Do you imagine a brave, intelligent, and strong man? One of the greatest presidents we had in American history? Well all of those are true, but did you know all of the things stated above were the exact opposite of who Theodore Roosevelt was in his early life?
Theodore Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858, in a four-story brownstone at 28 East 20th Street, in Manhattan, New York. He was the second of four children to be born; along with him were his older sister, Anne; a younger sister, Corinne; and a younger brother, Elliott. His father, Theodore Roosevelt Sr., was a successful businessman and philanthropist, and his socialite mother, Martha “Mittie” Roosevelt, was raised on a Georgia plantation. Theodore’s family nicknamed him, “Teedie,” mostly out of affection, and partly to help distinguish his name from his father’s. They continued to call him this name into his late teenage years.
Theodore began life as a child of privilege and wealth. Roosevelt’s youth was largely influenced by his poor health and asthma. Due to his health issues, he was confined to his home for a majority of the time, and his father brought in tutors and teachers to instruct Teddy in all of his subjects. Although his asthma usually never permitted him to go outside, he loved the outdoors. Whenever he could, he spent as much time as he could outside observing nature, collecting plants, and inspecting animals. Teddy was interested in all types of books but particularly enjoyed tales of adventures, a passion that never disappeared. As Theodore grew up, his father warned him that his mind was strong, but his body was a weakling. He had a gym installed in his home, and his father brought in exercise instructors, which allowed Teddy to grow into a strong and robust man, and eventually his asthma disappeared.
When Theodore was ten and fourteen, his family took two large vacations throughout Europe and the Middle East. The trips included going through England, Holland, France, Prussia (Germany), Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Lebanon, Israel, and modern-day Syria. Teddy was particularly very interested with Egypt. While on a trip along the Nile River, he marveled at Alexandria, Cairo, Thebes, the Pyramids of Giza, and the various tombs and temples along the way. During this time, he used the opportunity to collect various species of plants, and to pursue small animals and birds to add to his collection. Later on, Roosevelt eventually said that he was too young to fully be grateful of his first trip to Europe, and he never forgot the new sites he saw and the general vibes of adventure he obtained from his second trip as a teenager.
Tutors and his parents mainly home schooled Roosevelt. The drawback that Roosevelt had of being home schooled was that he received uneven coverage of education. He was well rounded in many subjects including geography, history, biology, French and German; however he struggled in mathematics and the classical languages. When Teddy turned eighteen, he entered Harvard College on September 27, 1876; his father told him, “Take care of your morals first, your health next, and finally your studies.” After recovering from devastation over his father’s death, Roosevelt increased his studies. He did very well in science, philosophy, and rhetoric courses but still struggled in classical languages like Latin and Greek. During this time, he read prodigiously with an almost photographic memory, and he studied biology very extensively and was already an accomplished naturalist. He originally intended to become a scientist, but later realized that the life of a scientist wasn’t for him. During his junior year at Harvard, Teddy met and fell in love with Alice Hathaway Lee. Rather than studying, he spent many afternoons riding his horse or walking the six miles from Harvard to her house on Chestnut Hill. At the end of his junior year, he proposed marriage, but she neglected to answer. Nonetheless, he continued to pursue Alice to the point where he spent so much time with her that his grades plummeted considerably during his senior year. Finally, after eight months Teddy proposed again, and Alice accepted. On October 27, 1880, Teddy’s twenty-second birthday, the two were married. While at Harvard, Teddy continued to build up his body participating in rowing and boxing; he was once a runner-up in a Harvard boxing tournament. Roosevelt was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi literary society, the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and the Porcellian Club; he was also an editor of The Harvard Advocate. On June 30, 1880, Theodore Roosevelt graduated Phi Beta Kappa (22nd of 177) from Harvard with an A.B. magna cum laude.
"Take care of your morals first, your health next,and finally your studies."
As time went on, he entered Columbia Law School, and he was a very capable student, but he found law to be illogical. Roosevelt spent a lot of his time writing a book on the War of 1812. He eventually became dissatisfied with law and redirected his attention to politics at Morton Hall on 59th Street, the headquarters for New York’s 21st District Republican Association.
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Roosevelt dropped out of law school when the members of the association encouraged him to run for public office, and later said, “I intended to be one of the governing class.”
"I intended to be one of the governing class."