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Theodore Roosevelt and the Art of American Power Theodore Roosevelt and the Art of American Power An American for All Time William R. Nester LEXINGTONBOOKS Lanham•Boulder•NewYork•London PublishedbyLexingtonBooks AnimprintofTheRowman&LittlefieldPublishingGroup,Inc. 4501ForbesBoulevard,Suite200,Lanham,Maryland20706 www.rowman.com 6TinworthStreet,LondonSE115AL Copyright©2019byTheRowman&LittlefieldPublishingGroup,Inc. Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedinanyformorbyany electronicormechanicalmeans,includinginformationstorageandretrievalsystems, withoutwrittenpermissionfromthepublisher,exceptbyareviewerwhomayquote passagesinareview. BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationInformationAvailable LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData 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. Classification:LCCE757(ebook)|LCCE757.N472019(print)|DDC973.91/1092[B]--dc23 LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2018060491 TMThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirementsofAmerican NationalStandardforInformationSciencesPermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibrary Materials,ANSI/NISOZ39.48-1992. PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica 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-