“A Lion in the White House: A Life of Theodore Roosevelt”1
By Aida Donald
Book Report and Analysis
Report by
Bob Johnson
December 2008
1
You may purchase the book here: Lion in the White House – A Life of Theodore Roosevelt, by Aida D.
Donald
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What a smile. It tells so much about Teddy Roosevelt that a history of his
accomplishments is almost unnecessary. Sit and look at the picture. It is not
humanly possible to frown; you are compelled to smile and share in the glee
he communicates. He clearly is an energetic fellow. There is in his
expression too an impish reluctance to tell you what he just did, or is about
to do; I think it is a risky adventure, or better, a rebellious act either done or
coming. What do you think? E-mail Bob
There is too a seriousness of intent in the eyes.
There is a story on page 252 in Donald‟s book, about Roosevelt on the
stump in 1912 and about to make a speech when he was shot and blown to
the floor. (The assassin escaped and is unknown.). After checking that the
bullet had not pierced his lung, which he knew because he was not spitting
up blood, he rose, told the crowd he‟d been shot and would not be able to
speak loud. Roosevelt spoke for an HOUR and a half after the shot had
pierced his chest.
Can you imagine the inner strength of this man? He said it was his
„duty‟ to finish the speech.
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Now look again at the smile. Do you see this courage, strength and
commitment? This is a man who was in the midst of his third effort to score
the presidency, had his guns focused on Woodrow Wilson, and all but
ignored the sitting President, Taft, a former ally but now considered by
Roosevelt a traitor to the progressive platform he had nurtured while
president. Roosevelt came in second to Wilson, ahead of Taft, which gave
him some consolation; a forth also ran. But he sorely wanted to lead the
country again and he would not quit even though shot.2
I graduated from Marist College, Poughkeepsie, New York in 1967,
with a BA in History and a kind of unofficial sideline in Accounting. As an
historian of sorts I was struck that Donald chose not to include citations in
this biography substituting in the acknowledgements a presentation of the
published works she drew from. I‟m put off by this exclusion since I would
like to know some of details and know that this is not a work of fiction or
another‟s enterprise.
During the summer of 1966 I had the extraordinary opportunity to
study and write in Franklyn D. Roosevelt‟s Library in Hyde Park, New
York, which contains much of the original documents, letters and notes of
2
Andrew Jackson did the same in a duel. He let his opponent shoot first, was hit in the chest, let the blood
“fill his boot”, but stood there, took aim, and fired, killing his opponent. American Lion: Adrew Jackson in
the White House, pp 25 -26 (isn‟t it good to have a footnote, on the page it references)
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his Presidency. I chose as my topic the attempt to “Pack the Court”. Of all
the presidents I believe FDR was by far the best for he laid the groundwork
for much of the economic and social stability we enjoy today3. The
Supreme Court, however, found many of his programs unconstitutional, so
he decided to change the court and increase it‟s membership by 6 justices,
all of them appointed by him. He planned then to have a New Deal Court
letting stand his programs. This was a huge mistake as he badly
underestimated the opposition to the plan and it became a fight to the death
in Congress. The fantastic aspect of this side story is that all of my sources
were the first hand accounts and notes and letters of the participants.4
I wrote “FDR‟s Attempt to Pack the Court”5 but can not for the life of
me find where it lies; it was written as part of a 9 credit independent study
course and became my Senior Thesis. Its disappearance has vexed me for a
long time and is most frustrating, and I wonder but have not tried to
ascertain if my paper is on file in the Roosevelt Library. One day I will.
The point, however, is that I sat in the research room of FDR‟s Library
reading the actual notes and letters of Roosevelt and his associates and peers
3
Teddy Roosevelt‟s progressive program too laid ground work for FDR. For example, TR tried to become
president four times; FDR did get four terms.
4
My wife Cathy and I in 2007 while on a tour of Highland‟s Hammock State Park in Florida - built by
participants in the CCC and contains a CCC museum - thought bringing back the CCC would be good for
the country. President Obama is now planning a similar program, made easier by the ground breaking
work of FDR.
5
I‟m not sure of actual title, but I recall this one
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(a very small group I might add for Roosevelt had few peers). This still fills
me with emotion because of my delight at the time – I still remember eating
homemade egg salad sandwiches - and the knowledge that I was doing
something few people get to do. So the reproductions used by Donald, even
though she is the Chairwoman of the History Department at Harvard, are just
not the same. It just does not take entirely the place of first hand research.
