Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:09,531 --> 00:00:10,841
- That's him, isn't it?
2
00:00:10,923 --> 00:00:13,543
[phone ringing]
3
00:00:17,582 --> 00:00:18,632
- It's time, Colonel.
4
00:00:18,714 --> 00:00:19,454
- Is the car here?
5
00:00:19,584 --> 00:00:20,284
- Outside, sir.
6
00:00:20,368 --> 00:00:21,148
- Good.
7
00:00:23,066 --> 00:00:25,456
[light music]
8
00:00:28,028 --> 00:00:30,508
- [Roosevelt] It is not
the critic who counts.
9
00:00:32,467 --> 00:00:35,557
Not the man who points out
how the strong man stumbles.
10
00:00:37,776 --> 00:00:40,166
Or where the doer of deeds
could have done them better.
11
00:00:42,433 --> 00:00:44,523
The credit belongs to the man
12
00:00:44,609 --> 00:00:47,219
who is actually in the arena.
13
00:00:50,746 --> 00:00:53,356
[crowd cheering]
14
00:01:02,627 --> 00:01:04,147
- How ya feeling, Teddy?
15
00:01:04,281 --> 00:01:06,071
- Fit as a bull moose.
16
00:01:11,593 --> 00:01:14,123
- [Crowd] Teddy, Teddy,
Teddy, Teddy, Teddy.
17
00:01:14,204 --> 00:01:17,474
Teddy, Teddy,
Teddy, Teddy, Teddy.
18
00:01:17,555 --> 00:01:20,205
Teddy, Teddy,
Teddy, Teddy, Teddy.
19
00:01:22,604 --> 00:01:25,354
[crowd cheering]
20
00:01:41,275 --> 00:01:43,145
[gunshot]
21
00:01:43,277 --> 00:01:45,237
[gasping]
22
00:01:50,110 --> 00:01:51,150
- Let's go!
23
00:01:51,241 --> 00:01:52,421
To the hospital.
24
00:01:54,331 --> 00:01:56,121
- [Doris] Everything
can change in a moment.
25
00:01:57,639 --> 00:01:59,639
Theodore Roosevelt did
everything he could
26
00:01:59,728 --> 00:02:01,298
to be ready for that moment.
27
00:02:03,253 --> 00:02:05,213
- [Edward] Theodore Roosevelt
is born into privilege
28
00:02:05,299 --> 00:02:06,909
and of great wealth.
29
00:02:06,996 --> 00:02:08,476
- [Jared] A very sickly child.
30
00:02:08,563 --> 00:02:10,783
So he had to put up
his dukes and fight.
31
00:02:12,567 --> 00:02:16,607
- Roosevelt saw himself as
the embodiment of America.
32
00:02:18,225 --> 00:02:20,395
- [Doris] He was an exemplar
of the strenuous life.
33
00:02:20,531 --> 00:02:21,581
- He suffers loss.
34
00:02:21,706 --> 00:02:23,096
He suffers grief.
35
00:02:23,230 --> 00:02:24,490
- [Stacy] Here's a man
who had everything.
36
00:02:24,622 --> 00:02:26,622
Education, wealth,
opportunities.
37
00:02:26,755 --> 00:02:29,145
- But he felt all
of that must be used
38
00:02:29,236 --> 00:02:31,106
to help the lives
of the unfortunate.
39
00:02:31,238 --> 00:02:34,458
- [Leonard] Fairness, justice,
equity is what drove him.
40
00:02:34,589 --> 00:02:38,459
- He woke up every day of
his life saying, bring it on.
41
00:02:40,682 --> 00:02:42,772
- [Clay] He was the first
celebrity President.
42
00:02:42,901 --> 00:02:44,081
- [Edward] There were
thousands of people
43
00:02:44,207 --> 00:02:45,247
yelling and screaming.
44
00:02:45,382 --> 00:02:46,992
Like, he's a rockstar.
45
00:02:47,079 --> 00:02:49,429
- He grasped the power of the
presidency with both hands.
46
00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:50,430
He had so much energy.
47
00:02:50,561 --> 00:02:52,351
He's always on his feet.
48
00:02:52,433 --> 00:02:56,483
- He gave an 84 minute address
bleeding from a chest wound.
49
00:02:56,567 --> 00:02:58,177
- [H.W.] He becomes a folk hero.
50
00:02:58,308 --> 00:02:59,658
- [Clay] On the side
of the underdog.
51
00:02:59,744 --> 00:03:01,094
- [Tweed] He was multifaceted.
52
00:03:01,181 --> 00:03:03,791
- He was America as
a singular figure.
53
00:03:03,922 --> 00:03:05,922
- [H.W.] He wanted to
change the country.
54
00:03:06,055 --> 00:03:07,705
- He makes the United
States a global power.
55
00:03:07,839 --> 00:03:10,359
- He's propelling
America's best ideas.
56
00:03:10,451 --> 00:03:12,761
- [Richard] He dragged
America, kicking and screaming,
57
00:03:12,888 --> 00:03:14,848
into the 20th century.
58
00:03:14,933 --> 00:03:17,463
- [Doris] He was always moving
forward to change things.
59
00:03:17,588 --> 00:03:19,498
To make his mark on the world.
60
00:03:20,722 --> 00:03:23,382
[dramatic music]
61
00:03:28,164 --> 00:03:30,474
[drumming]
62
00:03:35,302 --> 00:03:37,872
[bells chiming]
63
00:03:50,404 --> 00:03:54,504
After Abraham Lincoln's
assassination in 1865,
64
00:03:54,625 --> 00:03:56,575
a train carried his body
home to Springfield.
65
00:03:58,107 --> 00:03:59,327
The cortege stopped in
66
00:03:59,413 --> 00:04:01,983
major cities along the way.
67
00:04:02,067 --> 00:04:03,677
In New York, 100,000
68
00:04:03,765 --> 00:04:05,415
people lined the streets.
69
00:04:05,506 --> 00:04:07,196
An enormous crowd at that time.
70
00:04:08,900 --> 00:04:11,160
They were drawn
together in disbelief
71
00:04:11,251 --> 00:04:12,601
that the leader who
had carried them
72
00:04:12,730 --> 00:04:14,560
through the Civil
War had been shot.
73
00:04:15,864 --> 00:04:17,744
They sang, they held
hands, they wept.
74
00:04:18,780 --> 00:04:20,170
They carried signs.
75
00:04:20,303 --> 00:04:23,393
One placard said, mankind
has lost a friend.
76
00:04:25,526 --> 00:04:29,436
- If you look closely at the
second floor of this mansion,
77
00:04:29,573 --> 00:04:32,753
you see two little faces
peering above the window sill.
78
00:04:34,404 --> 00:04:36,584
That was TR and his
brother Elliott.
79
00:04:38,321 --> 00:04:41,891
TR was six, almost seven,
and his brother was five.
80
00:04:43,805 --> 00:04:46,155
- Here we have our
future 26th President
81
00:04:46,242 --> 00:04:47,462
looking down at the casket
82
00:04:47,548 --> 00:04:50,378
of our 16th President,
Abraham Lincoln.
83
00:04:50,507 --> 00:04:52,377
The man that Theodore
Roosevelt would revere
84
00:04:52,509 --> 00:04:54,209
the rest of his life.
85
00:04:54,294 --> 00:04:56,304
What an uncanny and
symbolic moment.
86
00:04:59,864 --> 00:05:01,874
- Teddy Roosevelt comes of age
87
00:05:01,997 --> 00:05:04,697
in one of the most
tumultuous times
88
00:05:04,826 --> 00:05:06,606
in American history.
89
00:05:06,741 --> 00:05:09,181
There was no way to be part
90
00:05:09,309 --> 00:05:12,879
of the United States
in the early 1860s
91
00:05:13,008 --> 00:05:15,788
without understanding
the existential threat
92
00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:18,800
posed by the Civil War itself.
93
00:05:18,883 --> 00:05:20,933
- Theodore was a
son of privilege.
94
00:05:21,059 --> 00:05:22,889
The Roosevelt family
stood at the very top
95
00:05:22,974 --> 00:05:24,674
of New York society.
96
00:05:24,759 --> 00:05:26,759
His grandfather was one of
the five wealthiest people
97
00:05:26,891 --> 00:05:28,941
in the city of New York.
98
00:05:29,024 --> 00:05:31,514
- Theodore's father
believes very firmly
99
00:05:31,635 --> 00:05:33,765
that to be a real
citizen, to be a man,
100
00:05:33,855 --> 00:05:35,115
to be a Christian meant
101
00:05:35,247 --> 00:05:37,597
that you could enjoy
wealth and privilege,
102
00:05:37,728 --> 00:05:39,858
but you had to use your wealth
103
00:05:39,948 --> 00:05:42,728
and your talent to help the
lives of the unfortunate.
104
00:05:42,820 --> 00:05:44,520
And he's gonna instill
that in young Theodore.
105
00:05:44,605 --> 00:05:46,685
He'll take Theodore
with him to visit
106
00:05:46,824 --> 00:05:48,224
the orphan boys
and the vulnerable
107
00:05:48,304 --> 00:05:50,394
and to see the
underside of the city
108
00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:52,480
and really constantly
instruct him that
109
00:05:52,613 --> 00:05:56,093
as you grow up, this is
something you must carry on.
110
00:05:56,225 --> 00:05:59,175
- His father was a hero
that he really admired.
111
00:05:59,271 --> 00:06:02,141
He said his father was his
best friend, his companion.
112
00:06:02,231 --> 00:06:04,631
The greatest man he ever knew.
113
00:06:04,712 --> 00:06:06,892
But his father worried
about his beloved son.
114
00:06:08,890 --> 00:06:11,500
- [Clay] TD, as he was
called, TD is sickly,
115
00:06:11,588 --> 00:06:14,548
he is underweight, he's frail.
116
00:06:14,678 --> 00:06:17,288
- He had terrible
asthma and really seemed
117
00:06:17,420 --> 00:06:18,680
to be one of those
children that was destined
118
00:06:18,813 --> 00:06:20,343
to not reach adulthood.
119
00:06:20,423 --> 00:06:22,603
And so, as a consequence,
he was kept at home.
120
00:06:22,730 --> 00:06:24,860
He was in many ways
babied by the family
121
00:06:24,993 --> 00:06:26,263
in order to kind of protect him
122
00:06:26,342 --> 00:06:28,522
from the infirmities
he suffered from.
123
00:06:30,346 --> 00:06:32,566
[coughing]
124
00:06:34,611 --> 00:06:36,531
- [Roosevelt] Some of
my earliest remembrances
125
00:06:39,094 --> 00:06:40,534
are of nights when
he would walk up
126
00:06:40,617 --> 00:06:42,397
and down with me in his arms.
127
00:06:43,490 --> 00:06:45,270
When I was a wretched mite.
128
00:06:45,361 --> 00:06:46,281
- Easy, easy.
129
00:06:48,451 --> 00:06:51,371
- TR was very aware
of how sick he was.
130
00:06:51,454 --> 00:06:53,284
When he had those asthma
attacks he would feel
131
00:06:53,369 --> 00:06:55,849
like he was suffocating
or drowning.
132
00:06:55,937 --> 00:06:58,107
And then he heard
his parents say
133
00:06:58,243 --> 00:07:00,333
that they were worried
that he might not live.
134
00:07:00,463 --> 00:07:02,643
Just imagine what that's
like for a little kid,
135
00:07:02,726 --> 00:07:04,206
to hear that he might die.
136
00:07:06,730 --> 00:07:07,820
- Because TR
couldn't go to school
137
00:07:07,905 --> 00:07:09,165
and couldn't do what
other children do,
138
00:07:09,298 --> 00:07:12,208
couldn't play outside
much, he became bookish.
139
00:07:12,344 --> 00:07:14,564
He began to read
books about boys
140
00:07:14,651 --> 00:07:17,001
that go off into the
frontier and do great things
141
00:07:17,132 --> 00:07:20,052
and kill a buffalo and
save pioneer families.
142
00:07:20,135 --> 00:07:22,175
- He actually put himself
into the adventures
143
00:07:22,311 --> 00:07:23,831
of the people that
he was reading about,
144
00:07:23,965 --> 00:07:25,615
the explorers and
the deer slayers.
145
00:07:27,272 --> 00:07:29,802
And then he got into
collecting birds and insects.
146
00:07:29,927 --> 00:07:31,537
His shelves in his
room were so filled
147
00:07:31,668 --> 00:07:33,708
with dead objects that
poor Elliott begged
148
00:07:33,844 --> 00:07:35,634
to have another room.
149
00:07:35,716 --> 00:07:37,066
- Theodore Roosevelt
didn't have a lot
150
00:07:37,195 --> 00:07:38,325
of friends when he was a kid,
151
00:07:38,458 --> 00:07:39,978
because he was
mostly house bound.
152
00:07:40,111 --> 00:07:41,941
And so his father
was his confidant.
153
00:07:42,026 --> 00:07:43,806
He was his model.
154
00:07:43,898 --> 00:07:45,988
He was the one who
urged Theodore Roosevelt
155
00:07:46,074 --> 00:07:47,604
to make himself strong.
156
00:07:47,728 --> 00:07:50,598
And so it really was this model
157
00:07:50,687 --> 00:07:52,597
that Theodore Roosevelt
tried to live up to.
158
00:07:54,299 --> 00:07:57,479
- And his father goes to
him and challenges him.
159
00:07:57,564 --> 00:07:59,264
- You've got a strong mind, TD.
160
00:07:59,391 --> 00:08:01,261
But not the body to go with it.
161
00:08:01,350 --> 00:08:03,740
Your mind can only
take you so far.
162
00:08:03,874 --> 00:08:04,924
You can do it, TD.
163
00:08:05,006 --> 00:08:05,956
You can do anything.
164
00:08:13,231 --> 00:08:16,021
[heavy breathing]
165
00:08:17,975 --> 00:08:19,405
Hey.
166
00:08:19,542 --> 00:08:21,202
- No, I can do it.
167
00:08:26,070 --> 00:08:29,900
- [Clay] This need to prove
himself through sheer will power
168
00:08:30,031 --> 00:08:31,991
is one of the principle
motivating forces
169
00:08:32,076 --> 00:08:33,986
in the entire life of
Theodore Roosevelt.
170
00:08:36,211 --> 00:08:37,211
- [Doris] He took
up that challenge
171
00:08:37,299 --> 00:08:38,999
with every bone of his body.
172
00:08:39,083 --> 00:08:41,433
He just said, I'll make my body.
173
00:08:41,521 --> 00:08:42,781
And by god, did he.
174
00:08:42,870 --> 00:08:44,260
He was in that gym that
his father provided
175
00:08:44,393 --> 00:08:46,353
for him day after day.
176
00:08:46,482 --> 00:08:49,622
And it becomes the challenge
for the rest of his life.
177
00:08:49,746 --> 00:08:52,526
[triumphant music]
178
00:08:55,839 --> 00:08:57,229
- [H.W.] Roosevelt
entered Harvard
179
00:08:57,362 --> 00:08:59,972
because his family
was well connected.
180
00:09:00,061 --> 00:09:01,541
- Come on, get him!
181
00:09:01,671 --> 00:09:04,851
- He wanted to be a
big man on campus.
182
00:09:04,979 --> 00:09:06,679
He could box, he could wrestle,
183
00:09:06,763 --> 00:09:08,333
but he was not well coordinated.
184
00:09:08,460 --> 00:09:10,380
He had terrible eyesight.
185
00:09:10,506 --> 00:09:11,806
[cheering]
186
00:09:11,942 --> 00:09:12,732
But he was determined.
187
00:09:15,729 --> 00:09:18,339
- When TR entered Harvard
he was not very cool.
188
00:09:18,470 --> 00:09:19,820
He had these side whiskers,
189
00:09:19,907 --> 00:09:22,737
these bright red cheeks,
those metal rim glasses.
190
00:09:22,866 --> 00:09:24,036
And he was pretty awkward.
191
00:09:24,172 --> 00:09:25,352
He had been home schooled,
192
00:09:25,477 --> 00:09:26,867
so he wasn't used to
being with other kids.
193
00:09:27,001 --> 00:09:28,311
And then in his room he had
194
00:09:28,393 --> 00:09:29,873
the dead lizards
and the dead snakes.
195
00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:31,350
And the smell of formaldehyde
196
00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:33,530
followed him everywhere he went.
197
00:09:33,660 --> 00:09:35,050
- He doesn't drink,
he doesn't smoke,
198
00:09:35,139 --> 00:09:36,529
he doesn't swear.
199
00:09:36,619 --> 00:09:38,579
He finds out that many
of his fellow classmates
200
00:09:38,708 --> 00:09:40,188
are heading off to
Boston's brothels
201
00:09:40,275 --> 00:09:41,445
and gambling dens.
202
00:09:41,581 --> 00:09:43,671
And he was really
appalled at what he sees
203
00:09:43,757 --> 00:09:46,017
as this immoral lot.
204
00:09:46,150 --> 00:09:47,980
So he doesn't make many
friends with that attitude.
205
00:09:48,109 --> 00:09:49,149
- He was loud.
206
00:09:49,284 --> 00:09:50,504
He could be obnoxious.
207
00:09:50,590 --> 00:09:52,070
He was opinionated.
208
00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:54,860
But he was interested
in excelling.
209
00:09:54,985 --> 00:09:56,545
He worked hard at every class.
210
00:09:56,683 --> 00:10:00,163
He got A's and embraced
political science and history.
211
00:10:00,295 --> 00:10:01,635
- No matter how strange
he might have seemed
212
00:10:01,731 --> 00:10:04,171
at the start, there was
something about his warmth,
213
00:10:04,255 --> 00:10:06,905
his curiosity, his
irrepressible energy
214
00:10:07,041 --> 00:10:08,351
that just won people over.
215
00:10:08,477 --> 00:10:09,777
He became one of them.
216
00:10:09,870 --> 00:10:11,740
And he became quite
popular at Harvard.
217
00:10:13,308 --> 00:10:15,398
- While he was at
Harvard he saw,
218
00:10:15,527 --> 00:10:18,567
across the crowded room,
Alice Hathaway Lee,
219
00:10:18,705 --> 00:10:21,355
this beautiful Boston debutant.
220
00:10:21,490 --> 00:10:23,840
- And she made quite
an impression on him
221
00:10:23,971 --> 00:10:26,631
because he came home
and wrote in his diary,
222
00:10:26,713 --> 00:10:28,373
I'm gonna marry that woman.
223
00:10:28,497 --> 00:10:30,147
- [Doris] No sooner
does he meet Alice Lee
224
00:10:30,281 --> 00:10:31,981
then he launches a crusade
225
00:10:32,109 --> 00:10:34,069
to make this young
woman his wife.
226
00:10:34,155 --> 00:10:36,325
[crowd cheering]
227
00:10:41,162 --> 00:10:42,862
- Why won't he stop?
228
00:10:42,990 --> 00:10:45,510
- You know what
he's like, Alice.
229
00:10:46,602 --> 00:10:48,652
[grunting]
230
00:10:54,044 --> 00:10:56,484
[bell ringing]
231
00:11:01,008 --> 00:11:01,788
- Alice.
232
00:11:05,490 --> 00:11:07,360
- You don't quit, do you?
233
00:11:09,843 --> 00:11:11,983
- Roosevelt, got
a telegram for ya.
234
00:11:14,891 --> 00:11:17,371
[somber music]
235
00:11:25,032 --> 00:11:26,162
- [Doris] He gets
a telegram saying
236
00:11:26,250 --> 00:11:28,250
that his father is dying
and he rushes home.
237
00:11:28,383 --> 00:11:29,953
But by the time he
gets there his father
238
00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:31,520
is already dead.
239
00:11:31,603 --> 00:11:33,393
He was only 46 years old.
240
00:11:34,998 --> 00:11:37,438
- His father had been
suffering from stomach cancer.
241
00:11:37,566 --> 00:11:41,436
And they'd really kind of
kept it from Roosevelt.
242
00:11:41,570 --> 00:11:44,490
- Flags are at half mast
throughout the city.
243
00:11:44,573 --> 00:11:46,183
They talked about him
as one of the greatest
244
00:11:46,270 --> 00:11:48,880
philanthropists that
New York had ever known.
245
00:11:48,969 --> 00:11:51,189
And the rich and the poor
followed him to the grave.
246
00:11:53,016 --> 00:11:54,406
- [Roosevelt] I
shall never forget
247
00:11:54,539 --> 00:11:58,499
these terrible moments
of sharp, bitter agony.
248
00:11:58,587 --> 00:12:01,237
When I realized he would
never again greet me.
249
00:12:02,852 --> 00:12:04,812
How I wish I could
ever do something
250
00:12:04,898 --> 00:12:06,198
to keep up his name.
251
00:12:07,988 --> 00:12:10,248
- [Doris] It was a terrible,
terrible time for him.
252
00:12:10,381 --> 00:12:11,691
He said that if he
had too much time
253
00:12:11,818 --> 00:12:14,558
on his hands he would
literally go crazy.
254
00:12:14,690 --> 00:12:17,210
- Roosevelt's only
19 and it's really
255
00:12:17,301 --> 00:12:21,391
the first body blow that life
deals Theodore Roosevelt.
256
00:12:21,479 --> 00:12:23,699
And he does what's
gonna be characteristic
257
00:12:23,830 --> 00:12:27,620
in the other dark moments and
big challenges in his life.
258
00:12:27,703 --> 00:12:30,273
And engages in intense
physical activity.
259
00:12:31,968 --> 00:12:34,708
- In the months after his
father's death he went to Maine
260
00:12:34,841 --> 00:12:36,411
where he'd be out in the woods.
261
00:12:36,494 --> 00:12:38,634
He'd be kept busy day after day.
262
00:12:40,324 --> 00:12:42,944
Two guides in Maine,
Bill Sewell and Will Dow
263
00:12:43,066 --> 00:12:44,236
take him under their wing.
264
00:12:45,852 --> 00:12:47,332
And the extraordinary thing
265
00:12:47,418 --> 00:12:48,768
is they know he's fragile,
but he actually has
266
00:12:48,855 --> 00:12:50,895
an asthma attack while
he's there with them
267
00:12:50,987 --> 00:12:52,947
and it doesn't stop him one bit.
268
00:12:53,033 --> 00:12:55,913
Every night he's bunking
with the woodsmen.
269
00:12:55,992 --> 00:12:57,732
And these are people who
may not have been able
270
00:12:57,820 --> 00:12:59,470
to write their own name,
271
00:12:59,604 --> 00:13:02,134
but he loved listening
to their stories.
272
00:13:02,216 --> 00:13:03,906
And Sewell said you
could see that night
273
00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:06,740
that wherever he went, he got
connected with the people.
274
00:13:06,829 --> 00:13:08,879
He enjoyed listening to them,
275
00:13:08,962 --> 00:13:11,272
empathizing with them,
learning their stories,
276
00:13:11,355 --> 00:13:12,695
and make some sort of connection
277
00:13:12,792 --> 00:13:14,142
that will last for
the rest of his life
278
00:13:14,271 --> 00:13:15,841
with many of these people.
279
00:13:15,925 --> 00:13:18,225
- It's one of the things that's
really remarkable about him.
280
00:13:18,362 --> 00:13:21,762
Despite being a wealthy
gentleman from New York City,
281
00:13:21,844 --> 00:13:23,374
he can mix with anybody.
