Theodore Roosevelt was an extraordinary man who accomplished many things during his lifetime. According to Anthony Brandt “You can't sum up Theodore Roosevelt. He was too many men in one…” (Roosevelt pXIII) He was a naturalist, historian, hunter, explorer, writer, soldier, assistant secretary of the Navy, governor of New York, and the twenty-sixth president of the United States. He was also a loving husband and father of six beautiful children. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Theodore Roosevelt faced many trials throughout his childhood that contributed to him becoming the man he would eventually become. Theodore Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858 in New York City. He was born to Theodore Roosevelt Sr. and Martha Bulloch. When Theodore was a little boy, he was given the nickname Teddy. This little nickname would accompany him for the rest of his days. As a child he had many health problems and was constantly sick and suffered from terrible asthma. To combat his physical weakness, Teddy regularly went to the gym. Soon after, he was getting positive results from his exercise routine. At the age of eleven, Roosevelt asked his father to build him a gymnasium on the second floor of their residence. Another tribulation Theodore faced was being molested by other children because he had low physical standards and wore thick glasses. Teddy was bothered by being bullied, so he engaged in more physical exercise and took up extracurricular activities such as boxing. Teddy competed in many boxing events and won several lightweight boxing championships. As a child, Teddy was obsessively fascinated by all the nature around him. It was said that "Teddy's interests could be summed up in two words: living things." (Benge p30) This interest continued throughout college and his adult life. At a remarkably young age, Teddy began studying birds. However, it wasn't just birds that interested him: "The mere sight of a hare, a flying squirrel, or a box turtle made Roosevelt light up with joy." (Brinkley p22) Teddy's understanding of living things was far beyond that of a normal adult. When Teddy was eight years old, he read the book Home without Hands by JG Woods. This book was not considered a children's book, it was the type of comprehensive text used in college-level biology and zoology courses. This was just the beginning of Teddy's studies of living things. Theodore Roosevelt spent his college years attending Harvard University. When he was seventeen Theodore moved to Cambridge to attend university. “Roosevelt entered Harvard with the declared intention of dedicating his life to natural history.” (Cutright p2) For the most part, he did very well in college, except for Latin and Greek. While he was attending Harvard, his father died. Theodore returned home for his father's funeral, but quickly returned to Harvard to continue his studies. While in college, Theodore met his future wife, Alice Hathaway Lee, on October 18, 1878. He met her on one of his trips to visit his friend at the Chestnut Hill Mansion.2 After meeting Alice, Theodore wrote, "As long as I live , I will never forget how sweet he was and how graciously he greeted me. (Morris p104) Theodore graduated from Harvard University on June 30, 1880. A few months after graduation he married Alice , two years after meeting her, which was also his twenty-second birthday. As he grew up, Roosevelt became a true explorer and hunter.trips to Africa, Brazil and the West. Roosevelt's first trip to the West was taken in 1883. While there he stayed at a place on the Little Missouri River and fell in love with the area. Shortly thereafter he purchased land and built a ranch where he stayed on many occasions. On one of his trips to Africa, Theodore wrote about a lion hunt he participated in. This is what he wrote in his diary after missing a shot at his first lion: "This was a great disappointment, and as it was late in the afternoon, and we had struck the country best suited to host our game, it seemed unlikely that we would have any had another opportunity." (Roosevelt p174) However, before the day was over, Theodore and his hunting party actually killed a lion. This was just one of many adventures Theodore had in Africa. He also had many adventures in Brazil. On one occasion he sailed down the River of Doubt in a canoe. The river was full of sunken logs and uprooted trees. After sailing the river Roosevelt wrote, "It was interesting work, for no civilized man, no white man, had ever gone down or up this river or seen the country through which we were passing." (Roosevelt p200) These were just a few of the many daring adventures Theodore Roosevelt experienced during his lifetime. Along with Roosevelt's many adventures, he was assistant secretary of the Navy and commander of a group of men known as the Rough Riders. When William McKinley was elected president, the position of assistant secretary of the Navy opened up, and Roosevelt applied for the job. However, the president and his advisors believed that Roosevelt was too eager to prove that the Navy could hold its own in battle. They thought he would probably go to war just to prove how strong the navy was. Despite their concerns, Roosevelt was given the position. Roosevelt was the undersecretary during the time America was helping Cuba gain independence from Spain. Once the battle with Spain was planned, Roosevelt decided he wanted to be in the middle of the impending war. He resigned his position as assistant secretary of the Navy and was placed in second command of the First Volunteer Calvary, which was under the leadership of Colonel Wood. This group of men consisted of cowboys, Indians, and college students and were accurately nicknamed the Rough Riders by a New York newspaper. When he was going into battle with the Rough Riders, Roosevelt wrote, "On the 30th of June we received orders to stand ready to march against Santiago, and all the men were very happy, for inaction was hard." (Roosevelt p117) In the march against Santiago, the Rough Riders were badly defeated. Although they were defeated in the first battle, they played an important role in the war against Spain. Theodore Roosevelt used his life experiences to shape his views as president of the United States. Governor of New York State was one of many political positions held by Roosevelt. He was vice president of the United States until September 14, 1901, when President McKinley was assassinated. This is the date that Roosevelt became the twenty-sixth president of the United States of America. According to Riis, "a lot of people were uncomfortable when he became president." Even though people were uncomfortable, Roosevelt was determined to do the job to the best of his ability. He believed in a government of men, rather than a government of laws. He thought that if men were good they would make good laws and if men were bad no law in the world could make them good. Roosevelt was a pro-people president. He hesitated: “I have not usurped power, but I have greatly expanded the use of executive power. In other words, I have.”