So, I do wish we had the benefit of footnotes and a bibliography.
Given Donald‟s credentials one might take this concern lightly.
Nonetheless, many of Donald‟s insights and revelations are based on
personal correspondence, especially between Teedie6 and Cabot. Jon
Meacham published recently “American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White
House and it is packed with interesting and helpful footnotes, for example,
we are told in one that the statement “I was born for a storm” -attributed to
Jackson, came from a letter from James Hamilton to Martin Van Buren7.
True it came from a secondary source, but at the very least the reader knows
where to go for further insight or enjoyment. Amen, I think, to this point.
I read a few weeks ago and reported on Bruce Catton‟s The Civil War
and it is packed with facts reads like a page burning novel. My review and
6
A nick name given Teddy Roosevelt by his father - one that he hated.
7
American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, Jon Meacham, p. 371
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summary, however, focused on the notion that the Civil War could have
been avoided if the two „sections‟, as Catton describes the North and South,
had the ability to compromise about the wealth Slave-owners would lose,
absent slavery. It was $2 Billion dollars, a sum dwarfed by the sums spent
on the war by both sides8. It, too, has no footnotes. So Donald is not alone,
and she is in good company.
Teddy was born in 18589 and barely as high as a table top during the
Civil War, but he was influenced by, and served with in the Spanish
American War, folks from both sides of the Civil War. I believe the tactic of
the charge up hills into a hail of lead that Roosevelt used in Cuba came
from the Civil War vets. The difference is that the ones led by Teddy
Roosevelt were successful. Donald‟s notes that some of the „charges‟ were
in fact slow climbs, but I prefer to see Roosevelt riding a horse or running,
while waving his wide brimmed hat and shouting encouragement to his men,
with his polka dot scarf waving of its own accord. His leadership and skill
in leading men in Cuba helped him built his public image in America and
Europe
8
I would think too that the US might have gotten someone to „take out‟ Saddam Hussein for a quike $2
Billion, and saved the 4,000 men and women who died in Iraq, and incredible sum of $10 Billion per
month. With all the black works today I would think the ban on assassinations could have been defeated in
some way. Also, Hussein may have left voluntarily if we paid him $120 Billion, equal to the one year cost
of the war.
9
He was born in 1858 and lived a patrician‟s life in his father‟s mansions in New York City. Presumeably
he witnessed first hand the rebellions about the draft and the practice of buying a replacement
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The movie The Patriot with Mel Gibson has father training son to
shoot officers first, and it depicts a probably fictional negotiation between
the Patriot Gibson and Cornwallis, General of the British Army, who was
trying to dissuade Gibson from this practice, „as gentlemen should‟. The
arguments did not sway the Patriots because of the atrocious acts of the
Brits.
Roosevelt dressed like a gilded target in the war against the Spanish in
Cuba, notes Donald. His survival was a matter of luck, for many of his men
died. What drove him to make himself a targeted leader of men at war
comes from an early event (I can‟t get the page or citation) when he sat
watching a leader of the I believe the NY assembly and deciding that one
day he would lead. My father told of such a moment when he traveled
courtesy of the US army across the country to Kingman and Flagstaff
Arizona. He decided that he would lead the men with him in the train car. I
don‟t know what my father did while in Arizona serving the country and I
would appreciate a tip on where to look for this information (write
bob@kmocoffee.com). He related this story to me several times and he was
successful in persuading me to do the same.
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In 1963 during freshmen orientation a fellow by the name of Donald
Rolierre, a Senior and President of the Student Government spoke to our
class about involvement. Shortly before Rolierre spoke the Dean of
Students, Brother Paul Stokes (now deceased) gave the „look to your left and
look to your right for that person will not be here in four years‟ speech. My
decision to lead came during the Rolierre speech; I decided that I would be
there in four years and that I would have his position.
I made it. This is not only an example of the power of goals but also
the power of a leader with the led. In my case Rolierre was a Roosevelt. He
persuaded me right there to get involved and I became President of my class
in both the freshmen and sophomore year, a member of the student
government in my junior year, and the President of the student government
in my senior year.
This is the reason I was in the summer of 1966 taking the Senior
Thesis course and studying independently in the FDR Library in Hyde Park,
New York. I wanted a light load in my last year at Marist in order to work at
the job of President of the Student Government. Certainly we all know that
one thing leads to another. So I can say that along with a few other things,
54 years ago Rolierre prepared me for this book review; this is true for it was
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my experience in the FDR Library that nurtured my interest in history and
led to the purchase of this book.
