By Rainne Meyer
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the United states.
I personally believe that Theodore Roosevelt had the coolest life of any president, and by the end of this I hope you will feel the same.
So, here’s why Theodore Roosevelt is the coolest American President.
Teddy was known to be very hardworking and stubborn. He fought for what he wanted, and even called himself the bull moose.
He enjoyed traveling, and his family frequently took trips around the world, going to places like Nepal and Egypt.
He loved to hunt and taxidermy animals, He even went on a safari hunting trip with his son Kermit. They ended up killing around 512 animals, including 17 lions, 29 zebras, 27 gazelles, nine black and white monkeys, eight hippopotami, two ostriches, one pelican, and four alligators, all of which were either eaten or donated to museums. You can read more about his hunting trip in his book “African Game Trails.”
But my most favorite story is the time that he was almost assassinated.
On October, 14, 1912, not too far from here, in Milwaukee, Wis., a man by the name of John Flammang Schrank tried to assassinate Theodore Roosevelt while he was giving his campaign speech.
John shot from only around 6-7 feet away from Teddy. The bullet lodged directly in his chest, but Teddy being the intelligent and skilled man he was, knew he would be fine. Teddy concluded that the bullet did not hit one of his lungs, as he was not coughing up blood. Mind you, this was all done in a matter of seconds. After his initial shock was over with, he assured the crowd that he was fine, and didn’t want his assassin (John Flammang Schrank) to be harmed.
He then opened up his jacket to show the audience the blood starting to soak his white under-shirt and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I don’t know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot, but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose.”
He continued his speech for another 83 minutes, and then agreed to go to the hospital!
Teddy was also a man for the people, and had sorrow in his life just like the rest of us. On February 14, 1884, Teddy Roosevelt’s first wife (Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt) and mother (Martha Bulloch Roosevelt) both tragically passed away. Teddy was said to have written “The light has gone from my life,” in one of his many journals on the day of the event.
To mourn, he didn’t start drinking or go into a depression. Oh no, Mr. Roosevelt became a cowboy! In 1898 Theodore Roosevelt and his friend Leonard Wood started a military group called the Rough Riders that helped fight in the Spanish-American war.
I hope this has convinced you to believe that Theodore Roosevelt is the coolest American president we’ve had.
Rainn Meyer is a student at Grand Meadow High School. Rainn is one of 14 area students participating in the Journal Writing Project, now in its 23rd year.
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