"Taking on Teddy Roosevelt" by Harry Lembeck (2015)

There is a widespread belief which holds that the 1948 defection of the so called “Dixiecrats” who left the Democratic Party over Harry Truman’s desegregation of the Armed Forces sparked the defection of African-Americans from the Republican Party of Lincoln to the Democratic Party of today.  And there is some truth to that. But the real migration began about 50 years before that and involves Theodore Roosevelt, Booker T. Washington, and a riot in Texas which may not have been what it appeared to be.

In August 1906 the 25^th Colored Infantry Division was stationed at Fort Browning in Brownsville, Texas. They had replace the all-white 24^th which had served it’s time and was rotating back east. The townsfolk were more than a bit leery of having armed colored troops stationed just outside of town.

After several racially motivated incidents, several men; supposedly from the fort; went on a shooting spree, wounding some of the townsfolk and damaging most of the buildings which had refused to serve them. The events that followed underscored the deep racial divisions which split America in the days after the Civil War and still divide us in many ways.

   

President Theodore Roosevelt, who had served as William McKinley’s Vice President, was seen as a “gradualist” in the matter of race relations. He talked a great game about equality as he set the Great White Fleet off to show the flag, but here at home the President allied himself with Booker T. Washington; the African-American educator who founded the Tuskegee Institute to train Negroes in the Industrial Arts. 

In some ways Tuskegee was a trade school; rather than a true college of higher learning. He believed; and the President agreed with him; that Negroes were better suited for factory work and menial labor rather than any of the professions. They believed that it would take time to achieve the educational levels for Negroes to rise in society. One has to wonder whether or not anyone ever bothered to ask Booker T. how he had made the transition so quickly, and why he felt that his contemporaries could not.

The author explores the attitudes of the times in relation to the expectations of the African-American concerning armed blacks in the military. Although the “colored” troops had performed well in the Civil War; and the legendary Buffalo Soldiers; to whom the soldiers of the beleaguered 25th Colored Regiment were related by history; the people in Brownsville Texas were clearly not comfortable in having these troops present. It was only a matter of time until something happened.

The author explores the writings of some of the most illustrious African-American writers of the day; pitting the writings of W.E. DuBois against the politics; and policies; of Booker T. Washington and President Roosevelt. While DuBois was initially in agreement with the “gradualism” approach to equality, he ultimately saw the flaws in this arrangement. Who would decide when African-Americans were ready for advancement? Shouldn’t that question be decided by the African-Americans themselves; rather than be left with the very government which had allowed them to be enslaved for over 80 years after Independence had been declared?

This is a sweeping book encompassing both the incident at Fort Browning itself; as well as the political implications for the entire nation at the time. It would be well to remember that the history in these pages informs the debate on race relations in America today every bit as much as the news in today’s paper.

"Island of Vice" by Richard Zacks (2012)

1896 was a crucial year in the history of New York City. The annexation of all 5 boroughs was less than 2 years away. The City of New York, comprised at the time of the island of Manhattan, was in the throes of a crime wave the likes of which would never be seen again. Literally, as the title of this book suggests, it was a city of sin. This was also the beginning of the end for Tammany Hall, the political party which had ruled the city for decades.

In a story propelled by the likes of characters such as Nellie Bly, the female reporter of crime at the New York World; and Reverend Charles Parkhurst, the leader of an anti-crime crusade; this book rips and roars its way through the final years of the 19th century, ably guided by the skillful authorship of Richard Zacks.

Much of the story centers on Theodore Roosevelt, who would in short order become famous for his exploits at San Juan Hill during the war in Cuba, as well as becoming President of the United States at the dawn of the 20th century. And what a story it is!

Think of any criminal enterprise in operation today, and it was available then. The only difference was in the technology used in committing the crimes; as human nature has not changed much in the intervening years.

For instance, in the place of todays "chop shops", which alter automobiles, the horse thief of the 19th century merely rode the animal to one of the scores of stables dotting the riverfronts on both sides of the island, and had the animal dyed, the mane clipped, and the saddle changed. The rider then emerged on a "horse of a different color"; so to speak; free to gallop away out of the city to sell his stolen steed.

Gambling was rife, with hundreds of illegal gaming establishments throughout the city, all under the protection of the Police. Prostitution, in every known form, was also readily available in all areas of the city. Women, respectable ones, did not roam about freely at night. Even gentlemen did not stroll after dark without a sense of foreboding.

