Theodore Roosevelt was reportedly sad to leave office in 1909, but the nation’s 26th president kept a politically active timeline in his years after office.
Roosevelt successfully campaigned for the election of his friend William Howard Taft as his successor. Three weeks after leaving office, he set off on an African safari, hunting big game with his son, Kermit. His wife later joined him in his travels,
touring Egypt and Europe with him, PBS said.
Vote Now: Was Theodore Roosevelt the Greatest American President?
Returning to the United States in 2010, Roosevelt began speaking for unity between progressive and conservative Republicans, calling for a "New Nationalism" and advocating for such reforms as taxes on income and inherited wealth, stronger conservation measures, workman's compensation laws, and the prohibition of child labor.
A rift between Roosevelt and Taft widened, and Roosevelt decided to challenge his old friend for the Republican nomination in the 1912 election. The campaign further divided the troubled party and the two friends.
Roosevelt won the primaries, but the Republican Convention chose Taft, angering delegates who formed a new Progressive Party, nicknamed the “Bull Moose” party.
Urgent: Who Is the Greatest American President in History?
Running as a third-party candidate, Roosevelt faced Taft and Woodrow Wilson in the general election. During a campaign stop, he was shot in the chest but quickly recovered, telling the crowd: “But it takes more than a bullet to stop a bull moose,” PBS said.
After a devastating loss in the election, Roosevelt set off on another overseas adventure to Brazil. During his travels he suffered malaria and an
infection in his leg after a boating accident, the University of Virginia’s Miller Center said. When he returned, he wrote scientific essays and history books.
When World War I broke out in Europe, Roosevelt advocated for military preparedness and urged the nation to join the war. When the United States entered the war in 1917, his four sons volunteered to fight. His youngest son, Quentin, was shot and killed in Germany, leaving the former president despondent.
Roosevelt died in his sleep on Jan. 5, 1919, less than six months after Quentin’s death.
Vote Here: Which U.S. President Would Be Considered the Greatest in History?
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.