Theodore & Franklin

Almost, but not quite, running out of topics for Friday blogs.  But these two Presidents (#26 and #32) captured my attention.

First off, here are the other two pairs:  John Adams (#2) and his son John Quincy Adams (#6).  The father survived to July 4 1826, literally 50 years to the date of the famous date, dying on the same day as Thomas Jefferson.   #2 is also the cousin of Samuel Adams, after whom the beer is named.  Paul Giamatti did a good job of portraying him in a recent miniseries, with Stephen Dillane, aka Stannis Baratheon from Game of Thrones, playing his rival/nemesis Thomas Jefferson.   I picture them having the same kind of deal as Seinfeld and Newman:  “Adams….” (icy)  “Jefferson” (equally icy).

And George H.W. Bush (#41) and his son George W. Bush (#43).   I actually voted for GHWB in 1988 (my first election – and the only election in which the candidate I voted for actually won) and 1992.  In 2000 and 2004 I voted for the LPA candidates, Browne and Badnarik.   Not much love or hate for either of them.  Note that GHWB was Director of the CIA in the 1970s – in an SNL sketch with Dan Aykroyd – Garrett Morris is trying to get his background file – his portrait is on the wall.   And Lloyd Bentsen, Michael Dukakis’ running mate in 1988, was the guy who beat Bush in 1970 for his Senate seat in Texas.

ANYHOW.

Theodore Roosevelt.  The first of the two, born in 1859, died in 1919.  As a child he was weak and sickly, suffering from asthma.  He attended Harvard University for college, and immediately thereafter got elected – with only a college diploma – to the New York State Legislature in Albany.  With such thin credentials he was not taken seriously, and being an obnoxious loudmouth didn’t help win him any friends.

In 1884, much to Roosevelt’s dismay, the Republican Party nominated James G. Blaine, former secretary of state under presidents Garfield and Arthur, as its presidential candidate, whereas the Democratic candidate was Grover Cleveland, former mayor of Buffalo and governor of New York, a man Roosevelt got to know from being in the NY state legislature and who he much preferred.  In fact, Blaine was considered so corrupt that a branch of the Republican Party, the “Mugwumps”, formed to oppose him.  Rather than cross party lines, Roosevelt retreated to the Dakotas, where he toughened up considerably. 

Roosevelt returned, became Assistant Secretary of the Navy under McKinley, but resigned to lead the Rough Riders in Cuba in the Spanish-American War in 1898.  He came back and got elected governor of New York.  McKinley’s VP, Garrett Hobart, died in 1899, Roosevelt took over from him, and continued as VP in the next term.  McKinley was assassinated at the Pan-American Exhibition in Buffalo, by anarchist Leon Czolgoz, putting Roosevelt into the Presidency.  He campaigned for President in 1904 and won, letting Taft take over in 1908. 

His administration was marked by the Panama Canal, his opposition to trusts (monopolies), and the establishment of the FDA.   Upton Sinclair’s book The Jungle profiled the meat industry’s corruption and adulteration of the meat from Chicago.  Roosevelt initially accused Sinclair of slandering the meatpackers, until Sinclair provided proof of bribes paid to inspectors to look the other way.  At this point Roosevelt switched over and hammered down on the meat industry in support of Sinclair.

Roosevelt was also given the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating the end of the Russo-Japanese War in 1906 – the Treaty of Portsmouth.  He found himself favoring the Japanese somewhat, the Russians being corrupt and arrogant. 

We talk about Mitt Romney opposing Donald Trump, and Trump’s highly laughable promise to “clean the swamp”.  US politics has been corrupt for a long time, Blaine in particular being a major advocate of corruption as a matter of principle.  Roosevelt was dead set against it, cleaning up the bureaucracy during his term.  With his trustbusting, he also opposed what he saw as bad faith and corruption in business as well as government.  Sadly, our current president is the exact opposite of this, and sadly, too many Republicans are clearly not following Theodore Roosevelt’s example. 

If I were in the Oval Office, I wouldn’t be asking myself, “what would Jesus do?”  Jesus was never President – and even rejected suggestions that he run for King of Israel.  The better question would be:  what would Theodore Roosevelt do?

Franklin Roosevelt.   The second of the two, born in 1882, died in 1945.

Like Theodore, he attended Harvard for college.  He briefly went to Columbia Law School but dropped out to practice with a prestigious firm, then got elected – like Theodore – to the NY State legislature (in 1910).  In the 1912 election he supported Wilson over Theodore, though cousin Theodore wasn’t particularly offended.  This earned him the slot of Assistant Secretary of the Navy (!!!) in 1913. 

He became Governor of New York in 1929, taking over from Al Smith.  In 1932 he ran – successfully – for President, and continued on for a record four terms before dying in April 1945, during WWII. 

Unlike Theodore, he had a major Depression to steer America through, with his New Deal legislation throughout the 1930s.  He also had to deal with World War II, whereas Theodore’s terms saw the US at peace.  Politically, he was a Democrat whereas Theodore was a Republican.  Even as far back as 1912 the two did not agree on issues but respected each other not merely as cousins but also for having sincere beliefs. 

