Sandra Lombardi TAH Book Review Lion in the White House a Life Of

Sandra Lombardi

TAH Book Review

Lion in the White House

Aida D. Donald

Lion in the White House, by Aida D. Donald is a remarkable account of the life of

Theodore Roosevelt and the challenges he faced during his presidency. The novel is a well‐ written, descriptive account of the challenges that Theodore Roosevelt experienced throughout

his life. In this short, but detailed biography, Donald describes Teddy Roosevelt’s popularity with ordinary folks and his own admiration of President Lincoln which was instilled in him at a young age by his father. The novel expresses the idea that Roosevelt was the first modern president who saw himself as a world leader and that he believed the United States was a potential world

power.

The novel begins with Roosevelt’s early life. The Roosevelts were an affluent

family who resided between Fifth Avenue and Broadway in New York. The couple, Theodore Sr.

and his wife Martha Bulloch, provided their four children with a loving home life, but the couple

disagreed when it came to politics. Martha was a Confederate sympathizer who remained

unreconstructed to the day she died. Theodore Sr. was a strong supporter of the Republican

Party and Abraham Lincoln. He also believed it was important to support the Civil War in an effort to restore the Union and free the slaves. Donald describes the relationship between

Roosevelt and his father as one of admiration. Teedie, as he was affectionately nicknamed,

strove to emulate his father. The senior Roosevelt was a well‐ respected, exuberant, and a

wealthy man who made philanthropy his life’s work. Papa Roosevelt was involved in numerous

charity organizations such as the Children’s Aid Society, Bellevue Training School for Nurses, and

the YMCA. These philanthropic values were instilled in Teedie at a young age and they helped to

inspire some of the major reforms that he instituted during his political career.

Theodore entered Harvard at the age of eighteen. He was popular, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, outgoing, and he had a great sense of humor. He was enchanted by the natural world and he had hoped to one day become a scientist. While attending Harvard, he had taken anatomy classes with the famous psychologist and philosopher William James. He also took history classes with Henry Cabot Lodge. Lodge encouraged Roosevelt’s love of history and

writing and would eventually become Theodore’s mentor and friend when he pursued a career

in politics. Theodore was an avid writer throughout his career at Harvard. He published his first

pamphlet on summer birds entitled,” Adirondacks.” He also wrote his senior thesis on equality

for women in which he expresses his beliefs in women’s suffrage. One of his most famous

writing accomplishments was his Naval History of the War of 1812. Roosevelt graduated

magna cum laude from Harvard in June 1880. Soon after he graduated, Theodore married his

college sweetheart Alice Hathaway Lee and he enrolled in the Columbia Law School. Roosevelt

was ready for the next phase of his life.

Roosevelt dropped out of law school before the end of his second year. He

wanted to pursue a career in which he could make a difference. Theodore decided he would

become a politician. He aimed to restore the Republican Party to its old virtues and philosophies. “Roosevelt thought himself something of a reformer, after his father’s model, a person who leads to clean up government through civil service reform and legislation. He would make himself the different drummer in the Republican orchestra. His mentor would be the

martyred President Lincoln, whom he saw as honest and reforming. He would grasp the mantle

of Lincoln’s legacy and began to study his speeches and letters with Lincoln’s wisdom, philosophy, and politics.” (Donald 39). Roosevelt began his political career as a local Republican in the district where his family resided in New York. He soon won a seat as the assemblyman in

Albany where he was determined to clean up the corruption within the government. Ted was a

strong supporter of the merit system and the Pendleton Act. He was also dedicated to breaking up the party machines and investing the ongoing corruption in New York.

Early on in his political career, Roosevelt experienced a tremendous loss. Both his mother, Mittie, and his wife, Alice became ill. His mother died of typhoid fever and Alice died of kidney disease after giving birth. Roosevelt was absolutely devastated. He gave his infant

daughter to his sister Bamie to raise and threw himself into his work. Soon, Roosevelt became

severely depressed and weary. He then decided to take a break from politics and he moved west to the Dakota Territory for a few years. Roosevelt immersed himself in the western

surroundings and folkways. He published a book entitled, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman: Ranch

Life and the Hunting Trail in 1885. It was a popular introduction to the West. He later formed

the Boone and Crockett Club to promote the advancement of hunting, exploration, preservation,

and scientific exploration.

In 1886, Roosevelt moved back to New York in an attempt to return to politics.