Donald makes the point that Roosevelt planned many of his moves
well before they happened and sometimes used misdirection (as in letters to
Cabot about the Governor‟s position in New York). He could visualize his
objective and then tackle each intervening step as he marched toward his
goal. And he fought vigorously at every step.
I must say that within the boundaries of a very short history Donald
provides many details about the Rough Rider.
he did not like lawyers and the law for he felt it favored the rich and
landed10
he had a disregard for money and personal budgets and left this to his
wife
he was the first conservationist governor and president and this likely
came about due the death of his first wife and the resulting isolation
he sought on his western ranch
he wrote of women‟s rights at Harvard and supported early suffrage11
10
Law was not his thing. He withdrew from Columbia Law after a year because “he thought it (the law)
lacked Social Justice and was a tool to protect the very rich”. (P 34)
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he knew the country needed a strong military to fight the Spanish
American War that he saw brewing
he built a strong Navy and it defeated the Spanish handily
he was empathetic with the poor and laid the groundwork for some
of his cousins initiatives in the 1930‟s (i.e. CCC)
he purchased medical supplies and foodstuffs with his personal funds
in order to feed his men while in Cuba fighting for the country
he is rebelliousness and self-confidence enabled him, against orders
and tradition, to purchase with guile beans for his troops in Cuba.
These beans were reserved for officers only
he persuaded his father to call him Ted, not Teedie
He graduated 17th in his class from Harvard, Magna Cum Laude,
which is a good trait for a president, as we have learned in the 21 st
Century. He was full of himself and had a pretty quick temper if
denied what he wanted. Parenthetically author Donald wrote
“(Perhaps only one other twentieth century president – Woodrow
Wilson – matched Roosevelt‟s academic career.)
11
As a senior at Harvard “He also wrote a Senior Thesis on the Equality of Women, in which he favored
granting suffrage to „them‟ if „they‟ wanted it.” (The emphasis is mine). Later he moved cautiously “about
implementing women‟s suffrage. (P. 29)
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He was a sensitive person according to his Father. “Theodore‟s
sensitivity was so extreme it (veered toward) mental imbalance”. I
take this to mean he was emotional (he had a quick temper) and cried
a bit, probably in empathizing with one thing or another
Animals, birds and bugs were his younger passions and along with the
stint at his ranch in the West, led to his strong conservationism.
Ted was smitten by Alice and that was the end of his womanizing. He
fell madly in love with her, would not take no for an answer when he
proposed, and then, true to form, which I say in admiration, he marries Alice
on his birthday. I guess he was forgetful and knew that the only date he
could remember was his birthday. Good for you Teddy. I surmise he had a
rather large ego.
Roosevelt ran for a third term in 1912 but lost the nomination in the
convention because the wealthy class thought his progressive agenda too
much for them to bear. TR received a 35 minute huzzah but he could not
muster enough votes to secure the nomination. He was committed though
and jumped to the Progressive Party to head its ticket. He lost. It seems the
people, who loved him dearly, where insufficient in number to put him again
in the White House.
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Jon Meacham starts his biography of Andrew Jackson with a quote
from Teddy Roosevelt: “The darker the night the bolder the lion‟. The quote
comes from Roosevelt‟s Life-Histories of African Game Animals which was
a very profitable book making Roosevelt some $40,000 according to Aida
Donald in Lion in the White House: A Life of Theodore Roosevelt. It apply
applies to Roosevelt; if anyone crossed him he would work hard to get what
he wanted, at all costs. His post-presidential attempts to wrist the Republican
Nomination away from Taft is a good example. This was 1912 and he tried
again in 1920. Roosevelt could take the punishment, a character strength he
learned before Harvard.
Roosevelt never gave up. Nor did his cousin Franklyn during his 4
terms as president give up. FDR had more reason to seek election three and
four times, as he was fighting a world war when the third term came along.
He chose to finish the work and won a forth term too. It seems that
Roosevelt the First set the stage for his cousin Roosevelt the Second to be
the first and only President to serve more than the two terms Washington
informally set as the limit.
Donald‟s book is exciting when she gets to the years TR spent in the
White House. He was more a tiger, using stealth, speed and cunning to earn
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his stripes, than a lion lolling in the shade waiting for the right time to hunt,
not knowing that the great white hunter and Rough Rider was just around the
corner.
