734402
Theodore Roosevelt
Scroll down to see images of the item below the description
Theodore Roosevelt, 1858-1919. 26th President of the United States. Document Signed, Theodore Roosevelt, Washington, D.C., March 14, 1903.
In this large document, Roosevelt appoints William T. Elliott to be the Postmaster at Houston, Missouri. The gold foil seal with red ribbons is intact, but the seal has some small tears in a couple of places around the edge. The document itself has some age toning. It also has edge splits at the bottom right, with one 1¾” tear at the bottom right margin, and a few stains at the very left edge, all of which could easily be matted out if the document were framed. Overall the document is in fine condition with a beautiful 4½” signature by Roosevelt.
When President William McKinley was assassinated in 1901, Roosevelt, at age 42, Roosevelt became the youngest president in United States history. He enjoyed the White House, and he used presidential power to the fullest, vigorously leading the country in progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy. He thought himself a “steward of the people” who should take whatever action was necessary for the public good unless the constitution or law expressly prohibited it. He aggressively enforced the anti-trust laws, and, as an outdoorsman, he favored conservation, adding large amounts of land to national forests in the West, reserving lands for public use, and fostering large irrigation projects.
Roosevelt left the White House in 1909 but became dissatisfied with his hand-picked successor, William Howard Taft, whom he came to see as the tool of old school political bossism and business privilege. When the Republican Party renominated Taft in 1912, Roosevelt split with the Republicans and formed the Progressive Party, which nominated him for President and California Governor Hiram Johnson for Vice President. Roosevelt declared that he felt as “fit as a bull moose,” thus giving the party its nickname. Among other things, the Bull Moose platform advocated women’s suffrage, social welfare legislation for women and children, workers’ compensation, limitations on injunctions in strikes, recall of judicial decisions, farm relief, mandatory health insurance in industry, and new inheritance and income taxes. Roosevelt beat Taft in the popular vote and soundly beat him in the electoral vote 88-8, but the Republican split assured that Democrat Woodrow Wilson would win the presidency.
Unframed.
Click here to see more Roosevelt and Presidents items.
|
