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Rough Rider at San Juan Hill
Roosevelt was serving as Assistant Secretary of the Navy during the Spanish-American War of 1898.
He helped form a regiment of volunteers. The "Rough Riders" enlisted cowboys and college men led by Roosevelt under the command of Leonard Wood.
The victory of The Battle of San Juan Hill helped Theodore Roosevelt to receive governorship of New York in 1899, and in the following year, he was selected as the Vice President for President McKinley. -
Named President when McKinley is assassinated
President McKinley was shot twice by the anarchist Leon Czolgosz. He died eight days later, on September the 6th. The same day, Theodore Roosevelt was inaugurated for his first term as the twenty-sixth president of the United States. -
Coal Strike
The United Mine Workers of America in the anthracite coalfields of eastern Pennsylvania began their strike in May 1902. Since the workers were striking, there was a threat that the winter fuel supply will not be enough to warm American cities.
Theodore Roosevelt negotiated a “Square Deal” between striking anthracite coal miners and management.
It was the first labor dispute in which the U.S. federal government played a big role. -
Elkins Act passed
The law was passed by the 57th Congress and signed by President Roosevelt on February 19, 1903. It amended the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The Act authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission to impose heavy fines on railroads that offered rebates, and upon the shippers that accepted these rebates. -
Pelican Island, Florida named first national wildlife refuge
President Theodore Roosevelt established Pelican Island in the Indian River Lagoon as the first federal bird reservation giving birth to the National Wildlife Refuge System. By the end of his presidency, Roosevelt named 9 more reservations in Florida and a total of 55 bird reservations and national game preserves, the forerunner to the National Wildlife Refuge System. -
Wins first full term as President
On November 8, 1904, Republican President Theodore Roosevelt defeated the Democratic nominee, Alton B. Parker in the presidential election. Roosevelt's victory made him the first president who ascended to the presidency upon the death of his predecessor to win a full term in his own right. -
Yosemite under Federal Control
President Theodore Roosevelt formed the Boone and Crockett Club and many other conservation organizations because of his love for nature.
He signed the American Antiquities Act of 1906 that transferred the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove back under federal protection and control. A decade later, when the National Park By Roosevelt's efforts, Yosemite had its own agency to protect it. -
Passage of Pure Food And Drug Act
The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 prohibited the sale of misbranded or adulterated food and drugs in interstate commerce. It also helped to establish a foundation for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the nation's first consumer protection agency,
The Act was signed by Theodore Roosevelt on the same day as the Federal Meat Inspection Act. -
Devil’s Tower, Wyoming, named first national monument
In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act that gave the president the power to set aside national monuments. Devils Tower became the first national monument, established that same year.
The tower is a sacred site for many Plains Indians as well as a popular site for rock climbing. -
Roosevelt leaves presidency and visits Africa
Theodore Roosevelt declined to run again for the presidency in 1908. After William Howard Taft's inauguration in 1909, Roosevelt went to Africa to hunt big game and collect specimens for the Smithsonian Institution.
The expedition collected 1,100 specimens. Overall, Theodore and Kermit (Theodore's son) slew 512 beasts including 17 lions, 11 elephants, and 20 rhinoceros. After the journey to Africa, Roosevelt proceeded to England for the funeral of King Edward VII. -
Runs for presidency, unsuccessfully for Bull-Moose Party
Theodore Roosevelt was nominated for the presidency by the Progressive Party that was also known as the Bull Moose Party. The Progressive platform called for the direct election of U.S. senators, woman suffrage, reduction of the tariff, and other social reforms.
But Roosevelt finished second in the popular vote and the electoral college, and that was the only time a third party candidate accomplished these results.
In the end, Thomas Wilson became the next US president.
