The Magnificent Theodore

by Doug Mishler

I don’t know where or when it occurred, but at some moment Theodore Roosevelt became part of my life--and I am eternally thankful for it. During my training as a historian I encountered the man and was struck by his remarkable combination of bombast, intellect, and almost surreal physical vitality and presence. The more I studied this incredible man, the more I wanted to share him with the American people. Yet the deeper I explored his life the more I realized that writing yet another book about him (roughly two are scribbled out each year) would be insufficient in capturing his essence. To enable people to fully appreciate Theodore (no one ever called him Teddy to his face) he had to come back to life. Thus, even while I was honored to revive the amazing P. T. Barnum in my first year of Chautauqua 12 years ago, I was already obsessed with Roosevelt. Now after doing TR for nine years I can say his magnificent spirit has never left me—thanks for that.

Historian Henry Adams called TR a “primal force of nature,” yet of all the descriptions of Theodore I think Kipling said it best: “you go into his presence and soon you realize that the world is spinning and Theodore is the spinner. Then you go home and shake his personality out of your clothes.” I came to be fairly possessed by a man unlike any human any of us has ever encountered. A giant of letters, TR wrote 36 books on a variety of subjects. In addition he had one of the greatest political careers serving America. And yet he also knew more about the natural world than perhaps any man of his day. On top of all this he was a man of action; chasing thieves through a frozen wilderness, punching out pistol- toting bad men, charging up San Juan Hill and exploring the Amazon.

Bringing Theodore to Missouri this summer will be a great treat for me, as I will explore a man who passionately protected the environment as the father of our National parks and forests systems, and the first president to really understand how imperiled the American farmer was.

As a performer it is a pleasure to do Theodore, for I can let myself go in portraying him since his personality was so much larger than anything I can possibly generate. Yet, more significantly, it is an honor to do him because he stands for all that is best in humanity: a passion for life, for principle, for helping others. There is really no one like him in our history, and understanding him tells us a great deal about what is best and brightest about being an American.

TR was simply magnificent, and I hope you join us this summer to chase birds, explore wild places, fight for farmers, and discuss everything--yes even politics. Yet come also to experience what it means for a man to be truly alive and truly American.

[Doug Mishler is a Professor of History at the University of Nevada-Reno and is Artistic Director for the High Plains Chautauqua, Greely, Colorado.]

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