POLITICS/MILITARY
In 1880, Theodore Roosevelt was involved in politics even though most wealthy
men like Roosevelt stayed away from politics but Theodore wanted to be in politics. He
joined the republican association in his district were he was elected to the state assembly
at age 23 and were his long political career began. As a state assembly man, Roosevelt
had to move to the state capital in Albany. In 1888, a republican Benjamin Harrison, who
was elected president, appointed Theodore as the civil service commissioner. Because
many jobs were given to president supporters even if they weren’t qualified, Theodore
took his job very seriously and exposed people who accepted bribes or cheated on tests.
By exposing fraud after fraud, he made the Harrison administration appear corrupt. After
being a civil service commissioner for 6 years Theodore decided to do something
different so he returned to New York city in 1895 to become a police commissioner. Even
though it was a different job he acted as corrupt as he was in the federal government and
promoted honest workers and dismissed those who took bribes. Then in 1896 after
William McKinley was elected president, McKinley appointed Roosevelt assistant
secretary of the navy and moved again to Washington, D.C. In his time in the navy he
helped strengthened it since the battleships were from the civil war. In 1898 while the
U.S was at war with Spain, Theodore was eager to prove himself so he made a rough and
tumble regiment that was known as the Rough Riders. On June 22, the Rough Riders
landed in Cuba and within days were in a serious battle. Despite their heavy losses in
skirmishes as they approached kettle and San Juan Hill, they managed to scare away the
Spanish. After the war was over he became a national hero.