Name Sayantan DasGupta

Instructor David Parker

14th November, 2011
Failures of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidency: Civil-Rights and The Panic of 1907
It is common consensus that Theodore Roosevelt ranks among the greatest of our presidents: - A
man who presided over Americas emergence as a global superpower and a man who morphed
the presidency beyond the clear limitations of the constitution by wandering into the hitherto
unexplored realms of inherent powers and presidential prerogatives. But even the larger-than-life
presidency of Roosevelt had its share of failures and disappointments. Perhaps there is no such
thing as an unblemished president in a system so polarized and ideologically different like ours?
The two main thorns in the Roosevelt flesh were civil-rights and the Panic of 1907 despite all his
progressive reforms. Also, a century-long implementation of an aggressive foreign-policy which
was first used by Roosevelt, indirectly implicates him is the cost of being a responsible world
power just too high?
Teddy Roosevelt had grand visions of an ascendant America taking center-stage in world
politics. Some argue that Roosevelts foreign policy of radical international involvement,
interventionism and moral expansionism befitting a responsible colonial power, also became
the centerfold of our Cold War doctrine. Contradicting some of his own actions, Roosevelt in
public always stated that he had no imperial designs for Cuba, Panama Santo Domingo or
Philippines; he maintained that military actions in US colonies and in Central America were to
protect peace and order in the regions and to spread principles of liberty, democracy, selfdetermination and enlightenment. The same pretext was used by Bush before the War on Terror.
TR left a precedent of muscular diplomacy, aiding of secessionists, intervention in case of
national interest despite absence of direct threat; all of which were used time and again in face of
the Soviet threat. Whether aiding the Contras in Nicaragua or the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan,
the Roosevelt Corollary was expanded throughout the world in Cold War context, and this
foreign policy more than often came with devastating consequences: - whether it was the Bay of
Pigs Invasion, the Islamic Revolution in Iran or the Iraq War that was perpetrated primarily over
the presence of WMDs under the Saddam regime. The cost of world-policing (big stick ideology)

has caused hundreds of thousands of casualties and billions of dollars with each passing coup,
each invasion.

Theodore Roosevelt reflected the racial attitudes of his time, and his domestic record on race and
civil rights bordered on inaction. He publicly spoke out against racism and discrimination, but
like most of the post-reconstruction presidents lacked the motivation and the public support to
improve race-relations. He did little to preserve black suffrage in the South as those states
increasingly disenfranchised blacks.
However he did believe that blacks with superior intellect should be able to prove their merit. He
appointed blacks in lower level federal offices. He also appointed blacks to some patronage
positions in the South, but he was generally unwilling to fight the political battles necessary to
win their appointment. He did end school segregation in New York State while he was governor,
but as president, Roosevelt was very reluctant to use federal authority to enforce the 15th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing voting rights to African Americans.
While fighting in Cuba as part of the 10th Cavalry, Roosevelts Rough Riders fought
alongside the valiant African-American soldiers known as "Buffalo Soldiers. He wrote fondly
of those memories, especially the Battle of San Juan Hill. But perceptions and stereotypes
prevailed (this was after all a time when the Sambo archetype of a lazy, irresponsible and
carefree black man was prevalent). Soon after returning from San Juan Hill, Roosevelt changed
his story concerning African American Soldiers and their conduct in battle saying "Under the
strain the colored infantrymen (who had none of their white officers) began to get a little uneasy
and drift to the rear This I could not allow" ( TR, The Last Romantic).
In 1901, Roosevelt invited prominent black educator and activist Booker T. Washington in the
White House for an exchange of ideas regarding civil rights over dinner. This outraged and
horrified Southerners, as social mingling between whites and blacks was still considered
inappropriate. The newspapers vilified and viciously attacked him for being a negrophile. The
Memphis Scimiter said that it was "the most damnable outrage that has ever been perpetrated by
any citizen of the United States." (TR The Last Romantic, 423). The presidents charisma and
personality failed to override this social taboo and it can be presumed that Roosevelt was indeed
sensitive to all the criticism as he never invited another African-American to the White House

