Theodore Roosevelt: A Primary Source Analysis

In his speech, Conservation as a National Duty, Theodore Roosevelt asserts his passion for conservation and preservation onto a group of governors, statesmen, and conservationists. Throughout his message, he details several reasons for the nation to stop wasting natural resources and begin conserving them. He also states that the question of the conservation and use of the great fundamental sources of wealth, of this nation is second only to the question of morality.

Roosevelt was a true conservationist at heart. The Theodore Roosevelt Association stated, “As a boy, Theodore Roosevelt wanted to be a naturalist, a scientist who revels in and examines nature,” and he was “…an avid adventurer and lover of nature, dedicated himself to protecting both wildlife and natural resources” ("The CONSERVATIONIST"). As the President, he never forgot his dreams as a child, and he set out to preserve an immense amount of US regions so all Americans could enjoy. He especially had the future generations in mind ("The CONSERVATIONIST"). He realized something must be done for he believed at the rate of deforestation, and harvesting of other recourses, it wouldn't take long for it all to vanish. To fight the recourse of losing all the rich natural resources and splendorous landscape across the US, he created national parks and landmarks to preserve and protect these beautiful natural miracles. “Roosevelt provided federal protection for almost 230 million acres of land,” for national use, so these majestic places were protected from harm due to commercialism ("The CONSERVATIONIST"). He established 150 national forests, 5 national parks, the 1st of 51 federal bird reservations, 24 reclamation, and 4 national game preserves, including 18 national monuments in his time. By establishing these parks and landmarks, it allowed Americans and tourists, alike, the

In fact, he was the leader of the progressive movement. He continuously wanted there to be a happy balance between capital and labor so he founded his policy called the Square Deal. He was a liberal and became an advocate for prosecuting monopolies that violated antitrust law, otherwise known as “trust busting”. He kept these monopolies from controlling entire industries across the country. He worked hard to guide the United States into world politics. Roosevelt also aimed for Promotion of Anti-Trust suits. He was also a conversationalist. Some of his policies for conservation were creating the National Conservation Commission to record the nation’s resources and manage their use more efficiently, Delegate two hundred million acres as national forests, mineral reserves, and waterpower plants, as well as an addition of five national parks and eighteen national monuments to the list of protected lands. Roosevelt worked very hard to try and keep the economic issues of his time intact.

“Timber!” is a word that engulfed Woodrow Wilson in fear, as a loving, determined environmentalist he was the driving force behind the Organic Act of 1916. Wilson’s Organic Act set grounds for the founding of the National Park Service, which sets and enforces regulations that protect National Parks. Woodrow Wilson’s determination, conveyed by his adamant support for the Organic Act, was evident throughout Wilson’s lifetime. Wilson realized how important it was to protect America’s land and took action to protect it. Through the Organic Act, Wilson was able to save the current thirty-five national parks and land for hundreds of future national parks throughout the United States. The founding of the National Park Service was a major part of Wilson’s plan to preserve and protect America 's natural land. Wilson’s idea of preservation of the United States’ land has lived throughout the years through the National Park Service. The National Park Service today continues with the same responsibilities along with a multifarious collection of others. The actions taken in the Organic Act of 1916 have helped eternalize the ideas proposed by President Wilson by preserving the scarce remaining natural land of America.

After the assassination of President McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt inherited a growing empire when he took office in 1901. The U.S. had annexed Hawaii in 1898 and Spanish-American War granted the U.S. control of the Philippines. It also led the U.S. to establish a protectorate over Cuba and grant territorial status for Puerto Rico. By taking on the Philippine Islands as an American colony after the Spanish-American War he had ended the U.S.'s isolation from international politics. Theodore Roosevelt believed that nations should pursue a strenuous life and do their part to maintain peace and order. It was also a belief that civilized nations had the duty of modernizing the barbarous ones. He also pushed for a bigger army and navy and by

Theodore Roosevelt is considered by many to be America’s first progressive president due to his conservationism, his military prowess, and the natural ease with which he handled national and worldwide politics. He had a vision for the place he wanted America to be, a courage that made him admirable, and a jovial attitude that made people love him. Not only did he take steps to make the office of president more important than it once was, he tried to do so in ways that were important. One of these ways was by protecting the natural beauty of America so that it would not be entirely depleted before it could replenish itself. Another way was by proving his leadership, his bravery, and his dedication to complete the task at hand in the military. His struggle for equality in his nation and international peace also show his determination to make the world better. These points prove that Theodore Roosevelt had his eyes set on the future and was determined to move toward it.

