Probably the last reform minded Republican. He was very much a self-made man and he saw evil when buisinesses tried to take advantage of people without means. He was a good man, but he was often too eager to go to war. He was mocked in his later years for advocating our entrance into WWI. Overall the "Trust Buster" was a good president and deserves to be on Mount Rushmore.

Why do we only hear the good things about our past presidents and always seem to shut out the bad? Theodore Roosevelt was a great commander of the Navy and a wonderful progressive for conservation, but I think he was president that left a lot to be desired. He was power-hungry, egotistical and racist. He wanted to use force in the Philippines, saying that Filipinos "had no right to administer the country which they happen to be occupying" and called natives "dirty heathens who could only be set straight with the use of bullets." He wanted to use Taft as a puppet after he left the presidency. Thank God Taft had a mind of his own, even if it wasn't the best mind. . .

Very few peacetime presidents accomplish as much. He set aside national parks and reserves. Without his visionary leadership we would not have many of the species we have. And don't forget the Panama Canal that he started.

Man of deep conviction, who knew how to get things done.

A great man who managed who still managed to become President. A rare occurrance. He was also a visionary. Not to mention a man who wasted not a second of his life and used his intellect and talents to the fullest. A family man to boot. Yes, a few of his positions I would question but all in all the American people got the most bang for their buck with this leader, author, enviormentalist, linguist, soldier, nobel prize winner, athlete, orator and cowboy.

guts!

Many fine qualities, but he overstepped his bounds at times, especially after he left office. I don't appreciate the way he helped Taft get elected, then stabbed him in the back by helping defeat Taft 4 years later.

We could really use someone like Teddy Roosevelt as president right now! This guy kicked ass! What else can you say about someone who grew up a sickly, weak nerd in New York City but by adulthood, was roughing it out West as a territory sheriff and cowboy! As president, he made some of the greatest and important changes in history, signing into law vital food and drug safety laws, thus saving the lives of millions, and establishing the National Park Service and helping start Yellowstone Park and other conservation efforts that saved the wilds of this country. He served his country in war and helped make important progress in America's position as an international power by developing diplomacy with Latin America and expanding our Navy! And talk about guts when in 1912 he was shot on his way to a campaign speech, and despite what must have been horrible pain, made his speech anyway then went to the hospital. He was a true representation of a good ol' red-blooded American!

A quite good president. No scandals, supported conservation, and negotiated some labor settlements.

TR was a principled leader, something we don't see anymore among politicans. His foreign policy (speak softly and carry a big stick) defined our position towards tyrannical governments for the past 100 years. No other president has used coercive diplomacy like he did. It no doubt came from his rough and ready attitude that he acquired during his stint in the military, remember his courageous drive up San Juan Hill in the heat of the Spanish-American War? We would not be a world power if it were not for his strong leadership during a period of intense growth in American history. T.R. was not at all a hawk, he brokered a peace agreement between Russia and Japan after their war in 1905 which ultimately won him the Nobel Peace Prize. He was a warrior, but he was also a peacemaker as well. His involvment in that region also strengthened our position in the Pacific Rim. People complained then that he was an excessively activist president. I think not, the country was changing and T.R. was the right president for the times. He kept the monopolistic trusts in check which at the time was a threat to the free market system that our country was founded upon. When a company dominates one sector, it has the ability to set prices and therefore be able to gauge the public. Innovation is stunted because of a lack of competition and most of all, corporations are not held accountable by the consumer and the workers most of the time worked in sub-standard conditions. Teddy Roosevelt was a revolutionary president for his times. There were no pretenses with him, he always did what he thought was right, and T.R. was right an awful lot.

He is one of our most underrated, greatest presidents. Pushed for reform (the abolition of child labor and the cleaning up of the meatpacking industry, which was influenced by Upton Sinclair's 1906 novel, The Jungle).

What did he ever do?????

