spanish were capturing and putting the rebel Cubans in concentration camps and were being killed. Americans were outraged by this act. McKinley was the president before Theodore Roosevelt took office and McKinley was the 25th president. Theodore used this to make McKinley look bad because McKinley did not want to get the US in involved with the Spanish.
Theodore want the US to flex its muscle. Then Theodore got his chance when the Maine, a battle ship exploded. Theodore pushed that it was an attack by the Spanish. By doing this Theodore finally got to flex
the American muscle. Using his political power Theodore was granted commission to lead a regiment of volunteers to Cuba. Mostly all of the regiment was made of cowboys from the Dakotas he had befriended to classmates from Harvard University. They were called the Rough Riders.
In May 1898 Theodore and his troops were sent to San Antonio, Texas, to train. After they finished training they rode to the coast of Florida. There, the best 560 men were picked to go to Cuba. After a six day boat ride he and his troops were ready for action. When the Spanish at San Juan Hill started to fire on the rough riders Theodore refused to duck, instead he cried “The Spanish bullet isn’t made that will kill me” (Elish Dan). When it was time to charge up the hill Theodore forgot to give the order to charge, and he realized that he was the only one charging up the hill he turned around and said “What are you cowards!”(Elish Dan)
The Rough Riders won the hill, Theodore was very happy. Some people call Theodore reckless, because his regiment had seven times the casualties more than any other regiment in the war. Theodore took the number as a sign of true bravery. The American public agreed with Theodore that is way he is consider a hero. Although he was denied the Medal of Honor for the battle of San Juan Hill.
After Theodore’s ride with the Rough Riders he became The Governor of New York.
He helped improved the living conditions of the poor and put in place an eight-hour work day for state employees. He also favored polices that protected New York State’s many forest. He was very popular in the state and was a shoo-in for re-election (Elish Dan). After being Governor for two years he wanted to do more for the country. He had ran with William McKinley they had had an easy win over the democrats. In March 1901 Theodore was sworn in as vice president of the United States.
Theodore was one of the First president to be a conservationist. Most Americans thought that the country’s natural resources were “inexhaustible”. Theodore shocked congress with his first message to congress that there was “the forest and water problems” (Elish Dan) which were some of the most important ones in the country. His message pointed out that more than half the country’s pines, firs, and redwood trees had been cut down by
loggers.
In the same message he asked that the nation’s forest to be put in the hands of qualified rangers, people who could see proper care of the forest. He also declared that water needed to be saved and properly channeled to turn the dry West in to useable farmland. In 1902 congress passed the Reclamation Act which used federal funds to build a series of dams to irrigate western farms. In 1905 he created the United States Forest Service which helped protect the U.S. national forest.
Theodore wanted to show the raw American power to the world that the US was a major military player. On December 16, 1907, Theodore sent the entire American fleet (which included sixteen battle ships) set sail around the world. This fleet was referred to as The Great White Fleet. The Great White Fleet received thunderous applause around the world (Elish, 72).
This was also true in Japan, Thousands of Japanese children waved American flags and sang “The Star-Spangled Banner”- in English. In the end Theodore’s gamble paid off. He showed that the U.S. was a major military power. He also showed the might of the US Navy to the world. He helped increase the armor, and speed of the U.S. Navy.
To conclude this Theodore was one of our greatest president of all time. More than a hundred years later After the Battle of San Juan Hill, on January 16, 2001, Theodore was the first president to receive the Medal of Honor, given to him by President Bill Clinton (“Theodore Roosevelt”, www.bio.org). He helped create national parks and the US forestry. He help build the US navy into one the most powerful Military Branches in the world. He lead his own regiment of soldiers during the Spanish American war. His most famous quote was “Speak softly and carry a big stick,” (Elish Dan) this embodies his presidency.