THEODORE ROOSEVELT: ROUGHRIDER TO RUSHMORE, (A&E Television Networks, $19.95).
The life story of Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), twenty-sixth president of the United States, is told in this video presentation through interviews with Tweed Roosevelt, great grandson of the president, and John Gable, executive director of the Theodore Roosevelt Association. The youngest man ever sworn in as U.S. president, Roosevelt held office during the first decade of this century, during which time the United States was transformed from a youthful industrial nation into a world power. The achievements of the Roosevelt administration included the building of the Panama Canal, the creation of the first national parks, and the “trust busting” by the federal government that resulted in the breaking up of big business monopolies. In addition to detailing his presidency, the video highlights such important aspects of Roosevelt’s life as the double tragedy that occurred when his wife and mother died in the same house, on the same day–his wife from kidney disease, his mother from typhoid fever; his formation and leadership of the celebrated “Rough Riders” during the Spanish-American War in 1898; his nomination as William McKinley’s (1843-1901) vice-presidential running mate in the election of 1900; and his sudden elevation to the presidency upon McKinley’s assassination in October 1901. Drawings by the young “TR,” as he was known, and rare archival material complete this revealing look at the complex figure who once said that “No triumph of peace is quite so great as the supreme triumph of war,” yet went on to become the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