Into this scenario came Theodore Roosevelt, who had been raised in New York, but had spent the last several years in Washington, D.C. He was now back in New York, determined to clean up the city, as well as make a name for himself. He lost no time in doing both.

Teaming up with Reverend Parkhurst, as well as with Jacob Riis, these men set out to put the city back on course to become the greatest metropolis ever known.  Riis and Roosevelt had become great friends, and mutual admirers, after Roosevelt read Riis' "How the Other Half Lives", which was published in the 1880's when Jacob Riis was working as a Police Reporter for the Evening Sun.

The photos, and their accompanying stories, shocked the city into a social awareness which would spark the changes affecting the most disadvantaged citizens Manhattan.

Roosevelt and Riis, in disguise, went on a series of midnight journeys into the seediest parts of the city, seeking to document the criminal activities, and then tear them down. Acting upon the heels of Reverend Parkhurst's own campaign against vice, in which he too, toured the city at night under the protection of Detective Charles Gardner, the city was rocked by scandal after scandal, as the veneer of corruption was laid bare for the people to see.

The Police Department was so corrupt that Roosevelt canceled the 1895 annual Police parade, declaring that the force was unworthy of the honor. When he went on his midnight tours he found himself threatened by his very own officers! With tireless effort, and knowledge that his crusade was a just one, he re-enforced the Civil Service laws, giving the city a better police force with which to fight crime.

With a bold and exciting style of writing, Mr. Zacks has created a veritable visual montage of New York in the not so "Gay Nineties", putting truth to the sepia colored images we all hold of that era. Illustrated with some of the best photos ever of old New York, this book is a "must read" for anyone interested in, or in love with, the history of Old New York.

"The Imperial Cruise" by James Bradley

If the Treaty of Versailles was the harbinger of World War Two in Europe, then what was the catalyst for the Japenese expansion in the Pacific that led to Pearl Harbor? I have often wondered where the connection was. In "The Imperial Cruise" James Bradley provides the answers.

In 1905 President Theodore Roosevelt, acting as his own Secretary of State (John Hay had recently passed away) initiated a series of treaties and negotiations that would have devastating effects and rock the world for a hundred years or more. We are still in the grip of what was begun in 1905. It is of interest to note that some of these treaties were illegal under our Constitution. Only Congress has the power to draw up, or agree to, treaties for the United States. "Big Stick" Teddy once said-"I took the canal and let Congress debate."

Sending his daughter Alice, who was the Jackie Kennedy of her time, on the cruise provided great cover for the mission her father had decided to undertake. With the Presidents' Secretary of War, William Howard Taft, at her side she embarked from San Francisco on a voyage to Hawaii and on to Japan, Korea and 3 stops in China before returning via the Phillipines.

The treaties and agreements negotiated and signed on this trip led Japan to embark on an agressive campaign to modernize her military. This eventually led to attacks on China, Korea and ultimatley to Pearl Harbor. Ironically it was left to Theodore Roosevelts' cousin Franklin Roosevelt to clean up the mess. FDR was also left with the need to apologize to the Phillipine Government for the treachery of his Uncle Teddy.

The book delves into the reasons that the elder Roosevelt felt the need to undertake this mission. His vision of American style democracy included importing it beyond our West Coast and Hawaii. He was also an avid Aryan. That's right- a race purist. He believed that we are descended from the Tuetons and Aryans and as such had the responsibility to civilize the whole world west of our Pacific border.

The real aim was to establish "coaling" stations for ships crossing the Pacific. It is several thousand miles from the West Coast of the United States to Hawaii. From there we were seeking other islands for the same purpose. To this end Roosevelt decided that the Japenese were the most civilized of the Eastern nations and he set about in securing conflicting "treaties" with Japan and Korea and China. He called this his "Pacific Monroe Doctrine." This policy, and the treaties, became the vehicle by which Japan militarized and began invading other Asian nations.

Eventually they got too big for our liking and we cut off all of their access to the raw materials they needed to wage war. This led to increased aggression on the part of Japan and opened the door for the later Japenese atrocities in Nanking and the road to Pearl Harbor.

If I have over simplified things here it is because the scope of the subject is so vast- beginning with Commodore Perry in Japan. The insights into this period of Japanese history are an essential part of understanding what happened then as well as what is happening now.

The book is carefully researched, as are all of Mr. Bradleys' books. He has a unique way of putting history in its' proper perspective and looking beyond the facade of what we were taught in school. This book will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about the road leading up to World War Two and beyond. It will also make you wonder why we honor Teddy Roosevelt on Mt. Rushmore.

An informative and gripping read, I highly recommend this book.