Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs

A Foundation for Sustainable Rural Community Development

Theodore Roosevelt Creator
of the Country Life Commission

• CLC home page
• Introduction
• Report

Summary

• Purpose
• Commissioners
• Survey & Hearings
• Prominent Deficiencies
• Underlying Problem
• Migration
• Agriculture Challenges
• Public Health
• Role of Farm Women
• Conservation & Land Use
• General Corrective Forces
• Commission Recommendations
• Legislative Recommendations
• Remedies
• The Call for Leadership

Legacy

• American Country Life Association
• Rural Sociology
• American Farm Bureau Federation
• Highways
• Agricultural Economics

Resources

• Bibliography
• Web Resources
• Timeline

Theodore Roosevelt, twenty-sixth President of the United States (1901-1909), represented the nation’s youth and ambitions. His omnipresence in national and international affairs transformed the executive branch, extending the federal government’s role in benefiting individuals and the environment. His vigorous presidency embodied America’s transition from the nineteenth century into the modern twentieth and twenty-first centuries. As an important Progressive Era leader, he emphasized a Square Deal for all Americans, New Nationalism, and creating opportunities for individual development as well as social and economic advancement.

Roosevelt was born into New York City’s upper class. As a boy, he developed an appreciation for nature and natural sciences. After graduating from Harvard in 1880 and serving in the New York Assembly, Roosevelt witnessed the conditions of agricultural and rural living while ranching in the Dakotas.¹ He returned from the frontier to re-enter politics. By the twentieth century he had risen through the political ranks in national, state, and local leadership positions such as United States Civil Service Commissioner (May, 1889-May, 1895), New York City Police Commissioner (May, 1889-April, 1897), and Assistant Secretary of the Navy (April, 1897-May, 1898). When America declared war on Spain, Roosevelt resigned as Assistant Secretary of the Navy to become leader of the First United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment. Along with his Rough Riders, he became legendary for charging up San Juan Hill in Cuba.

Following his military successes, Roosevelt achieved national recognition, becoming New York’s governor (December, 1898-December, 1900) and Vice President under President William McKinley (March-September, 1901). After McKinley’s assassination, Roosevelt became President on September 14, 1901, the youngest man to hold the office.² During his administration (September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1909), he transformed the role of the chief executive, implementing progressive and reform policies.

Internationally, Roosevelt increased America’s global influence, including building the Panama Canal and mediating with Russia and Japan to end the Russo-Japanese War with the Portsmouth Treaty in 1905.³ Roosevelt displayed the rising power of the United States by sending the Navy or Great White Fleet on a round-the-world tour.

Nationally, Roosevelt emphasized an interest in the general public and public welfare. His administration intervened in business, labor, and the environment. In 1902, Roosevelt ordered an antitrust suit under the Sherman Act to dissolve Northern Securities Company, the first of forty-five antitrust suits. In October, 1902, he displayed unprecedented authority by arbitrating in the Great Anthracite Coal Strike. His progressive and reform objectives are viewed in his policies geared toward preserving natural resources. From 1901 to 1909, Roosevelt designated 150 National Forests, the first 51 Federal Bird Reservations, five National Parks, the first eighteen

National Monuments, the first four National Game Preserves, and the first 21 Reclamation Projects. Federal land protection during his term totaled about 230 million acres, a land area equivalent to the East Coast states from Maine to Florida (Jeffries, 2003). Roosevelt also assembled seven conservation commissions and conferences including the:

• Country Life Commission
• Public Lands Commission
• Inland Waterways Commission
• National Conservation Commission
• Joint Conservation Congress
• Conference of Governors
• North American Conservation Conference

Roosevelt’s first elected term as President came on November 8, 1904. He vowed not to seek re-election in 1908.⁴ His hand-picked successor, Secretary of War William Howard Taft, altered many of Roosevelt’s reform policies, including those on conservation. In 1912, Roosevelt separated from the Republican Party and formed the Progressive or Bull Moose Party. Democrat Woodrow Wilson defeated Roosevelt in that election. Following his loss for a second full term, Roosevelt returned to Oyster Bay and remained active in national affairs until his death on January 6, 1919.

¹Theodore Roosevelt left New York for Dakota Territory following the death of his mother Martha Bulloch and his wife Alice on February 14, 1884. On December 2, 1886, he married to Edith Kermit Carow.

²John F. Kennedy was the youngest man to be elected President.

³As a result of ending the Russo-Japanese War, President Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the first American to receive this high honor.

⁴ Theodore Roosevelt’s first three years as president followed President McKinley’s assassination. Based on Article Two, Section Two of the Constitution, he was sworn in as President to succeed McKinley. He could have run for at least one more full term in 1908, but chose not to.

Roosevelt, Forests, and Conservation