Abstract
This thesis is a study of the usage of the name Theodore Roosevelt in Presidential rhetoric concerning environmental policy. From Roosevelt’s immediate successors to the Chief Executives of today, all Presidents have found it convenient to allude to Roosevelt in order to promote a particular program or policy. Many Presidents have claimed that they or their party are the true heirs to Roosevelt and his philosophy. On occasion, competing candidates have both claimed to be representing Theodore Roosevelt’s legacy while expounding significantly different policies. This thesis does not attempt to say who was right, but rather establishes that the legacy of Roosevelt was so complex that multiple interpretations are both possible and necessary. Each President is addressed with their use of the Roosevelt name and some possible explanations for why they choose to use him in that particular rhetorical way. The Presidents are broken down into groups in the chapters. At the end of each chapter, broader scope explanations are put forth indicating how scholars and society at large say Roosevelt (and, by extension, viewed the contemporary polices Roosevelt’s name was being attached to). Conclusions at the end of each chapter are tied together at the end to demonstrate that the use of the Roosevelt name was far from random or solely a matter of short term expediency. Instead, the use followed the ever changing conception in America of conservation, environmentalism, and the many-faceted ideas of ecology. The overall theme of the thesis is that the rhetorical image of Roosevelt evolved over the past century along with the American idea of the environment, with Roosevelt always representing the consummate conservationist, simultaneously at one with environmental sensitivity and governmental efficiency.
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