Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt was born into a wealthy New York family. He was home-schooled as a child due to his poor health, but was a bright and enthusiastic scholar. Roosevelt attended Harvard and was elected to the New York State Assembly just one year after graduation. A rugged outdoorsman, Roosevelt briefly left politics to become a ranger in the “Badlands” of the Dakotas. In 1899, Roosevelt was elected Governor of New York. In 1901, at age 42, he was elected as Vice President of the United States and that same year became President after William McKinley was assassinated. His two terms as President were characterized by the conservation movement, the completion of the Panama Canal, and ending the Russo-Japanese war.