A Young Theodore Roosevelt

This is based mainly on 'Mornings on Horseback' by David McCullough, which I am currently listening to the audiobook of. It covers Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt's young life and formative years. Will edit as I get through more of the book.

Teddy (pronounced tea-dee in the audiobook) was the son of Theodore Roosevelt Snr and Mittie Bullock. Theodore Senior was from a long line of Roosevelts in New York, dating back to the 1600's when it was New Amsterdam. He worked in the family firm (glass manufacture/importing) but was more interested in family and his various charitable works. The Roosevelts were very wealthy and had considerable standing in New York society. Mittie Bullock was from Savannah, Georgia, and later Roswell, Georgia (at first a summer home, later permanent), from a family of wealthy southern (slave owning) planters. Theodore Snr heard of Mittie and her sister from friends in New York who were from Georgia, and having heard of their beauty resolved to pay them a visit. They fell in love, but only got together and were betrothed some three years later. Mittie Bullock was the sister of James D Bullock and Irvine Bullock, both Confederate Civil War heroes in the south (this was later, when Teddy was a few years old).

Teddy was born in 1858. He had an older sister Anna 'Bamie' (b. 1855), a younger brother Elliott (b. 1860) and a younger sister Corinne 'Conie' (b. 1861)

Teddy suffered from asthma from a young age, and was often held by his father in the night, or taken to the country for the weekend for some fresh country air. He liked animals, and loved his mother's stories about his southern ancestors/relatives and their heroic exploits.

The American Civil War was a difficult time for the family, as Mittie was a southerner, and most of the male members of her family were fighting in the war. In contrast the Roosevelts, although northern patriots, did not fight. Like many of their wealth and class, they escaped the draft by paying the several hundred dollars each for a substitute to fight in their place. Theodore Snr did play his part though, and set up a scheme for soldiers to send some of their pay home to the wives and families struggling to survive without their income and labour. Mittie's brothers James D Bullock and Irvine Bullock were southern heroes in the Confederate Navy, Irvine as a sailor, and James for planning and arranging the secret building of the commercial raider 'Alabama' which some think lengthened the war by a matter of years. After the war they lived in exile in Liverpool, England.

After the war, the Roosevelts went on a year long grand tour of Europe, starting with England (Liverpool, and stayed with James and Irvine Bullock) and moving on to the continent. 10 year old Teddy kept a diary every day, and the trip was to have a huge influence on him.

His health was not great throughout the trip abroad and afterwards, so his father placed him with a renowned fitness expert to toughen him up, fill him out and generally improve his health and fitness. Teddy worked hard at it, but how much help it was it debatable. Later his mother arranged for a fully equipped gym to be set up at home! His eyesight was also quite poor.

One of the things that had a big effect on his health and well-being was when his father bought him a shotgun and a pair of spectacles. Suddenly he could see so much he couldn't before, and was especially impressed with all of the birds in the sky. He took to shooting them, and he would then stuff them for his collection (he had a museum in the attic at home). Not long after the Natural History Museum opened in New York, the records show a number of animals donated by a 14 year old 'Theodore Roosevelt Jnr'.

As well as fitness training, Teddy and his brother Elliot were trained by a young tutor, a Harvard Graduate. At first they were on a par academically, but after a while Teddy started pulling ahead. It was decided that Teddy, and not his brother, would go to college, and his tutor started preparing him for the Harvard entrance exam, which in time he passed and left for university. It was decided that he wouldn't live in dorms with the other students, but would have his own house in town. Bami was sent up earlier that summer to prepare things. He lived alone, but had a manservant and a maid. While academically very bright it took him a while to adjust to academic discipline and getting on with fellow students (heretofore he hadn't even been to a proper school, being educated at home). Socially he wasn't very good, but did find one or two close friends, one in particular he used to go hunting with. His exam grades were good and he even published his first pamphlet about birds in the local Massachusetts area. He generally really enjoyed his early years at Harvard, and his health was the best it ever had been. He never entirely got rid of his asthma, but attacks became much milder and more infrequent from Harvard days onwards. It is considered that being away from home and the associated pressures, and having his own place probably contributed to this improvement in health.

Meanwhile back in New York his father was becoming active in Republican politics, in particular part of a reform group that was opposed to career politics and those who served as politicians to line their own pockets and build up their own power. He played a part in getting Rutherford B Hayes elected President. The Custom House governor (correct title?)in New York was one of the most lucrative jobs in politics, as in it you could choose your staff and take a cut of all customs fees and penalties collected, and distribute that how you saw that. It was also a magnet for corruption, and there was a lot of corruption at the time. It was decided to oust Chester A Arthur from the position, and install Theodore Roosevelt Snr. He said he would take the job without pay, and his experience in business and importing would have made him an excellent choice. However political opponents hated Roosevelt and were able to stop him getting confirmed by the Senate. He was personally relieved but 'sad for the country' as the corrution could carry on. Soon after this episode he became ill and died within a few months. Young Teddy was not told of how serious it was until the day before Theodore's death. He caught the night boat from Boston to New York, but when he arrived the next day, his father was already dead.

His father's death had a profound effect on Teddy, and he couldn't help but link his failure in politics with his death soon afterwards, and came to the decision that he wouldn't fail.