Dakotas Trip – Days 6 and 7 – Teddy Roosevelt

There has been only one year in which two Presidential Libraries have opened in the same year.  That year was 2026. The Obama Library opened in Chicago and the TR Library opened in Medora, North Dakota. Even though the $500 million TR library is in a remote part of the country in a town of 120 people and a county of 1,400 people, it has averaged more visitors than the newly opened $1 Billion Obama Library in Chicago, a metropolitan area of 7 million people. This is not a criticism of the Obama Library. It is doing quite well. It is more of a statement of the enduring legacy of our 26th President whom I greatly admire. So, days 6 and 7 of my Dakotas Trip were spent at the event that brought me to this part of our country in the first place – TEDDYCON – being held at the newly opened Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota.  

Not long ago I was with Elizabeth and three of her friends at our farm. During our conversation we somehow talked about traits of successful leaders. And I shared something that I had read in a book many years ago regarding traits of our most successful Presidents. They are as follows:

1. Perseverance – they usually had to overcome something at an early age. As a result, they had grit.
2. Empathy – they can put themselves in someone else’s shoes, and in doing so, they understand other’s perspectives. 
3. Creativity – they can think “out of the box” and are able to see patterns that others do not see, which allows them to consider multiple solutions to a problem. This is sometimes called “creative problem solving.”
4. Reality-based decision making – they do not make decisions on “wishful thinking.” They are willing to listen to others and accept facts as they are even if those facts contradict their world view.

Teddy Roosevelt exhibited these traits in spades. And his legacy contains so many accomplishments that they are too numerous to list.  But what I admire most about our 26^th President is his moral character. Roosevelt believed in fairness.  As President, he made life fairer for the ordinary American citizen, calling this initiative the “Square Deal”.

TR believed that too much power in too few hands was bad for the common man. He did not oppose corporate bigness if a company used superior efficiency and played fair.  However, if a company used predatory pricing, crushed competition, or exploited the public, he went after them with vigor. Like Hamilton, he believed capitalism was a good thing. However, like Jefferson, he also believed unconstrained capitalism was bad for society. That willingness to see both sides of an argument and take ideas from each and form his own opinion is why the more one studies TR, the more one will find that TR does not fit into any “easy to define” box. He did not mind going against his party if he thought his party was wrong. In summary, TR was a “moderate”.  He disagreed with conservatives on some issues and liberals on some issues. And maybe that is why I admire this man, who also overcame so many personal tragedies in life, exhibiting the grit and fortitude that would define him.

During the first panel – all women scholars by the way – the following question was asked by a member of the audience. What could the last two presidents have learned from TR to be better presidents?  The following is a summary of their responses. Read more and be more intellectually curious. Know your history so you can learn from the past. Have humility and be willing to learn and change. Roosevelt became even more progressive as he got older.  Always in favor of women’s suffrage, he campaigned hard for this during his 1912 campaign, and it probably cost him lots of votes because only men were allowed to vote then. Third, surround yourself with people who know more than you and listen to them. Get rid of the echo chamber. Lincoln also did this, whom TR greatly admired.

And as the conference went on, I could not help but see the vast difference between TR and some of our recent Oval Office holders. One of Roosevelt’s most famous speeches was delivered in Paris in 1910. It is known as “The Man in the Arena” speech. There are many compelling themes in that speech. He warned against following demagogues, who sow distrust and division to rise to power for personal gain. He also believed that every citizen of a democracy has a duty to participate in government to ensure that democracy thrives and that demagogues do not rise to power. 

I read recently that one way to sustain a healthy and positive society is through clarity: “Make the implicit explicit.” Implicit means implying something but not plainly expressing it. Explicit means stating something clearly and in detail leaving no room for confusion or doubt. Teddy Roosevelt made the implicit explicit, making it clear that every one of us has a duty to not sink into apathy or swim in cynicism. When that same panel of historians was asked about their outlook for the future of the United States, all were optimistic that we have a bright future and that we will overcome our current problems.  

While in Medora, I met Fritz and Sandra Gordner, who are both in their mid-eighties. I learned that Fritz as a young man started collecting postcards from TR’s life.  And so, they made it into a wonderful book, “Postcards Talk of Theodore Roosevelt”.  I believe the following excerpt from the introduction at that book summarizes why so many people, like me, find TR easy to admire.

“Fast forward, Fritz searched for postcards as well as other political memorabilia that related to Theodore Roosevelt. He had a good eye, and based on his love of history, realized that the postcards he found created a journey of historical events depicting TR’s life. TR’s intelligence, flamboyant personality and bigger than life energy level, plus internal drive, as well as his come-from-behind personal health challenges made Theodore Roosevelt easy to admire and awe as a person. Who wouldn’t be fascinated by the man who was a remarkable son, sibling, husband and father.

As a political man, he served as New York Assemblyman, the United States Civil Service Commissioner, New York City Board of Police Commissioner, a Rough Rider in service to his country for which he posthumously received the Congressional Medal of Honor, as Assistant Secretary of the United States Navy, Governor of New York, Vice President and President of the United States, receiving the Nobel Peace Prize while in office. Roosevelt left behind a lifetime legacy of being a proponent of progressive legislation; he was a Trust Buster, a Conservationist, an avid reader and author, a promoter of living the “Strenuous Life”, a hunter, and most familiar to the general public, as father of the “Teddy Bear”.

These attributes secured TR a place in the iconic monument at Mt Rushmore as one of four Presidents in the history of this Nation to be so honored.”

This conference has been engaging, stimulating and most of all, inspiring. When I entered North Dakota three days ago, I drove three hours from Spearfish, SD to Medora, ND, home of the TR Presidential Library and this year’s TRA conference. Because our speakers and panelists, who know their history, are very optimistic that we will get through these difficult times, I leave this beautiful landscape with hope for our country. As I drove the three hours to Sturgis, SD, famous for its annual motorcycle rally, I passed through endless prairie and grasslands, enjoying this vast, rolling, and beautiful landscape. And listening to the novel “Lonesome Dove” while doing so made it seem even more majestic. 

This has been a memorable trip – beautiful scenery in the black hills and the badlands (both SD and ND), meeting wonderful people, and learning so much more about our country and our amazing 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt. I will be back to this place.  And when I do, family will be with me….