111: The Assassination of Will McKinley & The Strenuous Life of Theodore Roosevelt

“I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life.” This is the story of (another) presidential assassination and the life of the man it brings to the White House: Theodore Roosevelt. Though a sickly and asthmatic child, “Teedie,” as his family calls the child, works hard to build his physical strength. To take on the bullies who pick on him. Teddy grows up to become a rowing, boxing, and mountaineering athlete with an equally inquisitive mind. Assemblyman. Cowboy. Police Commissioner. Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Vice President! Not to mention devastating losses, deep loves, and war. TR’s life is a full one–a “strenuous” one. But nothing in his 42 years could prepare him for what an assassin’s bullet brings in September 1901. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices