Speaking to the people

I have had a lot of discussions with people after the mini-series on PBS and I am amazed at the different perceptions / comments on how they felt Burn’s portrayed TR.   A few comments have centered around the idea that Roosevelt was a “war monger” or “quick to decision”.  Here is my rebuttal to both:

Dig deeper than the PBS series could.

“Speak softly and carry a big stick” was a preventative approach to war, not the reason for one.  Roosevelt knew that having a strong military and showing the world that the United States was prepared to take action if attacked, meant that the potential enemies would think twice before doing so.  They did – The United States was not involved in any major conflicts during Roosevelt’s Presidency.  (We did support Panama in their quest for independence, but the U.S. was not directly named in the conflict)  Additionally, Roosevelt was the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with brokering peace in the Russo- Japanese War.  That’s not very “war mongering” – it actually is the exact opposite.

As a leader in the battle of San Juan Heights, TR lost friends and many of his men, so he knew the direct cost of war.  His position was peace, with an understanding that he would defend his countrymen if we were placed in a position to do so.

The idea that he was too quick in making a decision I would frame with an understanding of the man.  Roosevelt was an extremely well read historian with a photographic memory.  When he looked at a problem, he did so with a computer-like mind, sifting through history  to assess other societies faced with similar circumstances. He then compared that to his current time, along with inputs from those around him.   His decisions were quick in the sense that he didn’t dawdle,  but to imply that being quick meant they were not well reasoned would frankly place the odds against him.  Most of his decisions of the time are still embraced as laws and common sense we follow today.  The Pure Food and Drug Act, the Meat Inspection Act, the National Forest Service, National Wildlife Refuges, National Monuments.  Roosevelt made decisions as a leader looking to the future, based on the current needs and experiences and history of the past.   His decisions continue today to be embraced, meaning he beat the odds -few of his ideas have been replaced with better ones.  That’s why today’s politician’s want to be measured as “good as TR”

The Theodore Roosevelt Family

For weeks, everyone who knows that I portray TR has been contacting me to remind me of Ken Burns PBS series on The Roosevelt’s.  I am as excited to see it as anyone, as my research is so focused on the man I portray that I seldom get to research the dynamics of the “other players” – Eleanor and Franklin.  I am eager to learn about the family on the “Hyde Park” side.

Ken Burns and his team do an amazing job of condensing important historical moments into entertaining clips that give you a glimpse into history.  Many of the photographs they are able to assemble are rare archives of a lost time that truly give you a sense of the past in a meaningful way.  I recommend everyone take the time to watch this great show and learn more about the family that we hold as true American leaders.

“In the Grand Canyon, Arizona has a natural wonder which is in kind absolutely unparalleled throughout the rest of the world. I want to ask you to keep this great wonder of nature as it now is. I hope you will not have a building of any kind, not a summer cottage, a hotel or anything else, to mar the wonderful grandeur, the sublimity, the great loneliness and beauty of the canyon. Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it.”

When Roosevelt made those words, he recognized that the canyon had a special place in America and that those looking to exploit it would go to any means to do so.  It was because of this that he declared the Grand Canyon a National Monument using the Antiquities Act.

Today, places like the Grand Canyon may seem protected, but the reality is that they are not as protected as Roosevelt himself would have wanted.  The Grand Canyon is facing the exact issues today that TR rallied against, development along the edge by business people who want to take advantage of the millions of people who visit annually.

While we all appreciate conveniences, the reality is that natural surroundings are made by the ages, while the interruptions of those surroundings are ruined in only a few days as bulldozers make flat places to put up those conveniences.   We need places where solitude, reflection and natural beauty are the only thing we experience, and we need to make sure we protect these not only for ourselves, but the multiple generations that will follow.

“Of all the questions which can come before this nation, short of the actual preservation of its existence in a great war, there is none which compares in importance with the great central task of leaving this land even a better land for our descendants than it is for us.”

Jobs and capitalism are an important part of the American fabric, but they do not replace the common sense to preserve natural resources that are unique on the globe.   As you think about the millions of acres that Roosevelt helped preserve, contemplate this: If his actions had not been taken, what might they look like today?

“No man needs sympathy because he has to work, because he has a burden to carry. Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” Theodore Roosevelt

TR and Secretary of the Interior Jewell discussing the Organ Mountains

When I received the call to come to Washington D.C. and appear as Roosevelt on Halloween day, I was more than sure that the call was a joke.  However, the client seemed sincere about why they wanted me and I had a very specific job:  Encourage the Secretary of the Interior to talk to her boss, President Obama, about using the Antiquities Act to preserve land.  TR had created the act as a presidential ability to make sure that certain areas of cultural, wilderness and heritage value could remain intact for future generations.

Secretary Jewell and I met in the hallway that day and spoke for several minutes before she made her first public comments in her new job.  She told me to listen to her speech, as she was going to reference Roosevelt several times.  Each time she did, she smiled at me or reminded the crowd at the National Press Club that “Teddy” was not only with her in spirit, but in person.

Secretary Jewell and the modern Teddy Roosevelt would meet many more times over the coming months, with a much clearer message: use the Antiquities Act to make the Organ Mountains – Desert Peaks, in Las Cruces New Mexico, a National Monument.

Obama gave hints that my conversations were hitting home.  In January, he made reference that he was poised to use the act in the State of the Union address, his first time in mentioning the capability.  A few weeks later he did just that, preserving a coastline of California, Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands National Monument and hinting that more were on the horizon.  I received a note from my client telling me that he had confided to a reporter that he was “poised” to protect the Organ Mountains if Congress didn’t.  We have sat for many months waiting for any news on the progress, hopeful.

This morning, I received an invite from the Secretary of the Interior’s office to celebrate the Organ Mountains – Desert Peak National Monument.  496,000 acres of land, protected for future generations.   I hope TR is pleased with my work, even if it is being carried on by just a man who looks like him.

TR in his office in New York

Along with “Bully!” – “Speak softly and Carry a Big Stick” are words that instantly make us think of Roosevelt.  As someone who works daily to portray the great man, I think it’s important to understand where and why he said the “Big Stick” statement.  The first documented public speech using the term was while he was Vice President and was uttered at the Minnesota State fair on September 2, 1901, only a few short weeks before the tragic assassination of President William McKinley.

The “Big Stick” ideology refers to the concept that negotiations should be cordial with an understanding that more leverage could be applied.  America at the time was not a world powerhouse, but the country had shown that through it’s use of resources and ingenuity, it could accomplish a great deal.  Roosevelt believed that these attributes of American spirit gave it potential to be more than a country, it had the abilities to be a world leader.

His role as Vice President at the time was not an influential role, and in fact he was placed in that role because his political opponents knew that a politician placed in the Vice Presidential role was seldom heard from again.  Roosevelt was not a good one to warehouse, and his rhetoric soon was filled with the concepts of American influence in world events.  Roosevelt believed in a strong military and as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, he had built up the navy with modern ships and weapons.  Because there was no simple way to move ships from the east coast to the west to protect our interests, our navy was essentially split, serving each coast.  This meant from a numbers standpoint, we had a very large navy compared to other countries.  This was in Roosevelt’s mind, a “Big Stick” to influence others to negotiate with us.  He believed that a strong Navy meant a strong country, and his perceptions were built on centuries of reality.  Now, in the U.S., we had a very large Navy and a Vice President with a proven military track record (Col., Spanish American War Rough Riders) and an ability to influence the American populous as well as international leaders.