Signature of Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

At a Glance

Term: 26th President of the United States (1901-1909)

Born: October 27, 1858, New York, New York

Nickname: "TR", "Trust-Buster", "Teddy"

Education: Harvard College (graduated 1880)

Religion: Dutch Reformed

Marriage: October 27, 1880, to Alice Hathaway Lee (1861-1884), December 2, 1886, to Edith Kermit Carow (1861-1948)

Children: Alice Lee (1884-1980), Theodore (1887-1944), Kermit (1889-1943), Ethel Carow (1891-1977), Archibald Bulloch (1894-1979), Quentin (1897-1918)

Career: Author, Lawyer, Public Official

Political Party: Republican

Writings: The Naval War of 1812 (1882), The Winning of the West (1889-96), African Game Trails (1910), Autobiography (1913), America and the World War (1915)

Died: January 6, 1919, Oyster Bay, New York

Buried: Young’s Memorial Cemetery, Oyster Bay, New York

A Life in Brief: Theodore Roosevelt, who came into office in 1901 and served until 1909, is considered the first modern President because he significantly expanded the influence and power of the executive office. From the Civil War to the turn of the twentieth century, the seat of power in the national government resided in the U.S. Congress. Beginning in the 1880s, the executive branch gradually increased its power. More....

Essays on Theodore Roosevelt and His Administration


Theodore Roosevelt
A Life in BriefLife Before the PresidencyCampaigns and ElectionsDomestic AffairsForeign AffairsLife After the PresidencyFamily LifeThe American FranchiseImpact and LegacyKey Events
First Lady
Edith Roosevelt
Vice President
Charles W. Fairbanks
Secretary of State
John M. Hay (1901 - 1905)Elihu Root (1905 - 1909)Robert Bacon (1909 - 1909)
Secretary of the Treasury
Lyman J. Gage (1901 - 1902)Leslie M. Shaw (1902 - 1907)George B. Cortelyou (1907 - 1909)
Attorney General
Philander C. Knox (1901 - 1904)William H. Moody (1904 - 1906)Charles J. Bonaparte (1906 - 1909)
Secretary of the Interior
Ethan A. Hitchcock (1901 - 1907)James R. Garfield (1907 - 1909)
Secretary of the Navy
John D. Long (1901 - 1902)Paul Morton (1904 - 1905)William H. Moody (1904 - 1906)Charles J. Bonaparte (1905 - 1906)Victor H. Metcalf (1906 - 1908)Truman H. Newberry (1908 - 1905)
Secretary of War
Elihu Root (1901 - 1904)William H. Taft (1904 - 1908)Luke Wright (1908 - 1909)
Postmaster General
Charles E. Smith (1901 - 1902)Henry C. Payne (1902 - 1904)Robert J. Wynne (1904 - 1905)George B. Cortelyou (1905 - 1907)George von Lengerke Meyer (1907 - 1909)
Secretary of Agriculture
James Wilson (1901 - 1909)
Secretary of Commerce and Labor
George B. Cortelyou (1903 - 1904)Victor H. Metcalf (1904 - 1906)Oscar S. Straus (1906 - 1909)

Consulting Editor: Sidney Milkis

Professor Milkis is the White Burkett Miller Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia and Assistant Director for Academic Programs at the Miller Center of Public Affairs. His writings include:

American Government: Balancing Democracy and Rights (Co-authored with Marc Landy, McGraw-Hill, 2004)

Presidential Greatness (Co-authored with Marc Landy, University Press of Kansas, 2000)

Progressivism and the New Democracy (Co-edited with Jerome Mileur, University of Massachusetts Press, 1999)

The American Presidency: Origins and Development, 1776-1990 (Co-authored with Michael Nelson, CQ Press, 1990)


Presidential Speeches

Below are selections from the Miller Center's Theodore Roosevelt speech collection. To view the Miller Center's other speeches by Theodore Roosevelt or by another President, please click the link below.

March 4, 1905 - Inaugural Address

Miller Center Scholarship and Speakers

The Miller Center of Public Affairs is a national nonpartisan center to research, reflect, and report on American government, with special attention to the central role and history of the presidency. Below is a selection of Miller Center resources on Theodore Roosevelt.

 Watch poltical scientist Sidney Milkis’s 2003 presentation at the Miller Center on Theodore Roosevelt and the Creation of the Modern Presidency.

Click here to learn more about the Center’s National Commission on the Vice Presidency and its relationship to Roosevelt.

Scripps Library Reference Resources

Below are links to reference resources prepared by the Miller Center's Scripps Library that are designed to help students and scholars quickly conduct their research.

Bibliography on Theodore Roosevelt and his Administration

Information on Theodore Roosevelt's Private and Public Papers

Home | About Us | News Room | Academic Programs | Public Programs | Policy Programs
Scripps Library | Support Us | Directions to the Miller Center | Contact Us