Theodore Roosevelt, idealistic reformer or conservative in disguise?

Carved in the Black Hill granite of South Dakota, next to the faces of Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln, is the bespectacled face of Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States. The inclusion of Theodore Roosevelt in this monumental representation of four of the United States’ iconic presidents can be seen as a testament to his legacy. Usually when a poll is held to rate the past presidents, Americans put the first Roosevelt in the top five most popular presidents of all time. In popular opinion, he is remembered as the leader who steered America into the 20th century, in a time when unprecedented growth changed society and challenged the values and morals that had seemed so self-evident before. Interestingly, a variety of claims is made about Roosevelt’s legacy by political leaders from each end of the political spectrum. While one highlights his enabling of the private sector, another praises the president’s progressive reform. When it comes to the historical debate, the differences are even greater. Historians have both praised TR’s progressive reform, and chastised him as a conservative in disguise. The aim of this thesis is to revive the debate on Theodore Roosevelt as a reformer. It is a debate that has never been truly resolved, in part because its most prominent participants have always focused on opposing elements of Roosevelt’s presidency, while neglecting to approach him holistically. In arguing that Roosevelt was either a Progressive or a conservative, historians have foregone the possibility of a third option: that Theodore Roosevelt was neither an idealist Progressive nor a secret conservative, but instead had his own solid understanding of his country’s unique history and circumstances in his time. I will show how this understanding developed, and how it shaped his political thought and actions before and during his presidential career. By approaching Roosevelt’s presidency holistically and showing what the different facets of his policy have in common, I will be able to uncover the underlying political ideology, which is in fact unambiguously present from the very beginning of his political career.