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Rough Rider at San Juan Hill
The Battle of San Juan Hill was a major battle of the Spanish-American War, and also proved to be the location of the "greatest victory" for the Rough Riders (a regiment of U.S. cavalry volunteers recruited by Theodore Roosevelt and composed of cowboys, miners, law-enforcement officials, and college athletes, etc). Roosevelt helped lead the Rough Riders, and the American Army by proxy, to victory. -
McKinley Assassinated, Roosevelt Assumed Presidency
Roosevelt took office as Vice President in March 1901 and assumed the presidency after President McKinley was assassinated. At age 42, Roosevelt was the youngest person to become President of the United States, and remains as such to this day. -
Coal Strike
In 1902, 140,000 coal miners in Pennsylvania went on strike and demanded a 20% raise, a 9 hour workday, and the right to organize a union, of which the mine operators refused. Five months later, the coal reserves began running low and Roosevelt stepped in. Roosevelt threatened to take over the mines, and the miners and mine operators finally agreed to submit their differences to an arbitration commission. Roosevelt's intervention won the miners a 10% pay hike and a shorter, 9 hour workday. -
The Elkins Act
The Elkins Act, named for Senator Stephen B. Elkins of West Virginia, was suggested by the Pennsylvania Railroad as a way to end the practice of rebates (refunds to businesses which shipped large quantities on the railroads). Railroad directors informed President Theodore Roosevelt of their desire to cease the practice of rebates and he supported the bill in private correspondence. -
Pelican Island, First National Wildlife Refuge
On March 14, President Theodore Roosevelt established Pelican Island in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida. It was the first federal bird reservation, and eventually gave birth to the National Wildlife Refuge System. -
Wins 1st Full Term As President
Roosevelt initially took office in September 1901 following the assassination of his predecessor, William McKinley. After his first successful term as President, Roosevelt faced little opposition at the 1904 Republican National Convention, and was thus elected as President for a full term. -
Passage of Pure Food and Drug Act
Many businesses marketed products to the general public that had unsanitary and otherwise dangerous chemicals and substances within them, such as cocaine. To counteract this, President Theodore Roosevelt signed The Pure Food and Drug Act, which halted the sale of contaminated foods and medicines and called for truth in labeling. It ultimately created the foundation of standards used for the health and safety inspections of food, beverages, and other products to this day. -
Yosemite Under Federal Control
Roosevelt has a great appreciation for nature, in which many organizations understood and appealed to. Yosemite was under the threat of commercialization, overgrazing, and logging. Thus, Roosevelt signed the American Antiquities Act of 1906 that transferred the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove back under federal protection and control. -
Devil's Tower
Devil's Tower, also known as Bear Lodge Butte, was the first United States national monument, established on September 24, 1906, by President Theodore Roosevelt. Located in Wyoming, Devil's Tower is associated with local Native American legends, equating the area with bad gods and evil spirits, thus inspiring its modern namesake. -
Leaves Presidency
In 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt left the Presidency and embarked upon an expedition to Africa. The Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition set out to collect specimens for the Smithsonian's new Natural History museum, now known as the National Museum of Natural History. In total, the expedition collected an average of 11,400 animal specimens which took Smithsonian naturalists eight years to catalog. -
Runs for Presidency Unsuccessfully, Bull-Moose Party
Roosevelt ran his campaign up to the 1912 Presidential election under the "Bull Moose Party." This is the most recent presidential election in which the second-place candidate was neither a Democrat nor a Republican. The Progressive Party was popularly nicknamed the "Bull Moose Party" when Roosevelt boasted that he felt "strong as a bull moose" after losing the Republican nomination in June 1912 at the Chicago convention.
