Ealy 1

Juliana Ealy

Mr. Williams

Eng. 8 Pd. 1-2

6 May 2015

Theodore Roosevelt: A Naturalist No More

Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president, history enthusiast, and the youngest president in our Nation’s history, had many doubts placed upon him during not just his life time, but during his presidency as well. Although some consider him one of the most amazing presidents we’ve ever had, other still believe that he was just a mistake.

“Roosevelt was born into an old, prosperous Dutch family, in New York City, on October 27, 1858” (Wesser 309). He lived from “1858-1919” (Gable 464). Growing up as the second oldest of four children, his siblings often called him “TR, Trust-Buster, or even Teddy” (Wesser310).Growing up, he was fascinate with nature, history, and the plain old outdoors. “Young Roosevelt was educated at Harvard, where he graduated in 1880, still unsure of his life’s work” (Wesser 309). Although hewent to college thinking he would study natural history, his plans quickly changed when he realized that there were more opportunities available for him (Cutright 2).“Roosevelt was seventeen… when he arrived in Cambridge to begin his college education, and he bore practically no resemblance to the robust, wide beamed figure he was to become in his later years” (Cutright 1).

Roosevelt quickly progressed in terms of politics. Elected in 1899 for state governor, he got a small, but helpful, taste of what it feels like to be in the hot seat. “Roosevelt’s govern ship (1899-1900) prepared him well for his high office in Washington”(Wesser 310).Later, in the 1900s he was elected for vice president, which didn’t last. After President McKinley’s assassination on September 14th, 1901, he quickly rose to the seat to become our 26th, and youngest, president.In 1904, he was elected for a full term as President, earning a success for the Republican Party. His victory didn’t last, for in 1904, he was defeated for President on the “Bull Moose” ticket. (Gable 465).

During his presidency, he became “A master publicist for the reform movement in the early 20th Century, he commanded wide spread popular support as much because of his remarkable personality as anything else: he was colorful, witty, robust, outspoken, and humane” (Wesser 309). He was also “Aware of the strategic needed for a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific, Roosevelt ensured the construction of the Pacific canal” (Freidel). “During the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt was lieutenant colonel of the Rough Rider Regiment, which he led on a charge at the battle of San Juan. He was one of the most conspicuous heroes of the war” (Freidel).

“He liked to quote a famous proverb, “Speak softly and carry a big stick…” (Freidel).

“Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating the Russo-Japanese War, reached a Gentleman’s Agreement on immigration with Japan, and sent the Great White Fleet on a goodwill tour of the world” (Freidel).

For the environment, “he added about 150 million acres (61 million hectares) to the national forests and in 1905 established the United States Forest Service. He also set up five new national parks” Also, “by executive order, he created the first 51 federal bird reservations and established the first four national game preservations” (Gable 469).

If Theodore Roosevelt had lost the election and hadn’t become our 26th President, our world would be total different. Not only would we possibly be at war with some of the discussed countries above, (Japan, Russia, etc.), we would have never heard of the teddy bear, our national parks would be smaller or even nonexistent, and we wouldn’t have bird or game preservations as well. Theodore Roosevelt is an inspiration to some, a burden to others, and to a few, even nonexistence. Either way, his impact on the world has shaped humanity for the better.

  • Juliana does a nice job of switching back and forth between sources. Most paragraphs have at least two sources cited in them.
  • Juliana has a nice mix of paraphrased and directly quoted material. Notice that she uses in text citations even when she has paraphrased: this is required.
  • Juliana’s last paragraph does not have any in-text citations because she is mentioning things she has already said and provided citations for, and she make some of her own judgements and general statements, which is appropriate to do in the conclusion: “Not only would we possibly be at war with some of the discussed countries above, (Japan, Russia, etc.), we would have never heard of the teddy bear…”
  • Juliana will lose a few points in content because her paper is short of three full pages. I think she added more after I took this sample.

Personal Reflection:

This project was one of the most interesting things that I did this year. I really didn’t plan on doing Teddy Roosevelt, but I don’t regret choosing him at all. At many times, my younger brother (James), who loves Teddy Roosevelt, would ask me questions about him, though I knew nothing about him at the time. Thanks to the research done on him, I could finally find the answers to his questions, and it was one of the few times where we could bond without trying to kill each other. I didn’t find anything majorly similar between Roosevelt and me, for he sounds more like James, but we are both very kind, honest, loyal, and we both want to help our community’s become better places. We are both majorly different. For example, he loves the outdoors and history, and I prefer the indoors and language arts. He would rather explore, I would rather sit inside and play video games.

Now, if facts had the same value as opinions, it would still be hard to figure out if I admire Theodore or not. I guess it’s just half and half, because he isn’t something I really want to know more about, but he was kind of interesting, and it makes me smile knowing that I can help answer questions about him to other people.

The biography would have to be the hardest part of the research because for one thing, it just dragged on and on and on… so boring. For another fact, it doesn’t help that I. Can’t. Stand. Reading. Nonfiction. At. All! Now, the easiest thing about this paper would have to be writing the paper, because then all the information is at my fingertips, just waiting to be typed up. Although at some points this project was a pain in the butt, others it was kind of fun. Was it enjoyable? Eh, a bit. Was it miserable? Eh, a bit. All in all, though, it was interesting, I did learn that Roosevelt was the 26th President, he married twice, his first wife died on the same day that his mother died, and that he went to Harvard for college. This project has some value because there is a 50/50 chance that my brother, when he is in 8th grade, may have to do this, and I can help him if he ever needs help.

  • The personal reflection should have at least two paragraphs, one on how you feel about your person, and another about your experience doing research. Juliana writes more than she needed to.
  • The personal reflection should be on its own page

Works Cited

Cutright, Paul Russell. Theodore Roosevelt: The Naturalist. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1956. Print.

Freidel, Frank and Hugh Sidney. “Theodore Roosevelt” The White House. 2006. Web. 27 April 2015

Gable, John A. “Theodore Roosevelt.” The World Book Encyclopedia. Vol.16. Chicago: World Book, 1996. 464-472. Print.

Wesser, Robert F. “Roosevelt, Theodore” Academic American Encyclopedia.Vol. 16. Danbury, Connecticut: Grolier, 1986. 309-311. Print.

  • The works cited page must be at the very top of its own page.