Roosevelt would move out west to North Dakota, where he became a sheriff. He gained notoriety for hunting down a number of criminals. However, a particularly harsh winter destroyed his herd of cattle and he ultimately gave up on the West and moved back to New York. He ran for, but lost, an election for New York City Mayor. Despite these defeats, he remarried – this time to Edith Carow, who would later bear five children.

Roosevelt would later assist in Benjamin Harrison’s presidential campaign and when Harrison won the election, Roosevelt was given a post on the United State Civil Service Commission. In 1897, in large part to his significant political connections and minor notoriety, Roosevelt was appointed as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy.

Roosevelt would later resign to form a volunteer force called the Rough Riders. Ironically, the Rough Riders – for which Roosevelt served as a Lt. Colonel – only had a single horse; Roosevelt’s. They achieved fame when he led a charge up San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War. Afterward, Roosevelt ran for governor of New York as a Republican, and won. He later ran as a Vice President to William McKinley. McKinley was later assassinated, making Roosevelt the President.

As President, Roosevelt continued McKinley’s programs, including the so-called “Square Deal.” He also brokered a compromise during the great coal strike of 1902. He then ran for re-election and won with 56% of the popular vote. During his second term, Roosevelt introduced legislation to regulate railroad fees. He also passed legislation requiring the labeling of food and drugs. Roosevelt also pushed for wildlife conservation through a variety of acts; he also created a number of national parks and built the United State Forestry Service. He also created the Antiquities act which allowed the Office of the President to create national parks and wildlife reserves.

Roosevelt then secured support to build the Panama Canal, a large man-made trench that created a seaway that acted as a significant shortcut for shipping between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Roosevelt also pushed for the expansion of the United States Navy, and eventually sailed a large fleet of battleships around the world as an assertion of U.S. military power. This fleet would later be named “The Great White Fleet.”

After his Presidency, Roosevelt would remain active in politics, debate, and public service until his death in 1919. He is best known for building the Panama Canal, the Rough Riders and the famous charge up San Juan Hill, and stopping the coal strike in 1902. He is also often cited as one of the more influential Presidents from the Republican Party.