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The path from war hero to president is a well-worn one in American history. From George Washington to John F. Kennedy, there is a long and proud history of great military figures becoming great political leaders.
Such was the case with Teddy Roosevelt, whose heroics in the Spanish American War propelled him into one of the country's most memorable and successful presidencies.
A lieutenant colonel in the legendary Rough Riders, Roosevelt led the charge at the battle of San Juan. Upon his return to civilian life, Roosevelt ran for governor of New York on an anti-corruption platform. He won that election in 1898 and just two years later was elected as vice-president under William McKinley. Still a relative political neophyte, Roosevelt ascended to the presidency when McKinley was assassinated in 1901.
Upon taking office, Roosevelt immediately embarked upon a course of major initiatives. On the economic front, Roosevelt took on big business and became known as the "trust-buster." In race relations, he took the unprecedented step of inviting Booker T. Washington to the White House to discuss both scientific issues and race relations. Internationally, Roosevelt commissioned the building of the Panama Canal and won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in ending the Russo-Japanese conflict.
Roosevelt, like Thomas Jefferson before him, was a true renaissance man. Among other talents, he was an accomplished writer, hunter, orator, zoologist and conservationist.
It took an assassination attempt, leaving him with a bullet wound to the chest, to slow him down. Though he survived the wound, Roosevelt would see out the rest of his days in relative quiet.
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