theodore roosevelt’s military experiences

7/29/2019 Theodore Roosevelts Military Experiences

1/4

Theodore Roosevelts Military Experiences

Theodore Roosevelt assumes a unique place in the United States history as an

accomplished assistant secretary of the navy; his lead in the war in Cuba in 1898 and his

military valor won him not only national recognition and fame but it also helped him to

become the Vice-president as well as the President of the nation. The nation awarded him the

highest military honorthe medal of honor-posthumously and thus Roosevelt stands out as

the only American president to have won the medal of honor. It was in 1897 that the

President McKinley appointed Theodore Roosevelt as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy of

the United States army. One can never undermine the naval reconstruction undertaken by

Theodore Roosevelt. As the Assistant Secretary of the Navy Roosevelt was deeply influenced

by naval officer and historian Alfred Thayer Mahan and he rendered remarkable services in

establishing a modern navy that could protect the interests of the nation around the globe. In

fact, Roosevelt strongly believed in expansionism and he held that the United States should

build up its navy and start asserting its global power (Shmoop 9). Even though he served the

navy as assistant secretary for only one year Roosevelt took special efforts to develop

contacts with noted naval strategists, planned future strategies for a naval war with Spain,

and appointed George Dewey to command the Asiatic Squadron (Crucible of Empire-PBS

Online). All these efforts culminated in the emergence of Roosevelt as one of the most

efficient and tactful of American military officers.

Theodore Roosevelts war in Cuba has elaborately been documented by many authors

of history. As the Assistant Secretary of the Navy he prepared the navy ready for any wars

and he succeeded in convincing the army that intervention in Cuba is necessary. He

convinced his navy men that it was the moral duty of the United States to end Spanish

misrule in Cuba and to stop at once and forever the despotic tyranny of the Spanish

Governor-General, Weyler (Lewis 120). In his autobiography Roosevelt himself confesses


2/4

that the war in Cuba was inevitable and that it was motivated by humane motives rather than

for political interests. In his autobiography he observes that Spain attempted to govern her

colonies on archaic principles which rendered her control of them incompatible with the

advance of humanity and intolerable to the conscience of mankind (Roosevelt 159). Thus,

Roosevelt sought to wipe out the misery, degradation, devastation and destruction that the

Cubans had to endure at the hands of the Spanish imperialists. In 1898 the explosion occurred

on the USS Maine in Havana Harbor offered a golden opportunity for Roosevelt to prompt

the American government to wage war in Cuba.

Roosevelt also motivated his men to assist the Cubans who were waging a very

important war to gain independence from Spain since 1895. Roosevelt played a pivotal role

in the Spanish-American War, the Battle of Manila Bay and his able leadership at the helm of

the First Volunteer Cavalry, nicknamed as the "Rough Riders" won him recognition as well

as popularity. The voluntary cavalry men under Roosevelt supplemented the depleted U.S.

Army in the war and tuned the war in favor of the US army. Roosevelt and his Rough Riders

landed in Cuba on 22 June 1898 and by August the Rough Riders turned the war in favor of

the American force. At the battle of San Juan Heights Roosevelt led the army from the

forefront and the image of Roosevelt charging up the San Juan Hill in 1898 turned out to be a

historical icon in the US history and very soon he assumed the status of a national hero.

The question whether Theodore Roosevelt should be awarded the medal of honour

evoked a lot of debates in the United States. While his own companions offered testimony for

his courage and absolute fearlessness in the battlefield it is doubtful why he was not honoured

with the Medal of Honor during his life time itself. There are many historians who hold that it

was Roosevelts political dispute with the secretary of the war that prevented him from

gaining the medal of honor soon after the war in Cuba. Even his own wife admitted after his

death that Roosevelts greatest disappointment in life was that the nation did not provide him


3/4

with the Medal of Honor. However, the military valor of Roosevelt was finally recognized

posthumously when President Clinton offered the medal of honor, the highest award for

Military Service given in the United States posthumously in 2001. The citation that offered

him the Medal of Honor mentioned his extraordinary bravery and disregard for personal

safety. It reads: Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty

are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon

himself, his unit, and the United States Army (Theodore Roosevelt Association). It can thus

be concluded that it was Roosevelts tenure as the assistant secretary of the navy and his

military experiences that helped him to earn the Medal of honor and to become the governor

as well as the President of the nation.


4/4

Works Cited

Crucible of Empire-PBS Online. Timeline-April 16, 1897: T. Roosevelt Appointed Assistant

Secretary of the Navy. Great Projects Film Company, Inc., 1999. Web. 24 Oct. 11.

Lewis, William Draper. The Life of Theodore Roosevelt. Reprint ed: Kessinger Publishing,

2005. Print.

Roosevelt, Theodore. Theodore Roosevelt an Autobiography. Reprint ed: Kessinger

Publishing, 2004. Print.

Shmoop. Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt: Shmoop Biography. Shmoop University Inc., 2010.

Print.

Theodore Roosevelt Association. Medal of Honor: Life of Theodore Roosevelt. Newsday,

Inc., 2001. Web. 25 Oct. 11. .
http://www.pbs.org/crucible/tl7.htmlhttp://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/life/medalofhonor.htmhttp://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/life/medalofhonor.htmhttp://www.pbs.org/crucible/tl7.html

theodore roosevelt’s military experiences

Documents