Did they meet?  Yes, at Franklin’s wedding to Eleanor in March 1905.   She was the daughter of Theodore’s younger brother Elliott, meaning she was Theodore’s niece and a Roosevelt by birth, not merely marriage.

How are they related?   Fifth cousins, Claes Maartenszen van Rosenvelt being the common ancestor from the mid seventeenth century.  TR’s family lived at Oyster Bay on Long Island, FDR’s at Hyde Park in upstate New York.  Likewise, I have relatives on Long Island and Glens Falls, the origin being Brooklyn, NYC.  I’m proud to say my father’s side of the family originates from New York. 

Spanish-American War

Time for another round of “obscure wars no one cares about!” (except maybe Cubans, Filipinos or Puerto Ricans). This week:  the Spanish-American War of 1898.  Just as the Russo-Japanese War (1905) was Japan’s opportunity to defeat a European country (Tsarist Russia), this was America’s chance to knock down on Spain, which had by then deteriorated into just another half-assed European country with a bunch of overseas colonies it could no longer adequately protect.  Instead of fighting at home in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, or out on the Plains against Indians (American type, not 7-11) the US was off to Cuba, Puerto Rico, and far off in the Pacific to the Philippines.

 Cuba.  The Spanish had been having problems with a native Cuban insurgency (the Army of Liberation) in the late 1800s.  By 1895 another one had erupted.  Popular sentiment in the US supported the insurgency.   Before Che Guevara (who was Argentinian, by the way), the popular hero of Cuba was Maximo Gomez, a general in the Army of Liberation.

            On February 15, 1898, the US battleship Maine, (built to compete with Brazil’s dreadnought the Riachuelo, which had scared the hell out of the Americans) anchored in Havana harbor, mysteriously exploded and sank.  Although no one knows who was responsible, the Spanish were blamed anyway.  By April 25, the US had declared war on Spain.

            As was so often the case with US getting into wars, the standing peacetime army was far too small, and a volunteer army had to be raised and trained from scratch.  The volunteers camped at Camp Alger, which was actually close by to where my office is now:  Route 50 west of Graham Road in northern Virginia. 

            On June 22, US forces landed in southeast Cuba near Santiago.  The harbor defenses were too strong to directly defeat, so a prolonged siege from both land and sea was what ultimately broke the Spanish.  The US fleet blockaded the Spanish fleet at Santiago, while various land forces, including Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, took on the Spanish forces on the mainland; by July 1, San Juan Hill was in US hands.  This completed the land-side siege of Santiago.  An attempt by the Spanish fleet to break out was unsuccessful.  On July 17 the garrison surrendered, which ended the war in Cuba.

 The Rough Riders.  Officially known as the 1^st US Volunteer Cavalry, led by Theodore Roosevelt.  Their uniform was a blue flannel shirt, slouch hat, bandana, and leggings; they used the Krag-Jorgensen bolt-action rifle, .30-40 caliber.  The Rough Riders attracted an amazing variety of adventurous characters:  American Indians, cowboys, athletes, anyone with some military experience (Civil War or Indian War) or horseriding skill, almost an American version of the French Foreign Legion.

 Puerto Rico.  US troops landed on July 25.  By August 13 the Spanish had surrendered.

 The Philippines.  As with Cuba, there was a native insurgency in the Philippines, the major player being Emilio Aguinaldo.  When the US entered war with Spain, Aguinaldo, who had been in exile in Hong Kong after the last rebellion, negotiated his return to the Philippines.  As with Cuba, the war against Spain in this area had a naval and land aspect.  On sea, Admiral Dewey defeated the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay on May 1.  On June 30, US troops debarked at Cavite; by August 13, the Spanish had surrendered.

            But this didn’t end the hostilities.  The Filipino insurgents, who had been expecting full independence in exchange for assisting the US invasion (liberation?) were shocked and disappointed when the end of the war simply transferred ownership from Spain to the US.  Then began an “insurgency” which lasted far longer than the original war; the locals put up a much tougher fight than the Spanish had.  The “official” end was declared in April 1902, but sporadic clashes with primitive Muslim Moro tribes continued on until the 1920s.  The US finally granted the Philippines independence on July 4, 1946.  Aguinaldo himself lived until 1964, age 94.

 Uniforms and equipment.  This was about the time the Navy switched from the older “Donald Duck” hat for sailors to the current Dixie Cup variety.  For its part, the Army was switching over from dark blue (since the Civil War) to khaki, a completely different color far better suited to the realities of modern warfare, and in much lighter, more comfortable materials.  The latter was important as for the first time US soldiers were fighting in tropical conditions different than experienced at home in the United States. 

            Spanish soldiers typically wore a cotton tropical uniform, called rayadillo, in white with narrow blue vertical stripes.  To modern eyes – or at least mine – they look like pajamas.  Their rifle was the 1893 Spanish Mauser (7mm Mauser), which was actually superior to the US rifles, both the obsolete trapdoor Springfields (.45-70, single shot) and the Krags.  It was the success of this rifle which led the US to adopt the Mauser bolt action system on the 1903 Springfield.  Another popular rifle was the Remington rolling block, typically in 11mm (.43) as used by the Spanish.