282
00:13:23,498 --> 00:13:25,588
He never tries to be
someone that he's not
283
00:13:25,674 --> 00:13:27,894
and his authenticity
makes him quite relatable
284
00:13:27,981 --> 00:13:30,291
to people who he really
has nothing in common.
285
00:13:33,421 --> 00:13:34,471
- He comes back to Harvard.
286
00:13:34,552 --> 00:13:36,512
He's stronger, more confident,
287
00:13:36,641 --> 00:13:38,991
even more passionate
about Alice Lee.
288
00:13:39,122 --> 00:13:40,562
And they announce
their engagement
289
00:13:40,645 --> 00:13:41,945
on Saint Valentine's Day.
290
00:13:43,692 --> 00:13:46,262
- [Edward] They're married
on Roosevelt's 22nd birthday.
291
00:13:46,390 --> 00:13:49,220
They go back to New York City.
292
00:13:49,306 --> 00:13:50,916
- Initially,
Theodore was thinking
293
00:13:51,047 --> 00:13:53,267
that he would follow in
his father's footsteps.
294
00:13:53,397 --> 00:13:55,307
That he would get involved
in the philanthropic boards
295
00:13:55,399 --> 00:13:57,919
that his father had
been so important in.
296
00:13:58,054 --> 00:14:01,194
He began to realize that
if he got into government,
297
00:14:01,318 --> 00:14:02,668
that government could
take care of some
298
00:14:02,798 --> 00:14:04,278
of the underlying problems
299
00:14:04,408 --> 00:14:06,888
that the philanthropic
world had addressed.
300
00:14:06,976 --> 00:14:08,236
He decided, my
mission is gonna be
301
00:14:08,325 --> 00:14:10,365
the betterment of New
York City's government.
302
00:14:11,807 --> 00:14:14,157
- At the time, the
poverty and the wealth
303
00:14:14,288 --> 00:14:16,548
were so extreme in New York.
304
00:14:16,681 --> 00:14:18,811
It was a gilded age.
305
00:14:18,901 --> 00:14:22,251
The millionaires, the JP
Morgan and Vanderbilt.
306
00:14:22,339 --> 00:14:25,299
The size of their mansions just
extraordinary on 5th Avenue.
307
00:14:25,429 --> 00:14:27,559
And then you go down
to the Lower East Side
308
00:14:27,692 --> 00:14:31,172
and see such, just
brutal poverty.
309
00:14:31,305 --> 00:14:33,175
Full of so many new immigrants.
310
00:14:33,263 --> 00:14:34,833
More than two thirds of the city
311
00:14:34,917 --> 00:14:38,437
was either foreign born
or first generation.
312
00:14:38,573 --> 00:14:39,793
- [Stacy] Immigrants
were taken advantage of
313
00:14:39,879 --> 00:14:41,319
because they didn't
speak the language
314
00:14:41,402 --> 00:14:44,232
by capitalists who were
looking to make a profit.
315
00:14:44,318 --> 00:14:45,318
- [Richard] And there
was no safety net.
316
00:14:45,406 --> 00:14:46,406
There is no minimum wage.
317
00:14:46,494 --> 00:14:48,154
There is no social security.
318
00:14:48,235 --> 00:14:50,585
People starved to
death in New York City.
319
00:14:53,022 --> 00:14:54,202
- Theodore Roosevelt
was attracted
320
00:14:54,328 --> 00:14:56,768
to the Republican
Party because it was
321
00:14:56,896 --> 00:14:59,586
his father's party
and it was the party
322
00:14:59,724 --> 00:15:01,644
of Abraham Lincoln.
323
00:15:01,770 --> 00:15:03,510
- In those days, to
break into a party,
324
00:15:03,598 --> 00:15:05,508
you had to belong
almost to a club.
325
00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:07,650
So you had to find where
the headquarters were.
326
00:15:07,776 --> 00:15:11,646
And they were in a big room
above a saloon, Morton Hall.
327
00:15:11,780 --> 00:15:13,130
So he just started going there
328
00:15:13,260 --> 00:15:14,570
and hoped that he
would be accepted
329
00:15:14,652 --> 00:15:16,002
as part of the Republican Party.
330
00:15:17,394 --> 00:15:19,744
[murmuring]
331
00:15:36,457 --> 00:15:38,807
- There's horses dead
four deep on Broadway.
332
00:15:38,938 --> 00:15:41,068
I mean, I had three die
on me in the last month.
333
00:15:41,201 --> 00:15:42,991
- Horses? Pass.
334
00:15:43,116 --> 00:15:45,636
[chuckling]
335
00:15:45,770 --> 00:15:47,950
- That's why we need
a sanitation bill.
336
00:15:48,034 --> 00:15:50,384
To make Tammany Hall
responsible for street cleaning.
337
00:15:51,472 --> 00:15:53,002
- Shove off, swill.
338
00:15:53,126 --> 00:15:54,386
- Excuse me?
339
00:15:54,518 --> 00:15:57,388
- He said, shove off.
340
00:15:57,478 --> 00:16:00,698
- Gentleman, I'm a
Republican, just like you.
341
00:16:00,829 --> 00:16:04,049
- No, not just like us, I'd say.
342
00:16:04,180 --> 00:16:06,620
- All right lads, that'll do.
343
00:16:08,315 --> 00:16:08,965
- Sure, Joe.
344
00:16:15,017 --> 00:16:16,537
- The name's Joe Murray.
345
00:16:16,671 --> 00:16:17,411
What's yours?
346
00:16:17,541 --> 00:16:20,151
- Theodore Roosevelt.
347
00:16:20,283 --> 00:16:23,593
- Roosevelt, that's
quite a name.
348
00:16:23,678 --> 00:16:26,328
Do you happen to be a
relation to the great man?
349
00:16:26,463 --> 00:16:27,163
- My father.
350
00:16:29,640 --> 00:16:32,210
- A great loss to the city,
the passing of your dad.
351
00:16:32,339 --> 00:16:34,519
- Mr. Murray, what is it
that you do around here?
352
00:16:36,256 --> 00:16:37,606
- I get Republicans elected.
353
00:16:38,606 --> 00:16:40,516
- I'm interested in government.
354
00:16:40,651 --> 00:16:43,131
- Watching it or doing it?
355
00:16:45,830 --> 00:16:47,530
- I'm a doer, Mr. Murray.
356
00:16:49,573 --> 00:16:50,533
This is what I wanna do.
357
00:16:51,706 --> 00:16:54,356
[dramatic music]
358
00:17:01,542 --> 00:17:03,112
- Theodore Roosevelt is elected
359
00:17:03,196 --> 00:17:04,886
to the New York State Assembly.
360
00:17:06,460 --> 00:17:09,720
TR shows up in Albany
as a 23 year old
361
00:17:09,811 --> 00:17:11,861
freshman state assemblyman.
362
00:17:11,943 --> 00:17:14,033
Of course, he's
got his own outfit.
363
00:17:14,120 --> 00:17:16,170
Custom tailored
for the experience.
364
00:17:16,252 --> 00:17:18,082
- Black and white photos
of the state legislature
365
00:17:18,167 --> 00:17:19,857
might show a lot of people
wearing jackets and ties
366
00:17:19,995 --> 00:17:21,735
but it's a rough place filled
367
00:17:21,823 --> 00:17:24,653
with rough, heavy
drinking, tough people.
368
00:17:24,739 --> 00:17:27,739
And along comes this
silk stocking, elitist.
369
00:17:27,872 --> 00:17:29,482
He just seems ripe for a bully
370
00:17:29,570 --> 00:17:30,700
to come along and pick on him.
371
00:17:30,788 --> 00:17:31,878
And that's precisely
what happens.
372
00:17:31,963 --> 00:17:33,623
And so Roosevelt
realizes that he can't
373
00:17:33,704 --> 00:17:34,884
just simply be moral.
374
00:17:34,966 --> 00:17:36,136
He just can't
simply be brilliant.
375
00:17:36,229 --> 00:17:38,139
He actually has to
get in the ring.
376
00:17:38,231 --> 00:17:39,711
If the situation required it,
377
00:17:39,797 --> 00:17:41,927
he had to put up
his dukes and fight.
378
00:17:44,324 --> 00:17:46,594
- He makes headlines
and he suddenly becomes
379
00:17:46,674 --> 00:17:47,944
the most famous assemblyman.
380
00:17:49,633 --> 00:17:51,813
He regards politics as a
fight between good and evil.
381
00:17:51,896 --> 00:17:53,416
So he gets on the
floor and he yells
382
00:17:53,507 --> 00:17:54,637
at his Democratic opponents.
383
00:17:54,769 --> 00:17:56,639
He says, they're
rotten, they're corrupt.
384
00:17:56,771 --> 00:17:58,901
And he makes lots of
enemies doing this.
385
00:17:58,990 --> 00:18:00,910
After awhile the
Republicans even begin
386
00:18:00,992 --> 00:18:03,132
to get irritated with him.
387
00:18:03,256 --> 00:18:05,126
He had risen like a
rocket in New York.
388
00:18:05,258 --> 00:18:07,428
Of course they love
those fiery speeches
389
00:18:07,521 --> 00:18:10,481
but then he realized he
was crashing like a rocket.
390
00:18:10,567 --> 00:18:13,177
And he finally realizes that
he's alienated everybody
391
00:18:13,266 --> 00:18:15,006
and he can't get anything done.
392
00:18:15,094 --> 00:18:16,924
And the good thing
was he understood
393
00:18:17,008 --> 00:18:18,268
that he had a swelled head.
394
00:18:18,358 --> 00:18:19,878
He tones down his rhetoric,
395
00:18:20,011 --> 00:18:22,231
he reaches across the
aisle to the Democrats.
396
00:18:22,362 --> 00:18:24,322
He makes friends again
with his fellow Republicans
397
00:18:24,407 --> 00:18:26,927
and he really becomes
an effective legislator
398
00:18:27,018 --> 00:18:28,928
because he grew on the job.
399
00:18:30,326 --> 00:18:32,016
- When he was new to the
New York legislature,
400
00:18:32,111 --> 00:18:33,811
it was assumed
that he would vote
401
00:18:33,895 --> 00:18:35,895
as his social class voted.
402
00:18:36,027 --> 00:18:39,637
In all bills and these bills
would favor the wealthy.
403
00:18:39,770 --> 00:18:41,820
- There was a cigars reform bill
404
00:18:41,903 --> 00:18:43,473
that was gonna prohibit
the manufacture
405
00:18:43,557 --> 00:18:46,557
of cigars in private
houses, in tenement houses.
406
00:18:46,690 --> 00:18:49,220
- Cigars at that time were
made in people's homes.
407
00:18:49,345 --> 00:18:52,515
Horrible, squalid,
small, dark, awful places
408
00:18:52,609 --> 00:18:54,609
where usually
immigrants labored.
409
00:18:54,698 --> 00:18:56,048
Almost around the clock.
410
00:18:56,135 --> 00:18:57,345
If cigars were made at home,
411
00:18:57,484 --> 00:18:59,964
then cigar companies
made a lot of money.
412
00:19:00,051 --> 00:19:01,531
- When the cigar
bill first comes
413
00:19:01,618 --> 00:19:04,058
to the floor he gives a
passionate speech against it.
414
00:19:04,186 --> 00:19:06,056
All of his life's
learning had taught him
415
00:19:06,145 --> 00:19:07,705
that the government had no right
416
00:19:07,798 --> 00:19:09,928
to interfere with the
rights of private property.
417
00:19:10,061 --> 00:19:12,241
In fact, he had voted
against minimum wage bills,
418
00:19:12,325 --> 00:19:13,665
working condition changes
419
00:19:13,761 --> 00:19:16,291
on that very philosophical
understanding.
420
00:19:16,372 --> 00:19:19,592
- [Stacy] And Roosevelt assumed
that the home manufacture
421
00:19:19,723 --> 00:19:21,163
of cigars was just fine.
422
00:19:22,857 --> 00:19:24,417
- That cigar bill will not pass
423
00:19:24,511 --> 00:19:25,641
as long as I have a vote.
424
00:19:25,729 --> 00:19:28,209
- I heard your
speech, Mr. Roosevelt.
425
00:19:28,341 --> 00:19:30,691
Samuel Gompers with
Cigar Makers Union.
426
00:19:30,821 --> 00:19:32,741
- You didn't
approve of it, then.
427
00:19:32,867 --> 00:19:34,387
- It seems to me anybody
who's got an opinion
428
00:19:34,477 --> 00:19:35,517
should know the facts.
429
00:19:38,742 --> 00:19:41,052
Even if that person's bought
by the Republican Party.
430
00:19:48,883 --> 00:19:49,843
- I'm my own man.
431
00:19:52,365 --> 00:19:53,055
- Prove it.
432
00:19:56,064 --> 00:19:58,244
- When Samuel Gompers,
who went on to become
433
00:19:58,327 --> 00:20:00,417
an extremely important
labor leader said, look,
434
00:20:00,547 --> 00:20:03,377
come with me on a
little inspection tour.
435
00:20:03,463 --> 00:20:06,343
Roosevelt didn't say,
no, or I'll send an aide
436
00:20:06,466 --> 00:20:07,816
or give me a report.
437
00:20:07,945 --> 00:20:09,505
He said, of course.
438
00:20:09,599 --> 00:20:11,779
- He takes up
Gompers' challenge.
439
00:20:11,862 --> 00:20:14,132
But also, it's his
native curiosity.
440
00:20:14,256 --> 00:20:15,816
The same curiosity
that made him want
441
00:20:15,953 --> 00:20:17,693
to understand what it
was like for the woodsmen
442
00:20:17,781 --> 00:20:19,441
to live in the woods
all their lives.
443
00:20:19,566 --> 00:20:21,346
Now he wants to see
what is life like
444
00:20:21,437 --> 00:20:23,567
for these people
living in the tenement.
445
00:20:23,657 --> 00:20:25,217
And what he sees stuns him.
446
00:20:28,270 --> 00:20:30,580
[baby crying]
447
00:20:39,325 --> 00:20:41,535
[coughing]
448
00:20:53,904 --> 00:20:55,384
- They work from
dawn to midnight.
449
00:20:56,603 --> 00:20:57,783
It pays a dollar a day.
450
00:20:59,083 --> 00:21:00,043
- Each?
451
00:21:00,128 --> 00:21:01,958
- No, my whole family.
452
00:21:03,479 --> 00:21:05,609
And the owner he takes
the rent out of it.
453
00:21:09,050 --> 00:21:11,270
[coughing]
454
00:21:23,847 --> 00:21:24,807
- Hello, young fellow.
455
00:21:29,070 --> 00:21:31,460
[light music]
456
00:21:39,210 --> 00:21:41,040
- Roosevelt would
recount that it really
457
00:21:41,125 --> 00:21:42,295
had an impression on him.
458
00:21:43,389 --> 00:21:45,739
This was in his home city.
459
00:21:45,826 --> 00:21:48,656
This is where the bulk of
New Yorkers are living.
460
00:21:50,309 --> 00:21:52,959
- They lived under
conditions where
461
00:21:53,050 --> 00:21:54,840
plaster was falling
off the walls.
462
00:21:56,358 --> 00:22:00,098
The ceilings were a
constant wet puddle.
463
00:22:00,188 --> 00:22:03,498
There was mold and
brownness and dirt smudged
464
00:22:03,583 --> 00:22:06,193
in every corner of the room.
465
00:22:06,281 --> 00:22:09,241
They might live in
windowless, confined dwellings
466
00:22:09,371 --> 00:22:13,241
with tuberculosis and
other contagious diseases.
467
00:22:13,332 --> 00:22:14,812
- They're absolutely desperate
468
00:22:14,898 --> 00:22:16,468
and they'll do whatever it takes
469
00:22:16,596 --> 00:22:18,636
to put a tin of food on the
table for their children.
470
00:22:20,034 --> 00:22:23,694
They can't protect their
own value as laborers.
471
00:22:24,952 --> 00:22:26,482
And Roosevelt underwent
472
00:22:26,562 --> 00:22:29,262
a kind of conversion
experience over this.
473
00:22:29,391 --> 00:22:31,871
He gained, I think,
a sense that he was
474
00:22:31,959 --> 00:22:33,349
on the side of the underdog.
475
00:22:35,005 --> 00:22:36,785
- And that first hand experience
476
00:22:36,877 --> 00:22:39,177
is a thing he will crave
the rest of his life.
477
00:22:39,270 --> 00:22:41,660
To see conditions the
way they really are.
478
00:22:41,795 --> 00:22:45,355
To feel empathy and understand
how other people are living
479
00:22:45,451 --> 00:22:48,111
and then he's able to say, I'm
gonna make this difference.
480
00:22:48,236 --> 00:22:50,536
- This is the first
inkling that he gets
481
00:22:50,630 --> 00:22:54,240
that his father's style of
public duty is not enough.
482
00:22:54,329 --> 00:22:55,809
The only way this
problem is gonna be fixed
483
00:22:55,896 --> 00:22:57,026
is not through philanthropy.
484
00:22:57,114 --> 00:22:58,464
The problem of exploited workers
485
00:22:58,551 --> 00:23:00,201
is gonna be fixed by law.
486
00:23:00,335 --> 00:23:02,285
- Roosevelt came out in favor
487
00:23:02,381 --> 00:23:05,651
of the cigar reform
bill and he went
488
00:23:05,732 --> 00:23:08,652
to the Democratic governor at
the time, Grover Cleveland,
489
00:23:08,735 --> 00:23:10,295
who was skeptical of the bill,
490
00:23:10,389 --> 00:23:12,039
to lobby for this
with the governor.
491
00:23:20,529 --> 00:23:22,659
- I thought you opposed
this union bill?
492
00:23:22,749 --> 00:23:24,049
- I did.
493
00:23:24,141 --> 00:23:25,101
But I've seen in
person the conditions
494
00:23:25,186 --> 00:23:26,406
of these tenement factories.
495
00:23:29,277 --> 00:23:30,887
- I know Mr. Gompers.
496
00:23:30,974 --> 00:23:32,194
- Governor.
497
00:23:32,323 --> 00:23:34,203
- And who is your friend?
498
00:23:34,282 --> 00:23:36,892
- Governor Cleveland,
this is Mr. Politiski.
499
00:23:36,980 --> 00:23:38,550
I met him the other
day in his home.
500
00:23:39,722 --> 00:23:40,942
- What do you have to say?
501
00:23:43,422 --> 00:23:46,432
- I wish for Mr. Roosevelt
to speak for my family.
502
00:23:48,339 --> 00:23:49,819
- Why him?
503
00:23:49,950 --> 00:23:54,130
- He came and he saw,
with his own eyes.
504
00:23:54,215 --> 00:23:56,125
- All right, Mr.
Roosevelt, talk.
505
00:23:57,436 --> 00:23:58,606
I hear you're good at that.
506
00:24:00,526 --> 00:24:02,176
- Governor, what I
saw was not a home
507
00:24:02,310 --> 00:24:03,750
you'd ever recognize.
508
00:24:03,833 --> 00:24:05,883
Two families living
in just two rooms
509
00:24:05,966 --> 00:24:07,576
and children working
where they should sleep.
510
00:24:07,707 --> 00:24:11,007
It's unsanitary,
it's outrageous!
511
00:24:11,145 --> 00:24:13,795
[dramatic music]
512
00:24:18,587 --> 00:24:20,147
- [Doris] The bill passes.
513
00:24:20,284 --> 00:24:22,114
Roosevelt was so excited knowing
514
00:24:22,199 --> 00:24:24,069
that it would change
the conditions of life
515
00:24:24,158 --> 00:24:27,158
for the people who were
in those tenement houses.
516
00:24:27,248 --> 00:24:30,078
- This is just the
first example, really,
517
00:24:30,164 --> 00:24:32,994
of Roosevelt
betraying his class.
518
00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:35,950
Of Roosevelt looking
out for the poor.
519
00:24:36,039 --> 00:24:37,519
- [Doris] And then,
in short order,
520
00:24:37,606 --> 00:24:39,346
the bill got overturned
by the courts.
521
00:24:40,870 --> 00:24:42,480
- He thought, well
what does it mean
522
00:24:42,611 --> 00:24:45,611
when you finally get
a legislative body
523
00:24:45,701 --> 00:24:48,621
to do the right
thing, only to have it
524
00:24:48,704 --> 00:24:52,194
vetoed by unelected
court justices.
525
00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:56,670
- He was shocked at
what he saw in Albany.
526
00:24:56,756 --> 00:24:59,186
The graft, the corruption.
527
00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:01,200
These people who are
getting the bribes,
528
00:25:01,282 --> 00:25:03,462
insisting on the bribes,
paying off judges.
529
00:25:03,545 --> 00:25:06,365
- [Edward] He starts
investigating corruption.
530
00:25:06,461 --> 00:25:08,551
Newspapers couldn't
get enough of it.
531
00:25:08,637 --> 00:25:10,247
- Even from his first
days in the Assembly,
532
00:25:10,334 --> 00:25:11,814
he understood the
power of the press
533
00:25:11,901 --> 00:25:13,161
and he made friends
with the people
534
00:25:13,294 --> 00:25:15,304
who were covering the Assembly.
535
00:25:15,383 --> 00:25:18,873
- Roosevelt becomes
a very savvy politico
536
00:25:18,952 --> 00:25:22,172
about how to get things
done, who to align with,
537
00:25:22,259 --> 00:25:24,909
and how to get the
public on your side.
538
00:25:25,045 --> 00:25:27,735
Increasingly, people
are making decisions
539
00:25:27,830 --> 00:25:30,830
about politicians based
on what they would read
540
00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:32,400
in the newspapers.
541
00:25:33,706 --> 00:25:35,576
- By the time he's
reached that second term
542
00:25:35,664 --> 00:25:36,974
in his legislature,
he's championing
543
00:25:37,057 --> 00:25:38,707
a series of reform bills.
544
00:25:38,798 --> 00:25:41,278
And he really feels like
he's become a leader.
545
00:25:41,365 --> 00:25:42,845
And he has the
reigns in his hand.
546
00:25:49,199 --> 00:25:51,249
- Back in New York
City at the time,
547
00:25:51,375 --> 00:25:53,935
his new wife Alice was pregnant.
548
00:25:54,074 --> 00:25:55,904
They were about to
have their first child.
549
00:25:56,032 --> 00:25:58,382
When he received a
telegram telling him
550
00:25:58,469 --> 00:26:01,119
that his wife had
produced a baby girl.
551
00:26:01,255 --> 00:26:03,125
- It's a moment of
great celebration.
552
00:26:03,213 --> 00:26:06,043
Cigars and congratulations
all around.
553
00:26:08,697 --> 00:26:11,047
And then a second
telegram arrives.
554
00:26:18,664 --> 00:26:20,104
You must come home at once.
555
00:26:21,754 --> 00:26:24,894
Your wife is dying and
your mother is dying too.
556
00:26:26,149 --> 00:26:28,059
It was incomprehensible.
557
00:26:30,153 --> 00:26:32,553
His mother had
contracted typhoid fever
558
00:26:32,634 --> 00:26:34,334
just in the week
that she came there
559
00:26:34,462 --> 00:26:37,902
to help take care of
Alice who was dying
560
00:26:37,987 --> 00:26:39,597
from complications
of child birth.
