Three Lessons from Theodore Rex, by Edmund Morris

Theodore Roosevelt (right) with legendary law man Seth Bullock

Don’t ask for permission, do what is right.

A coal miner strike during his first fall season in office threatened the nation:

“Northeastern hospitals, alarmed by a rise in the pneumonia rate, competed for reserve anthracite at three or four times last winter’s cost. Poor families burned coconut shells, available at fifteen cents a sack from candy companies, to keep warm.”

Initially, Roosevelt was stymied. The consensus was that it was a state problem, not a federal one. His advisors and the coal interests repeatedly reminded him that he had no legal grounds to intervene. However, he knew no one else was going to fix it and that he could. He had the power and influence to fix the problem, so he did it.

He gathered the warring parties in a carefully arranged meeting. He sat comfortably in the shadows between two large windows while they surrounded him in a semi-circle bathed in light as he led a discussion that took them to the root of their dispute, a combination of money and ego. With the problem defined, Roosevelt attacked it.

He got them to agree to form a non-partisan commission which was able to quell violent miner uprisings and deliver the much-needed heating coal before the winter.

Don’t just sit there, do something.

It was a warm summer day and Roosevelt sat in the Oval Office working with the windows open. His son Kermit was outside playing war with some of the other officials’ children. When William Howard Taft’s son attacked his team with a water hose, Kermit quickly grabbed an axe and chopped the hose.

Furious, Roosevelt bounded out of the White House and confronted the children, asking them why they had done it. When Kermit explained, Roosevelt’s mood changed entirely.

“In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” He told the children, before walking back inside.

Keep learning, keep growing.

Midway through his first term, a reporter sent a request asking what the he had been reading during his Presidency. He sent back a list of over 170 books, which he noted were all he could remember off the top of his head. Of course, there were also daily newspapers and the massive amounts of reports a President receives…

As a surprise, his wife Edith had a tennis court installed for him before they moved in to the White House and tennis lessons were suddenly in great demand in the Washington area. Roosevelt could easily be found out on the court wearing out opponents rain or shine. While he wasn’t the greatest player, few could keep up with him in terms of energy.

One ambassador complained to him that working with him was ruining his wardrobe. If the mood struck him, Roosevelt would abruptly change the venue of a meeting to a hike along the muddy banks of the Potomac which was invariably followed by some skinny dipping to cool off.

Conclusion

This series of books are definitely favorites of mine. Theodore Rex (covering his presidency) – like its predecessor The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (his formative years) – is an incredibly well-written inspirational story of a man who greatly expanded the notion of being a president. As he said, “Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones.”

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