TR continued... A first time for everything

Theodore Roosevelt was made immensely popular for his victory of the Nobel Peace Prize as he was not only the first President to receive such an honor, but also the first American to do so. This great achievement, however, was not the only one carried out by TR that made him so loved by the people. In addition, President Roosevelt completed and attempted many different tasks, events, deeds, and diversions as President of the United States that had never even been thought of by any previous President.

To begin with, Theodore Roosevelt was the first President to gain and place power over oil, trains, and meat “trusts”. This man had a lot of power and he knew how to exert it successfully. He knew what he wanted and he was determined to get it regardless of what other Presidents and what other people thought. He loved nature and wanted to preserve it at all costs. As a result, TR set up 5 national parks, 150 national forests, 51 bird reservations, 4 national game preserves, and plenty more. No President had even considered the preservation of environments until that time, but Theodore Roosevelt had found it essential. In his own words,
“… The conservation of natural resources is the fundamental problem. Unless we solve that problem it will avail us little to solve all others.” (Roosevelt: Address to Deep Waterway Convention)

Because of the construction of the Panama Canal in 1906, Teddy Roosevelt felt obliged to survey the building and double-check that it was done correctly. As Panama was out of the country, TR became the first President to leave America while holding office. Four years later, he became the first President to ride in an airplane when he accepted the invitation from Arch Hoxsey at an air show in 1910. You can see live footage of that flight here. (This flight, however, was not taken during his presidency. Rather, it was taken two years after he got out of office. Nevertheless, no President had been in a plane after their presidency either.)

In addition, TR was also the first President to keep that position after the death of the previous leader (McKinley). Though he was not the first to be filmed, (Grover and McKinley) he was the first to have a film dedicated to his life and was the first to take a car ride. (He was also the first President to own a car.) Later, he became the first to ride in a submarine as well as the first to possess a telephone.

Theodore Roosevelt was sure of himself and did not care what others thought about anything he did. Because of that, TR invited the first black man, Booker T. Washington, to dinner in the White House and chose the first Jew, Oscar S. Straus, for the Presidential Cabinet.


Theodore Roosevelt had a colossal impact on American History. He was a man beyond the ordinary who went above and beyond what had ever been done before. His accomplishments were beyond amazing and his experiences and stories and still told today.