The Strenuous Life ― Teddy Roosevelt and the Making of the American Athlete

Crippling asthma, a frail build, and grossly myopic eyesight: these were the ailments that plagued Teddy Roosevelt as a child. In adulthood, he was diagnosed with a potentially fatal heart condition and was told never to exert himself again. Roosevelt’s body was his weakness, the one hill he could never fully conquer, and as a result he developed what would become a lifelong obsession with athletics that he carried with him into his presidency. As President of the United States, Roosevelt boxed, practiced Ju-Jitsu, played tennis nearly every day, and invited athletes and teams to the White House constantly. He made certain that each of his children participated in athletics. During Roosevelt’s administration, America saw an unprecedented rise in fitness, sports, and recreational athletics unlike any that has come before or after it. Under Roosevelt, baseball’s first ever World Series took place. Interscholastic sports began, and schools began to place a legitimate emphasis on physical education. The NCAA formed, and the United States hosted the Olympic Games for the first time. It was a period of dynamic change, a time which set in place the athletic paradigm by which we still operate today.

Roosevelt resided squarely in the midst of the upheaval. He fought desperately (and sometimes successfully) to shape American athletics in accordance with his imperialistic view of the world. This book shows that, in one way or another, we can trace our fanaticism for fitness directly back to the 26th President of the United States and his relentless pursuit of “The Strenuous Life,” which shaped not only his own decisions, but the landscape of the country as it entered into the 20th century.