Recently a statue of Teddy Roosevelt was scheduled to be removed from the entrance of the American Museum of Natural History. It dawned on me that another president like him might be what this country needs!

He was an imperialist and a warmonger. Unknowingly Roosevelt also set the stage for Pearl Harbor by giving Japan a free hand in the Far East. This followed the Russo-Japanese War and Roosevelt’s congratulating them for sinking the Russian fleet in a surprise attack.

These actions, however, should not overshadow Teddy’s accomplishments, like going after big business by trust-busting. The Panama Canal was built and yellow fever wiped out. In addition, the number of national parks doubled when he was in office and vast tracts of federal lands were preserved.

Most importantly, Roosevelt started a third party, the Progressive Party. In a country where history has not been adequately taught in most schools for many years, this is important, as it explains many of the misconceptions that surround us.

When President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal coalition disappeared in the late 1960s, Southern Democrats became Republicans, many African Americans turned away from the party of Lincoln and things changed. The word “progressive” somehow is a dirty word for many people. These, sadly, are the people who think the Federal Reserve is a federal agency and don’t realize that socialism at the top makes socialism at the bottom look like chump change.

Peter Clifford
Northport

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