Featuring History of Mystery/Detective Fiction and Other Literary Ramblings of Elizabeth Foxwell
Monday, November 05, 2012
"... I have been prepared to be shot."
Theodore Roosevelt, NYPL
In this election season, Harvard's Houghton Library blog recounts the 1912 assassination attempt on former president Theodore Roosevelt during his campaign as a third-party presidential candidate, including TR's doughty account of the attempt sent to his son, Kermit, and the bullet-marked copy of TR's speech.
As I recall, TR referred to his would-be assassin as "You miserable creature"...I'm not TR's biggest fan, but his second-place finish, to Woodrow Wilson that year, was perhaps not the best alternative for the rest of the world, even given TR's bellicosity...not less than Wilson's (in every way) waspish resentment and bully's instincts.
Given TR's Nobel Peace Prize (for mediating an end to the Russo-Japanese war) and friendship with Henry Cabot Lodge, he would have been far more likely to achieve the US entry into the League of Nations and accomplish far more than Wilson at Versailles.
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As I recall, TR referred to his would-be assassin as "You miserable creature"...I'm not TR's biggest fan, but his second-place finish, to Woodrow Wilson that year, was perhaps not the best alternative for the rest of the world, even given TR's bellicosity...not less than Wilson's (in every way) waspish resentment and bully's instincts.
Given TR's Nobel Peace Prize (for mediating an end to the Russo-Japanese war) and friendship with Henry Cabot Lodge, he would have been far more likely to achieve the US entry into the League of Nations and accomplish far more than Wilson at Versailles.
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