The Bully Pulpit# summary

Roosevelt didn’t go from rags to riches. He was born into a life of privilege, in New York in 1858. His father was a wealthy and well-connected glass merchant, and Roosevelt grew up knowing that he’d never really have to work to earn a living.

The young Roosevelt was very bright and possessed a photographic memory. His father, devoted to his children’s education, read aloud to them often and had them put on plays together. He also tried to nurture their individual passions: Roosevelt loved natural history, and so his father arranged for him to have lessons with a professional taxidermist.

After leaving Harvard, Roosevelt studied law at Columbia, though he remained unsure of whether he wanted to become a lawyer. Eventually, he ended up in state politics.

At the age of 22, Roosevelt began attending republican meetings, and was quickly hooked. Eight months later, in 1882, he dropped out of law school and became the youngest member of the New York State Assembly.

In 1898, Roosevelt easily won the New York gubernatorial election, thanks largely to his strong reputation for battling corruption.

The Republican Party was suffering from internal fighting, however. When Roosevelt first became governor of New York, he was surprised at how little opposition he faced from conservative leaders. He was able to implement laws that provided better working conditions for children and enacted state legislation to preserve huge areas of forest without facing much resistance.

Roosevelt had already established a writing career long before his political career gained traction. He published over 45 books and 1000 articles in his life, as well as historical writing and children’s books.

So it’s not surprising that Roosevelt built strong relationships with journalists. He had many journalist friends, including a group of investigative reporters from McClure’s Magazine, a popular literary and political monthly.

Samuel McClure founded McClure’s Magazine in 1893. It initially published the works of popular authors, like Arthur Conan Doyle, or featured interviews with leading scientists, like Louis Pasteur.

As time went on, however, McClure’s shifted its focus to current political affairs, and came to have a large political influence on society. It was widely read and very credible. It also had a diverse readership, as it featured popular authors, had high writing standards and cost only 15 cents – a price less affluent readers could still afford.

At the turn of the century, trusts controlled the prices and trading conditions of major industries like steel, railways and sugar. That concentration of power is what Roosevelt and his fellow progressives wanted to fight against.

And, in spite of opposition from his fellow Republicans, Roosevelt did manage to reduce the power of the trusts. He'd already won a court case against Northern Securities, an umbrella company uniting several major railroad companies and exercising significant control over the entire railroad industry. Roosevelt earned the nickname “trust-buster” for his victory in the case. Conservative judges could easily dismiss trust cases, however, so Roosevelt aimed for a legislative change instead.

There are many reasons that it was so important for Roosevelt to collaborate with the press. At the turn of the century, lobbyism was rampant throughout the country. Positions in the Senate were determined by state legislatures and multi-millionaires bought candidates – or even seats for themselves.

Most senators were put into power because party organizations on the state level contributed money to their election campaigns or paid them in bribes. In exchange, these senators voted in favor of businesses.

Most people only know two things about President William Howard Taft: First, that he was overweight (332 pounds) and had a custom-made bathtub to accommodate his girth, and secondly, that he had a falling-out with Roosevelt.

Those things are both true, but there’s much more to the story of Taft than that. For one, he was an outstanding jurist and had an exceptional career in law.

In 1890, Roosevelt and Taft both lived in the same neighborhood in Washington, D.C. Their wives, Edith Roosevelt and Nellie Herron Taft, already knew each other, but it was the men who would truly hit it off.

Roosevelt and Taft were quite different, and yet they became close friends. Roosevelt was bold and energetic; Taft was quiet and sweet-natured. The two men bonded over their shared political vision, which they discussed often.

Taft won the 1908 presidential election, thanks largely to Roosevelt’s help. Roosevelt had assured the public that Taft and his cabinet would continue his progressive reforms, but as soon as Taft took office, things changed.

First, Taft chose to exclude most of Roosevelt’s supporters from his cabinet, raising concerns with many progressives. Before he took office, Taft had promised Roosevelt that he would fill his cabinet with certain close allies, such as Interior Secretary James Garfield. It was a promise he didn’t keep: he even replaced Garfield with the more conservative Richard Ballinger.

Roosevelt was disappointed with Taft’s policies. But had Taft deliberately thwarted his friend’s agenda?

Well, not really. It was a difference in character, not in politics, that drove Taft to endorse more conservative policies.