TR, generally considered one of the five greatest Presidents, was also many other things, including author of more than 35 books, NYC Police Commissioner, Governor of New York, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, rancher, big game hunter, Amazonian explorer, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, and third-party presidential candidate. His achievements came during a time of enormous economic and social inequalities, and included leadership of the Progressive movement, trust-busting, labor relations, and environmentalism through the creation of a national conservation policy and establishment of millions of acres of national parks and national forests. He was also a U.S. imperialist and an unceasing advocate of expansion of the U.S. Navy in the name of military readiness. Most of the issues he took on are still with us today.

In this course, we intend to discuss Roosevelt in the context of the issues of his time and their relevance to today.

Format: All class participants should do background reading prior to the start of class and participate actively in class discussions. Participants will be encouraged to make, individually or in partnership with another class member, a short oral presentation on a period in Roosevelt’s life, an issue he addressed, or other relevant topic, and then lead a class discussion. The Coordinators will provide a list of suggested topics, but we also encourage participants to suggest subjects of particular interest to them. This is a Zoom video conferencing class.

Resources/Expenses: This course is based on The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin, available used through Abebooks or other used book dealers in hard or soft cover (starting at $4.98), from libraries, or in e-book or audiobook format.