561
00:26:41,861 --> 00:26:43,081
- [Clay] So he got on the train
562
00:26:43,166 --> 00:26:45,596
and inched his way
down to the city.
563
00:26:49,825 --> 00:26:52,475
It was the longest train
journey of his life.
564
00:26:55,135 --> 00:26:57,525
- [Tweed] By the time he
got to New York it was
565
00:26:57,616 --> 00:26:58,786
in the middle of the night.
566
00:27:00,401 --> 00:27:02,661
- [Doris] His brother
Elliott meets him at the door
567
00:27:02,751 --> 00:27:05,281
and says to him, there's
a curse on this household.
568
00:27:06,537 --> 00:27:09,927
- And so, on
Valentine's Day, 1884,
569
00:27:11,542 --> 00:27:14,462
Roosevelt sat by his
mother's bed and she died.
570
00:27:16,286 --> 00:27:17,896
And then a few
hours later he held
571
00:27:18,027 --> 00:27:20,937
his young wife Alice in
his arms and she died too.
572
00:27:23,554 --> 00:27:25,434
- The two most important
women of his life
573
00:27:25,513 --> 00:27:28,083
have died in the same
house, on the same day
574
00:27:28,168 --> 00:27:29,778
within hours of each other.
575
00:27:33,347 --> 00:27:36,177
[cracking thunder]
576
00:27:42,269 --> 00:27:44,789
[somber music]
577
00:28:00,156 --> 00:28:02,026
- [Roosevelt] The light,
578
00:28:03,638 --> 00:28:05,028
has gone out of my life.
579
00:28:06,989 --> 00:28:09,509
[somber music]
580
00:28:15,345 --> 00:28:18,565
- [Clay] He thought that his
life was effectively over.
581
00:28:20,699 --> 00:28:22,049
He was stoic
through the funeral.
582
00:28:23,614 --> 00:28:26,494
- He became totally despondent.
583
00:28:26,617 --> 00:28:29,317
And it's only his sister
who came to him and said,
584
00:28:29,403 --> 00:28:32,973
Theodore, get out
of New York City.
585
00:28:33,102 --> 00:28:37,542
- She agreed to take the
child, temporarily at least.
586
00:28:37,628 --> 00:28:40,758
And then he went to the
Little Missouri River Valley
587
00:28:40,849 --> 00:28:42,849
in Dakota Territory,
the Badlands.
588
00:28:44,244 --> 00:28:45,994
The starkness and
the ruggedness.
589
00:28:46,072 --> 00:28:48,902
The drama of it had
a deep appeal to him.
590
00:28:50,250 --> 00:28:51,640
He really believed
that there was nothing
591
00:28:51,730 --> 00:28:53,910
further for him
in New York City.
592
00:28:55,646 --> 00:28:58,556
And so he went there thinking
that he might never return.
593
00:28:59,607 --> 00:29:02,387
[triumphant music]
594
00:29:38,733 --> 00:29:42,303
- [Roosevelt] It was a land
of vast, silent spaces.
595
00:29:42,389 --> 00:29:44,259
Of lonely rivers and plains.
596
00:29:46,567 --> 00:29:49,307
Where the wild game stared
at the passing horseman.
597
00:29:51,006 --> 00:29:54,046
It was still the Wild
West in those days,
598
00:29:54,140 --> 00:29:56,930
the West of the Indian,
the buffalo hunter,
599
00:29:57,056 --> 00:29:59,446
the soldier, and
the cow puncher.
600
00:30:03,584 --> 00:30:06,724
- [Tweed] After Alice
dies, TR is devastated.
601
00:30:06,848 --> 00:30:08,368
So he decides to start
602
00:30:08,502 --> 00:30:10,502
a whole new existence
in North Dakota.
603
00:30:12,898 --> 00:30:14,638
- [Clay] It was a
perfect place for him.
604
00:30:14,725 --> 00:30:17,945
To read, to write, to
reflect, to grieve,
605
00:30:18,077 --> 00:30:20,337
to hunt, and to seek adventure.
606
00:30:21,732 --> 00:30:25,172
- Roosevelt called
it a grim fairy land
607
00:30:25,258 --> 00:30:30,178
because it was a real
darkly romantic landscape.
608
00:30:31,046 --> 00:30:34,826
- The wide open West
just captured his spirit.
609
00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:38,010
He had come to believe
that the frontier
610
00:30:38,097 --> 00:30:42,007
was the test of the
American character.
611
00:30:42,101 --> 00:30:44,411
- People on the
frontier had to contend
612
00:30:44,494 --> 00:30:48,284
with wild animals
and weather events
613
00:30:48,411 --> 00:30:50,151
and Native Americans.
614
00:30:51,762 --> 00:30:54,772
So those people had to
demonstrate their strength.
615
00:30:54,896 --> 00:30:57,636
And that's why for
him, the frontier myth
616
00:30:57,768 --> 00:30:59,208
was America's story.
617
00:31:01,337 --> 00:31:02,687
- When Roosevelt
thought of the West,
618
00:31:02,773 --> 00:31:05,253
he thought of what we would
call manifest destiny.
619
00:31:05,385 --> 00:31:07,295
That the West was where
America was gonna achieve
620
00:31:07,387 --> 00:31:09,647
its initial phase of greatness.
621
00:31:09,737 --> 00:31:11,167
If you want to sum it
up into a single image
622
00:31:11,260 --> 00:31:14,480
it's that John Gast painting,
"American Progress."
623
00:31:14,611 --> 00:31:16,661
Shows westward migration.
624
00:31:16,744 --> 00:31:18,884
It shows an angel of
democracy, floating
625
00:31:19,007 --> 00:31:22,747
above settlers and miners and
ranchers all heading west.
626
00:31:22,837 --> 00:31:25,137
And Native Americans are
fleeing off the scene
627
00:31:25,231 --> 00:31:26,751
because they're no
match for what's coming.
628
00:31:26,885 --> 00:31:28,095
What is coming is
not just these people
629
00:31:28,190 --> 00:31:30,110
but also technologies.
630
00:31:30,236 --> 00:31:32,146
- White Americans
in the 19th century
631
00:31:32,238 --> 00:31:35,018
did not believe that indigenous
people have land rights.
632
00:31:35,154 --> 00:31:36,724
They also believed that
they were just going
633
00:31:36,807 --> 00:31:40,157
to kind of disappear
into the future.
634
00:31:40,246 --> 00:31:42,116
They were going to die off.
635
00:31:42,248 --> 00:31:46,028
Unless, they converted
to civilization.
636
00:31:48,950 --> 00:31:50,780
- Like a lot of Americans
of the late 19th century,
637
00:31:50,865 --> 00:31:53,645
Roosevelt is of two minds
regarding Native Americans.
638
00:31:53,737 --> 00:31:55,827
He sees Native
Americans as savages
639
00:31:55,914 --> 00:31:57,394
that are in the way of progress,
640
00:31:57,480 --> 00:32:00,790
but also paragons of
nobility and strength.
641
00:32:00,919 --> 00:32:02,659
- He also said, and
I hate to quote it
642
00:32:02,790 --> 00:32:04,620
because it's so
awful, but he said,
643
00:32:04,705 --> 00:32:07,135
I won't say that the only
good Indian is a dead Indian
644
00:32:07,273 --> 00:32:08,883
when it's true nine
times out of 10
645
00:32:09,014 --> 00:32:11,414
and I wouldn't be too
certain about the 10th.
646
00:32:13,061 --> 00:32:15,981
- So while he was
castigating Native Americans
647
00:32:16,108 --> 00:32:19,108
for their savagery
and subhuman behavior,
648
00:32:19,198 --> 00:32:22,238
almost in the same sentence,
649
00:32:22,331 --> 00:32:24,031
he'd write about,
well they sometimes
650
00:32:24,116 --> 00:32:27,246
were pushed to it by whites.
651
00:32:27,336 --> 00:32:29,596
So you could see him
trying to do this
652
00:32:29,686 --> 00:32:33,556
sort of even handed
account of the slaughter
653
00:32:33,690 --> 00:32:37,430
that was going on, on the
frontier, on both sides.
654
00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:41,960
- So, Roosevelt's views
about Native Americans were,
655
00:32:43,265 --> 00:32:45,485
to put it very
kindly, complicated.
656
00:33:03,198 --> 00:33:05,978
[horses cantering]
657
00:33:14,905 --> 00:33:17,685
[horse whinnying]
658
00:33:23,697 --> 00:33:26,307
[ominous music]
659
00:33:58,210 --> 00:33:59,430
- [Clay] He would go out alone
660
00:33:59,515 --> 00:34:01,035
for days at a time
to test himself.
661
00:34:01,126 --> 00:34:03,776
He would just take a teabag
and a biscuit and a rifle.
662
00:34:03,911 --> 00:34:05,041
He was like, I'll
live off the land.
663
00:34:05,130 --> 00:34:06,740
I'm gonna prove
that I can do this.
664
00:34:08,307 --> 00:34:11,607
- [Doris] It's a constant
flight from sadness
665
00:34:11,701 --> 00:34:13,181
to go to the next stage.
666
00:34:13,268 --> 00:34:15,308
He's asked Bill
Sewell and Will Dow,
667
00:34:15,444 --> 00:34:17,884
the two guides from
his expedition to Maine
668
00:34:17,968 --> 00:34:21,448
to come out to help
him build a ranch.
669
00:34:21,537 --> 00:34:23,407
And Sewell said that
Roosevelt seemed
670
00:34:23,539 --> 00:34:24,759
to have nothing to live for.
671
00:34:35,769 --> 00:34:37,679
- Glad to see you
brought dinner.
672
00:34:37,814 --> 00:34:39,824
- Ran into some Lakota.
673
00:34:39,903 --> 00:34:41,433
- What were they
doing around here?
674
00:34:42,645 --> 00:34:43,385
- I didn't ask.
675
00:34:45,996 --> 00:34:47,086
- Hey I picked up the mail.
676
00:34:49,739 --> 00:34:51,219
It's from your sister back East.
677
00:34:52,612 --> 00:34:55,092
[light music]
678
00:34:59,227 --> 00:35:00,747
- My daughter will
never know me.
679
00:35:03,579 --> 00:35:05,669
She's better off with my sister.
680
00:35:05,755 --> 00:35:07,755
- That's foolish talk.
681
00:35:07,844 --> 00:35:09,984
No child is better off
without a father.
682
00:35:14,895 --> 00:35:16,235
- I've got a lot of work to do.
683
00:35:17,158 --> 00:35:17,988
- Right.
684
00:35:19,639 --> 00:35:21,639
I sent a string of ponies
ahead for the round up.
685
00:35:26,080 --> 00:35:28,000
- We leave at first light.
686
00:35:33,479 --> 00:35:35,309
- He's not just playing cowboy,
687
00:35:35,437 --> 00:35:37,137
he actually becomes a cowboy.
688
00:35:37,265 --> 00:35:39,135
He participates in the roundups.
689
00:35:39,267 --> 00:35:41,007
He wants to prove
that he can stay
690
00:35:41,095 --> 00:35:43,395
in the saddle as long
as the cowboys can
691
00:35:43,489 --> 00:35:45,099
and he wants to
prove it to them,
692
00:35:45,186 --> 00:35:47,006
but maybe also to
himself as well.
693
00:35:48,972 --> 00:35:51,062
- Each rancher
would send a string
694
00:35:51,149 --> 00:35:53,499
of horses and a couple of men.
695
00:35:53,586 --> 00:35:55,886
And they would all spend a
month or six weeks together
696
00:35:56,023 --> 00:35:57,593
moving slowly through
the territory,
697
00:35:57,677 --> 00:35:59,197
rounding up all the strays.
698
00:35:59,287 --> 00:36:01,897
And Roosevelt loved it, I
mean he absolutely loved it.
699
00:36:02,029 --> 00:36:05,599
And it was very difficult,
somewhat dangerous work.
700
00:36:05,685 --> 00:36:08,555
In one of the stampedes
his horse threw him.
701
00:36:08,644 --> 00:36:10,344
He broke the point
of his shoulder,
702
00:36:10,472 --> 00:36:12,472
which is a very painful thing.
703
00:36:12,561 --> 00:36:14,081
And he couldn't
leave the roundup.
704
00:36:14,172 --> 00:36:15,302
So he just dealt with it.
705
00:36:15,390 --> 00:36:18,480
He just lived with
this excruciating pain.
706
00:36:18,567 --> 00:36:21,697
- But he was looked
upon askance.
707
00:36:21,788 --> 00:36:24,048
Here was this eastern dude,
708
00:36:24,182 --> 00:36:26,452
who had a penchant
to dress up in fancy
709
00:36:26,532 --> 00:36:28,882
sort of faux cowboy clothing.
710
00:36:29,012 --> 00:36:30,842
The fringe jackets and the like.
711
00:36:33,539 --> 00:36:34,889
- [Jared] The
Badlands was no place
712
00:36:35,018 --> 00:36:37,198
for a gentleman from New York.
713
00:36:37,325 --> 00:36:39,325
This was a rough, rough place.
714
00:36:42,591 --> 00:36:44,201
- [Patron] Give
me another bottle.
715
00:36:44,289 --> 00:36:46,029
Put it on my tab.
716
00:36:46,116 --> 00:36:47,506
- [Bartender] You ain't
got a tab, mister.
717
00:36:47,596 --> 00:36:49,336
- You don't think
I'm good for it?
718
00:36:51,034 --> 00:36:52,384
How about you, greenhorn?
719
00:36:55,648 --> 00:36:56,558
You got a name?
720
00:36:57,780 --> 00:36:58,560
- Roosevelt.
721
00:37:01,828 --> 00:37:03,788
- Well, give me another bottle.
722
00:37:03,873 --> 00:37:05,573
Put it on Rosy's tab.
723
00:37:08,051 --> 00:37:09,361
Is that gonna be a problem?
724
00:37:11,446 --> 00:37:16,056
I said, is that gonna
be a problem, four eyes?
725
00:37:22,283 --> 00:37:23,073
- Of course not.
726
00:37:24,503 --> 00:37:27,113
[ominous music]
727
00:37:32,467 --> 00:37:34,597
[smacking]
728
00:37:39,344 --> 00:37:41,524
- He didn't shelter himself.
729
00:37:41,607 --> 00:37:44,307
He worked hard to get
them to admire him.
730
00:37:44,436 --> 00:37:46,176
He said, what's it
gonna take for you
731
00:37:46,264 --> 00:37:47,314
to respect and admire me?
732
00:37:47,395 --> 00:37:48,785
And then he did that.
733
00:37:50,529 --> 00:37:53,659
- [Tweed] TR was assigned sort
of informal deputy Sheriff.
734
00:37:53,749 --> 00:37:55,659
He was asked to
do various duties,
735
00:37:55,751 --> 00:37:57,711
mostly going and
arresting somebody
736
00:37:57,797 --> 00:37:58,927
and bringing them back.
737
00:38:00,278 --> 00:38:01,978
- He's no longer
that eastern dude.
738
00:38:02,062 --> 00:38:03,632
He's this hybrid American.
739
00:38:05,021 --> 00:38:06,631
At that time in
America there was such
740
00:38:06,719 --> 00:38:09,329
a gap between the western
people and the east.
741
00:38:09,461 --> 00:38:10,981
Between the country
and the city.
742
00:38:11,114 --> 00:38:12,994
Between the rich and the poor.
743
00:38:13,116 --> 00:38:15,286
And he's beginning
to bridge those gaps
744
00:38:15,380 --> 00:38:16,770
by all of his experiences.
745
00:38:19,035 --> 00:38:21,165
- He also has an
intellectual transformation.
746
00:38:21,255 --> 00:38:23,815
You know, he starts writing
about winning the West.
747
00:38:23,910 --> 00:38:27,090
And he becomes enchanted by
the idea of conservation.
748
00:38:27,217 --> 00:38:29,047
- The natural world has touched
749
00:38:29,176 --> 00:38:32,086
a deep cord within
him and he says
750
00:38:32,179 --> 00:38:34,489
that the romance of
his life has begun.
751
00:38:37,706 --> 00:38:39,006
He changes physically.
752
00:38:39,099 --> 00:38:40,799
He gains 30 pounds.
753
00:38:40,883 --> 00:38:43,673
And it's all bone
and muscle and grit.
754
00:38:43,756 --> 00:38:45,886
And his voice, which had
been a falsetto voice
755
00:38:46,019 --> 00:38:48,019
is now strong enough
to drive oxen.
756
00:38:48,108 --> 00:38:50,848
So it's a huge change in
his physical demeanor.
757
00:38:50,937 --> 00:38:53,637
There's also a change in
his emotional demeanor.
758
00:38:53,722 --> 00:38:56,642
Somehow being out there
began to heal him.
759
00:38:56,725 --> 00:38:59,725
He began to look forward
to the future again.
760
00:38:59,859 --> 00:39:02,859
And then he comes back to
the east after two years.
761
00:39:02,949 --> 00:39:06,739
He rekindles his relationship
with Edith Kermit Carow.
762
00:39:06,822 --> 00:39:09,262
- Edith and Theodore
were sweethearts
763
00:39:09,347 --> 00:39:10,827
when they were quite young.
764
00:39:10,913 --> 00:39:13,053
Edith had been sort of a
member of the Roosevelt family.
765
00:39:13,133 --> 00:39:17,223
The two bonded over books
and a love of nature.
766
00:39:17,311 --> 00:39:19,401
- The family thought that
they might get married
767
00:39:19,487 --> 00:39:21,317
but TR went off to college
768
00:39:21,402 --> 00:39:22,752
and then he met Alice
and he married Alice,
769
00:39:22,838 --> 00:39:24,538
but Edith hung in there.
770
00:39:24,623 --> 00:39:26,843
They were a very good fit.
771
00:39:26,929 --> 00:39:28,499
- [Doris] When they
first got married,
772
00:39:28,583 --> 00:39:30,503
he's offered a
rather low level job
773
00:39:30,585 --> 00:39:32,235
to be on the Civil
Service Commission.
774
00:39:32,326 --> 00:39:34,366
And so he and Edith
move to Washington.
775
00:39:35,721 --> 00:39:38,291
- He's an out sized
personality for the job.
776
00:39:38,376 --> 00:39:40,506
But it stokes the
flame of reform
777
00:39:40,595 --> 00:39:42,505
that his father had
seeded with him.
778
00:39:43,859 --> 00:39:46,469
- For Roosevelt,
Civil Service Reform
779
00:39:46,601 --> 00:39:48,261
guided his life.
780
00:39:48,342 --> 00:39:52,042
It's the basic idea that
positions in government
781
00:39:52,128 --> 00:39:54,388
should not be based
on how much money
782
00:39:54,522 --> 00:39:56,702
you paid for your position.
783
00:39:56,785 --> 00:40:00,565
They should be
based on your merit.
784
00:40:00,659 --> 00:40:03,099
- So there was a fundamental
fairness involved here.
785
00:40:03,226 --> 00:40:04,746
He said he wanted
the farmer's son
786
00:40:04,837 --> 00:40:07,267
and the mechanic's son
to have the same chance
787
00:40:07,361 --> 00:40:08,841
as a son of privilege.
788
00:40:08,928 --> 00:40:11,228
And he fought to establish
that civil service
789
00:40:11,321 --> 00:40:12,851
and make it rooted
in our understanding
790
00:40:12,932 --> 00:40:14,412
of how a government should work.
791
00:40:16,239 --> 00:40:18,199
It was in Washington
that Roosevelt met
792
00:40:18,328 --> 00:40:19,628
William Howard Taft.
793
00:40:19,721 --> 00:40:21,851
And the two of them became
really good friends.
794
00:40:21,941 --> 00:40:24,031
It was a really pleasant time.
795
00:40:24,117 --> 00:40:25,897
He's there for six years.
796
00:40:26,032 --> 00:40:27,692
They have a big family by then.
797
00:40:27,773 --> 00:40:28,993
Alice, of course, is there.
798
00:40:29,078 --> 00:40:30,778
And then they have
Theodore, Kermit,
799
00:40:30,863 --> 00:40:33,133
Ethel, and they have Archie.
800
00:40:33,213 --> 00:40:35,743
Washington is one of
the happier experiences
801
00:40:35,824 --> 00:40:36,784
of Edith's life.
802
00:40:37,957 --> 00:40:40,217
[laughing]
803
00:40:40,307 --> 00:40:42,307
- What's next for you, Theodore?
804
00:40:42,396 --> 00:40:43,616
- Good question.
805
00:40:43,702 --> 00:40:45,272
What do you think, Edith?
806
00:40:45,399 --> 00:40:46,789
- Theodore would clean up the
whole country if he could.
807
00:40:46,922 --> 00:40:47,662
[chuckling]
808
00:40:47,749 --> 00:40:48,449
No one could stop him.
809
00:40:50,186 --> 00:40:51,966
Now they want him to
clean up New York.
810
00:40:53,799 --> 00:40:55,409
- You're leaving Washington?
811
00:40:55,496 --> 00:40:56,626
- Mayor Strong
asked me to head up
812
00:40:56,758 --> 00:40:59,408
the Sanitation
Commission in New York.
813
00:40:59,500 --> 00:41:00,810
I turned him down.
814
00:41:00,893 --> 00:41:02,073
- As well you should have.
815
00:41:02,155 --> 00:41:03,285
You're far too
talented for that.
816
00:41:05,724 --> 00:41:09,344
- But New York could do with
a damned good scrubbing.
817
00:41:09,467 --> 00:41:11,077
Hm?
818
00:41:11,207 --> 00:41:12,817
Greed in the papers.
819
00:41:12,905 --> 00:41:13,985
Bribery in the police force.
820
00:41:14,080 --> 00:41:15,430
Paying for jobs.
821
00:41:15,560 --> 00:41:16,780
- You know what that city needs
822
00:41:16,865 --> 00:41:18,475
is someone who can
whip 'em into shape.
823
00:41:18,606 --> 00:41:19,996
Right up your alley, actually.
824
00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:22,260
- Oh, there's no chance of that.
825
00:41:22,349 --> 00:41:24,349
We love it here,
don't we Theodore?
826
00:41:27,441 --> 00:41:29,361
- What if I've done all
I can in Washington?
827
00:41:31,358 --> 00:41:33,968
[ominous music]
828
00:41:48,375 --> 00:41:51,025
- [H.W.] By the time
Roosevelt returned in 1895,
829
00:41:51,117 --> 00:41:53,207
New York City had
changed enormously.
830
00:41:54,599 --> 00:41:57,249
- [Edward] New York
City was a growing city,
831
00:41:57,384 --> 00:41:58,994
bursting at the seams.
832
00:41:59,081 --> 00:42:01,171
Huge infrastructure projects.
833
00:42:01,257 --> 00:42:03,387
Millions of dollars being spent.
834
00:42:04,870 --> 00:42:07,000
- It had more than
doubled in population.
835
00:42:07,655 --> 00:42:09,915
It was the industrial
center of the country.
836
00:42:10,049 --> 00:42:12,879
12,000 factories, half a
million factory workers.
837
00:42:12,965 --> 00:42:17,485
It had Wall Street, it had
100 live theater companies.
838
00:42:17,578 --> 00:42:19,928
New York was the Las
Vegas of the 1890s.
839
00:42:20,059 --> 00:42:21,839
Men came to New York
to have a good time.
840
00:42:21,974 --> 00:42:22,804
They drank too much.
841
00:42:22,931 --> 00:42:23,891
They drank all night.
