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Thursday 20 October 2016

Naked POTUS, number 26: Theodore Roosevelt

"Even the President of the United States must sometimes have to stand naked" - BOB DYLAN



Neither a bull nor a moose, it is the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), in the nip. Fact squad:

THEODORE ROOSEVELT

Born 27th October 1858, Manhattan, New York
Died 6th January 1919, Oyster Bay, New York

Presidential Term 14th September 1901 - 4th March 1909

Theodore Roosevelt had not been expected to survive his childhood due to his severe asthma. However, he built up his strength and confidence through the practice of boxing. Tirelessly energetic, he also spent his childhood - as well as the rest of his adult life - as a keen naturalist.

Roosevelt began in politics at an early age. He was already a US Senator when his first wife Alice died during the birth of their first child, also named Alice.

Roosevelt briefly resigned from politics in order to serve in the Spanish-American war, heading up a volunteer cavalry regiment that was known as the Rough Riders. On 1st July 1898, Roosevelt's men won a famous victory at the Battle of Kettle Hill.

Roosevelt was the fifth Vice President to have been promoted to the Presidency. At the time, he was also the youngest man to have served in the role.

His term was marked by stability at home and abroad, much to Roosevelt's chagrin. During his Presidency, the Panama Canal was constructed. He is mainly remembered for his contribution to foreign policy, coining the term "walk softly and carry a big stick". This was allied to The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine: Monroe sought to prevent European expansion within the Americas, but Roosevelt expanded the scope to include intervention throughout the Western world. This mixture of a strong military and a brief to protect both the interests and ideals of the American people forms the basis of the United States' foreign policy to the present day.

For all his bullishness, Roosevelt was the first American President to win the Nobel Peace Prize, for his efforts in negotiating peace in the Russio-Japanese War of 1904-05.

In 1904, Roosevelt became the first promoted Vice President to win a Presidential election in his own right.

Upon winning the 1904 election, Roosevelt immediately announced he would not seek a further term.  He came to regard as this his greatest mistake. He found that he disagreed with the direction of his designated successor, William Taft. By 1912 he was seeking election again. Passed over by his Republican Party for the nomination, he formed his own Bull Moose Party. This considerably split the Republican vote but served only to allow the Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson to win the Presidency.

During the 1912 campaign he was subject to an attempted assassination. A German immigrant, John Schrank, shot Roosevelt as he prepared to make a speech in New York City. The bullet deflected off of Roosevelt's spectacles case and fifty pages that made up his speech. Though injured by the attack, Roosevelt nevertheless spoke for an hour afterwards.

Roosevelt disappointed his many followers by disbanding the Bull Moose Party during the 1916 election season, recommending that they vote for the Republican candidate Charles E. Hughes.

Roosevelt was the first US President to own a motor car and the first to wear corrective eye glasses. He is the only 20th Century President to appear in effigy on the side of Mount Rushmore.

During his Presidency, Oklahoma was admitted to the Union in 1907, which now comprised of 46 constituents.

He was the uncle of Eleanor Roosevelt, future First Lady of the United States, and the fifth cousin of the 32nd President, Franklin Roosevelt.

N.B. Some parts of the above image have been redacted by the CIA for reasons of national security. An unexpurgated version of all the naked Presidents will be made available at the end of the project.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

How about a naked picture of Roosevelt's hedonistic daughter Alice who became famous for such stunts as jumping into a swimming pool wearing all her clothes and reputedly stripping them off during a drunken party in Newport, RI. It was no wonder he said that he couldn't run the country and control her!

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