When McKinley died from his wounds and infection, TR was driven
to Buffalo and there in borrowed clothes „fit for a king‟, was sworn in. He
went off to bed and awoke the morning of his second day in office with
these prophetic words: “I feel bully”. Imagine him dancing to the tune “I
feel pretty”, waltzing around his room, getting ready for a role he relished.
Notwithstanding his early age, he was about to set off on a mission to take
on the powerful and the wealthy for the good of the people; he would lead
the world with a bit of imperialism and a White Fleet that projected the
power of United States of America.
Although the Civil War was 35 years before his presidency, the South
neither forgave nor forgot and lynching‟s and burning of human beings just
for the color of their skin, was pretty common, and disturbing to Roosevelt.
The country was legally the United States, but far from One Nation under
God. Blacks were still treated as outcasts and had no real rights. Roosevelt
would use the armed force to quell riots and mob rule, to tamp down hot
spots, but little real progress took place. At the end of his term there were
still two nations, one under the so-called Bars and Stars and another under
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the Stars and Stripes. It is much diminished today but there are still
simmering resentments and hidden hatred in this nation.
The armed forces were also sent to San Francisco to quell unrest,
when the Federal Government forced the school district to re-instate 70
Japanese students who were expelled because of their Asian Race. This was
America, land of the free, where all men are created equal. Well in concept
yes but in practice not so; the exceptions included Japanese and Chinese
„coolies‟, a word Roosevelt actually used in speeches, and black people,
both former slaves and their descendents.
It is quite amazing that in 2008, 100 years after TR „ruled‟ the nation,
a black man is elected president. Barack Obama was elected because he
shares the character traits and leadership skills of Jackson, Lincoln, and
Roosevelt the First and Second and like Lincoln and both Roosevelt‟s he
inherits a mess caused by wealthy Americans yet again manipulating
business and the economy while chipping away at the regulatory structure
designed to control their - Wall Street Mogul‟s - wanton abuse and greed
that in the end was self-defeating and ruinous to the moguls‟, the
government and the people.
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In 1908 Roosevelt was finishing up his effort to regulate businesses
that had benefitted due to the central governments „hands off‟ attitude. 100
years later the same central government is the stockholder of the very
businesses it regulates, businesses that also benefitted by a hands off policy
in Washington. Will humans ever learn, or will our top notch schools - the
Harvard‟s, Yale‟s and Stanford‟s - simply find new methods to circumvent
the rules and train new men and women to lead the next round of cat and
mouse in Washington and now the Globe.
Remember his contagious smile? One wonders if Roosevelt
calculated the PR value of his actions or was oblivious to the risks, or was
he so strongly motivated to reach his goals that he ignored risks. Did he
think that continuing to speak despite a bullet wound would bring fame and
re-election? When charging lions and elephants were shot down at only 60
paces was he thinking of the fame and fortune he would reap with the
publication of his books on African animals? When he charged up the hill in
San Juan, Cuba, while leading on foot his band of warriors, who were falling
and dying by the hundreds, was he thinking of getting elected governor of
New York? What was he thinking deep in the South American jungle when
malaria finally caught up with him? I think Roosevelt, like Jackson before
him, had the ability to think very quickly, had powerful intuitive skills, and
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favored spontaneous action. He set goals and direction decades before he
could reach them, but he lived the present always knowing where it fit
within the structure of his plan for his life and world view. In general terms
he could see the future. He had the clay in his hands and the object in his
mind and he worked continuously to shape it to his will and vision.
No one was photographing him, no one was interviewing him and no
electrodes were fastened to his head monitoring synapses. So we will not
know precisely what motivated Roosevelt in times of peril? It may have
been daring do, but more likely it was a commitment to what he considered
„right‟. Spanish control of Cuba did not fit with his vision of the western
hemisphere. He saw no problems killing game animals for he was saving
land and other species at home. He thought it his duty to finish a speech
despite the shock of a shot in the chest. It was another step to the presidency
he cherished.
Roosevelt had powerful emotions but he, again like Jackson, had
some self control and the skill and power to tamp them too. He made
friends of enemies, and too, enemies of friends. But he was the comet and
the rest of Washington and the World were pulled along by the strength of
his personality and will and vision. He knew what was right and was
determined to make it happen.
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He was wealthy and a member of the elite but much more than that,
he was a good and loyal man of the people.
Do you agree? Write me, bob@kmocoffee.com with your ideas and
comments. Or, post them at www.bobjohnson.wordpress.com or better, on
www.bobsceoblog.com
If you want to buy the book go to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lion-
White-House-Theodore-Roosevelt/dp/0465002137