(TR The Last Romantic, 423). As for Roosevelt's views, he was clearly a believer in AngloSaxon superiority, but not to the extent that it prevented him from seeking advice from members
of other races. In hindsight Roosevelts civil rights policy reflected that of Washingtons
accommodationist, compromising and gradualist attitude towards race relations and his alleged
acceptance of Jim Crow separation of whites and blacks, and disenfranchisement of blacks in the
South, instead of WEB Dubois more radical drive towards equality.
Roosevelt's reputation on racial issues took a major hit during the 1906 Brownsville Incident.
(TR The Last Romantic, 490). A group of black soldiers (the all black first battalion of the 25th
Infantry regiment transferred from Nebraska to Fort Brown near Brownsville, Texas) were
accused by locals of going on a shooting spree killing one white man and wounding another.
Despite conflicting accounts, dubious eyewitness accounts and the lack of any physical
evidence, the Army assumed the guilt of the black soldiers. An irate Roosevelt dishonorably
discharged 160 black soldiers without a trial when no one assumed responsibility. With no
pensions, most of these men fell in hard times. Years later it became clear that the people of
Brownsville had framed the soldiers reflecting a fear of black men in uniform that had its roots in
Reconstruction days, and it was not until the Nixon administration when the ruling was officially
overturned.
The Atlanta riots were again caused by unfounded allegations of black men assaulting white
women; the problems of job shortages and employers playing black workers against white
workers only intensified the deep seething hatred. Ten thousand rioters took to the streets of
Atlanta, beating every black person they could find, resulting in over 25 deaths (TR The Last
Romantic, 422).
Even though Roosevelt condemned lynching during the State of the Union address in 1906, he
did very little to prevent mob brutality and savagery directed towards African-Americans.
His appointment of African-Americans, Minnie Cox as Head Postmaster of Indianola,
Mississippi and Dr. Crum as Collector of the Port of Charleston (collector of tariffs) in South
Carolina unleashed a vicious barrage of racial diatribe, hatred and violence, but even under
tremendous pressure he refused to back down and accept their resignations. This further strained
his relations with Congress. His rigidity, along with the very important dynamics of time, place
and circumstance did very little to strengthen his presidency even though he was serving a moral
cause in this case.

On a similar note, Roosevelt forced San Francisco to allow 93 Japanese students to attend
school with white kids, but only after he reached a Gentlemans Agreement with Japan that
they will stop issuing passports to unskilled labor (T.R. The Last Romantic, 605). His
Eurocentric views on immigration can be summed up by this decision.
Roosevelt believed in social Darwinism like most scholars of his time. He saw the white race as
having reached a higher level of civilization than non-whites (especially blacks) and it was
actually detrimental for black people to be integrated with whites as subordinates if they wanted
to advance.
"I have not been able to think out any solution of the terrible problem offered by the presence of
the Negro on this continent, but of one thing I am sure, and that is that inasmuch as he is here
and can neither be killed nor driven away, the only wise and honorable and Christian thing to do
is to treat each black man and each white man strictly on his merits as a man, giving him no
more and no less than he shows himself worthy to have (A Strenuous Life, Speech).

The other failure of the Roosevelt presidency was also a bi-product of his success and legacy. As
an avid progressive Roosevelt believed in the strict federal regulation of businesses to curb
monopoly. He was the first president to successfully invoke the Sherman Antitrust Act against
monopolies and continued to restrict businesses throughout his presidency. In 1902, he
intervened in the United Mine Workers Strike and helped the labor force in achieving a wage
increase and shortened workday. Roosevelt traded sporadic bursts of trust-busting for more
permanent regulation. After the 1904 mandate, the legislation and locked horns on the issue of
the passage of the Hepburn Act in 1906, which empowered the Interstate Commerce
Commission (ICC), to set maximum railroad rates and inspect railroad companies financial
records to assist small shippers by summarily and effectively prevent the imposition of unjust or
unreasonable rates (The Life and Times of Theodore Roosevelt, 472). With an amendment,
Roosevelt succeeded in the negotiations and the bill went through in fine shape (T.R. The Last
Romantic,548). Through his trust buster schemes, Roosevelt was bent on weeding out
corruption. In fact, Wall Street looked upon him as a dangerous socialist. This was an
exaggeration. Roosevelt's "Square Deal" was essentially a middle-class program, aimed as much
at "unruly labor leaders" as at "the predatory rich ( The Life and Times of Theodore Roosevelt,