Even at a young age Theodore Roosevelt cared about nature conservation. At the young age of eight years old Theodore Roosevelt start his own museum of natural history, when the skull of a seal washed up on the New York Harbor. Curiosity fueled the growth of the Roosevelt museum, Theodore collected any specimen in his reach, he plead to friends and family to bring him any specimens they could, and even paid other children for specimens they would get him. Being the leading naturalist of the time Theodore knew that killing unfamiliar animals were

He ran for mayor when he came back.He was third. For the next three years

Theodore Roosevelt was a man on a mission. Maybe he didn¹t know it, but he was. He affected millions of people throughout his life in many different ways. He was the leader of a famous military group, he was an author, a lawyer, and he was also the 26th president of the united states, all of these things ended up bringing him fame.

Roosevelt protected the Grand Canyon, naming it the Grand Canyon National Monument. He said this about the canyon, " Leave it as it is. You cannot improve upon it, not a bit. What you can do is keep it for your children, your children 's children, for all who come after you." America can thank T.R. for the fact that all these national monuments, forests, and parks exist today.

One of the greatest legacies of Theodore Roosevelt's presidency was his influential support for the conservation movement. From the minute he was sworn into office, Teddy voiced his passionate concern for the natural world and its dim future due to the growing of the industrial era. Roosevelt described the natural world as a “transcendent experience” that encompassed qualities such as “The majestic trunks, beautiful in color and in symmetry” while “[rising] around [him] like the pillars of a mightier cathedral than was ever conceived” (Henretta, 651). Led by a passionate love for the environment, the republican president committed himself to bringing more awareness to the conservation movement. By the end of his presidency, Roosevelt had issued

Theodore Roosevelt was one of our greatest presidents. He created the FDA and improved the position of the presidency greatly. Before Theodore came to be president, the position of presidency was slow and wasn’t very interesting so he made the executive branch more powerful by starting new reforms and a strong foreign policy. The life of a president is hard. It is full of stress, responsibilities, and a strong dedication the welfare of your country. Theodore had to deal with all of these presidential stresses, taking up much of his time. Do you know, though, that despite being a president, he led a life of excitement and freedom that many other presidents had never before experienced? Theodore, “Teddy” as his first wife Alice called him,

Theodore Roosevelt’s visionary leadership led to the preservation of our natural resources. Theodore Roosevelt loved nature and believed our natural resources were one of America’s greatest treasures. In his lifetime he had seen the slow erosion of these resources to urban development and industrialization. He knew he had to act quickly to protect these resources, but

President Theodore Roosevelt formed national parks to preserve natural resources during his presidency as it is important for our natural resource heritage. For example, President Roosevelt separated more than 100 million acres of land for nationally conserved forest for his conservation strategy. As a president, Roosevelt used his authority to protect the lands and its inhabitants. By naming lands as nationally conserved forests made the place more safe and secure from destruction. This was the only way to protect the animals and wildlife in the forest, and Roosevelt achieved two things by separating 100 million acres of land. Also, President Theodore Roosevelt established five new national parks during his presidency and added more land to one national park. Nothing is valued by the new generation that is growing up other than their phones and gadgets. President Theodore Roosevelt recognized five

The first national park, Yellow Stone National Park, was established in 1872 by Ulysses S. Grant (Brown). This was one of the last explored areas in the west. This establishing of a national park led to more wildlife conservation national movements. In 1887 President Roosevelt gathered a group of influential American hunters in New York to form the Boome and Crockett Club with a mission of preserving big game in North America (Brown). In the 1930’s management of wildlife resources began in earnest. Funds were mostly provided by levies on hunters (Brown). The 1930s were also the beginning of wildlife research in the United States. The leader of this effort was Aldo Leopold (Brown).