Theodore Roosevelt was one of the greatest conservationists ever to grace the American political scene. His robust nature stemmed from his childhood asthma attacks and his unshakable belief in doing what he believed to be right. He was a contradictory man at times, too---here was a President who busted railroad and oil monopolies, yet was ultra-jingoistic in his belligerency towards the Spanish ("Remember the Maine!") and his patronizing attitude towards the Cubans, the Filipinos, the Panamanians ("my little brown brothers"), the Guamanians, etc., especially after the Panama Canal was built. Unfortunately, T.R.'s policy of speaking softly and carrying a big stick was two-edged: it not only showed the other world powers that the U.S. was not to be pushed around, but it also signaled the annoying tendency for the U.S. to intervene in Latin America whenever it felt justified in doing so. (Why the U.S. thinks the rest of Latin America should emulate us is arrogant and incredibly naive, given that, historically and presently speaking, the U.S. developed differently in socio-economic, linguistic, political, and ethnic terms. But that's another topic all by itself!) Despite his flaws, T.R. was a pretty decent president.

I think that Teddy should go away with at least being #3 or #4 in the ratings. He deserves it, because he put so much work into the panama canal, and working on the white house, supporting people, and helping with america all at the same time.

As good as they get.

TR may not have been an intellectual powerhouse (how many of our Presidents haven been?), but he is one of the most fascinating and charismatic world figures of the early 1900s. Such people are hunger for monarchy b/c its an easy story. He was awarded the nobel peace prize for his efforts in bringing too an end the Japanese/Russian war in 1903. He made us a world power to be reckoned with.

Very much the prototype of Reagan in terms of how the country felt about itself, although with greater hands-on ability. Man of action and courage. Very impressive bio - just think, he was so sickly as a child and he overcame it and became a president. He made us a world power to be reckoned with.

A true Rough Rider.

Theodore Roosevelt has always been my favorite U.S.President. Not only was he a foreign policy expert, but a skilled diplomate as well. He was awarded the nobel peace prize for his efforts in bringing too an end the Japanese/Russian war in 1903. He also was the first environmental/conservationist president. He set aside millions of acres of government land to preserve for future generations. Yellowstone national park is among these! However, his greatest achievements were probably the Panama Canal, and the building of the U.S. navy into a dominant military force. Without the Panama Canal the trade of certain countries would never have happened and it is my opinion that this economic watershed led to the "roaring twenties" and established the U.S. as a powerful economic force. Also his vigorous rhetoric " speak softly, but carry a big stick". Ensured the safety of the U.S. during his times. Other world leaders saw that he wasn't some one who was not going too back down from a fight. It is admirable when you consider his child hood asthma and the obstacles that he overcame. BULLY FOR YOU TEDDY! Mattyl.p.

The most effective and influential president of the 20th century...unfortunately his comment about not running again made us lose 4 years of what could have been a stellar legacy for our country.

TR may not have been an intellectual powerhouse (how many of our Presidents haven been?), but he is one of the most fascinating and charismatic world figures of the early 1900s. He defies easy categorization. Take, for example, the fact that he was a soldier who romanticized war and believed profoundly in the virtue of physical bravery, yet he won the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the end of hostilities between Russian and Japan. Or the fact that he was a pro-business Republican, and yet he directly challenged the rights of monopolistic corporations (although his successor, Taft, busted twice as many trusts as the legendary Trust Buster). Or the fact that he was raised in New York City society with a silver spoon in his mouth, but he spent a great deal of his time roughing it with ranchers and outdoorsmen in the West. Roosevelt was unique. He was a passionate romantic, often bull-headed and self-righteous, with a legacy that includes unprecedented (at the time) land conservation (not, as he was careful to stress, preservation), increased executive power, and a little waterway called the Panama Canal. One final note: while still Vice-President, Roosevelt went on a hunting trip and, after his dogs cornered a mountain lion, he leaped in and killed the lion by stabbing it in the back with a knife. Can you picture Al Gore doing that? Politics just isn’t what it used to be, I guess.

Over-rated by media/historian types who are biased toward exciting, activist Presidents. Such people are hunger for monarchy b/c its an easy story. Teddy set a bad precedent, turning the executive into something competing against the legislature instead of balancing it out.