471). But Roosevelts aggressive policy ended up contributing to the panic of 1907. The rich
man panic as trust-busting was going on, his use of Federal Courts to put sanctions on
corporations for anti-trust violations all created a volatile and unstable market that finally erupted
into crisis with the downfall of the United Copper Company and Knickerbockers Trust Company.
To restore confidence, J. P. Morgan, working together with the Secretary of the Treasury,
organized some bank executives and the U.S. Treasury to transfer money to troubled banks and
buy stocks, thus ending the panic. Morgan was hailed as a hero and savior, while the
corporations and free-market capitalists blamed Roosevelts federal assault on private businesses
as the chief cause of the instability. Roosevelt had tremendous faith in Morgan. But it was
unbelievable that the Treasury of the mighty US economy had to transfer funds to private
bankers in order to prevent a financial collapse (The Life and Times of Theodore Roosevelt,
473). Roosevelt, despite his antitrust denominations, allowed Morgan to purchase the Tennessee
Coal and Iron Company for about $45 million when the true value was closer to $700 million as
a reward, thus expanding Morgan's steel empire (The Life and Times of Theodore Roosevelt,
323). Opposition slandered him on what they saw as a blatant act of hypocrisy and favoritism.
Even the unwavering Teddy Roosevelt had to compromise his beliefs as he sat on the presidential
hot-seat.
Despite his strong reform record, President Howard Taft lost support within the Republican Party
and among Progressives. Although he wanted lower duties on imports, he was unable to stop the
conservative Republicans from pushing through the Payne-Aldrich Tariff (1909) which kept rates
on some products high over the objections of the progressives (TR The Last Romantic, 673)..
Taft fired Roosevelts close friend Chief Forester Gifford Pinchot when he had clashed with the
Department of Interior over conservation issues. The final nail in the coffin was Tafts use of the
Sherman Anti-Trust Act to break up JP Morgan owned US Steel, which was approved by
Roosevelt himself as a good trust during the Panic. All these led to the conservative-progressive
split within the Republican Party and Roosevelt went on to create the Progressive Bull Moose
Party. Even though he received more votes than any Third Party candidate during the presidential
elections of 1912, Woodrow Wilson emerged the winner. This summarizes Theodore Roosevelts
shortcomings and perhaps the shortcoming of the executive itself - despite being a transcendental
president, his legacy was not enough to solidify his place in the office. He was unable to further

his Progressive agenda without the very essential support of the Republican Party machine
behind him.
Despite the staunch, resolute persona, the pragmatist in Roosevelt would perhaps view his
failures as a significant part of his very legacy. His failures defined him as much as his successes.
After all, it was he who said that, It's not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how
the strong man stumbled, or when the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to
the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who
strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms,
the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the
triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly,
so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or
defeat ( Citizenship in a Republic, Man in the Arena portion).

Bibliography:1) Brands, H.W. T.R. The Last Romantic. New York : Basic Books, 1997.
2) Lorant, Stefan. The Life and Times of Theodore Roosevelt(1958). New York: DoubleDay and
Company, 2004.
3) Roosevelt, Theodore. Excerpts from Speech in Hamilton Club. The Strenuous Life. Chicago,
Illinois. 10 April 1899.
4) Roosevelt, Theodore. Excerpt from the speech "Citizenship In A Republic".THE MAN IN
THE ARENA. Sorbonne in Paris, France. 23 April 1910 .
5) Roosevelt, Theodore. State of the Union Address. Washington DC. 3 December 1906.