I just finished reading Colonel Roosevelt, the third and final volume of Edmund Morris’ masterful story of Theodore Roosevelt’s life.
Trilogy: Beginning with The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, which takes readers up to Roosevelt’s presidency, and moving to Theodore Rex that tells the story of Roosevelt’s presidency, Colonel Roosevelt recounts the Rough Rider’s post-presidency years.
TR Loses His Way: Colonel Roosevelt is well written and a gripping, but sad tale of an energetic and talented man who lost his way in his post-presidential years. He suffered from power deprivation and not being the center of attention. Roosevelt alternated between charming and biting in his interactions with others, physically adventurous and wanting to rest at Sagamore Hill, and politically radical and conservative.
The “What Ifs” of History: The story raises all sorts of “what if” questions. Had events turned out differently, how might history have been changed? For example:
- 1908 Election: What might have happened and how might history have been different if Roosevelt had not term-limited himself after his election in his own right to the presidency in 1904?
- 1912 Election: How might things have been different had Roosevelt not stalled on declaring his candidacy for president in 1912? Might he have been able to beat William Howard Taft for the Republican nomination that year if Taft had not had time to mobilize party forces to deny Roosevelt the nomination?
- 1920 Election: Had Roosevelt not died in 1919, would he have been the Republican nominee for president in 1920 as many observers predicted and fans hoped? It would have been an interesting election, pitting TR against the Democratic ticket of James Cox and Franklin Roosevelt.
If you haven’t read Colonel Roosevelt, I highly recommend it to you.
Mike Purdy’s Presidential History Blog© 2011 by Michael E. Purdywww.PresidentialHistory.com
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Regarding the election of 1920, David Pietrusza wrote a good book on the various candidates, including the speculation of many in the GOP that TR was a front runner to be the nominee before his death in early 1919. It’s title is “1920: The Year of the Six Presidents,” and I recommend it to anyone interested in that election. The “six presidents” referred to in the title are Theodore Roosevelt (past at the time of the election), Woodrow Wilson (current at the time of the election), Warren Harding (eventual victor), Calvin Coolidge (future), Franklin Roosevelt (future) and Herbert Hoover (future), all of whom played a role in that year’s presidential contest (even though TR’s was posthumous, obviously).
Thanks, Steven, for the book recommendation! I actually have the book in my library, one of many that I’ve not read yet, but hope to get to. Yes, I’ve read also that TR was the frontrunner for the 1920 GOP nomination, but his untimely death definitely changed the political landscape.