Table Of ContentTheodore Roosevelt and
the Art of American Power
Theodore Roosevelt and
the Art of American Power
An American for All Time
William R. Nester
LEXINGTONBOOKS
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Names:Nester,WilliamR.,1956-author.
Title:TheodoreRooseveltandtheartofAmericanpower:anAmericanforalltime/WilliamR.
Nester.
Description:Lanham:LexingtonBooks,[2019]|Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
Identifiers:LCCN201806491(print)|LCCN2019000909(ebook)|ISBN9781498596763(Elec-
tronic)|ISBN9781498596756(cloth:alk.paper)
Subjects:LCSH:Roosevelt,Theodore,1858-1919.|Roosevelt,Theodore,1858-1919--Politicaland
socialviews.|Roosevelt,Theodore,1858-1919--Influence.|Presidents--UnitedStates--Biogra-
phy.|Power(Socialsciences)--UnitedStates--History.|Balanceofpower--History.|United
States--Politicsandgovernment--Philosophy.|UnitedStates--Foreignrelations--Philosophy.
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Contents
Introduction 1
1:TheSteppingStones
1 TheChildofNature 21
2 TheAssemblyman 29
3 TheWesterner 45
4 TheCivilServiceCommissioner 55
5 ThePoliceCommissioner 75
6 TheAssistantNavySecretary 85
7 TheRoughRider 99
8 TheGovernor 113
9 TheVicePresident 123
2:ThePresidency
10 TheTrustbuster 133
11 TheSquareDealer 149
12 TheImperialist 165
13 TheStatesman 195
14 TheConservationist 219
15 TheMistakeofHisLife 229
3:TheUnfinishedBusiness
16 TheElderStatesman 237
17 TheNewNationalist 245
18 TheManintheArena 255
19 TheLastChances 265
20 TheLegacy 279
Abbreviations 295
Bibliography 297
Index 317
v
vi Contents
AbouttheAuthor 329
Introduction
Ibelieveinastrongexecutive;butIbelievethatresponsibilityshould
gowithpower.(TheodoreRoosevelt)1
WhileIamaJeffersonianinmygenuinefaithindemocracyandpopu-
largovernment,IamaHamiltonianinmygovernmentviews,especial-
ly with . . . the need of the exercise of broad powers by the National
Government.(TheodoreRoosevelt)2
The Constitutionshould be treated as thegreatest documenteverde-
vised by the wit of man to aid a people in exercising every power
necessaryforitsownbetterment,andnotasastraightjacketcunningly
fashionedtostranglegrowth.(TheodoreRoosevelt)3
Iactedforthecommonwell-beingofallourpeople,wheneverandin
whatevermannerwasnecessary,unless prevented bydirect constitu-
tionalorlegislativeprohibition.(TheodoreRoosevelt)4
Tobepreparedforwaristhemosteffectualmeanstopromotepeace.
(TheodoreRoosevelt)5
Contrary to his most famous maxim, Theodore Roosevelt was anything
but soft-spoken. Indeed, even his best friends had trouble shutting him
up.Hewasnotoriousforhisenthusiastic,rapid-fire,boomingdiscourses
on an encyclopedic array of subjects. His brilliant mind seethed with
ideas, facts, and views that he eagerly shared with anyone, anywhere,
anytimewhetheritwassomeoneseateddemurelybesidehimataformal
dinnerpartyorthousandsofboisterouspeopleatacampaignrally.
Of course, Roosevelt was not just a talker, far more vitally he was a
doer.Historiansregularlyrankhimamongthegreatorneargreatpresi-
dentsbuthechalkedupjustasdizzyinganarrayofachievementsateach
lower stage of his political career.6 Of all his political posts he stayed
longest in the White House with seven and a half years, followed by six
years as a federal civil service commissioner, three years as a New York
state assemblyman, two years as a New York City police commissioner,
twoyearsasNewYork’sgovernor,oneyearasassistantnavysecretary,
and half a year as vice president. Perhaps no one has had a more whirl-
windtriumphantmilitarycareer,amere133daysfromhiscommissionto
hismusteringout.Duringthattime,Rooseveltformedaregimentand,in
“acrowdedhour,”ledhismentovictoryatthebattleofSanJuanHeights
where his heroism earned him a postmortem Medal of Honor. Of the
many awards he received during his lifetime, the most prestigious was
1
2 Introduction
theNobelPeacePrizefornegotiatinganendtotheRusso-JapaneseWar.
Inbetweenhispublicofficeshesqueezedinstintsasarancher,explorer,
and naturalist. He was also a prolific writer with thirty-eight published
books and scores of articles amounting to millions of words. Finally, he
wasalovingfamilyman;hisfirstwifediedinchildbirthandhehadfive
childrenwithhissecondwife.
Givenallthis,TheodoreRooseveltbequeathedanenduringlegacyfor
Americansoverhowtogovernasprogressivelyandhowtoliveasgenu-
inely as possible. His deeds and words provide a spectrum of provoca-
tiveperspectivesintoperennialnationaldebatesoverwhatitmeanstobe
an American, a progressive, a man, and a moral person. More than a
century ago, he wrestled with what to do about such seemingly recent
threatsto Americaastherichgettingexorbitantly richer andthemiddle
class and poor stagnating or getting poorer; corporate giants strangling
theeconomywithmonopoliesandoligopolies;citiesplaguedbycorrupt
bureaucrats, brutal cops, lousy schools, festering diseases, crumbling
infrastructure,masspoverty,andviciouscriminalgangs;millionsofim-
migrants accused of driving down wages and diluting national identity;
the destruction of natural resources essential for the nation’s continued
prosperity; swelling economic and military power posed by foreign ad-
versaries;worseninganti-Americanrevolutionsinforeignlandsdeemed
vitaltonationalsecurity;therelativeeffectivenessofmasstorture,execu-
tions, and destruction for fighting wars or international arms control,
laws,andorganizations for fosteringpeace;andevenIslamistterrorism.
A mirror held up to Roosevelt’s life reveals a prism of inspiring and
disturbingreflectionsintothechallengesanddilemmasofourown.
How could one man accomplish so much? Theodore Roosevelt was a
master of the art of American power. The art of power itself is as old as
humanity and simply involves one’s ability to get what one wants in a
conflict with others for the same thing. That includes asserting “smart”
powerortheappropriateavailableresourcesof“hard”orphysicalpower
and “soft” or psychological power. Leaders wield the art of American
power when they protect or enhance the nation’s strategic, economic,
social,andculturalinterestsguidedbytheDeclarationofIndependence’s
values and the Constitution’s institutions. Of course, a leader must get
nationalpowerbeforehecanwieldit.Eachstepupwardinthehierarchy
oflocal,state,andfederalgovernmentatoncedemandsandgrantspow-
er. This progression is an art of American power as long as one’s self-
interests and thenation’sinterestsoverlap.Whentheyconflict,thatper-
son may have mastered the art of power but not the art of American
power.
The art of American power distinguishes between how one asserts
power at home and abroad, between domestic and foreign policy. If
Americanprinciplesandlawsprevailathome,therestrictionsforwield-