842
00:42:23,976 --> 00:42:25,366
There were dance clubs.
843
00:42:25,455 --> 00:42:27,845
There were maybe
40,000 prostitutes.
844
00:42:27,980 --> 00:42:28,810
There was gambling.
845
00:42:28,894 --> 00:42:30,334
There were casinos.
846
00:42:30,417 --> 00:42:32,897
It was an unbelievably bustling,
847
00:42:32,985 --> 00:42:35,465
dynamic, crowded place.
848
00:42:35,553 --> 00:42:37,083
- What New York
was going through
849
00:42:37,206 --> 00:42:39,166
and the pressures on New York
850
00:42:39,295 --> 00:42:42,205
is what was happening all
throughout the United States.
851
00:42:42,298 --> 00:42:44,468
The rapid urbanization.
852
00:42:44,562 --> 00:42:46,782
Vast numbers of
immigrants coming.
853
00:42:46,868 --> 00:42:48,128
Industrialization.
854
00:42:48,261 --> 00:42:51,571
America becoming
an economic power.
855
00:42:51,699 --> 00:42:53,789
- The great wealth
of the robber barons
856
00:42:53,919 --> 00:42:56,439
and the railroads and
the fossil fuel industry
857
00:42:56,574 --> 00:42:59,364
and the John Rockefeller
and Standard Oil.
858
00:42:59,446 --> 00:43:01,316
All that money ended
up in New York City
859
00:43:01,448 --> 00:43:03,318
one way or the other.
860
00:43:03,450 --> 00:43:07,590
And the abject poverty
of those at the bottom
861
00:43:07,672 --> 00:43:12,292
of this economy was such a
vivid display of inequality.
862
00:43:14,069 --> 00:43:16,289
- [Richard] So in
1895 Roosevelt accepts
863
00:43:16,419 --> 00:43:17,989
an appointment as commissioner
864
00:43:18,073 --> 00:43:20,083
of the New York City
Police Department.
865
00:43:20,206 --> 00:43:21,246
- It's a challenge.
866
00:43:21,337 --> 00:43:22,817
He wants to take it on.
867
00:43:22,948 --> 00:43:24,728
And it's the right time
and the right moment
868
00:43:24,863 --> 00:43:26,083
for his kind of leadership.
869
00:43:27,561 --> 00:43:31,171
- In 1895 the report
of the Lexow Commission
870
00:43:31,304 --> 00:43:35,094
comes out and it is
full of lurid details
871
00:43:35,177 --> 00:43:38,567
about kidnapping
schemes where people
872
00:43:38,659 --> 00:43:41,439
are jailed with no cause until
873
00:43:41,531 --> 00:43:44,751
they sell their store and
give the money to the police.
874
00:43:44,839 --> 00:43:46,579
Witnesses are brought in front
875
00:43:46,711 --> 00:43:50,371
of the investigating committee
beaten half to death.
876
00:43:50,453 --> 00:43:52,893
One of them with their eye
hanging out of their socket.
877
00:43:54,022 --> 00:43:55,552
- Remember, Roosevelt's image
878
00:43:55,676 --> 00:43:57,636
of public service is
that one that's instilled
879
00:43:57,722 --> 00:44:00,162
in him by his father, that
public service is noble
880
00:44:00,246 --> 00:44:02,246
and you only go
into public service
881
00:44:02,335 --> 00:44:04,765
as a policeman or as
a mayor to do good.
882
00:44:04,859 --> 00:44:06,559
To make the community better.
883
00:44:06,687 --> 00:44:10,077
And here is an institution
that rotten to the core.
884
00:44:10,169 --> 00:44:12,299
- The patrolman on
the beat took a bribe
885
00:44:12,432 --> 00:44:15,832
to let the pushcarts stay in
place more than 15 minutes.
886
00:44:15,957 --> 00:44:17,997
He took a bribe to
let the saloon owner
887
00:44:18,090 --> 00:44:20,220
stay open after
1:00 in the morning.
888
00:44:20,309 --> 00:44:22,049
Brothels were
unbelievably lucrative.
889
00:44:22,137 --> 00:44:23,917
It was 50 dollars a month.
890
00:44:24,052 --> 00:44:26,402
One district on the Lower
East Side had 50 brothels.
891
00:44:26,489 --> 00:44:30,619
2,500 dollars back then
was 75,000 in modern,
892
00:44:30,755 --> 00:44:33,315
times 12 months, you're
looking at a million dollars.
893
00:44:33,409 --> 00:44:35,109
And this was all shared among
894
00:44:35,194 --> 00:44:37,764
the captains, the inspectors,
and the local politicians.
895
00:44:40,242 --> 00:44:41,592
- [Edward] When Theodore
Roosevelt steps into
896
00:44:41,722 --> 00:44:44,072
the police commission,
Thomas Byrnes
897
00:44:44,203 --> 00:44:47,953
is the utterly corrupt
chief of police.
898
00:44:48,076 --> 00:44:50,076
The tip of the pyramid
899
00:44:50,165 --> 00:44:54,205
of this giant organized
crime syndicate.
900
00:44:54,343 --> 00:44:56,133
- So Byrnes is
almost untouchable.
901
00:44:56,258 --> 00:44:58,518
He's powerful, he's
connected to Tammany Hall.
902
00:44:58,652 --> 00:45:00,442
And yet, Roosevelt takes him on.
903
00:45:00,567 --> 00:45:02,827
And says, this
guy has got to go.
904
00:45:02,917 --> 00:45:04,827
- It was an early
indicator of a man
905
00:45:04,963 --> 00:45:08,443
who was willing to take
on power and influence
906
00:45:08,575 --> 00:45:12,535
by using the kind
of muscular position
907
00:45:12,622 --> 00:45:14,932
of public authority
for the purposes
908
00:45:15,060 --> 00:45:18,450
of putting down the kind
of illicit corruption
909
00:45:18,541 --> 00:45:21,111
of which the police
department was central to.
910
00:45:21,240 --> 00:45:23,200
- But it's one thing
for TR to believe
911
00:45:23,329 --> 00:45:25,639
that he can take on the
boxing champion at Harvard.
912
00:45:25,766 --> 00:45:27,726
It's quite another to take
on the most dangerous,
913
00:45:27,812 --> 00:45:29,512
powerful man in New York.
914
00:45:31,424 --> 00:45:34,044
- Byrnes is quite
ruthless in dealing
915
00:45:34,122 --> 00:45:35,692
with his adversaries.
916
00:45:35,776 --> 00:45:37,946
In terms of doing them in,
creating scandal around them,
917
00:45:38,039 --> 00:45:40,259
or you know, physically
harming them.
918
00:45:40,346 --> 00:45:42,256
And so Roosevelt has all
of these things to fear.
919
00:45:42,391 --> 00:45:43,831
And so it's very
much like the bully
920
00:45:43,915 --> 00:45:46,655
he confronts in
the bar out West.
921
00:45:46,787 --> 00:45:49,137
He had learned that even
if he, deep down inside,
922
00:45:49,268 --> 00:45:51,658
was afraid of someone,
that if he acted like
923
00:45:51,792 --> 00:45:53,842
he wasn't afraid and
sort of willed himself
924
00:45:53,968 --> 00:45:55,878
not to be afraid, that
he wouldn't be afraid.
925
00:45:55,970 --> 00:45:57,230
And to stand up to the bully,
926
00:45:57,319 --> 00:45:58,709
to stand up to the
corrupt person,
927
00:45:58,799 --> 00:46:00,889
to stand up to the evil
doer and triumph.
928
00:46:05,023 --> 00:46:06,373
- Chief Byrnes.
929
00:46:06,502 --> 00:46:09,202
- Ah, Commissioner.
930
00:46:13,814 --> 00:46:14,734
It's an honor.
931
00:46:15,598 --> 00:46:16,638
Sit, please.
932
00:46:20,255 --> 00:46:20,995
A drink?
933
00:46:21,082 --> 00:46:21,872
- I won't.
934
00:46:23,171 --> 00:46:23,871
- Of course not.
935
00:46:28,960 --> 00:46:29,790
Finally.
936
00:46:32,920 --> 00:46:34,270
A reform minded commissioner.
937
00:46:36,794 --> 00:46:38,404
Do you know that I'm
a reformer myself?
938
00:46:38,491 --> 00:46:39,581
- Is that right?
939
00:46:42,060 --> 00:46:44,580
- Well, we'll uh, brook
no corruption in my force.
940
00:46:45,846 --> 00:46:46,886
Send out the word.
941
00:46:48,544 --> 00:46:51,294
No swearing at the citizenry.
942
00:46:51,373 --> 00:46:52,773
No soliciting or bribes.
943
00:46:55,769 --> 00:46:58,989
I've already launched
an investigation into
944
00:46:59,077 --> 00:47:03,687
one of our captains
taking payoffs.
945
00:47:07,389 --> 00:47:08,089
Nasty business.
946
00:47:10,349 --> 00:47:11,829
- It's quite a change
of heart you've had.
947
00:47:15,484 --> 00:47:16,444
- Well, uh.
948
00:47:18,531 --> 00:47:21,801
This job can break
you, Mr. Commissioner.
949
00:47:26,408 --> 00:47:27,318
We can work together.
950
00:47:29,542 --> 00:47:31,942
- How long have you served
this city, Chief Byrnes?
951
00:47:32,850 --> 00:47:33,810
- 32 years.
952
00:47:35,374 --> 00:47:37,034
- Well I suppose after
a career like that
953
00:47:37,115 --> 00:47:38,545
you might think about retiring.
954
00:47:43,512 --> 00:47:46,172
[chuckling]
955
00:47:46,298 --> 00:47:47,468
- The city needs me.
956
00:47:50,302 --> 00:47:51,562
I'm not going anywhere.
957
00:48:01,139 --> 00:48:01,839
- Neither am I.
958
00:48:04,490 --> 00:48:07,150
- So Roosevelt threatened
to prosecute Byrnes
959
00:48:07,232 --> 00:48:09,362
over corruption
and taking bribes
960
00:48:09,451 --> 00:48:12,321
from some of the wealthiest
people in New York City.
961
00:48:12,411 --> 00:48:15,241
Roosevelt wanted to achieve
the impossible here.
962
00:48:15,327 --> 00:48:18,587
He wanted to clean up
the dirtiest, loudest,
963
00:48:18,721 --> 00:48:21,071
roughest city in
the United States.
964
00:48:22,464 --> 00:48:24,254
And Byrnes decides to resign.
965
00:48:40,047 --> 00:48:41,437
- [Edward] When
Theodore Roosevelt
966
00:48:41,527 --> 00:48:45,047
becomes the police commissioner,
he makes big changes.
967
00:48:45,139 --> 00:48:49,839
He forces the police chief
to resign from office.
968
00:48:49,927 --> 00:48:51,887
- [Doris] And once he had
changed the top leadership
969
00:48:52,016 --> 00:48:54,016
then he knew he had to
change the entire culture
970
00:48:54,105 --> 00:48:55,535
because it really
was a way of life
971
00:48:55,628 --> 00:48:57,148
in the police department.
972
00:48:57,282 --> 00:48:59,282
And that meant
understanding the policemen
973
00:48:59,414 --> 00:49:02,374
on the beat at
night in New York.
974
00:49:02,461 --> 00:49:04,071
So what he decides is
that he's gotta have
975
00:49:04,158 --> 00:49:06,118
his own firsthand information.
976
00:49:07,857 --> 00:49:10,157
- [Edward] He immediately
contacts his friend, Jacob Riis,
977
00:49:10,251 --> 00:49:12,211
who has become nationally
famous in recent years
978
00:49:12,297 --> 00:49:14,777
for writing an expose
of ills of urban life
979
00:49:14,864 --> 00:49:17,354
and tenement life called,
"How the Other Half Lives."
980
00:49:17,476 --> 00:49:19,516
And Roosevelt knows
that Riis got a lot
981
00:49:19,608 --> 00:49:21,958
of his material by prowling
the city after midnight.
982
00:49:23,308 --> 00:49:25,268
- [Edward Kohn] Jacob Riis knew
983
00:49:25,353 --> 00:49:27,753
the backstreets and tenements
984
00:49:27,834 --> 00:49:31,404
of New York City better
than anybody else.
985
00:49:31,490 --> 00:49:35,410
And he matched that
with a new technology
986
00:49:35,537 --> 00:49:37,667
of flash photography.
987
00:49:39,411 --> 00:49:44,071
So he could go into the darkest
of the stale beer dives.
988
00:49:44,720 --> 00:49:47,380
He could go into the
underground flop houses.
989
00:49:47,462 --> 00:49:49,732
He could go into the
basement tenements
990
00:49:49,856 --> 00:49:53,686
and catch a literal
snapshot of how
991
00:49:53,773 --> 00:49:55,123
the other half lives.
992
00:49:56,776 --> 00:49:59,296
- [Doris] So he does these
famous midnight rambles.
993
00:49:59,431 --> 00:50:02,391
Where he and Riis go out
between midnight and 5:00 A.M.
994
00:50:02,477 --> 00:50:04,517
He'll put a floppy
hat on his head.
995
00:50:04,610 --> 00:50:05,870
He'll have a long coat on.
996
00:50:05,959 --> 00:50:08,309
He'll walk unbeknownst
among the people
997
00:50:08,396 --> 00:50:09,696
so then he can see
what's actually
998
00:50:09,789 --> 00:50:12,009
happening on the street.
999
00:50:12,096 --> 00:50:14,316
- And they find policemen that
are sleeping at their posts.
1000
00:50:14,402 --> 00:50:16,452
They find policemen that
are drinking in bars
1001
00:50:16,535 --> 00:50:18,405
and carousing with prostitutes.
1002
00:50:18,537 --> 00:50:20,627
And are just outraged
and he decides
1003
00:50:20,756 --> 00:50:21,836
to do something about it.
1004
00:50:24,891 --> 00:50:27,201
[dog barking]
1005
00:50:31,941 --> 00:50:34,161
[murmuring]
1006
00:50:35,423 --> 00:50:36,773
- Officer Brody?
1007
00:50:36,859 --> 00:50:37,689
- Yeah?
1008
00:50:38,992 --> 00:50:40,562
- Shouldn't you be at your post?
1009
00:50:40,646 --> 00:50:41,386
- Take a hike.
1010
00:50:48,697 --> 00:50:49,997
Beat it.
1011
00:50:50,090 --> 00:50:50,870
- I'd be careful.
1012
00:50:54,094 --> 00:50:55,704
- Who's this?
1013
00:50:55,835 --> 00:50:58,875
- Whoever he is, I'm about
to knock some sense into him.
1014
00:51:00,231 --> 00:51:01,061
- Wait.
1015
00:51:02,450 --> 00:51:06,450
It's Roosevelt.
1016
00:51:06,585 --> 00:51:07,535
- That's not.
1017
00:51:07,629 --> 00:51:09,759
- It is, I swear.
1018
00:51:09,849 --> 00:51:10,979
I've seen him in the papers.
1019
00:51:11,111 --> 00:51:12,771
- It's him all right.
1020
00:51:16,943 --> 00:51:19,163
Now, Mr. Roosevelt,
I only stopped here--
1021
00:51:19,293 --> 00:51:23,083
- Thank you both for a
most illuminating evening.
1022
00:51:23,167 --> 00:51:26,947
I shall see you in
my office tomorrow.
1023
00:51:28,781 --> 00:51:31,091
[dog barking]
1024
00:51:32,480 --> 00:51:33,350
- Policemen are fired.
1025
00:51:33,481 --> 00:51:34,871
People are reassigned.
1026
00:51:34,961 --> 00:51:36,441
And there's immediately a sense
1027
00:51:36,571 --> 00:51:38,881
that Roosevelt is
cleaning up the town.
1028
00:51:38,965 --> 00:51:40,655
Like that kind of
Western Sheriff
1029
00:51:40,749 --> 00:51:42,269
that he so admired.
1030
00:51:42,360 --> 00:51:44,140
The good guys, the
white hats are in town
1031
00:51:44,231 --> 00:51:47,761
and there's gonna be a
new way of doing business.
1032
00:51:47,843 --> 00:51:50,463
- This is a mixture of
the enforcement part
1033
00:51:50,542 --> 00:51:51,982
of being police commissioner
1034
00:51:52,065 --> 00:51:53,625
and playing the theatrics.
1035
00:51:54,937 --> 00:51:57,507
But the theatrics
were not superficial.
1036
00:51:57,592 --> 00:52:01,252
He had this tremendous
sense of right and wrong.
1037
00:52:01,335 --> 00:52:02,505
- Here's this five
foot, eight inch guy
1038
00:52:02,641 --> 00:52:04,821
standing up to these
massive Irish cops.
1039
00:52:04,904 --> 00:52:06,254
And the public loved it.
1040
00:52:08,168 --> 00:52:09,338
- All of a sudden
there are cartoons
1041
00:52:09,474 --> 00:52:11,564
in papers all across
the country showing
1042
00:52:11,693 --> 00:52:14,483
policemen cowering at the
image of these big teeth
1043
00:52:14,609 --> 00:52:16,309
and the mustache
and the whiskers.
1044
00:52:16,437 --> 00:52:18,307
And again, he becomes
a romantic figure
1045
00:52:18,396 --> 00:52:19,916
fighting corruption in New York
1046
00:52:20,049 --> 00:52:22,919
just as he had become in
the Badlands being a cowboy.
1047
00:52:23,009 --> 00:52:25,529
So he's becoming, as one
of the newspaper reporters
1048
00:52:25,620 --> 00:52:28,970
said at the time, the most
interesting man in America.
1049
00:52:29,058 --> 00:52:31,318
- This is the moment
where TR reaches
1050
00:52:31,452 --> 00:52:34,502
a new milestone in
his political savvy.
1051
00:52:34,629 --> 00:52:38,499
Because he realizes that the
press finds him fascinating.
1052
00:52:38,590 --> 00:52:41,200
- He sees that the
police department itself
1053
00:52:41,288 --> 00:52:44,118
needs to be professionalized
and modernized.
1054
00:52:44,204 --> 00:52:46,344
He created the
first police academy
1055
00:52:46,424 --> 00:52:48,084
where officers were trained.
1056
00:52:48,208 --> 00:52:51,118
He standardized the uniforms
and the gun training
1057
00:52:51,211 --> 00:52:52,911
and the guns they could have.
1058
00:52:52,995 --> 00:52:54,165
- He brings typewriters in.
1059
00:52:54,301 --> 00:52:55,871
He brings in a fingerprint crew.
1060
00:52:55,955 --> 00:52:59,125
The first women secretaries
in the police department.
1061
00:52:59,219 --> 00:53:01,569
- Part of what TR
enjoys about being
1062
00:53:01,656 --> 00:53:02,876
the police
commissioner is he gets
1063
00:53:03,005 --> 00:53:04,785
to play the role of enforcer.
1064
00:53:04,877 --> 00:53:06,747
He played the role
of legislator.
1065
00:53:06,835 --> 00:53:08,655
Played the role of cowboy.
1066
00:53:08,750 --> 00:53:11,670
Now he had an opportunity to
go out and enforce reform.
1067
00:53:11,753 --> 00:53:12,973
Any law that's
written on the book,
1068
00:53:13,059 --> 00:53:14,539
he believes needs
to be enforced.
1069
00:53:15,888 --> 00:53:17,148
- At the time in New York City
1070
00:53:17,237 --> 00:53:20,717
there's something called
the Sunday Excise Law.
1071
00:53:20,806 --> 00:53:22,626
You could not sell liquor.
1072
00:53:22,764 --> 00:53:26,034
You could not have your
saloon open on a Sunday.
1073
00:53:27,378 --> 00:53:29,548
- The problem with
the Sunday Closing Law
1074
00:53:29,641 --> 00:53:32,641
was that it was not being
enforced all together.
1075
00:53:32,731 --> 00:53:34,561
They weren't all
being closed down.
1076
00:53:34,689 --> 00:53:36,599
If you wanted to keep
your saloon open,
1077
00:53:36,691 --> 00:53:39,431
you could bribe the police
and the politicians.
1078
00:53:39,520 --> 00:53:40,870
If you couldn't
afford the bribe,
1079
00:53:40,956 --> 00:53:42,176
you were forced to be closed.
1080
00:53:42,262 --> 00:53:44,312
Or if you tried to
open you'd be arrested.
1081
00:53:44,395 --> 00:53:47,045
So he saw that this was really
the tap root of corruption.
1082
00:53:48,442 --> 00:53:50,622
- So Roosevelt decides
that he will actually
1083
00:53:50,749 --> 00:53:51,919
enforce the law.
1084
00:53:52,011 --> 00:53:54,881
And the backlash
is unbelievable.
1085
00:53:54,970 --> 00:53:56,890
People are absolutely furious.
1086
00:53:58,322 --> 00:54:00,372
Back then, New Yorkers
worked six days a week.
1087
00:54:00,454 --> 00:54:02,244
The one day off
they had was Sunday.
1088
00:54:02,326 --> 00:54:04,066
- And they would go
to their local tavern
1089
00:54:04,153 --> 00:54:05,633
which was kind of
a community center.
1090
00:54:05,764 --> 00:54:07,594
And they would eat
and relax a little
1091
00:54:07,679 --> 00:54:09,769
and spend time with their
families and their friends.
1092
00:54:09,855 --> 00:54:12,545
It was actually an
important social institution
1093
00:54:12,640 --> 00:54:13,950
in the city of New York.
1094
00:54:15,948 --> 00:54:17,248
- [Edward] I don't think
he quite understood
1095
00:54:17,341 --> 00:54:21,481
the role that saloons
played in the lives
1096
00:54:21,606 --> 00:54:25,216
and cultures of working
class immigrants.
1097
00:54:25,349 --> 00:54:28,399
- [Roosevelt] I have now
run up against an ugly snag.
1098
00:54:28,482 --> 00:54:31,362
The Sunday Excise Law.
1099
00:54:31,442 --> 00:54:34,622
It is all together too strict
but I have no honorable
1100
00:54:34,749 --> 00:54:36,709
alternative, save to enforce it.
1101
00:54:36,838 --> 00:54:38,578
And I am enforcing it.
1102
00:54:38,666 --> 00:54:41,666
To the furious rage
of the saloon keepers.
1103
00:54:41,756 --> 00:54:45,976
And of many good people
too, for which I am sorry.
1104
00:54:47,371 --> 00:54:49,551
- Roosevelt, always
a bit moralistic.
1105
00:54:49,634 --> 00:54:51,034
Always taking the high ground.
1106
00:54:51,113 --> 00:54:52,723
Always a bit impetuous.
1107
00:54:52,854 --> 00:54:56,474
Always doing what's right
and darn the consequences,
1108
00:54:56,554 --> 00:54:59,514
and he got one of his close
friends, Henry Cabot Lodge
1109
00:54:59,600 --> 00:55:01,040
saying, you know,
Roosevelt you have
1110
00:55:01,167 --> 00:55:04,647
to be a little careful
about the fights you pick.
1111
00:55:04,779 --> 00:55:07,609
You don't want to
end your career.
1112
00:55:07,695 --> 00:55:09,345
- [Protestors]
Where is Roosevelt?
1113
00:55:09,436 --> 00:55:11,086
Where is Roosevelt?
1114
00:55:11,220 --> 00:55:13,050
Where is Roosevelt?