He soon met his second wife Edith Carrow. They had five children together and Edith insisted that Alice return home. Roosevelt now had the same family unit he once had as a child. He was a loving father and a devoted husband. Roosevelt soon, “Rose Like a Rocket.” His political career was off and running. He held numerous jobs within the government, but his popularity soared when President McKinley appointed him assistant secretary of the Navy. In 1897,

Roosevelt was in charge of all naval operations while Secretary of the Navy John Davis was on

vacation for the summer. He was responsible for diplomacy, finance, strategy, education, and

all promotions. When Congress declared war on Spain in April 1898, it did not take Roosevelt

long to join the cause. He recruited his own regiment of 1000 men (only 565 actually went to

Cuba). This regiment soon became known as the Rough Riders. Roosevelt spent just over four

months in Cuba. He proved to be an exceptional leader. His leadership and heroism had a great

impact on his political career.

Roosevelt was elected Governor of New York in 1898 at the age of forty.

“Governor Roosevelt took on large corporations and trusts by seeking to make them report their profits. He sought laws to break up monopolies and to oversee accounting reviews to get

corporations to pay their taxes.” (Donald 116). On the issue of labor, Roosevelt passed

legislation for an eight hour work day and an increase in factory inspections in an attempt to break up tenement sweatshops. One of his greatest achievements as Governor of New York was his civil service reform. As a result of this reform, a large percentage of state jobs were given on the basis of written tests not politics or race. Roosevelt acted on the belief that every man should be treated according to their merits. He also wanted to improve education and strongly

opposed segregation in schools. (His own children attended racially mixed schools). Roosevelt

was also a strong believer in women’s rights. He favored suffrage for women and believed that

women and men were equal, especially in marriage. The most important aspect of Roosevelt’s

years as governor was his continuing views on progressive reforms.

Roosevelt’s popularity as Governor of New York had a direct impact on him becoming the Republican Vice President in March 1901. In September 1901, President William

McKinley was shot and killed. Roosevelt assumed the presidency on September 14, 1901. At the age of forty‐ two, he was the youngest man to ever hold the office. Roosevelt publicly and

privately mourned the death of President McKinley and often referred to himself as the

“accidental president.”

Roosevelt had a clear vision of how he intended to be seen as president. He

wanted to establish the executive branch as a vital force equal to the power of Congress and the

Supreme Court. “The new president did not throw caution to the winds, but boldly tacked in domestic and foreign affairs. He saw his office as a powerful and almost unrestrained vehicle

for positive government on behalf of the people.” Roosevelt went on to state, “The most important factor in getting the right spirit in my Administration, next to the insistence upon courage, honesty, and a genuine democracy of desire to serve the plain people, was my insistence upon the theory that the executive power was limited only by specific restrictions and prohibitions appearing in the Constitution or imposed by the Congress under Constitutional

powers.” (Donald 134). Roosevelt also believed in order to make the changes he deemed

necessary he would have to reorganize the Republican Party. He planned to keep only the

honest people in his administration and appoint the best person, (regardless of party, color, or

ethnic origin) to positions within the government.

During his presidency, Roosevelt had made several reforms to the government

and the United States. Some of the most notable acts that were passed during his

Administration were; The Spooner Act in 1902 which authorized the president to acquire title of

the New Panama Company, The Hepburn Act which advanced railroad regulations, and The

Pure Food and Drug Act – a law that forbids the making, sale, and transporting of fraudulently

labeled food and drugs in the United States. Other acts include; The Naturalization Act which

was an attempt to reform the immigration policies in the U.S., the McCumber Act which gave monthly pensions to all veterans of the Mexican and Civil War, and the policies that he enforced on Conservation. Roosevelt was a triumphal president. He initiated numerous progressive

reforms and established a legacy that he envisioned William Howard Taft would champion.

Roosevelt had many notable accomplishments throughout his lifetime. He was an author, Police Commissioner, Governor, Vice President, President, he oversaw the construction of the Panama Canal, he was a Conservationist, he won the Medal of Honor, and

the Nobel Peace Prize. He proved to be a remarkable father, husband, and leader. Because of

these accomplishments, he will always be remembered as one of the greatest presidents in the

history of the United States.

After reading Lion in the White House, I feel comfortable adding to my lessons the importance of educating my students about the many achievements of Theodore Roosevelt

and not just his accomplishments as President of the United States. It is impossible to totally

6 encompass all the personal experiences that Theodore Roosevelt was exposed to, but I will use examples from the book in my classroom to emphasize the ideas and facts that have been traditionally taught about Roosevelt along with his other achievements.