WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT
As 1908 began, Roosevelt knew he wouldn’t be president for much longer. Since George Washington, no US president had served more than two terms, and Roosevelt did not want to break that tradition. By law, he could have run again, but he said that a “still, small voice” in his head told him it was time to step aside.
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT
Roosevelt supported William Howard Taft for the 1908 election. They were both progressives—people who sought reform. Roosevelt trusted Taft would do a good job. But he also knew he would miss being president. Running the country had given Roosevelt great joy.
Taft did win the election, and Roosevelt left the White House on March 4, 1909. He already had planned a new adventure. He and his son Kermit would soon leave for an African safari. Arriving first in Europe and then Africa, Roosevelt was treated like a hero. Huge crowds cheered him, and he met the leaders of many countries. Reporters wrote about his and Kermit’s travels through Africa, where they hunted lions, elephants, and rhinos. Roosevelt also collected plants to bring back to the United States.
Back home, in the fall of 1910, Roosevelt toured the country giving speeches. Huge crowds greeted him. During the trip, he became the first US president to fly in an airplane. (Eight years earlier he had been the first president to ride in a car! He was always up for trying something new.) At an airfield in Missouri, Roosevelt climbed in beside the pilot in the open plane. As the aircraft flew low to the ground, Roosevelt waved to the people below. Afterward, he called the trip “the finest experience I have ever had.”
By 1912, Roosevelt had changed his mind about his old friend Taft. He was not the strong leader Roosevelt had hoped he would be. Roosevelt believed he could improve the country with more progressive ideas—including giving all women the right to vote and creating better conditions for laborers and factory workers—so he decided to challenge Taft for the presidency.
As usual, Roosevelt campaigned hard. He told reporters that he felt as healthy and strong as a “bull moose.” His strength, though, couldn’t help Roosevelt win the nomination against the sitting president. The Republican Party chose Taft as its candidate for the fall election.
Roosevelt, however, was not ready to give up. He joined with other progressive Republicans to form their own party. It became known as the Bull Moose Party, with Roosevelt as its candidate for president. The election was a three-way race; Democrat Woodrow Wilson was also running. Roosevelt began to tour the country to seek support. At some stops, he handed out small silver moose charms to the children he met.
For Edith Roosevelt, the campaign was hard. She had hoped several years before that her husband was done with politics. Unlike him, she was a private person and hated the attention the family received from the press. But she knew how much Roosevelt loved speaking in public and campaigning.
On October 14, Roosevelt visited Milwaukee. His speech for that night’s talk filled fifty pages of paper, which Roosevelt had folded and stuck in his upper jacket pocket. Outside his hotel, Roosevelt never saw John Schrank approach. Schrank was a mentally unstable man who was determined to stop Roosevelt. He fired one shot and hit his target. Roosevelt fell to the ground wounded, but he quickly rose. The bulky folded speech in his pocket, along with the case for his glasses, saved his life. Although still bleeding, Roosevelt took the stage, once again impressing Americans with his strength and courage. The audience gasped on learning of the shooting. But Roosevelt assured the crowd that a simple wound couldn’t stop a “bull moose.”
Back in New York, Edith wept when she heard about the shooting and quickly made plans to go to her husband. Roosevelt rested for several weeks and then began campaigning again. The gunshot wound had won him sympathy—but not enough votes to win the election. Woodrow Wilson was elected president. Roosevelt was disappointed with the loss. He told his son Kermit he wanted to “take as little part as possible in political affairs.” But the Bull Moose still had some fight left in him.
FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT
FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT WAS A DISTANT COUSIN OF THEODORE’S. THEY BECAME CLOSER WHEN FRANKLIN MARRIED THEODORE’S NIECE, ELEANOR. FDR, AS HE WAS LATER CALLED, OFTEN FOLLOWED IN HIS FAMOUS COUSIN’S FOOTSTEPS. IN 1914, FDR HELD ROOSEVELT’S OLD JOB AS ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE NAVY. HE WENT ON TO SERVE AS NEW YORK’S GOVERNOR. AND IN 1932, FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT WAS ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. UNLIKE THEODORE, FDR WAS A DEMOCRAT. BUT LIKE HIS COUSIN, HE TRIED TO USE THE POWER OF THE GOVERNMENT TO HELP AVERAGE AMERICANS. FRANKLIN ONCE CALLED THEODORE “THE GREATEST MAN I EVER KNEW.”
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT