The bullet struck Theodore Roosevelt in the chest just as he rose to speak. Blood spread across his shirt, and the crowd in the Milwaukee auditorium gasped, some screaming, as a man named John Schrank was wrestled to the ground. Roosevelt steadied himself, pressed a hand to his wound, and made a decision that would become part of his legend: he would deliver the speech anyway. Doctors would not examine him for another ninety minutes.
When they finally did, what they found left them stunned—not merely that he had survived, but that he had spoken for an hour and a half with a bullet lodged in his chest. The slug had passed through his overcoat, his glasses case, and a thick folded copy of his speech before burying itself in his muscle. It would remain there for the rest of his life. That moment, remarkable as it was, was only one chapter in a life defined by will overcoming every obstacle the world placed in his path.
Theodore Roosevelt did not have an easy life, but each hardship he endured seemed only to harden him into a stronger man and leader, renowned for the sheer force of his determination, until eventually there was no fight left in him. Born in 1858, Teddy—as he would be known to the public—was almost immediately assailed by health problems, including bouts of asthma so severe that his parents feared he might be struck down long before his time. So fragile was the boy that they chose to homeschool him rather than send him away, and his passion for learning took root early. In 1876, he entered Harvard, where he pursued the subjects that fascinated him most.
He found a deep love for both science and philosophy, and set himself apart by publishing several papers on ornithology, earning a reputation as an esteemed naturalist while still a student. His father died in 1878, leaving him an inheritance of $60,000—a sum that freed him from financial worry and allowed him to chase any dream he wished. Perhaps inspired by his father, a devoted member of the Republican Party, Teddy decided his future lay in politics. Harvard gave him countless connections, not only professional ones.
Through a friend, he met Alice Hathaway Lee and was immediately struck by love. From the moment he saw her, he knew she was the one he wanted to spend his life with. They married in 1880, and four years later, on February 12, 1884, Alice gave birth to their daughter, also named Alice. The birth of his daughter should have been the happiest moment of his life.
Two days later, on February 14, 1884, tragedy struck twice in a single day. His wife and his mother both died, separately, of medical emergencies. Teddy was utterly devastated. In no shape to care for a newborn, he left his daughter in the care of his sister for the next three years.
His political career had already begun. In 1881, he won election to the New York State Assembly. Though relatively new to the scene, he soon made his name known, earning a prominent reputation by working to expose corruption in Albany. But even as he made progress politically, his heart remained with the outdoors, a love that had been with him since childhood.
Traveling to North Dakota in 1883, he realized he wanted nothing more than to be a cattle rancher. After the horrific losses of 1884, he threw himself into that dream, building Elk Horn Ranch and living the life of a cowboy. The hard work and open country helped him cope with his grief. So did an old friend.
Even before he met Alice, Teddy had known a dramatic love life, mostly centered on his childhood sweetheart, Edith Carow. Whatever the problem had been that led to their breakup, it was water under the bridge by 1879, when they made amends. By then Teddy was already married to Alice, but Edith had not let go of her feelings for him. After losing both his mother and his wife, the two were reacquainted.
They married in 1886 and went on to welcome four children of their own. Around him, the world was shifting. The United States and Spain had been at odds for some time, and the nation needed men who could act. When President William McKinley looked for a new Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 1897, Roosevelt’s name stood out.
Taking the position, he immediately began shaking things up, fortifying the US Navy as if he sensed a conflict was coming. When the USS Maine mysteriously exploded in early 1898, Teddy knew exactly where to point the finger. President McKinley wanted to talk his way out of conflict, but Roosevelt ordered many of America’s naval vessels to ready themselves. His suspicions were confirmed when Spain and the United States went head-to-head in 1898—and then Roosevelt decided he no longer wanted a desk.
He left his position to establish the first volunteer cavalry regiment in America, determined to fight in the conflict himself. After his service in the Spanish-American War, he ran for governor of New York and won. His time in Albany focused on protecting those in poverty, offering a taste of what was to come. He impressed prominent figures in the Republican Party, and when Vice President Garret Hobart died in 1899, an opportunity suddenly presented itself.
Many urged Teddy to throw his hat in the ring, but despite his ambition, he adamantly refused. He had rubbed several politicians the wrong way since becoming governor, including Thomas C. Platt, who wanted nothing more than to get rid of him. Platt believed the vice presidency would sideline Roosevelt, and he made a deal.
Teddy declared the only way he would take the nomination was if the Republican National Convention offered it to him directly. Confident he could avoid such an outcome, he was in for a rude awakening when the convention unanimously nominated him, and his enemies got him onto the ticket in 1900. He had no choice but to live up to his word. Yet he knew he would make a poor vice president.