1115
00:55:13,179 --> 00:55:15,619
[crowd jeering]
1116
00:55:15,703 --> 00:55:16,493
- Well, Theodore.
1117
00:55:17,879 --> 00:55:19,229
You made everyone in
the whole city mad
1118
00:55:19,316 --> 00:55:21,446
and they all seem to be outside.
1119
00:55:21,535 --> 00:55:23,185
- Damn it, I know
the law's not right.
1120
00:55:25,234 --> 00:55:27,724
It's the root of every
problem in the city.
1121
00:55:27,802 --> 00:55:29,852
- Let them have
their Sunday beer.
1122
00:55:31,589 --> 00:55:33,159
You wouldn't be the first
to look the other way.
1123
00:55:34,548 --> 00:55:35,328
- Huh.
1124
00:55:36,376 --> 00:55:38,856
[crowd jeering]
1125
00:55:44,253 --> 00:55:45,693
- They will eat you alive.
1126
00:55:47,692 --> 00:55:49,042
- Well, I'm not gonna hide.
1127
00:55:51,739 --> 00:55:52,479
Are you coming?
1128
00:55:53,741 --> 00:55:56,351
[crowd jeering]
1129
00:56:16,764 --> 00:56:18,164
- [Richard] When Roosevelt
decides that he will shut
1130
00:56:18,287 --> 00:56:21,507
the saloons on Sunday,
people are so frustrated.
1131
00:56:21,639 --> 00:56:23,339
- There were death threats.
1132
00:56:23,467 --> 00:56:25,897
A bomb was sent to headquarters
on Mulberry Street.
1133
00:56:26,034 --> 00:56:28,084
- But Theodore
Roosevelt is unique.
1134
00:56:28,167 --> 00:56:32,907
He woke up every day of his
life saying, bring it on.
1135
00:56:33,781 --> 00:56:36,221
- Well, here I am!
1136
00:56:36,305 --> 00:56:38,085
Here's Roosevelt!
1137
00:56:38,220 --> 00:56:39,960
- Why can't we get
a drink on Sundays?
1138
00:56:40,092 --> 00:56:42,312
- I'm merely enforcing
the law, sir.
1139
00:56:42,442 --> 00:56:44,492
- Yeah, well it's
easy for you to say!
1140
00:56:44,575 --> 00:56:46,355
- Sunday's our only day off!
1141
00:56:46,490 --> 00:56:49,580
- Yeah, I bet he drinks whenever
he wants at the Union Club.
1142
00:56:49,710 --> 00:56:51,360
- What you may not
see, gentlemen,
1143
00:56:51,451 --> 00:56:53,371
is that we are doing this
for the good of the city.
1144
00:56:53,453 --> 00:56:54,933
- Well nobody asked you!
1145
00:56:55,020 --> 00:56:57,330
- Go back to your
5th Avenue mansion.
1146
00:56:57,414 --> 00:56:59,204
- Well, it's actually
Madison Avenue.
1147
00:56:59,285 --> 00:57:01,765
If you're gonna insult me at
least get my address right.
1148
00:57:01,853 --> 00:57:04,603
[crowd chuckling]
1149
00:57:06,423 --> 00:57:08,563
[jeering]
1150
00:57:15,867 --> 00:57:18,127
[laughing]
1151
00:57:20,175 --> 00:57:21,865
Spitting image.
1152
00:57:21,960 --> 00:57:23,400
Bully for you!
1153
00:57:23,483 --> 00:57:26,093
[crowd cheering]
1154
00:57:29,315 --> 00:57:31,265
- The crowd changes
its feeling toward him.
1155
00:57:31,404 --> 00:57:32,844
So it's a great capacity where
1156
00:57:32,971 --> 00:57:35,411
self deprecating
humor can win you over
1157
00:57:35,539 --> 00:57:37,799
and make people realize he's
doing something we don't like.
1158
00:57:37,889 --> 00:57:40,329
Maybe he's doing it for
his reasons, but he's okay.
1159
00:57:41,675 --> 00:57:46,285
- But still, between
12 and 15,000 saloons
1160
00:57:46,375 --> 00:57:49,935
in New York were
shut on Sundays.
1161
00:57:50,075 --> 00:57:52,855
And in the next city elections,
1162
00:57:52,991 --> 00:57:56,561
the Republicans go
down and they lose hard
1163
00:57:56,647 --> 00:57:58,647
and they blame one
person for that,
1164
00:57:58,779 --> 00:58:00,429
and that's Theodore Roosevelt.
1165
00:58:01,565 --> 00:58:03,125
- This was a failure,
he had failed.
1166
00:58:04,219 --> 00:58:07,439
He recognized that he had failed
1167
00:58:07,571 --> 00:58:10,971
because he had not gotten
the people behind him.
1168
00:58:11,052 --> 00:58:13,142
- [Jared] His career
in New York City
1169
00:58:13,228 --> 00:58:15,488
is absolutely finished.
1170
00:58:16,928 --> 00:58:18,538
- He needs to find
a graceful way out
1171
00:58:18,669 --> 00:58:20,629
so he goes to
campaign for McKinley,
1172
00:58:20,758 --> 00:58:21,848
who's running for President,
1173
00:58:21,933 --> 00:58:23,203
in the hopes perhaps
he can be given
1174
00:58:23,325 --> 00:58:24,935
a job in the new administration.
1175
00:58:26,285 --> 00:58:27,935
- TR always longed for more.
1176
00:58:28,026 --> 00:58:30,936
He was endlessly ambitious.
1177
00:58:31,072 --> 00:58:33,952
- He was an explosive
campaigner, a force of energy.
1178
00:58:34,032 --> 00:58:36,862
They jammed the aisles to
come to hear him speak.
1179
00:58:36,991 --> 00:58:38,991
This was where his compulsion
1180
00:58:39,124 --> 00:58:41,914
to be the center of attention
really works for him.
1181
00:58:42,040 --> 00:58:44,170
Because there's a magnetic
field that people come
1182
00:58:44,303 --> 00:58:46,093
and want to be in his presence.
1183
00:58:46,174 --> 00:58:47,654
Alice had always
said that he wanted
1184
00:58:47,741 --> 00:58:49,661
to be the baby at the baptism,
1185
00:58:49,787 --> 00:58:51,827
the bride at the wedding,
and the corpse at funeral.
1186
00:58:51,919 --> 00:58:54,399
He so loved being the
center of attention.
1187
00:58:54,487 --> 00:58:56,317
- McKinley was a
little suspicious
1188
00:58:56,445 --> 00:58:57,795
because he viewed TR
1189
00:58:57,882 --> 00:58:59,802
as a bull in the china
shop, as they say.
1190
00:58:59,884 --> 00:59:02,284
A man who broke
a lot of glasses.
1191
00:59:02,408 --> 00:59:04,148
- [Doris] McKinley
wins the election.
1192
00:59:05,803 --> 00:59:08,203
And he finally, under
pressure, gives him the job
1193
00:59:08,283 --> 00:59:09,853
of Assistant
Secretary of the Navy.
1194
00:59:09,981 --> 00:59:12,201
And it's exactly what TR wants.
1195
00:59:15,421 --> 00:59:17,901
- Roosevelt is a scholar
of military history.
1196
00:59:17,989 --> 00:59:19,949
And a person who
believes that America
1197
00:59:20,034 --> 00:59:22,174
needs to project
its strength abroad.
1198
00:59:22,254 --> 00:59:24,394
And he argues essentially,
that all great powers
1199
00:59:24,473 --> 00:59:27,093
in history have always
been strengthened by
1200
00:59:27,172 --> 00:59:29,172
a powerful naval force.
1201
00:59:29,261 --> 00:59:32,661
- TR looked at the American
Navy and was aghast
1202
00:59:32,743 --> 00:59:34,793
to see how far down,
I think we were like
1203
00:59:34,919 --> 00:59:37,049
the ninth largest
navy in the world
1204
00:59:37,138 --> 00:59:39,488
after somewhere like
Peru or Ecuador.
1205
00:59:39,576 --> 00:59:41,226
So he did everything he
could to build it up.
1206
00:59:41,360 --> 00:59:43,100
Particularly in battleships.
1207
00:59:43,231 --> 00:59:44,891
- [Roosevelt] There comes a time
1208
00:59:45,016 --> 00:59:49,186
in the life of a nation, as
in the life of an individual,
1209
00:59:49,281 --> 00:59:52,281
when it must face
great responsibilities.
1210
00:59:52,414 --> 00:59:55,114
We have now reached that time.
1211
00:59:55,200 --> 00:59:57,990
Our flag is a proud flag.
1212
00:59:58,116 --> 01:00:00,726
And it stands for
liberty and civilization.
1213
01:00:02,424 --> 01:00:04,954
- America has a long standing
notion of isolationism,
1214
01:00:05,079 --> 01:00:06,819
of staying out of world affairs.
1215
01:00:06,907 --> 01:00:09,167
But Roosevelt thought,
we had to be isolationist
1216
01:00:09,301 --> 01:00:11,001
back in the 1790s.
1217
01:00:11,129 --> 01:00:13,699
But now in the 1890s
we are the strongest
1218
01:00:13,784 --> 01:00:16,134
economic power in the world.
1219
01:00:16,264 --> 01:00:18,624
We have an obligation
to help others.
1220
01:00:18,702 --> 01:00:20,442
We can't be weak.
1221
01:00:20,573 --> 01:00:22,753
We can't be an invalid nation.
1222
01:00:22,836 --> 01:00:24,226
We have to project that power.
1223
01:00:26,274 --> 01:00:28,104
- [Clay] The game changing event
1224
01:00:28,233 --> 01:00:31,023
is the Spanish-American war.
1225
01:00:31,149 --> 01:00:33,799
- [H.W.] Spain is one of
the oldest European powers
1226
01:00:33,891 --> 01:00:36,071
to have possessions
in the new world.
1227
01:00:36,154 --> 01:00:38,244
Cuba is by far the most
important possession
1228
01:00:38,330 --> 01:00:40,030
Spain has in the Caribbean.
1229
01:00:40,114 --> 01:00:43,074
- There was a rebellion
for independence
1230
01:00:43,161 --> 01:00:45,471
that had gone on
for over a decade.
1231
01:00:45,598 --> 01:00:48,118
And it was incredibly brutal.
1232
01:00:48,209 --> 01:00:49,779
- There were concentration camps
1233
01:00:49,863 --> 01:00:51,603
and there were torture and rapes
1234
01:00:51,691 --> 01:00:54,961
and disappearances and
near starvation and so on.
1235
01:00:55,042 --> 01:00:58,002
- Newspapers report wildly on
1236
01:00:58,089 --> 01:00:59,739
the conditions down in Cuba.
1237
01:00:59,830 --> 01:01:02,530
This is an era of
yellow journalism
1238
01:01:02,615 --> 01:01:04,265
and they would
compete for readership
1239
01:01:04,356 --> 01:01:06,006
with exaggerated headlines.
1240
01:01:06,140 --> 01:01:08,060
- Roosevelt believed
that this was
1241
01:01:08,186 --> 01:01:10,446
an oppressed people that
we needed to go help.
1242
01:01:10,536 --> 01:01:12,226
But also, this
was an opportunity
1243
01:01:12,364 --> 01:01:15,064
to pick a fight with
a European power.
1244
01:01:15,193 --> 01:01:19,333
- And Roosevelt was always
looking to pick a fight.
1245
01:01:19,414 --> 01:01:20,684
- [Roosevelt] The revolt in Cuba
1246
01:01:20,764 --> 01:01:22,244
had dragged its weary length
1247
01:01:22,330 --> 01:01:23,850
until conditions
in the island had
1248
01:01:23,984 --> 01:01:27,164
become so dreadful as to be
a standing disgrace to us
1249
01:01:27,248 --> 01:01:28,688
for permitting them to exist.
1250
01:01:30,556 --> 01:01:33,036
I became convinced that
the war would come.
1251
01:01:35,300 --> 01:01:37,430
- But McKinley didn't want war.
1252
01:01:37,563 --> 01:01:39,303
McKinley had been a
major in the Civil War.
1253
01:01:39,434 --> 01:01:40,874
He had seen mayhem.
1254
01:01:40,958 --> 01:01:43,348
- McKinley and TR's boss,
1255
01:01:43,438 --> 01:01:46,438
Secretary of the Navy,
John Long, urged restraint.
1256
01:01:46,528 --> 01:01:48,268
But you have TR going rogue
1257
01:01:48,356 --> 01:01:49,876
and agitating towards war.
1258
01:01:50,010 --> 01:01:52,060
- He believed that
America needs a war
1259
01:01:52,186 --> 01:01:53,796
to kind of tone us
up and to restore
1260
01:01:53,884 --> 01:01:56,414
our masculine values and
to take the effeminacy,
1261
01:01:56,495 --> 01:01:58,575
as he called it, out
of our character.
1262
01:01:58,671 --> 01:01:59,931
Fortunately for Roosevelt,
1263
01:02:00,020 --> 01:02:02,890
his chief, John Long,
was kind of lazy.
1264
01:02:02,980 --> 01:02:04,900
Took long periods away.
1265
01:02:04,982 --> 01:02:07,422
- TR could do what he
wanted while Long was away.
1266
01:02:07,506 --> 01:02:09,196
And these wonderful
stream of letters
1267
01:02:09,290 --> 01:02:11,160
that he writes to Long saying,
1268
01:02:11,249 --> 01:02:12,859
I know you were
thinking of coming back
1269
01:02:12,946 --> 01:02:15,506
but it's really, really
hot here in Washington.
1270
01:02:15,601 --> 01:02:16,861
Just stay where you are.
1271
01:02:16,994 --> 01:02:18,044
Everything's fine here.
1272
01:02:19,779 --> 01:02:22,299
- What we see is Theodore
Roosevelt giving speeches
1273
01:02:22,390 --> 01:02:24,090
where he talks about the
United States should go to war.
1274
01:02:24,218 --> 01:02:26,868
He engages with
senators and congressmen
1275
01:02:26,960 --> 01:02:29,400
and he's putting the idea
that we should go to war.
1276
01:02:29,484 --> 01:02:31,404
- He's seeing
weakness coming out
1277
01:02:31,530 --> 01:02:33,970
of the McKinley administration.
1278
01:02:34,054 --> 01:02:36,404
He even says, my boss,
William McKinley,
1279
01:02:36,491 --> 01:02:38,931
has the spine of a
chocolate eclair.
1280
01:02:41,496 --> 01:02:42,976
- Excuse me, Cavenward.
1281
01:02:43,107 --> 01:02:44,717
I'd like a word
with Mr. Roosevelt.
1282
01:02:48,547 --> 01:02:51,547
Secretary Long tells me
that you've been quite busy.
1283
01:02:51,637 --> 01:02:52,897
- Well, there's so
much to be done, sir.
1284
01:02:52,986 --> 01:02:54,856
- You've been shouting
war from the rooftops
1285
01:02:54,988 --> 01:02:56,028
at every opportunity.
1286
01:02:57,077 --> 01:02:58,727
But you have had an influence.
1287
01:03:00,254 --> 01:03:03,214
Secretary Long has asked
me to send a battleship
1288
01:03:03,344 --> 01:03:06,354
to Havana to protect
American citizens there.
1289
01:03:06,478 --> 01:03:08,518
I might just do that.
1290
01:03:08,654 --> 01:03:09,744
- That would be a
wise choice, sir.
1291
01:03:09,873 --> 01:03:12,353
- I've also read your war plan.
1292
01:03:12,440 --> 01:03:13,310
- I am honored, sir.
1293
01:03:13,441 --> 01:03:14,751
Now I fer--
1294
01:03:14,834 --> 01:03:16,404
- You're a young
man, Mr. Roosevelt.
1295
01:03:17,794 --> 01:03:21,324
Tell me, where were you
in September of 1862?
1296
01:03:22,407 --> 01:03:24,017
- I was just a boy.
1297
01:03:24,104 --> 01:03:26,064
- I was in the
Battle of Antietam.
1298
01:03:30,110 --> 01:03:31,980
You may get your
war, Mr. Roosevelt.
1299
01:03:33,287 --> 01:03:35,117
But I wouldn't be
in such a hurry.
1300
01:03:36,551 --> 01:03:39,161
[ominous music]
1301
01:03:40,425 --> 01:03:41,985
- McKinley tried to force Spain
1302
01:03:42,079 --> 01:03:43,559
to the negotiating table.
1303
01:03:43,645 --> 01:03:48,215
So he sends a new battleship,
the USS Maine, to Cuba.
1304
01:03:48,302 --> 01:03:50,392
It was the best the
United States had.
1305
01:03:50,522 --> 01:03:53,832
- It will show up in
Havana Harbor in January
1306
01:03:53,960 --> 01:03:57,270
and it's a very tense situation
when it first shows up.
1307
01:03:57,355 --> 01:04:00,095
[dramatic music]
1308
01:04:01,315 --> 01:04:02,965
And then tensions start to ease.
1309
01:04:04,579 --> 01:04:05,799
And this will be the
case all the way until
1310
01:04:05,885 --> 01:04:06,835
the 15th of February.
1311
01:04:08,757 --> 01:04:12,627
When Captain Charles Sigsbee
is sitting there on the Maine.
1312
01:04:12,718 --> 01:04:15,498
It's night time, it's a
hot and sultry evening.
1313
01:04:15,590 --> 01:04:17,110
He is writing the Assistant
Secretary of the Navy,
1314
01:04:17,201 --> 01:04:18,721
Theodore Roosevelt.
1315
01:04:18,855 --> 01:04:21,065
He sets down his pen
about 9:15 to hear
1316
01:04:21,161 --> 01:04:25,301
the last notes of "Taps" echo
off the corners of the harbor.
1317
01:04:25,383 --> 01:04:28,043
["Taps" playing]
1318
01:04:30,954 --> 01:04:33,134
[ominous music]
1319
01:04:42,704 --> 01:04:44,624
Within a few minutes the Maine
1320
01:04:44,750 --> 01:04:47,840
will settle into the
mud of Havana harbor.
1321
01:04:50,103 --> 01:04:51,283
The United States will suffer
1322
01:04:51,365 --> 01:04:53,405
over 260 casualties
that evening.
1323
01:04:55,239 --> 01:04:58,019
- It was, at the time,
the worst naval disaster
1324
01:04:58,155 --> 01:05:00,155
in American history.
1325
01:05:00,244 --> 01:05:02,594
It sent shock waves
through the country.
1326
01:05:03,987 --> 01:05:06,597
[ominous music]
1327
01:05:17,696 --> 01:05:19,436
People assumed that the Spanish
1328
01:05:19,524 --> 01:05:21,534
had blown up the Maine.
1329
01:05:21,656 --> 01:05:23,396
- [Clay] Roosevelt immediately
jumped on that narrative
1330
01:05:23,528 --> 01:05:25,228
whether it was true or not.
1331
01:05:25,312 --> 01:05:26,712
- [Edward] There's chants of,
1332
01:05:26,792 --> 01:05:28,712
"Remember the Maine,
to hell with Spain."
1333
01:05:28,794 --> 01:05:31,104
- [Clay] The groundswell of
Roosevelt and others pushing
1334
01:05:31,231 --> 01:05:34,761
and pushing and pushing for
war finally became too much.
1335
01:05:34,843 --> 01:05:37,723
- [Doug] On the 25th of
April, 1898 the United States
1336
01:05:37,803 --> 01:05:39,723
would declare war against Spain.
1337
01:05:43,983 --> 01:05:47,733
- [Roosevelt] In a crisis,
the man worth his salt
1338
01:05:49,162 --> 01:05:52,252
is the man who meets the
needs of the situation
1339
01:05:52,339 --> 01:05:56,039
in whatever way is necessary.
1340
01:05:56,169 --> 01:05:58,909
[dramatic music]
1341
01:06:11,793 --> 01:06:12,793
- Theodore.
1342
01:06:13,621 --> 01:06:14,711
What's this?
1343
01:06:14,840 --> 01:06:15,930
- How are you feeling?
1344
01:06:16,885 --> 01:06:18,185
- Well, what is it?
1345
01:06:18,322 --> 01:06:19,452
You're not in the habit
of bringing me tea.
1346
01:06:19,584 --> 01:06:23,854
- The 1st US Volunteer Cavalry.
1347
01:06:23,980 --> 01:06:24,850
I got it!
1348
01:06:24,981 --> 01:06:26,241
[chuckling]
1349
01:06:26,330 --> 01:06:29,460
I told them they should
make Leonard Wood
1350
01:06:29,550 --> 01:06:33,380
regimental colonel, I shall
be lieutenant colonel.
1351
01:06:33,467 --> 01:06:34,687
I have no doubt I'll be
able to train the men,
1352
01:06:34,816 --> 01:06:36,506
but Leonard with his experience,
1353
01:06:36,644 --> 01:06:38,174
he'll be able to equip us.
1354
01:06:38,298 --> 01:06:40,428
Give us the very
best of everything.
1355
01:06:40,518 --> 01:06:43,128
- So, it's done.
1356
01:06:43,216 --> 01:06:44,516
You've got it all worked out.
1357
01:06:46,524 --> 01:06:47,444
What about them?
1358
01:06:49,309 --> 01:06:52,099
[children playing]
1359
01:06:52,225 --> 01:06:55,485
- Edith, I intend to
explain to my children
1360
01:06:55,576 --> 01:06:57,266
why I did take
part in a just war.
1361
01:06:58,666 --> 01:07:00,096
Not why I did not
take part in one.
1362
01:07:01,756 --> 01:07:03,146
It's what my father had to do.
1363
01:07:04,585 --> 01:07:07,495
Explain to us why he hired a man
1364
01:07:08,633 --> 01:07:09,903
to fight his war for him.
1365
01:07:12,071 --> 01:07:15,471
A just war that he whole
heartedly believed in.
1366
01:07:15,596 --> 01:07:17,286
A man ought to make his
words good by his deeds.
1367
01:07:17,381 --> 01:07:18,431
- Stop.
1368
01:07:18,512 --> 01:07:19,732
You've convinced yourself.
1369
01:07:20,906 --> 01:07:23,426
- Oh my goodness! Oh!
1370
01:07:23,561 --> 01:07:25,871
[shouting]
1371
01:07:27,173 --> 01:07:28,393
- One of the reasons
that he wants
1372
01:07:28,479 --> 01:07:31,179
to go to war is while
he believes his father
1373
01:07:31,264 --> 01:07:33,224
is the greatest man he ever met,
1374
01:07:33,310 --> 01:07:35,960
the only thing that
tinges him of uncertainty
1375
01:07:36,052 --> 01:07:38,622
with regard to his father
is that he did not fight
1376
01:07:38,706 --> 01:07:40,616
in the American Civil War.
1377
01:07:40,752 --> 01:07:43,492
- His father was certainly
on the Union side.
1378
01:07:43,624 --> 01:07:46,764
And would have liked to
go to war, but he didn't
1379
01:07:46,845 --> 01:07:50,105
because TR's mother
was a Confederate
1380
01:07:50,196 --> 01:07:52,496
and her brothers were
actually officers
1381
01:07:52,633 --> 01:07:54,853
in the Confederate Navy.
1382
01:07:54,983 --> 01:07:57,993
So some agreement was
made that his father
1383
01:07:58,074 --> 01:08:01,434
would not go to war because
that would actually create
1384
01:08:01,555 --> 01:08:03,595
war within the family itself.
