Day 11: Sagamore Hill, then Upstate
After loading up our bags, we said goodbye to the Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge and goodbye to the Big Apple. I am thankful that I got the chance to see it and to visit so many sites that I would not ever get to see otherwise. At the same time it is nice to get out of the city and travel upstate to see another area of the country I likely would not otherwise see.
After about an hour, we arrived in Oyster Bay to see the home of Theodore Roosevelt, Sagamore Hill. We took a tour of the home for about forty-five minutes or so. TR’s home was a sight to behold inside, and in my opinion blew away FDR’s. TR was “a man’s man” and the home reflected it. The dark, wood-paneled walls were beautiful. The ranger, Jen, and the film in the museum stated that everything in the house was just more or less thrown together with items that the family wanted or gathered through the years, I viewed it as the house being a lens into the personality of TR—here was his life on display. His numerous hunting trophies attested to the central place the sport held in his heart. Unlike others I heard on the tour, I do not see this love of hunting as contradicting his belief in conservation. The vast majority of hunters are ethical toward the environment and believe strongly in conservation. The two are not mutually exclusive, despite what present-day “conservation” groups like PETA or Greenpeace or others allege. Add to this that TR was part of the movement to enact rules and regulations governing the taking of wildlife. In any case, he was instrumental in creating national parks, the forest service, and protecting more than 230 million acres of land, so the argument that he was a hypocrite is purely personal-agenda driven and not supported in any meaningful way by the available evidence.
Sagamore Hill: TR's Home
Grounds around Sagamore Hill
Grounds around Sagamore Hill
Theodore Jr.'s Home/Museum
Many of the other items in the home were keepsakes related to other things he did throughout his active life, including his career as a public servant. His hat and sword from his days as a “Rough Rider” in the Spanish-American War were hung on elk antlers. Indeed, TR actually liked being called “Colonel” more than any other title. He had gifts from renowned western artist Fredric Remington, chairs with bull horns given to him by former ranch hands in the Dakotas, and gifts from both the Japanese and Russian leaders for negotiating an end to the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. This was an active president in both his personal life and in the public sphere. The tour reinforced for me the idea that this was a man who was all about family, and indeed, our guide pointed out that his wife viewed him as the biggest child in the household. He always made himself available to the children after four in the afternoon, no matter what situations or guests confronted him in his official duties. Dinner was a family affair, and all the children were required to be in attendance unless they were ill, away, or in trouble with their parents. I think a lot of this comes out of the fact that TR himself was sickly as a child, and he wanted his children to experience the full range of activities that were denied him as a child.
The museum was well-done in my opinion, and captured the essence of TR. A few things in particular struck me. First, a story that I was unaware of: that when TR was up for the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Spanish-American War, he knowingly jeopardized his chances at the medal by “rocking the boat” and writing a letter demanding that his troops be taken out of Cuba when disease was ravaging them. Officials were embarrassed by his letter, and he was denied the Medal of Honor. President Clinton would finally award Roosevelt the Medal posthumously more than a century later. I also liked two vignettes that I already knew, but that I thought showed TR’s decisiveness. First, when controversy enveloped the Panama Canal project and Congress wanted hearings; TR’s response was to basically say that while Congress debated, he would dig. Another was when some Congressmen debated the wisdom of sending the Great White Fleet around the world, fearing that the mission could be misconstrued. When threats were made to cut naval funding, TR said that he had the money to send the navy across the Pacific and if Congress wanted the fleet to return it would have to provide the funds. TR was definitely one of the more decisive presidents the United States has had.
TR's "Rough Rider" Uniform
The museum also showed TR’s efforts to enhance social justice, crack down on the abuses of big business, protect consumers, and enact conservation efforts. One of the things that always amazes students is the story I tell about the attempt on TR’s life during a campaign stop in 1912 in which he takes a bullet but continues to deliver an hour-and-a-half long speech. The exhibit featured his announcement to the crowd that he had been shot. All of this is part of the mystique that surrounds this man and is part of what made him a popular and effective politician. He was the first president to make wide use of the media at the time to reach the masses through use of the bully pulpit, and though born into privilege, he had empathy and understanding of the common people gained in large measure by the experiences he had accrued prior to taking office. I teach all of these things in my classroom, although I think I also talk more about the negative consequences of Big Stick Diplomacy in terms of relations with Latin America and the lasting after effects.
"Bull Moose"
One of My Favorite TR Quotes
TR: American
All in all, I preferred Sagamore Hill to Springwood, FDR’s home. I thought the setting for FDR’s home was more spectacular with its views of the Hudson Valley, but the home at Sagamore Hill was more impressive.
On our way out, after a circuitous route, we stopped at the gravesite of Theodore Roosevelt. It is in a simple cemetery, and the gravesite itself is not ostentatious. There are twenty-six steps leading up a hill to the headstone, to signify that TR was the twenty-sixth president.
TR: 1858-1919
TR: Medal of Honor Recipient
After lunch in Cold Springs, we departed on a four hour bus ride to Oneonta. Along the way we crossed the Hudson River and proceeded up the Hudson Valley. The ride was beautiful, lush, and green, at least until the fog enveloped the surrounding rolling hills. At about 7:00 or so, we arrived at our hotel, the Hampton Inn in Oneonta. Several of us grabbed some snacks at a local establishment, Fox’s. The hospitality girl was shocked that a group of teachers from Colorado would land in Oneonta, New York of all places, which may give you the idea of the size of this place.
