Thomas Lansford
University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA

Barbara Bennett Peterson, PhD (Editor)
University of Hawaii, Hawaii, US

Series: First Men, America’s Presidents
BISAC: POL017000

Theodore Roosevelt was the first modern president. His policies and actions while in office helped define many of the characteristics and traditions that we now associate with the presidency. In addition, Roosevelt was responsible for a number of presidential “firsts.” For instance, he was the first president to travel outside of the United States during his term. Roosevelt was the first American president to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Furthermore, Roosevelt used his immense popularity to appeal directly to the American people, and, as such, solidified the “bully pulpit” as one of the key tools of the chief executive.

He was a prolific writer and is often credited as being the “most literary of American presidents.” As president, he was the first chief executive to really focus public attention and governmental policy toward preserving the environment and the nation‘s natural spaces. Roosevelt was also the first American president to endorse a global role for the country as he sought to make the United States an international power, equal in influence to the great imperial states of Europe. His presidency initiated the period of U.S. world primacy that became to be known as the “American Century.” (Imprint: Nova)