1385
01:08:03,688 --> 01:08:05,778
So he did what many
other wealthy people did.
1386
01:08:05,864 --> 01:08:09,434
He bought proxies to
go fight on his behalf.
1387
01:08:12,392 --> 01:08:14,312
- Roosevelt's generation
grew up hearing
1388
01:08:14,438 --> 01:08:16,828
stories from their
uncles, from their fathers
1389
01:08:16,918 --> 01:08:19,048
about the Civil War.
1390
01:08:19,138 --> 01:08:20,358
And they only hear
the stories of glory.
1391
01:08:20,444 --> 01:08:22,664
Not the stories of tragedy.
1392
01:08:22,750 --> 01:08:25,060
And so, when the Spanish
American War was declared
1393
01:08:25,188 --> 01:08:27,318
a million men volunteered.
1394
01:08:27,451 --> 01:08:30,241
It's one of the
great ironies of war
1395
01:08:30,323 --> 01:08:33,203
that it both repels
and attracts.
1396
01:08:34,588 --> 01:08:36,978
- But for Roosevelt,
his father did not
1397
01:08:37,113 --> 01:08:41,203
go off to serve
when a generation
1398
01:08:41,334 --> 01:08:46,174
of American sons and
husbands did do that.
1399
01:08:46,252 --> 01:08:48,042
And so that was something
that kind of was
1400
01:08:48,124 --> 01:08:52,134
a shadow over Roosevelt's
view of the war.
1401
01:08:52,258 --> 01:08:55,168
- So, it informs his
own view of things
1402
01:08:55,305 --> 01:08:57,305
that I'm gonna be a
guy who goes for it.
1403
01:08:57,437 --> 01:08:59,307
I'm not gonna let
this opportunity pass.
1404
01:08:59,439 --> 01:09:00,959
I'm going to seize the moment
1405
01:09:01,093 --> 01:09:03,703
because it may never come again.
1406
01:09:03,791 --> 01:09:05,581
- [Roosevelt] It
was my one chance
1407
01:09:05,663 --> 01:09:09,363
to do something for my
country and for my family.
1408
01:09:09,493 --> 01:09:12,933
And my one chance to
cut my little notch
1409
01:09:13,018 --> 01:09:15,758
on the stick that stands
as a measuring rod
1410
01:09:15,847 --> 01:09:17,147
in every family.
1411
01:09:18,458 --> 01:09:20,368
- [Clay] John Long, the
Secretary of the Navy
1412
01:09:20,504 --> 01:09:22,854
said, no, your duty is
to stay at your desk.
1413
01:09:22,941 --> 01:09:25,551
Twice President McKinley
called him to the White House
1414
01:09:25,683 --> 01:09:29,083
and asked him not to
resign and go to war.
1415
01:09:29,208 --> 01:09:30,508
But Roosevelt resigned
his commission
1416
01:09:30,601 --> 01:09:32,431
as the Assistant
Secretary of the Navy
1417
01:09:32,516 --> 01:09:33,726
and he rounded up what he
called a harem, scare 'em
1418
01:09:33,865 --> 01:09:35,165
group of rough riders.
1419
01:09:36,824 --> 01:09:39,044
- Right away he
starts to demonstrate
1420
01:09:39,175 --> 01:09:41,435
a very sophisticated
appreciation
1421
01:09:41,525 --> 01:09:43,265
for what it means
to be a leader.
1422
01:09:43,353 --> 01:09:44,793
Roosevelt was perfectly
willing to say,
1423
01:09:44,876 --> 01:09:45,826
I don't know the answer.
1424
01:09:45,920 --> 01:09:47,310
I don't know what to do here.
1425
01:09:47,400 --> 01:09:49,580
He had a willingness to defer
1426
01:09:49,663 --> 01:09:51,713
to people who knew
more than he did.
1427
01:09:51,796 --> 01:09:54,536
- He realized that he
didn't have a background
1428
01:09:54,625 --> 01:09:56,405
in military leadership.
1429
01:09:56,540 --> 01:09:59,200
So he talked his old
friend from the frontier,
1430
01:09:59,282 --> 01:10:01,152
Colonel Wood, to take
the role as colonel
1431
01:10:01,240 --> 01:10:02,720
and he was second in command.
1432
01:10:04,243 --> 01:10:05,423
- [Clay] People come
out of the woodwork
1433
01:10:05,505 --> 01:10:07,285
as soon as they know that
Roosevelt's on the hunt.
1434
01:10:07,420 --> 01:10:10,340
- And because 23,000
applications came in,
1435
01:10:10,423 --> 01:10:12,253
he had the cream of the crop.
1436
01:10:12,338 --> 01:10:14,648
- Roosevelt got in touch with
the football coach at Harvard.
1437
01:10:14,732 --> 01:10:17,042
And with police
officers from New York.
1438
01:10:17,169 --> 01:10:18,649
- He wanted people from out west
1439
01:10:18,736 --> 01:10:20,686
that were used to
hardship, living outside,
1440
01:10:20,825 --> 01:10:22,825
firearms, riding on horses.
1441
01:10:22,957 --> 01:10:25,217
- [Clay] Harvard tennis
players and Yale yachtsmen,
1442
01:10:25,351 --> 01:10:27,181
and swells of the aristocracy.
1443
01:10:27,310 --> 01:10:29,700
- The number one and the
number two tennis players
1444
01:10:29,790 --> 01:10:33,050
in the country quit tennis
to become Rough Riders.
1445
01:10:33,185 --> 01:10:35,535
- As these grim frontier boys,
1446
01:10:35,666 --> 01:10:38,226
who probably have never
been very far from Wyoming.
1447
01:10:38,321 --> 01:10:40,241
- [Edward] Native Americans
would be part of this.
1448
01:10:40,366 --> 01:10:42,976
Southerners,
northerners, rich, poor.
1449
01:10:43,108 --> 01:10:46,018
It's a remarkable amalgam
of the American people.
1450
01:10:48,418 --> 01:10:50,328
- [Roosevelt] In my
regiment nine tenths
1451
01:10:50,463 --> 01:10:52,603
of the men were better
horsemen than I was,
1452
01:10:52,726 --> 01:10:55,856
and two thirds better
shots than I was.
1453
01:10:55,990 --> 01:10:58,730
While on the average they
were certainly more hardier
1454
01:10:58,863 --> 01:11:02,913
and enduring, yet after I
had them a very short while
1455
01:11:02,997 --> 01:11:05,997
they all knew, and I knew too,
1456
01:11:06,131 --> 01:11:09,271
that nobody else could
command them as I could.
1457
01:11:10,353 --> 01:11:12,363
- Well, here we are boys!
1458
01:11:14,008 --> 01:11:15,098
Your rifles have arrived.
1459
01:11:16,707 --> 01:11:19,577
These, the very same
the regulars use.
1460
01:11:22,539 --> 01:11:26,189
Colonel Wood saw to it that
you would have the best!
1461
01:11:26,325 --> 01:11:28,145
- [Soldiers] Yeah!
1462
01:11:28,240 --> 01:11:30,460
[cheering]
1463
01:11:31,635 --> 01:11:32,415
- Hi.
1464
01:11:32,505 --> 01:11:34,325
- Good setup.
1465
01:11:34,420 --> 01:11:35,900
- My pops taught me how
to use one of these.
1466
01:11:35,987 --> 01:11:38,687
- [Roosevelt] These were the
men who made up the regiment
1467
01:11:38,816 --> 01:11:41,596
and who gave it, it's
peculiar character.
1468
01:11:41,688 --> 01:11:43,118
- My, my, my.
1469
01:11:43,211 --> 01:11:44,391
- [Roosevelt] In all the world,
1470
01:11:44,474 --> 01:11:45,614
there could be no
better material
1471
01:11:45,692 --> 01:11:50,132
for soldiers than these
wild Rough Riders.
1472
01:11:50,218 --> 01:11:51,958
- Most of the men who
were there had heard
1473
01:11:52,046 --> 01:11:53,436
these stories about Roosevelt.
1474
01:11:53,570 --> 01:11:55,050
He's this towering figure.
1475
01:11:55,180 --> 01:11:56,440
They had maybe heard
some of the stories
1476
01:11:56,573 --> 01:11:58,053
of his life on a ranch.
1477
01:11:58,183 --> 01:12:00,753
But he arrives and
he's not as tall
1478
01:12:00,838 --> 01:12:01,798
as they thought he would be.
1479
01:12:01,926 --> 01:12:03,666
He was wearing glasses.
1480
01:12:03,797 --> 01:12:07,017
He had gone out and bought a
uniform at Brooks Brothers.
1481
01:12:07,105 --> 01:12:09,495
- One can only
imagine that they were
1482
01:12:09,586 --> 01:12:12,326
a little bit nervous about him.
1483
01:12:12,415 --> 01:12:15,195
- [Clay] And yet, he's out
there every morning for drills.
1484
01:12:15,287 --> 01:12:18,067
12 mile marches in
triple digit heat.
1485
01:12:18,159 --> 01:12:20,899
At night he would pour
through cavalry manuals
1486
01:12:20,988 --> 01:12:22,158
and combat manuals.
1487
01:12:22,990 --> 01:12:24,690
And the men love it.
1488
01:12:24,775 --> 01:12:26,855
- Once he gets them in
the training grounds,
1489
01:12:26,951 --> 01:12:29,871
he has to meld them together
to become a unified team.
1490
01:12:29,954 --> 01:12:31,914
And that's where he excels.
1491
01:12:32,043 --> 01:12:33,913
Understanding that people
from different parts
1492
01:12:34,001 --> 01:12:36,921
of life have to be able
to have a common purpose
1493
01:12:37,004 --> 01:12:39,884
and here their common purpose
is to be a Rough Rider.
1494
01:12:39,964 --> 01:12:41,714
Then he becomes a leader.
1495
01:12:41,792 --> 01:12:43,882
He becomes one of them.
1496
01:12:44,011 --> 01:12:46,231
Sometimes he got
too close to them.
1497
01:12:46,362 --> 01:12:47,892
After they had done
a good job one day
1498
01:12:48,015 --> 01:12:49,755
in the training camp he decided,
1499
01:12:49,887 --> 01:12:51,107
you can have all the
liquor you want tonight.
1500
01:12:51,236 --> 01:12:52,056
It's all on me.
1501
01:12:53,891 --> 01:12:56,501
- Come on, Captain, you've
got the mean cyclone.
1502
01:12:56,633 --> 01:12:59,553
[soldiers chatting]
1503
01:13:03,248 --> 01:13:03,988
- Here he comes.
1504
01:13:04,118 --> 01:13:05,158
- Get him, Captain!
1505
01:13:05,293 --> 01:13:06,083
Come on, Captain!
1506
01:13:06,164 --> 01:13:08,384
[groaning]
1507
01:13:10,081 --> 01:13:11,951
- What's going on here,
Colonel Roosevelt?
1508
01:13:12,039 --> 01:13:14,089
- Well, I think O'Neil's
about to, ha, ha.
1509
01:13:16,653 --> 01:13:17,263
All right, that's
enough, break it up.
1510
01:13:17,349 --> 01:13:18,129
Attention!
1511
01:13:18,219 --> 01:13:19,049
Back to your tents!
1512
01:13:28,882 --> 01:13:30,362
- I don't know
what to think about
1513
01:13:30,493 --> 01:13:33,283
an officer who allows drinking
and gambling among his men.
1514
01:13:34,932 --> 01:13:37,762
- Colonel Wood, I feel like
the biggest ass in 10 miles.
1515
01:13:37,891 --> 01:13:39,201
- I'm sure it
won't happen again.
1516
01:13:39,284 --> 01:13:40,114
- No.
1517
01:13:42,026 --> 01:13:42,936
- This came for you.
1518
01:13:44,463 --> 01:13:47,073
[dramatic music]
1519
01:13:53,472 --> 01:13:55,042
- My brother-in-law
is in the Navy.
1520
01:13:56,301 --> 01:13:57,351
He sent me this.
1521
01:13:57,476 --> 01:13:58,776
- Well, you're gonna need it.
1522
01:14:02,263 --> 01:14:03,613
We ship out in the morning.
1523
01:14:05,310 --> 01:14:07,920
[dramatic music]
1524
01:14:22,109 --> 01:14:23,109
- The Rough Riders
will eventually
1525
01:14:23,197 --> 01:14:24,107
be ordered on the
29th of May to leave
1526
01:14:24,198 --> 01:14:26,238
San Antonio and head to Tampa.
1527
01:14:26,374 --> 01:14:28,644
When they get there, there's
hardly any organization.
1528
01:14:28,768 --> 01:14:30,068
Nobody's there to greet them.
1529
01:14:30,161 --> 01:14:31,901
Leonard Wood probably
characterizes this
1530
01:14:32,032 --> 01:14:35,822
the best when he says,
confusion, confusion, confusion.
1531
01:14:35,906 --> 01:14:37,596
- But it's a real rush job.
1532
01:14:37,734 --> 01:14:40,694
There's a lot of snafus
as the military would say.
1533
01:14:40,824 --> 01:14:42,434
But even with all
of those problems,
1534
01:14:42,521 --> 01:14:45,311
Roosevelt is not one
to lack confidence.
1535
01:14:45,393 --> 01:14:47,833
He believes that he understands
what needs to be done.
1536
01:14:49,180 --> 01:14:49,960
- [Roosevelt]
Tampa was the scene
1537
01:14:50,094 --> 01:14:52,404
of the wildest confusion.
1538
01:14:52,488 --> 01:14:54,748
There was no semblance of order.
1539
01:14:54,838 --> 01:14:58,838
We had to shove and huffle for
ourselves as best we could.
1540
01:14:59,582 --> 01:15:00,932
- It's all chaos.
1541
01:15:01,018 --> 01:15:02,848
America hasn't fought
a war for a long time.
1542
01:15:02,976 --> 01:15:03,926
- [Clay] Troops everywhere.
1543
01:15:04,021 --> 01:15:06,551
Miles and miles
of supply trains.
1544
01:15:06,632 --> 01:15:09,242
- Rail cars stacked
up from Tampa
1545
01:15:09,374 --> 01:15:12,644
to Columbia, South
Carolina 500 miles away.
1546
01:15:12,725 --> 01:15:14,895
- [Clay] The army has a problem.
1547
01:15:15,032 --> 01:15:18,172
They have more than
20,000 soldiers in Tampa
1548
01:15:18,252 --> 01:15:19,562
and they're only able
to get enough ships
1549
01:15:19,645 --> 01:15:21,385
to carry about 16,000 men.
1550
01:15:22,474 --> 01:15:25,264
- Every unit is required to cut.
1551
01:15:25,390 --> 01:15:27,960
This is an extremely
heart wrenching moment
1552
01:15:28,088 --> 01:15:30,528
for both Leonard Wood
and Theodore Roosevelt
1553
01:15:30,656 --> 01:15:33,786
to figure out which members of
the Rough Riders will not go.
1554
01:15:33,877 --> 01:15:36,747
Ultimately they will take
about 560 of their men.
1555
01:15:36,836 --> 01:15:38,526
Most of the horses
will be left behind.
1556
01:15:39,926 --> 01:15:42,276
- They could only afford
to bring the horses
1557
01:15:42,407 --> 01:15:43,967
for the officers.
1558
01:15:44,061 --> 01:15:46,241
The Rough Riders had been
designed as a cavalry regiment.
1559
01:15:47,673 --> 01:15:49,073
- They are now gonna
walk on their feet
1560
01:15:49,153 --> 01:15:50,423
and they're gonna be
employed just like infantry.
1561
01:15:50,502 --> 01:15:51,902
So their role changes.
1562
01:15:52,025 --> 01:15:53,455
Whatever they got
in their training
1563
01:15:53,549 --> 01:15:56,419
in San Antonio, largely
thrown out the window as well.
1564
01:15:58,945 --> 01:16:01,335
When the order is given
to board the ships,
1565
01:16:01,426 --> 01:16:03,296
the Rough Riders are
waiting for their ship.
1566
01:16:03,428 --> 01:16:05,258
They go hunt down the
quartermaster to go,
1567
01:16:05,343 --> 01:16:07,263
hey, what boat are
we supposed to go on?
1568
01:16:07,345 --> 01:16:09,735
In that chaos, the
quartermaster says, hey,
1569
01:16:09,826 --> 01:16:11,516
why don't you take the Yucatan?
1570
01:16:11,654 --> 01:16:13,534
In the meantime they
learn two other regiments
1571
01:16:13,612 --> 01:16:15,352
were already
assigned to that ship
1572
01:16:15,440 --> 01:16:16,620
and Theodore Roosevelt
wants to make sure
1573
01:16:16,746 --> 01:16:18,696
his Rough Riders
are on there first.
1574
01:16:18,835 --> 01:16:20,875
- You're still not only my
list, I've told you twice.
1575
01:16:20,967 --> 01:16:22,747
Next, here, move it, go!
1576
01:16:26,059 --> 01:16:29,449
- Wood found us a
boat, the Yucatan.
1577
01:16:31,064 --> 01:16:33,854
But we've gotta get
past that guard.
1578
01:16:33,937 --> 01:16:35,717
Keep the men ready.
1579
01:16:35,808 --> 01:16:38,028
If we're going to Cuba,
it's now or never.
1580
01:16:38,115 --> 01:16:39,985
- [Davis] Colonel Roosevelt.
1581
01:16:40,073 --> 01:16:42,773
- Mr. Davis, Mr. Marshall.
1582
01:16:42,902 --> 01:16:44,122
Are you looking for a story?
1583
01:16:44,251 --> 01:16:45,211
- Got room for two reporters?
1584
01:16:45,339 --> 01:16:46,119
- Ha, ha, not yet.
1585
01:16:48,255 --> 01:16:49,125
But I might.
1586
01:16:50,040 --> 01:16:51,960
Give me a piece of paper.
1587
01:16:55,654 --> 01:16:56,484
Thank you.
1588
01:16:59,832 --> 01:17:01,972
[clearing throat]
1589
01:17:02,095 --> 01:17:03,965
Orders from General Shafter.
1590
01:17:04,054 --> 01:17:06,934
This vessel is reserved for
the 1st Volunteer Cavalry.
1591
01:17:07,013 --> 01:17:08,493
We'll be boarding
immediately, Sergeant.
1592
01:17:08,580 --> 01:17:11,020
- Sir, I was told
the 2nd Infantry is
1593
01:17:11,104 --> 01:17:12,724
gonna board this ship.
1594
01:17:12,802 --> 01:17:14,932
- Well, these orders are
from the commanding general.
1595
01:17:15,021 --> 01:17:15,981
- Can I see them, sir?
1596
01:17:21,506 --> 01:17:22,986
- Are you questioning
me, Sergeant?
1597
01:17:25,684 --> 01:17:26,344
- No, sir, I.
1598
01:17:27,947 --> 01:17:28,987
- The Yucatan is ours!
1599
01:17:29,079 --> 01:17:29,859
Captain O'Neil!
1600
01:17:29,949 --> 01:17:31,559
Move the men out, now!
1601
01:17:31,647 --> 01:17:33,997
- 1st Volunteers,
columns of two.
1602
01:17:34,127 --> 01:17:35,127
Move up!
1603
01:17:35,215 --> 01:17:36,735
Quick march!
1604
01:17:36,869 --> 01:17:37,569
- Double quick!
1605
01:17:37,696 --> 01:17:38,346
Better hurry.
1606
01:17:40,133 --> 01:17:41,003
Good, good.
1607
01:17:43,920 --> 01:17:47,360
[ship horn blowing]
1608
01:17:47,488 --> 01:17:49,668
- What the hell is going on?
1609
01:17:51,667 --> 01:17:53,017
Your men are boarding my boat.
1610
01:17:54,626 --> 01:17:56,576
I'm the 2nd Infantry.
1611
01:17:56,672 --> 01:17:58,372
I'm supposed to
have the Yucatan.
1612
01:17:58,499 --> 01:18:00,369
- I have orders for this vessel.
1613
01:18:02,373 --> 01:18:04,643
- So you're the
famous Rough Riders.
1614
01:18:04,723 --> 01:18:07,123
Get your men off immediately.
1615
01:18:07,204 --> 01:18:08,774
We're regular army.
1616
01:18:08,858 --> 01:18:09,688
We've got priority.
1617
01:18:11,817 --> 01:18:14,557
- My volunteers are the best
regiment in this army, Colonel.
1618
01:18:16,561 --> 01:18:17,391
And you're late.
1619
01:18:19,042 --> 01:18:21,092
- I'm reporting this
to General Shafter.
1620
01:18:21,218 --> 01:18:22,178
- Oh, ho, ho!
1621
01:18:22,262 --> 01:18:23,132
You do that, Colonel!
1622
01:18:23,220 --> 01:18:24,700
Meanwhile, we'll be in Cuba.
1623
01:18:26,571 --> 01:18:29,231
[dramatic music]
1624
01:18:34,448 --> 01:18:36,278
- Hey, possession is
nine tenths of the law.
1625
01:18:36,363 --> 01:18:37,973
We're already here.
1626
01:18:38,104 --> 01:18:40,024
That's how he ensures
that his Rough Riders
1627
01:18:40,106 --> 01:18:40,886
will go to Cuba.
1628
01:18:44,981 --> 01:18:46,591
- [Roosevelt] We
sailed for Cuba.
1629
01:18:46,722 --> 01:18:48,852
That is, eight
troops dismounted.
1630
01:18:48,941 --> 01:18:51,551
We do not like needing
to leave the remainder
1631
01:18:51,639 --> 01:18:53,689
and having to leave our horses.
1632
01:18:53,772 --> 01:18:57,732
But we would rather crawl
on all fours than not go.
1633
01:18:59,212 --> 01:19:00,392
- The landing site is
1634
01:19:00,474 --> 01:19:03,134
a little fishing
village called Daiquiri.
1635
01:19:03,216 --> 01:19:05,826
And the landing does
not go smoothly.
1636
01:19:05,915 --> 01:19:07,255
The seas are rough.
1637
01:19:07,351 --> 01:19:08,531
There are no landing ships.
1638
01:19:08,613 --> 01:19:10,093
They only have one large barge
1639
01:19:10,180 --> 01:19:11,830
to bring things unto the beach.
1640
01:19:11,964 --> 01:19:13,884
- Trying to get the
officer's horses ashore,
1641
01:19:13,966 --> 01:19:15,656
a lot of them start
swimming the wrong way.
1642
01:19:15,794 --> 01:19:18,194
One of Roosevelt's
horses got sucked under.
1643
01:19:18,275 --> 01:19:20,095
Two men drowned.
1644
01:19:20,233 --> 01:19:22,113
- But, it's an
unopposed landing.
1645
01:19:22,192 --> 01:19:25,502
That's probably the only
thing that really saves them.
1646
01:19:25,586 --> 01:19:26,756
- [Clay] The immediate plan
1647
01:19:26,892 --> 01:19:29,032
is to secure the
path to Santiago.
1648
01:19:29,112 --> 01:19:31,902
A port city on the
southeast coast.
1649
01:19:31,984 --> 01:19:34,294
They have neutralized
the Spanish fleet
1650
01:19:34,378 --> 01:19:36,468
which is bottled up in
the harbor at Santiago.
1651
01:19:38,643 --> 01:19:40,173
And the Rough Riders
are sent along
1652
01:19:40,253 --> 01:19:42,693
a range of hills
just to the west.
