According to Oliver Wendell Holmes, the man who appointed him to the United States Supreme Court, “was very likable, a big figure, a rather ordinary intellect, with extraordinary gifts, a shrewd and I think pretty unscrupulous politician. He played all his cards – if not more.” While Justice Holmes admitted that his views may have been colored by their falling out over the antitrust laws, his assessment serves to underscore the complexity of Theodore Roosevelt as described by Edmund Morris in Theodore Rex.
Although he came from the upper tier of New York society, Mr. Roosevelt was a self-made man in the true sense of the phrase. A sickly boy, he followed a rigorous exercise program that rebuilt his body so that in later life he was able to endure such physical strains of cattle ranching in the Dakota Badlands, leading the Rough Riders up San Juan Hill, exploring the Amazon River and giving an hour-long speech after he had been shot by a would-be assassin. Even though he admitted to an ordinary intellect, his devotion to learning and study led him to graduate in the upper part of his Harvard class. He authored a score of books including a multi-volume history of the Old West and a book on the Naval War of 1812 that became required reading for turn-of-the-century naval officers.
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