Energetic, enthusiastic, determined, childlike—these are words people used to describe Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the United States.
When Roosevelt took office in 1901, some people were delighted, but others were disappointed. He always spoke his mind, and he always did what he thought was right. It was hard to predict just what he would say or do.
Theodore Roosevelt was a man of a great many contradictions. He was a city boy, but he loved the wilderness. He also was a man of action who could read two or three books a day. Roosevelt glorified war, yet he was the first U.S. president to win the Nobel Peace Prize. He was both a conservationist and a big-game hunter. Roosevelt was a firm believer in democracy, and yet he also believed that the United States had the right to interfere in the affairs of foreign countries that were not acting as he thought they should. More than anything else, “T.R.” was a serious man who loved to have fun.