1653
01:19:42,778 --> 01:19:44,038
It's rougher going.
1654
01:19:44,127 --> 01:19:45,817
There isn't really
much of a trail.
1655
01:19:45,955 --> 01:19:47,425
The Americans didn't
really have maps.
1656
01:19:47,521 --> 01:19:48,701
There was no real sense
1657
01:19:48,784 --> 01:19:51,354
of what the territory
looked like.
1658
01:19:51,482 --> 01:19:52,922
- [Doug] They can't
cover a lot of ground.
1659
01:19:53,049 --> 01:19:55,439
The only horses there
are for senior officers.
1660
01:19:55,529 --> 01:19:56,789
So the reconnaissance mission
1661
01:19:56,879 --> 01:19:58,269
that would normally
be done by horses
1662
01:19:58,402 --> 01:19:59,492
is not being done.
1663
01:20:00,796 --> 01:20:02,146
There are two
reporters with them
1664
01:20:02,232 --> 01:20:04,152
to make sure the
story gets told.
1665
01:20:07,019 --> 01:20:09,019
- [Roosevelt] It was
a mountainous country,
1666
01:20:09,108 --> 01:20:11,458
covered with thick jungle.
1667
01:20:11,545 --> 01:20:13,155
A most confusing country.
1668
01:20:15,332 --> 01:20:16,122
[dramatic music]
1669
01:20:16,202 --> 01:20:17,162
- Where are we, Colonel?
1670
01:20:19,031 --> 01:20:20,341
- Cuba, Mr. Marshall.
1671
01:20:22,687 --> 01:20:25,337
[dramatic music]
1672
01:20:40,923 --> 01:20:43,013
- There's a dead Cuban
fighter, Colonel.
1673
01:20:43,099 --> 01:20:44,189
- The Spanish must be close,
1674
01:20:44,274 --> 01:20:45,364
pass the word,
silence in the ranks.
1675
01:20:45,492 --> 01:20:46,192
Show me.
1676
01:20:47,712 --> 01:20:50,192
[ominous music]
1677
01:20:58,549 --> 01:20:59,379
- Where are they?
1678
01:21:00,725 --> 01:21:03,205
[ominous music]
1679
01:21:08,298 --> 01:21:09,868
- They're signaling.
1680
01:21:13,042 --> 01:21:13,742
[gunshot]
1681
01:21:21,050 --> 01:21:22,140
Help him!
1682
01:21:22,225 --> 01:21:24,355
[gunfire]
1683
01:21:44,638 --> 01:21:45,898
- What are your orders?
1684
01:21:46,031 --> 01:21:47,821
- We've gotta get
through that fence
1685
01:21:47,903 --> 01:21:50,213
and past the clearing
to get at them.
1686
01:21:50,340 --> 01:21:51,080
Head down.
1687
01:21:52,429 --> 01:21:54,869
[guns firing]
1688
01:21:56,433 --> 01:21:57,653
Troopers, formation!
1689
01:21:57,782 --> 01:22:00,182
Company, forward double quick!
1690
01:22:00,306 --> 01:22:01,866
- Come on, double quick.
1691
01:22:02,004 --> 01:22:03,094
Faster, faster!
1692
01:22:04,615 --> 01:22:05,395
Move!
1693
01:22:07,009 --> 01:22:08,709
- For most of the men,
this is their first combat.
1694
01:22:08,793 --> 01:22:10,623
Roosevelt included,
but Roosevelt takes
1695
01:22:10,751 --> 01:22:12,361
to it very quickly.
1696
01:22:12,449 --> 01:22:13,889
- Roosevelt comes
across a person
1697
01:22:13,972 --> 01:22:15,412
who imagined himself a soldier
1698
01:22:15,539 --> 01:22:16,889
but wasn't really a soldier.
1699
01:22:17,019 --> 01:22:18,409
He could have easily
been one of those guys
1700
01:22:18,542 --> 01:22:19,892
who held back and
all, but he was not.
1701
01:22:20,022 --> 01:22:21,112
He was a person that said,
1702
01:22:21,240 --> 01:22:22,720
I'm the real deal
and I know that means
1703
01:22:22,807 --> 01:22:26,547
I have to put my body
on the line and he does.
1704
01:22:26,637 --> 01:22:28,327
- As the Rough Riders
advance along the road
1705
01:22:28,465 --> 01:22:31,025
to Santiago, Roosevelt's
role is to connect up
1706
01:22:31,163 --> 01:22:33,953
with the US regulars
to attack Las Guasimos.
1707
01:22:34,079 --> 01:22:35,599
The first Spanish
line of defense.
1708
01:22:37,300 --> 01:22:39,350
- [Clay] The fighting goes
on for a couple of hours
1709
01:22:39,476 --> 01:22:42,436
until finally the
Americans rush the Spanish.
1710
01:22:42,566 --> 01:22:44,306
- It's their first victory.
1711
01:22:44,437 --> 01:22:46,657
And those reporters make
sure this gets reported
1712
01:22:46,744 --> 01:22:48,664
in the US press.
1713
01:22:48,789 --> 01:22:50,399
But after the battle
of Las Gausimas,
1714
01:22:50,530 --> 01:22:51,920
there is a delay.
1715
01:22:52,010 --> 01:22:53,930
The roads are bad.
1716
01:22:54,056 --> 01:22:55,356
They're in the rainy season.
1717
01:22:55,448 --> 01:22:57,058
Supplies go bad.
1718
01:22:57,189 --> 01:23:00,239
- Which gives the Spanish
a lot of time to prepare.
1719
01:23:00,366 --> 01:23:03,716
Over the next several days
the Spanish dug in a line
1720
01:23:03,848 --> 01:23:07,328
of trenches and machine
gun posts all along
1721
01:23:07,460 --> 01:23:08,900
this range of hills that's
1722
01:23:09,027 --> 01:23:10,587
called San Juan Heights.
1723
01:23:10,724 --> 01:23:11,814
- [Doug] The Rough Riders need
1724
01:23:11,899 --> 01:23:13,119
to attack San Juan Heights,
1725
01:23:13,205 --> 01:23:14,815
the principle defense guarding
1726
01:23:14,902 --> 01:23:17,302
the approach to Santiago.
1727
01:23:17,427 --> 01:23:18,947
- There's no way to retreat,
1728
01:23:19,081 --> 01:23:22,171
so if this doesn't work
they're going to be massacred.
1729
01:23:24,564 --> 01:23:27,004
- The day started with
a lot of confusion.
1730
01:23:27,089 --> 01:23:28,959
Orders weren't coming down.
1731
01:23:29,047 --> 01:23:32,567
It wasn't clear who
was actually in charge.
1732
01:23:32,703 --> 01:23:35,363
- Theodore Roosevelt is
now regimental commander.
1733
01:23:35,488 --> 01:23:37,488
Because Leonard Wood
has been bumped up
1734
01:23:37,577 --> 01:23:39,057
to be brigade commander.
1735
01:23:39,144 --> 01:23:41,494
Roosevelt is chomping
at the bit to go.
1736
01:23:41,581 --> 01:23:43,281
Ready to go at 11:20.
1737
01:23:43,409 --> 01:23:45,279
12 o'clock, one o'clock.
1738
01:23:45,411 --> 01:23:46,891
And yet, there they sit.
1739
01:23:46,978 --> 01:23:48,848
Within range of the Spanish
who start to fire at 'em.
1740
01:23:48,980 --> 01:23:50,160
They're taking casualties.
1741
01:23:51,200 --> 01:23:54,160
[gunfire]
1742
01:23:54,290 --> 01:23:55,160
- I need orders
from General Sumner
1743
01:23:55,291 --> 01:23:55,941
if I'm gonna get
us up that hill.
1744
01:23:56,074 --> 01:23:57,344
Just keep the men ready!
1745
01:23:57,423 --> 01:23:58,953
- Hold tight!
1746
01:23:59,077 --> 01:24:00,597
Brush 'em off, keep it tight.
1747
01:24:00,687 --> 01:24:02,907
- Captain, get down!
1748
01:24:02,994 --> 01:24:05,394
[dramatic music]
1749
01:24:05,518 --> 01:24:07,558
[gunfire]
1750
01:24:12,264 --> 01:24:14,484
- [Roosevelt] The instant
I received the order
1751
01:24:14,614 --> 01:24:17,144
my crowded hour began.
1752
01:24:19,750 --> 01:24:21,620
The man in command
must take all the risks
1753
01:24:21,752 --> 01:24:23,542
he asks his men to take.
1754
01:24:24,494 --> 01:24:26,104
On the day of the big fight,
1755
01:24:26,235 --> 01:24:28,185
the only way to
get them to do it
1756
01:24:28,324 --> 01:24:31,024
in the way it had to be done
was to lead them myself.
1757
01:24:31,153 --> 01:24:33,073
- You all know what to do, men.
1758
01:24:33,198 --> 01:24:34,458
Follow me!
1759
01:24:34,591 --> 01:24:37,421
[soldiers shouting]
1760
01:24:39,030 --> 01:24:43,430
- This is the moment for
showing that he is without fear.
1761
01:24:43,513 --> 01:24:45,563
This is the peak he
has been climbing
1762
01:24:45,645 --> 01:24:47,725
for so long in his life.
1763
01:24:48,909 --> 01:24:51,039
[gunfire]
1764
01:24:52,391 --> 01:24:53,831
- For the Spanish
shooting down the slope,
1765
01:24:53,958 --> 01:24:55,258
the Americans are
very vulnerable
1766
01:24:55,351 --> 01:24:56,831
and there's nobody
who's more vulnerable
1767
01:24:56,961 --> 01:24:57,831
than Theodore Roosevelt.
1768
01:24:57,962 --> 01:24:59,052
He's a big target.
1769
01:24:59,137 --> 01:25:01,007
He's on a horse and if you're
1770
01:25:01,139 --> 01:25:02,839
a Spanish soldier you
know that a person
1771
01:25:02,923 --> 01:25:04,493
on a horse is an officer.
1772
01:25:04,621 --> 01:25:08,151
And so he had a lot of
heavy fire coming his way.
1773
01:25:08,277 --> 01:25:10,187
Roosevelt has bullets
nick off of his clothing,
1774
01:25:10,322 --> 01:25:11,672
nick off of his boots.
1775
01:25:11,758 --> 01:25:13,408
His life could have
ended right there.
1776
01:25:13,543 --> 01:25:15,203
- This is the image
and the reporting
1777
01:25:15,327 --> 01:25:16,627
that made him a national hero.
1778
01:25:16,763 --> 01:25:18,943
A reporter said that
nobody who saw him
1779
01:25:19,070 --> 01:25:21,940
take that ride expected that
he would finish it alive.
1780
01:25:22,943 --> 01:25:25,953
[soldiers shouting]
1781
01:25:28,166 --> 01:25:31,556
- [Roosevelt] All men
who feel joy in battle
1782
01:25:31,691 --> 01:25:33,391
know what it is like.
1783
01:25:34,781 --> 01:25:37,701
When the wolf
rises in the heart.
1784
01:25:37,784 --> 01:25:40,794
[soldiers shouting]
1785
01:25:42,485 --> 01:25:45,525
[automatic gunfire]
1786
01:25:45,662 --> 01:25:48,142
[men shouting]
1787
01:25:59,980 --> 01:26:02,030
[gunshot]
1788
01:26:05,247 --> 01:26:08,027
[heavy breathing]
1789
01:26:13,690 --> 01:26:16,350
[ethereal music]
1790
01:26:27,878 --> 01:26:29,658
- They get to the top.
1791
01:26:29,749 --> 01:26:32,009
They overrun the
Spanish trenches.
1792
01:26:32,143 --> 01:26:35,453
After nine days in Cuba,
they've conquered San Juan Hill.
1793
01:26:37,583 --> 01:26:40,333
- TR called it his crowded hour.
1794
01:26:40,412 --> 01:26:43,372
This was such a pivotal
moment in his life
1795
01:26:43,502 --> 01:26:48,332
and all crammed into just
one hour out of a lifetime.
1796
01:26:48,638 --> 01:26:49,768
- [Clay] After this battle,
1797
01:26:49,856 --> 01:26:51,856
the Americans lay
siege to Santiago.
1798
01:26:51,989 --> 01:26:53,639
The Spanish sue for peace.
1799
01:26:57,951 --> 01:26:58,741
- Are you all right, Colonel?
1800
01:26:58,865 --> 01:26:59,605
Your arm.
1801
01:26:59,736 --> 01:27:01,256
- Eh, it's nothing.
1802
01:27:01,390 --> 01:27:03,090
A lot of the boys are
worse off than me.
1803
01:27:03,174 --> 01:27:04,964
I'd have gladly
taken a bullet just
1804
01:27:05,045 --> 01:27:05,955
to be part of this.
1805
01:27:06,046 --> 01:27:08,306
[chuckling]
1806
01:27:09,659 --> 01:27:11,399
- He eventually wrote
a book about it.
1807
01:27:11,530 --> 01:27:13,050
Of course, he always
writes a book.
1808
01:27:13,140 --> 01:27:14,320
It's called "The Rough Riders."
1809
01:27:14,446 --> 01:27:16,096
Published in 1899.
1810
01:27:16,187 --> 01:27:18,447
The great Chicago writer
Finley Peter Dunne
1811
01:27:18,581 --> 01:27:21,021
loved to tease the
Roosevelt myths.
1812
01:27:21,105 --> 01:27:23,015
He wrote a review of the book.
1813
01:27:23,150 --> 01:27:24,240
And he said the only problem
1814
01:27:24,369 --> 01:27:24,979
with the book,
"The Rough Riders"
1815
01:27:25,109 --> 01:27:27,109
is that it's misnamed.
1816
01:27:27,242 --> 01:27:29,512
- He said that Roosevelt
made himself the center
1817
01:27:29,592 --> 01:27:31,902
of every moment of
every action of the war.
1818
01:27:31,985 --> 01:27:34,205
That he should have called
the book Alone in Cuba.
1819
01:27:36,120 --> 01:27:38,210
The whole country is
laughing about this
1820
01:27:38,340 --> 01:27:39,990
and what does Roosevelt do?
1821
01:27:40,080 --> 01:27:42,390
He writes a letter to
Finley Dunne and he says,
1822
01:27:42,518 --> 01:27:44,388
I regret to tell
you that my wife
1823
01:27:44,520 --> 01:27:46,740
and my most intimate friends
are absolutely delighted
1824
01:27:46,870 --> 01:27:48,180
with your review of my book.
1825
01:27:48,263 --> 01:27:49,573
Now you owe me one.
1826
01:27:49,655 --> 01:27:50,785
I'd like you to visit me
1827
01:27:50,874 --> 01:27:52,664
the next time you
come to Washington.
1828
01:27:52,789 --> 01:27:56,179
He relished that ability
to make fun of himself
1829
01:27:56,314 --> 01:27:58,234
and he knew it endeared
him to his critics.
1830
01:27:58,316 --> 01:28:01,486
It's again a mark of his
maturity as a leader.
1831
01:28:01,624 --> 01:28:04,244
- So he was able to kind
of narrate his own story
1832
01:28:04,322 --> 01:28:06,192
and not only is there
a great exaltation
1833
01:28:06,324 --> 01:28:08,374
that the US forces have
achieved victories,
1834
01:28:08,500 --> 01:28:09,720
but that there's a hero.
1835
01:28:09,806 --> 01:28:11,586
There's a person that
embodies this triumph
1836
01:28:11,721 --> 01:28:14,031
and his name is
Theodore Roosevelt.
1837
01:28:14,158 --> 01:28:16,988
[triumphant music]
1838
01:28:28,868 --> 01:28:31,348
- [Reporter] The war weary,
but triumphant veterans
1839
01:28:31,436 --> 01:28:33,476
just returned from
their Cuban campaign
1840
01:28:35,005 --> 01:28:37,005
and received the acclaim
of a frenzied nation.
1841
01:28:41,968 --> 01:28:43,708
- With the ultimate
surrender of Spain
1842
01:28:43,840 --> 01:28:45,800
at the end of the
Spanish-American War
1843
01:28:45,929 --> 01:28:47,449
they will give up Cuba.
1844
01:28:47,583 --> 01:28:50,463
This doesn't become a
United States possession.
1845
01:28:50,586 --> 01:28:52,066
But what the United States
does get out of this
1846
01:28:52,196 --> 01:28:52,846
is Puerto Rico.
1847
01:28:53,937 --> 01:28:55,807
It also gets Guam.
1848
01:28:55,939 --> 01:28:58,329
And gives the United States
control of the Philippines.
1849
01:28:59,943 --> 01:29:01,473
The United States becomes
1850
01:29:01,553 --> 01:29:04,033
an imperialistic world
power in eight months.
1851
01:29:06,515 --> 01:29:08,165
- The Spanish-American
War happens
1852
01:29:08,255 --> 01:29:10,475
at a time when America was,
1853
01:29:10,606 --> 01:29:12,776
in so many ways,
at a crossroads.
1854
01:29:12,869 --> 01:29:14,999
It was coming out of
a depression ridden
1855
01:29:15,088 --> 01:29:18,478
by sectional tensions between
the North and the South.
1856
01:29:18,570 --> 01:29:21,920
Labor tensions, ethnic tensions.
1857
01:29:22,008 --> 01:29:23,918
And the world is looking
at America going,
1858
01:29:24,010 --> 01:29:27,190
what is its role going
to be as a major power?
1859
01:29:27,274 --> 01:29:29,284
And the Spanish-American
War comes along
1860
01:29:29,407 --> 01:29:33,107
and it solves so many
of those conundrums.
1861
01:29:33,237 --> 01:29:35,807
It unifies different
parts of the country
1862
01:29:35,935 --> 01:29:39,845
behind a common purpose
and against a common enemy.
1863
01:29:39,939 --> 01:29:41,849
And it gave America a purpose.
1864
01:29:41,985 --> 01:29:45,335
It allowed it to say, this
is what we do with our power.
1865
01:29:45,467 --> 01:29:48,337
We go and we help other people.
1866
01:29:48,426 --> 01:29:50,986
It allowed America to tell
itself a certain story
1867
01:29:51,081 --> 01:29:53,391
about why America needs
to be in the world.
1868
01:29:55,955 --> 01:30:00,565
- TR returns from Cuba the
most famous man in America.
1869
01:30:03,485 --> 01:30:04,745
- He is perceived as a hero.
1870
01:30:06,096 --> 01:30:07,396
And there was a
cult of personality
1871
01:30:07,532 --> 01:30:09,582
that had developed around him.
1872
01:30:09,708 --> 01:30:12,058
He's been in all these
different parts of the country.
1873
01:30:12,145 --> 01:30:14,575
Meeting people from
different parts of life.
1874
01:30:14,713 --> 01:30:15,933
And yet he could
connect with them
1875
01:30:16,019 --> 01:30:17,499
as if he were part of them.
1876
01:30:17,586 --> 01:30:19,146
And that's the important thing.
1877
01:30:19,239 --> 01:30:21,979
He absorbs different areas of
America's life into himself
1878
01:30:22,068 --> 01:30:24,198
and becomes this
much larger person.
1879
01:30:24,288 --> 01:30:26,938
So he represented a
mosaic of American life.
1880
01:30:30,337 --> 01:30:31,987
- In the aftermath of
the Spanish-American War,
1881
01:30:32,078 --> 01:30:34,778
Roosevelt has to decide
what he's gonna do next.
1882
01:30:34,864 --> 01:30:37,954
And very quickly he's
encouraged to run for governor.
1883
01:30:38,041 --> 01:30:40,481
And he seizes that opportunity.
1884
01:30:40,565 --> 01:30:42,645
He's already been involved
in New York State politics
1885
01:30:42,785 --> 01:30:44,655
so he feels like he
knows that scene.
1886
01:30:44,743 --> 01:30:46,923
Also, we need to remember
in the late 19th century,
1887
01:30:47,050 --> 01:30:48,920
governors of New
York were almost
1888
01:30:49,052 --> 01:30:52,842
automatically considered
viable Presidential candidates.
1889
01:30:52,969 --> 01:30:54,799
- New York was the
commercial center.
1890
01:30:54,884 --> 01:30:56,764
It was the wholesale center.
1891
01:30:56,842 --> 01:30:59,152
New York Harbor was
the largest harbor
1892
01:30:59,236 --> 01:31:00,716
in the Western hemisphere.
1893
01:31:00,846 --> 01:31:04,756
It was the import-export
center of the United States.
1894
01:31:04,894 --> 01:31:08,514
- In New York the Republican
Party represented big business
1895
01:31:08,593 --> 01:31:10,773
and Theodore Roosevelt
was always a part
1896
01:31:10,856 --> 01:31:12,636
of the reformer wing.
1897
01:31:12,728 --> 01:31:14,118
- And so the party bosses
1898
01:31:14,207 --> 01:31:16,687
are not so sure about
him being governor.
1899
01:31:16,775 --> 01:31:18,855
They don't want a
reformer in that job.
1900
01:31:18,995 --> 01:31:21,255
- But as much as
the Republican boss
1901
01:31:21,345 --> 01:31:23,515
in New York, Thomas
Platt, can't stand him,
1902
01:31:23,608 --> 01:31:25,308
he realizes the only
chance they have
1903
01:31:25,436 --> 01:31:28,436
of the Republicans holding
on to the gubernatorial seat
1904
01:31:28,570 --> 01:31:33,100
is if they have a sure
thing run for governor.
1905
01:31:33,183 --> 01:31:34,713
- They figured it was
better to win the election
1906
01:31:34,837 --> 01:31:37,097
with TR than to
lose the election.
1907
01:31:37,230 --> 01:31:38,190
So they backed him.
1908
01:31:40,016 --> 01:31:41,966
- So Roosevelt just barnstorms.
1909
01:31:43,715 --> 01:31:46,715
Tirelessly goes around
the state by train.
1910
01:31:46,849 --> 01:31:48,459
- [Roosevelt] After
being nominated,
1911
01:31:48,546 --> 01:31:51,846
I made a hard and aggressive
campaign through the state.
1912
01:31:51,941 --> 01:31:53,731
Making my appeal as directly
1913
01:31:53,812 --> 01:31:55,952
and as emphatically
as I knew how.
1914
01:31:56,032 --> 01:31:58,302
To the mass of
voters themselves.
1915
01:31:58,382 --> 01:31:59,912
To the people.
1916
01:32:00,036 --> 01:32:02,206
- [Jared] He does
the whistle stops.
1917
01:32:02,342 --> 01:32:04,952
Travels to more towns, cities,
1918
01:32:05,041 --> 01:32:07,301
parts of the state than anyone.
1919
01:32:07,391 --> 01:32:10,441
- [Clay] Giving speech
after speech after speech.
1920
01:32:10,568 --> 01:32:13,528
- [Jared] TR is really the
first modern campaigner.
1921
01:32:14,877 --> 01:32:18,487
- He is perfectly
primed for the new kind
1922
01:32:18,576 --> 01:32:22,226
of politics which
emphasizes a public persona.
1923
01:32:22,362 --> 01:32:24,712
Which emphasizes romanticism,
1924
01:32:24,843 --> 01:32:27,323
which emphasizes celebrity.
1925
01:32:27,454 --> 01:32:29,504
- [Jared] He campaigns
with the Rough Riders.
1926
01:32:29,631 --> 01:32:31,111
He has them stump for him.
1927
01:32:31,197 --> 01:32:32,977
He has them introduce him.
1928
01:32:33,069 --> 01:32:36,679
- I'm Sergeant Buck Taylor of
the 1st Cavalry Volunteers.
1929
01:32:36,768 --> 01:32:39,078
And today I want to tell
you about my colonel.
1930
01:32:40,250 --> 01:32:42,430
[cheering]
1931
01:32:45,168 --> 01:32:46,468
Colonel Roosevelt--
1932
01:32:46,561 --> 01:32:48,481
- [Tweed] But it was
a very close race.
1933
01:32:48,563 --> 01:32:50,003
- [Roosevelt] I don't
know in the least
1934
01:32:50,086 --> 01:32:51,736
what my chances
are for governor.
1935
01:32:53,611 --> 01:32:54,701
- [Doris] Joe Murray,
the political boss
1936
01:32:54,830 --> 01:32:55,960
from New York City
1937
01:32:56,092 --> 01:32:58,442
is helping him on
the campaign trail.
1938
01:32:58,529 --> 01:33:00,309
- Another great crowd.
1939
01:33:00,400 --> 01:33:03,060
- You're going to
win by 100,000 votes.
1940
01:33:04,448 --> 01:33:06,358
You will be the next
governor of New York.
1941
01:33:06,450 --> 01:33:08,410
- It's gonna be
closer than that.
1942
01:33:08,495 --> 01:33:09,365
If we win at all.
1943
01:33:09,453 --> 01:33:10,283
- He's right.
1944
01:33:11,760 --> 01:33:14,370
Half of them out there
are women and children.
1945
01:33:14,458 --> 01:33:17,028
I prefer actual living,
breathing voters.
1946
01:33:17,113 --> 01:33:18,773
- Plenty of eligible
voters here.
1947
01:33:21,770 --> 01:33:24,640
- From what I
hear, the Democrats
1948
01:33:24,729 --> 01:33:26,909
are spreading buckets of
cash around the precincts.
1949
01:33:27,036 --> 01:33:28,296
It'll be close, all right.
1950
01:33:28,907 --> 01:33:30,037
[knocking]
1951
01:33:30,126 --> 01:33:31,296
- Beg your pardon, Colonel.
1952
01:33:33,608 --> 01:33:35,088
Well, I'm the driver
of this train.
1953
01:33:36,219 --> 01:33:37,609
Well, I just wanted to meet ya.
1954
01:33:38,874 --> 01:33:39,614
- Delighted!
1955
01:33:41,877 --> 01:33:43,567
Tell me your name.
1956
01:33:43,661 --> 01:33:44,881
- I'm Barnabas Sullivan, sir.
1957
01:33:44,967 --> 01:33:46,837
- Barnabas Sullivan,
the honor is all mine.
1958
01:33:46,969 --> 01:33:48,189
I tell you, I'd
rather meet you than
1959
01:33:48,274 --> 01:33:51,284
a whole welcoming
committee of aldermen.
1960
01:33:51,408 --> 01:33:52,318
Ha, ha, no doubt about it.
1961
01:33:52,409 --> 01:33:53,629
Real working man, Joe.
1962
01:33:54,846 --> 01:33:56,756
So, Barnabas Sullivan,
1963
01:33:56,892 --> 01:34:00,982
what's it like driving
this iron steed, huh?
1964
01:34:01,113 --> 01:34:02,853
All that power at
your fingertips.
1965
01:34:02,941 --> 01:34:05,641
- Holding the reigns of
1,000 horses all at once!
1966
01:34:05,727 --> 01:34:06,547
[chuckling]
1967
01:34:06,684 --> 01:34:07,864
- I bet it is.
1968
01:34:07,990 --> 01:34:09,250
I'd like to try it
someday, I really would.
1969
01:34:09,382 --> 01:34:11,782
- Me and my friends are
voting for you, Colonel.
1970
01:34:11,863 --> 01:34:12,653
Are you gonna win?
1971
01:34:14,910 --> 01:34:16,260
- Well, it's gonna be tough.
1972
01:34:16,389 --> 01:34:17,779
It's a tough fight.
1973
01:34:17,869 --> 01:34:20,179
But I'm not known to shy
away from a fight, am I?
1974
01:34:21,133 --> 01:34:21,963
Plus.
1975
01:34:25,703 --> 01:34:27,663
I got something the
other side doesn't have.
1976
01:34:30,490 --> 01:34:33,230
Tell you what, do me a
favor, Barnabas Sullivan.
1977
01:34:33,319 --> 01:34:35,759
Just stand by the doorway.
1978
01:34:35,887 --> 01:34:36,667
Thank you.
1979
01:34:38,977 --> 01:34:43,237
- And here he is, the greatest
Rough Rider of them all,
1980
01:34:43,373 --> 01:34:46,203
your next governor,
Theodore Roosevelt!
1981
01:34:47,725 --> 01:34:50,375
[crowd cheering]
1982
01:34:53,252 --> 01:34:54,212
- Thank you.
1983
01:34:54,297 --> 01:34:57,037
Thank you folks for coming.
1984
01:34:57,126 --> 01:34:57,906
Thank you.
1985
01:34:57,996 --> 01:34:58,686
Thank you.
1986
01:35:01,870 --> 01:35:03,220
My fellow citizens of New York.
1987
01:35:05,090 --> 01:35:08,050
I came here today to tell you
1988
01:35:09,791 --> 01:35:11,711
that I could not have
charged up that hill
1989
01:35:13,098 --> 01:35:16,228
if I didn't have these
great men next to me.
1990
01:35:17,929 --> 01:35:21,239
Just like I can't win tomorrow
1991
01:35:22,238 --> 01:35:23,588
without all of you.
1992
01:35:23,674 --> 01:35:26,724
Now, Buck here says I'm
pretty good in a fight.
1993
01:35:28,331 --> 01:35:31,291
But I'm here to
show you exactly who
1994
01:35:31,421 --> 01:35:33,901
we're fighting for
in this election.
1995
01:35:36,731 --> 01:35:38,211
I wanna introduce
you to someone.
1996
01:35:38,297 --> 01:35:42,077
Let me introduce to you, my
friend, Barnabas Sullivan.
1997
01:35:46,610 --> 01:35:50,270
He is who we're fighting
for in this election.
1998
01:35:52,485 --> 01:35:54,705
The American working man!
1999
01:35:54,792 --> 01:35:56,012
Yeah!
2000
01:35:56,141 --> 01:35:58,751
[crowd cheering]
2001
01:36:18,337 --> 01:36:20,117
- [Jared] At the time
that TR becomes governor
2002
01:36:20,209 --> 01:36:22,299
he's a larger than life figure.
2003
01:36:22,385 --> 01:36:24,335
- He's called the boy governor.
2004
01:36:24,430 --> 01:36:26,520
He's only 41 years
old and he brings
2005
01:36:26,606 --> 01:36:28,516
his young family
with him to Albany.
2006
01:36:28,652 --> 01:36:30,312
So there's life
and there's energy
2007
01:36:30,436 --> 01:36:32,176
in that governor's mansion.
2008
01:36:32,264 --> 01:36:34,224
He meets with
people all day long.
2009
01:36:34,353 --> 01:36:35,143
He's on his feet.
2010
01:36:35,267 --> 01:36:36,827
He never sits behind his desk.
2011
01:36:36,921 --> 01:36:38,621
And he starts
getting things done.
2012
01:36:40,359 --> 01:36:43,189
Roosevelt had been arguing
for years, actually,
2013
01:36:43,275 --> 01:36:45,275
that social welfare
and human rights
2014
01:36:45,364 --> 01:36:46,804
were more important
than property rights.
2015
01:36:46,931 --> 01:36:49,191
A big thing to say at that time.
2016
01:36:49,281 --> 01:36:51,411
- Reformers argued
that as stewards
2017
01:36:51,501 --> 01:36:54,631
of the public trust,
we have to make sure
2018
01:36:54,721 --> 01:36:59,341
that poor people live under
much more improved conditions.
2019
01:36:59,901 --> 01:37:02,471
By holding the city
and state accountable
2020
01:37:02,555 --> 01:37:04,425
rather than those individuals.
2021
01:37:04,557 --> 01:37:07,337
- TR as governor knows
that he doesn't command
2022
01:37:07,473 --> 01:37:09,263
either the loyalty
or the control
2023
01:37:09,345 --> 01:37:11,255
of the Republican Party bosses.
2024
01:37:11,390 --> 01:37:14,610
And so once again he turns
to the press as his ally.
2025
01:37:14,741 --> 01:37:16,661
- He knew when to call
his journalists together.
2026
01:37:16,787 --> 01:37:19,527
He knew when the most important
headlines were released.
2027
01:37:19,616 --> 01:37:20,876
- [Jared] And so he fights
2028
01:37:20,965 --> 01:37:22,355
legislative battles
through the press.
2029
01:37:22,488 --> 01:37:24,268
He leaks things to the press.
2030
01:37:24,360 --> 01:37:27,800
He pushes his progressive
agenda through the press.
2031
01:37:27,929 --> 01:37:29,019
- TR was quite effective.
2032
01:37:29,147 --> 01:37:31,277
He achieved a lot as governor.
2033
01:37:31,367 --> 01:37:33,147
- [Doris] Making
conditions of work better.
2034
01:37:33,238 --> 01:37:34,408
An eight hour day.
2035
01:37:34,544 --> 01:37:35,854
Protections for
women and children
2036
01:37:35,980 --> 01:37:37,330
who were working in factories.
2037
01:37:37,460 --> 01:37:38,980
And factory inspectors.
2038
01:37:39,114 --> 01:37:41,594
Then he also set aside
land for conservation.
2039
01:37:41,725 --> 01:37:43,725
- He was always
going, always busy,
2040
01:37:43,814 --> 01:37:45,254
always full of ideas.
2041
01:37:45,381 --> 01:37:47,381
And certain in what
he was gonna do.
2042
01:37:47,470 --> 01:37:50,130
- Through all the different
parts of his career
2043
01:37:50,255 --> 01:37:52,815
there's a sense of urgency
to get things done.
2044
01:37:52,910 --> 01:37:55,480
He said, if you're
thinking at every moment
2045
01:37:55,565 --> 01:37:58,125
where am I now and how
am I bettering myself
2046
01:37:58,263 --> 01:38:00,143
for the future, you're
gonna be too cautious.
2047
01:38:00,265 --> 01:38:02,615
You're gonna be too
worried about yourself.
2048
01:38:02,746 --> 01:38:05,306
Instead, you give
everything to that job.
2049
01:38:05,401 --> 01:38:08,101
Because everything can
change in a moment.
2050
01:38:08,186 --> 01:38:09,406
So he goes for the kill.
2051
01:38:11,189 --> 01:38:14,189
Which is a tax on
businesses who own
2052
01:38:14,279 --> 01:38:16,629
franchises in public spheres.
2053
01:38:16,760 --> 01:38:19,240
Electric railroads,
telephone lines.
2054
01:38:19,328 --> 01:38:21,368
Here were these huge
franchises making
2055
01:38:21,460 --> 01:38:23,160
millions of dollars in profits
2056
01:38:23,245 --> 01:38:25,635
and they weren't paying
any taxes to the state.
2057
01:38:25,725 --> 01:38:26,855
And he thought
that was essential,
2058
01:38:26,988 --> 01:38:29,158
that they pay their fair share.
2059
01:38:29,251 --> 01:38:34,651
- The New York State
Republican boss, Tom Platt,
2060
01:38:34,778 --> 01:38:36,608
thought that this
was a terrible idea.
2061
01:38:36,693 --> 01:38:39,133
This smacked of socialism.
2062
01:38:39,217 --> 01:38:40,917
- And the tax thing
is what really got
2063
01:38:41,002 --> 01:38:43,002
to the Republican leaders.
2064
01:38:43,091 --> 01:38:45,531
So they do not want him
to have a second term.
2065
01:38:45,615 --> 01:38:47,225
Because he's too
much of a reformer
2066
01:38:47,356 --> 01:38:48,786
for the political bosses.
2067
01:38:51,099 --> 01:38:52,269
- Thomas Platt was
figuring, okay,
2068
01:38:52,404 --> 01:38:53,624
so what am I gonna do here?
2069
01:38:53,753 --> 01:38:55,453
How am I gonna get
rid of this guy?
2070
01:38:55,581 --> 01:38:56,931
- [Jared] Less
than a year before
2071
01:38:57,018 --> 01:38:59,888
the Presidential
Election of 1900
2072
01:38:59,977 --> 01:39:03,367
McKinley's Vice President,
Garret Hobart, dies in office.
2073
01:39:03,502 --> 01:39:05,502
- [Doris] So the bosses
devise what they think
2074
01:39:05,591 --> 01:39:07,331
is the perfect solution.
2075
01:39:07,419 --> 01:39:08,939
- He thought, I know
what I'm gonna do.
2076
01:39:09,073 --> 01:39:11,733
I'm gonna make him Vice
President of the United States.
2077
01:39:11,815 --> 01:39:14,375
- This great scheme hatched
by the power brokers
2078
01:39:14,470 --> 01:39:17,520
in the Republican Party that
will kick Roosevelt upstairs.
2079
01:39:17,603 --> 01:39:19,743
They'll promote
him into oblivion.
2080
01:39:19,823 --> 01:39:21,693
That he will become
McKinley's Vice President
2081
01:39:21,781 --> 01:39:24,131
and essentially never
heard from again.
2082
01:39:25,437 --> 01:39:27,087
- It's a perfectly dignified,
2083
01:39:27,222 --> 01:39:29,572
but perfectly useless position.
2084
01:39:29,702 --> 01:39:32,492
And at the same time,
he will not be governor.
2085
01:39:34,055 --> 01:39:36,055
- [Roosevelt] The Vice
Presidency is an utterly
2086
01:39:36,187 --> 01:39:37,707
anomalous office.
2087
01:39:37,797 --> 01:39:41,057
And one which, I think,
ought to be abolished.
2088
01:39:41,149 --> 01:39:45,589
The man who occupies it may,
at any moment, be everything.
2089
01:39:45,675 --> 01:39:49,805
But meanwhile, he is
practically nothing.
2090
01:39:49,896 --> 01:39:53,416
- So this was a job
that nobody liked.
2091
01:39:53,509 --> 01:39:56,119
One Vice President
famously said,
2092
01:39:56,251 --> 01:40:00,171
being Vice President is
worth a bucket of warm spit.
2093
01:40:02,170 --> 01:40:03,390
- It's a really
interesting question
2094
01:40:03,519 --> 01:40:05,829
why Roosevelt accepts
the Vice Presidency.
2095
01:40:05,956 --> 01:40:07,736
In some ways it's a reflection
2096
01:40:07,871 --> 01:40:09,181
of his own self
confidence to say,
2097
01:40:09,307 --> 01:40:11,437
I know other Vice
Presidents have failed
2098
01:40:11,570 --> 01:40:14,010
to go on to the Presidency,
but I'm different.
2099
01:40:15,444 --> 01:40:16,794
I think he also had a sense
2100
01:40:16,923 --> 01:40:19,753
that it was an opportunity
he couldn't refuse.
2101
01:40:19,839 --> 01:40:22,229
- In steps Henry
Cabot Lodge who says
2102
01:40:22,364 --> 01:40:25,374
that this is the position
you need to be in
2103
01:40:25,454 --> 01:40:29,814
to set yourself up for a
presidential run in four years.
2104
01:40:29,936 --> 01:40:33,766
Take the Vice Presidency, sit
on your hands for four years
2105
01:40:33,853 --> 01:40:36,863
and you will have the
ultimate prize in 1904.
2106
01:40:38,554 --> 01:40:40,694
- Of course, immediately
once he takes that job
2107
01:40:40,773 --> 01:40:42,173
he begins to regret it.
2108
01:40:42,253 --> 01:40:44,173
And begins to realize,
this is not much fun.
2109
01:40:44,255 --> 01:40:46,425
He's a great advocate
of the strenuous life,
2110
01:40:46,518 --> 01:40:47,948
but he finds out
very quickly that
2111
01:40:48,042 --> 01:40:49,832
the opposite of
the strenuous life
2112
01:40:49,956 --> 01:40:51,916
is to be Vice President
of the United States.
2113
01:40:53,656 --> 01:40:56,046
- Mark Hanna, who is one of
McKinley's closest advisors
2114
01:40:56,180 --> 01:40:59,920
thinks TR is an absolute maniac.
2115
01:41:00,010 --> 01:41:03,230
And so when McKinley and
Roosevelt win the election
2116
01:41:03,361 --> 01:41:08,191
Mark Hanna says to McKinley,
you're only responsibility
2117
01:41:08,323 --> 01:41:11,073
these next four years is
to make sure that you live.
2118
01:41:14,242 --> 01:41:18,252
So that mad man doesn't
become President.
2119
01:41:19,464 --> 01:41:22,214
[dramatic music]
2120
01:41:22,337 --> 01:41:23,207
- What is it, Papa?
2121
01:41:24,469 --> 01:41:25,949
[dramatic music]
2122
01:41:32,347 --> 01:41:35,347
- I thought you'd be
too busy to come, Papa.
2123
01:41:35,437 --> 01:41:37,437
- Oh Kermit, I'm not too busy.
2124
01:41:39,571 --> 01:41:42,231
- TR hates being Vice President.
2125
01:41:42,313 --> 01:41:44,493
McKinley gives him
no responsibilities,
2126
01:41:44,620 --> 01:41:48,450
asks no advice, and he
feels perfectly worthless.
2127
01:41:48,537 --> 01:41:51,237
He's in a position that
is so boring for him
2128
01:41:51,366 --> 01:41:53,626
that he's even considering
going to law school.
2129
01:41:55,021 --> 01:41:57,811
- In the fall of 1901
America is riding high.
2130
01:41:59,548 --> 01:42:01,508
McKinley has just presided
over a splendid little war
2131
01:42:01,637 --> 01:42:03,547
which has greatly
increased the reach
2132
01:42:03,682 --> 01:42:05,772
and the footprint of the
United States globally.
2133
01:42:05,858 --> 01:42:07,638
The economy is booming.
2134
01:42:07,730 --> 01:42:10,120
The Republican Party is
strong and doing well.
2135
01:42:10,211 --> 01:42:13,561
There is a palpable
sense of progress
2136
01:42:13,649 --> 01:42:16,219
and of technological
achievement.
2137
01:42:16,304 --> 01:42:17,744
At that moment something called
2138
01:42:17,827 --> 01:42:19,347
the automobile is
being invented.
2139
01:42:19,481 --> 01:42:20,831
People are seeing
them on the streets.
2140
01:42:20,960 --> 01:42:22,440
This self-propelling vehicle.
2141
01:42:22,527 --> 01:42:24,567
Which at the time was
simply mind blowing.
2142
01:42:24,703 --> 01:42:27,663
And there are people
experimenting with flight.
2143
01:42:27,793 --> 01:42:30,273
Electricity is now everywhere.
2144
01:42:30,361 --> 01:42:33,501
In middle class homes, it's
illuminating streets of cities.
2145
01:42:33,625 --> 01:42:34,965
And so McKinley decides to go
2146
01:42:35,061 --> 01:42:37,241
to the Buffalo
Pan-American Exposition.
2147
01:42:37,325 --> 01:42:39,275
This event showcases technology.
2148
01:42:39,370 --> 01:42:41,940
Showcases the progress
and his final event
2149
01:42:42,068 --> 01:42:43,368
is a meet and greet.
2150
01:42:43,461 --> 01:42:44,851
It's gonna be a big crowd.
2151
01:42:44,984 --> 01:42:46,814
His security staff is worried
2152
01:42:46,899 --> 01:42:48,729
but McKinley shrugs
off all their concerns
2153
01:42:48,858 --> 01:42:50,988
and he goes and he
begins pumping the flesh
2154
01:42:51,077 --> 01:42:52,987
and meeting lots
and lots of people.
2155
01:42:53,776 --> 01:42:56,426
- [Jared] McKinley insists
on doing a receiving line.
2156
01:42:56,518 --> 01:42:58,168
He wants to get
his glory moment.
2157
01:42:59,390 --> 01:43:00,780
- Sir.
2158
01:43:00,870 --> 01:43:03,960
- And meanwhile, TR is
deeply, deeply worried
2159
01:43:04,047 --> 01:43:07,217
that he's a political
exile as Vice President.
2160
01:43:07,311 --> 01:43:10,271
This was where he had
politically gone to die.
2161
01:43:10,401 --> 01:43:12,321
- We made it to the top.
2162
01:43:12,447 --> 01:43:13,137
- Of course we did.
2163
01:43:13,274 --> 01:43:14,414
If you start the climb,
2164
01:43:14,492 --> 01:43:16,192
you can't stop until
you reach the top.
2165
01:43:17,887 --> 01:43:19,667
Remember, Kermit,
you can do anything.
2166
01:43:20,977 --> 01:43:23,367
Work hard, be ready.
2167
01:43:24,894 --> 01:43:25,684
You ready?
2168
01:43:26,809 --> 01:43:29,509
[dramatic music]
2169
01:43:33,076 --> 01:43:35,856
[crowd murmuring]
2170
01:43:52,791 --> 01:43:55,401
[ominous music]
2171
01:44:04,629 --> 01:44:06,889
- Mr. Vice President.
2172
01:44:06,979 --> 01:44:09,589
[ominous music]
2173
01:44:18,513 --> 01:44:20,213
- What is it, Papa?
2174
01:44:20,297 --> 01:44:21,817
[ominous music]
2175
01:44:21,951 --> 01:44:24,261
[gunshots]
2176
01:44:25,563 --> 01:44:28,263
[ethereal music]
2177
01:44:58,988 --> 01:45:00,288
- The President's been shot.
2178
01:45:08,258 --> 01:45:10,218
[dramatic music]
2179
01:45:10,304 --> 01:45:11,264
- [Roosevelt]
We are face to face
2180
01:45:11,348 --> 01:45:12,308
with our destiny.
2181
01:45:14,786 --> 01:45:16,006
And we must meet it.
2182
01:45:18,007 --> 01:45:21,617
With a high and
resolute courage.
2183
01:45:21,706 --> 01:45:24,446
[dramatic music]
2184
01:45:35,677 --> 01:45:37,197
- It's been confirmed.
2185
01:45:37,331 --> 01:45:40,901
President McKinley died
this morning at 2:15 A.M.
2186
01:45:40,986 --> 01:45:41,986
- I should take
the oath at once.
2187
01:45:42,118 --> 01:45:43,858
- Congratulations,
Mr. President.
2188
01:45:43,946 --> 01:45:45,466
- Do you intend
2189
01:45:45,556 --> 01:45:48,246
going after my steel
company next?
2190
01:45:48,342 --> 01:45:49,432
- We will never
accept the proposal
2191
01:45:49,560 --> 01:45:51,000
with the union
at the table.
2192
01:45:51,127 --> 01:45:52,647
- You must.
2193
01:45:52,737 --> 01:45:54,997
All I'm asking is
a square deal
2194
01:45:55,087 --> 01:45:56,307
for every man.
2195
01:45:56,393 --> 01:45:59,053
[crowd cheering]
2196
01:46:00,919 --> 01:46:03,709
[heavy breathing]
2197
01:46:04,749 --> 01:46:06,319
[ominous music]
157489
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.