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Alice

Alice Hathaway Lee caught Theodore Roosevelt’s eye the moment he met her, and he pursued her single-mindedly. His letters to her are far from what one might expect of the rugged Roosevelt; his passionate tributes describe her fairness, her beauty, and her spirit with the utmost tenderness. The couple was engaged on Valentine's Day, 1880 and married on October 27th, TR's 22nd birthday. Alice was 19.

© Library of Congress

Martha Bulloch “Mittie” Roosevelt was a picture of Southern gentility, who faced a jarring adjustment after marrying northerner Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. and moving to New York from Georgia not long before the Civil War. TR inherited his mother’s sharp wit and described her in his autobiography as “a sweet, gracious, beautiful Southern woman, a delightful companion and beloved by everybody.”

The Diary Entry

His diary that tragic day was marked with a solemn and sorrowful “X”, and a few devastating words: “The light has gone out of my life.” Two days later, a double funeral was held at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian and Mittie and Alice were interred at Green-Wood Cemetery. Wearing a locket of her mother's hair, TR's newborn daughter was christened Alice.

© Theodore Roosevelt Center

TR Escapes to the Badlands

Stricken by loss, unmoored from his former life, which crumbled just as it seemed to begin to take shape, Theodore Roosevelt sought refuge in the west. In the jagged hills and the impossible buttes of a broken land, a broken man found resilience, and first lived what he would later call "the strenuous life." The Badlands are the fulcrum of the hero's journey in TR's incredible life story.

© Houghton Library, The Library of Congress

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The Speech that Stopped a Bullet

Theodore Roosevelt’s life almost ended on the campaign trail. In 1912, while running for a third presidential term, Roosevelt was the victim of an assassination attempt at the hands of a violent and deluded saloonkeeper, John Flammang Schrank.
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Artifacts

T.R.'s legacy is in every corner of the country he helped shape, guide, and inspire. With the help of partners, including the Theodore Roosevelt Center, we aim to digitize the archive of an analog President, making it accessible for everyone, everywhere, for generations to come.
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The Project

The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library will show what we can learn from, not about, our 26th President.

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