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Theodore Roosevelt And The Progressive Era

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Before 1967, the Twenty-Fifth Amendment was not enacted, so when the Vice President of William McKinley died in November 1899 Theodore Roosevelt won the nomination unanimously. Little did Theodore know that this was the beginning of his rise to the presidency. He campaigned vigorously for McKinley which eventually lead to their landslide victory in 1900. Roosevelt spent six uneventful months as Vice President, as his most notable action was thrilling his supporters with words “Speak softly and carry a big stick, and you will go far.” On September 6th, President McKinley was shot, and died eight days later on September 14th. Roosevelt was sworn in, and the rest was history. Theodore Roosevelt served as the 26th President of the United …show more content…

McKinley was a good president and lead the United States to great prosperity during his time, however his legacy was cut short with his assassination. Roosevelt came into power of a happy, prosperous United States, and it was an easy transition due to how well McKinley had done as president. Before Theodore Roosevelt became President, he had accumulated quite the political experience. Early on, after graduating from Harvard College, he entered public service and was elected to the New York State Assembly at the age of 23, and served two terms as the leader of a reform faction of Republicans. He then took a break to have a family and raise his children,he returned to New York and unsuccessfully ran for Mayor in 1886. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under William McKinley, resigning after one year to serve with the Rough Riders, where he gained national fame for courage during the Spanish–American War. Returning a war hero, he was elected governor of New York in 1898. This was didn 't last long, as Roosevelt was put up to the role of Vice President and McKinley’s running mate in the election of 1900. He campaigned earnestly which lead to the landslide victory. His time as Vice President was quiet, and eventually lead to him being sworn in as the President of the United States when President McKinley was assassinated in September of 1901. Only 42 years old when he took office, he was the youngest

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