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CHEER'S SALUTE TO GREAT AMERICANS:

THEODORE ROOSEVELT

Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest man to become President of the United States. The 26th President was born in New York City on October 27, 1958. A sickly child, weakened from asthma, Roosevelt built up his health in the gym his father built in their home, becoming a robust and powerful man.

After graduation from Harvard University, Theodore Roosevelt was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1881. but when his first wife passed away three years later, he took his daughter to the Dakota Territory, where he worked as a cowboy, often for 16 hours a day. When he returned East in 1886, he married Edith Kermit Carow, with whom he had five more children.

President Benjamin Harrison appointed Theodore Roosevelt to the Civil Service Commission in 1888. In 1895, he became New York City's Police Commissioner. The next year he was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy. When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1989, Roosevelt lead his famous Cavalry Regiment, the "Rough Riders," on a victorious charge up Cuba's San Juan Hill. That same year, New Yorkers elected him their Governor.

In 1901, Roosevelt was elected Vice President. When President William McKinley was assassinated six months later, Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as President of the United States.

As President, "Teddy" Roosevelt (after whom the Teddy Bear was named) earned his reputation as a "Trust Buster" by breaking up corporate monopolies and supporting striking United Mine Workers.

Roosevelt described his foreign policy as, "Walk softly and carry a big stick." He used the threat of America's military to keep European powers out of South America, and negotiated an end to the Russo-Japanese War. The Panama Canal was built in 1903 to give our Navy easy access from coast to coast.

An avid outdoorsman, Roosevelt was also an ardent conservationist. He added 125 million acres to our national forests, and started 25 irrigation projects, including Arizona's Theodore Roosevelt Dam.

Roosevelt ran for a third Presidential term in 1912, under the "Bull Moose" Party, saying, "I feel string as a bull moose!" His candidacy split the Republican vote, however, and Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson was elected President.

When the United States entered World War I in 1917, Roosevelt asked President Wilson permission to lead an Army Division in France. After his request was denied, Roosevelt took an expedition on Brazil's River of Doubt. He contracted Jungle Fever, and passed away in his New York home, Sagamore Hill, on January 6, 1919.

In 1962, Congress designated Theodore Roosevelt's birthplace and home as National Historic Sites. He is on the of the four Presidents whose face is carved on Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.

The 26th President of the United States:

Theodore Roosevelt