American Boys Life of Theodore Roosevelt | Page 4

the Life of Theodore Roosevelt from 1858 to 1904
302
ILLUSTRATIONS
COLONEL ROOSEVELT AT SAN JUAN HILL Frontispiece
FACING PAGE
THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S BIRTHPLACE 2
HOUSE IN WHICH THEODORE ROOSEVELT ROOMED WHILE
AT HARVARD 14
THEODORE ROOSEVELT AT GRADUATION, 1880 20
MISS ALICE LEE ROOSEVELT 36
EDITH KERMIT ROOSEVELT 66
THEODORE ROOSEVELT AS A ROUGH RIDER 118
COLONEL ROOSEVELT AT MONTAUK POINT 176
THE ROOSEVELT HOMESTEAD AT OYSTER BAY 192
THEODORE ROOSEVELT 202
PRESIDENT MCKINLEY AND VICE-PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT
216
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AT HIS DESK 252

THE WHITE HOUSE, SHOWING NEW OFFICES 270
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND CABINET, 1903 276
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT SPEAKING AT THE UNVEILING OF
THE STATUE OF GENERAL SHERMAN 284
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT AND HIS FAMILY 292
AMERICAN BOYS' LIFE OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT
CHAPTER I
BIRTHPLACE AND ANCESTRY OF THEODORE
ROOSEVELT--HIS FATHER'S PHILANTHROPY--CITY AND
COUNTRY HOME--DAYS AT SCHOOL--RELIGIOUS TRAINING
"Our country calls not for the life of ease, but for the life of strenuous
endeavor. The twentieth century looms before us big with the fate of
many nations. If we stand idly by, if we seek merely swollen, slothful
ease and ignoble peace, if we shrink from the hard contests where men
must win at hazard of their lives and at the risk of all they hold dear,
then the bolder and stronger peoples will pass us by and will win for
themselves the domination of the world. Let us therefore boldly face
the life of strife, resolute to do our duty well and manfully; resolute to
uphold righteousness by deed and by word; resolute to be both honest
and brave, to serve high ideals, yet to use practical methods. Above all,
let us not shrink from strife, moral or physical, within or without the
nation, provided that we are certain that the strife is justified; for it is
only through strife, through hard and dangerous endeavor, that we shall
ultimately win the goal of true national greatness."
These words, taken from President Roosevelt's remarkable speech on
"The Strenuous Life," show well the character of the man, his lofty
ideals, his sterling courage, his absolute honesty, and unwavering
patriotism. He is a typical American in the best sense of the word, and
his life is worthy of careful study. From it American boys of to-day,
and in generations to come, may gain lessons that will do them much

good.
Theodore Roosevelt, the twenty-sixth President of our country, was
born in New York City, October 27, 1858. The place of his birth was
the old family mansion at 28 East Twentieth Street, in a neighborhood
which, at that time, was the abode of wealth and culture. The building
is one of a row, of a type to be seen in hundreds of other places, of
brick and stone, four stories and a basement high, the upper floor being
an attic. A heavy railing runs from in front of the basement up the
broad front steps to the doorway. Inside, the rooms are large and
comfortably arranged, and there was, in those days, quite a nice garden
in the rear.
[Illustration: THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S BIRTHPLACE. 28 E.
20TH STREET, NEW YORK CITY.]
It can truthfully be said that Theodore Roosevelt comes from a race of
soldiers and statesmen, and that Dutch, Scotch, French, and Irish blood
flows in his veins. This being so, it is no wonder that, when the
Spanish-American War broke out, he closed his desk as Assistant
Secretary of the Navy, saying, "My duty here is done; my place is in
the field," and went forth to win glory on the battle-field of San Juan
Hill.
Five generations of Roosevelts lived in or near New York previous to
the birth of Theodore Roosevelt, the father of the President, in 1831.
Nearly all were well-to-do, and many served the city and the state as
aldermen and members of the legislature. During the Revolution they
followed under Washington's banner, and their purses were wide open
to further the cause of independence.
Theodore Roosevelt the elder was a merchant and banker; a man broad
in his views and filled with the spirit of genuine philanthropy. He
founded one of the hospitals of the city and was at one time chairman
of the State Board of Charities. A story is told of him which is probably
true. One day Charles Loring Brace came to him for financial
assistance in establishing homes for the little waifs of the city.

"I will see what I can do," said Mr. Roosevelt. "But you know that just
at present I am busy with other charitable works."
"I know that," said Mr. Brace. "But what I ask for is very much needed.
The waifs and poor, homeless newsboys have no shelter."
The next day, when returning from the establishment in which he was a
partner, Mr. Roosevelt came upon a newsboy sitting on