The position, as he discovered, carried no real power to make changes, and it only made him grow more bitter. In September 1901, while vacationing in Vermont, he received shocking news: someone had shot President McKinley. Theodore Roosevelt was now president of the United States. His childhood love of the outdoors transformed into an intense desire to protect the natural world, and that drive shaped much of his presidency.
He made great strides in conserving America’s land and wildlife, creating five national parks and the United States Forest Service. By the time he won the 1904 election, he had made up his mind about his political future. Just before his inauguration, he announced that while he was happy to serve a second term, it would be his last. During the hostilities between Russia and Japan in the early 1900s, both nations chose Teddy to act as referee at their peace conference.
He performed his duties so well that he became the first of only four US presidents to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. He remained dedicated throughout his second term, but as the 1908 election drew nearer, he stayed true to his word. It was not that he had grown tired of the job; rather, he believed that limiting presidents to two terms was how the office would avoid becoming a dictatorship. Among the candidates he believed could succeed him, one stood out.
William Taft had served on the US cabinet and was a long-time friend and vocal supporter. With Teddy’s endorsement, Taft easily won the Republican nomination and subsequently the 1908 election. Now with free time on his hands, Roosevelt chose an unprecedented adventure. In March 1909, he left the United States to lead the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition, searching for creatures to bring back as exhibits for the American Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution.
He did not return until the following year—and within months, he was off again, this time to conquer the air itself. Climbing into an aircraft designed by the Wright brothers, he soared through the skies for about four minutes, becoming the first US president to fly in a plane. He had always seen eye to eye with Taft, and he envisioned his friend would follow in his footsteps. He was sorely mistaken.
Feeling that Taft was failing as his replacement, Roosevelt decided to go back on his earlier position and run for president again. But first, he had to win the Republican nomination. In his mind, the party was on the road to destruction with Taft at the lead, and only he could save it. The rest of the party disagreed and again chose Taft as their nominee for the 1912 election.
Determined to fight to the very end, Roosevelt left the Republican Party and created his own, the Progressive Party. Campaigning across the country, he traveled to meet prospective voters—one of whom had something nefarious in store. In Milwaukee, standing before the crowd, John Schrank walked up and shot the former president. As Schrank later revealed, he had done it because the ghost of President McKinley had commanded him to.
Although the crowd could see him bleeding profusely, Roosevelt assessed his injury and knew he still had time before his situation became dire. Despite their objections, he proceeded with a ninety-minute speech. Only afterward did he go to the hospital, where doctors decided it was too risky to remove the bullet from his chest. He would carry it for the rest of his days.
Years passed, and in time, adventure called again. After about six years of planning, Roosevelt embarked on another international expedition, this time into South America, with his friend John Augustine Zahm and his son Kermit. What began as another trip to bring back exotic specimens became something entirely different. The group shifted their focus to exploring how the River of Doubt connected to the Amazon.
While their canoes sat tied up on the riverbank, the waters grew treacherous and nearly dashed them upon the rocks. Ever the man of action, Roosevelt dropped into the water to settle them, suffering a wound to his leg in the process. The injury itself was not so bad, but the group had no access to proper treatment. Weeks passed as Roosevelt fell ill with tropical fever, which robbed him of his mental faculties and his strength to walk.
He begged the others to go on without him, planning to take his own life rather than have the party waste supplies on him. The rest of the men treated him as best they could and helped him survive the trip. When he reunited with his family in New York, they saw the physical toll it had taken—and continued to see it for the rest of his life, as he dealt with frequent bouts of leg inflammation and malaria. He did not win the 1912 election, conceding instead to Woodrow Wilson, but he was not about to abandon politics altogether.
That was especially true with the outbreak of World War I. A staunch supporter of the Allies, Roosevelt found himself at odds with President Wilson, who was adamant about the United States staying neutral. Wishing to serve his country himself, he was over the moon to learn that each of his sons had enlisted. That pride lasted only so long.
His son Quentin, only twenty years old, joined the Air Force. In July 1918, he was flying over Germany when his plane was shot down. After the loss of his son, and with lingering complications from the tropical fever, Roosevelt’s health deteriorated quickly until he required long-term hospitalization. He died in his sleep from a pulmonary embolism in January 1919.
Theodore Roosevelt was a force to be reckoned with. He made no shortage of enemies, but none could deny that he was a warrior to his last breath. Upon hearing of the former president’s passing, even Wilson’s Vice President Thomas R. Marshall said it could not have happened any other way.
“For if he’d been awake,” Marshall remarked, “there would have been a fight. “
