Roosevelt at Harvard
TR wrote, “I thoroughly enjoyed Harvard and it did me good, but only in the general effect, there was very little in my actual studies which helped me in after life.”
At Harvard Roosevelt was out of step. His greetings halfway across Harvard Yard were considered offensive. When it was good form to walk, Roosevelt ran. He seemed to run everywhere. Enthusiasm was considered vulgar.
He randomly argued with classmates and enjoyed Endurance Contests. At Fresh Pond he challenged campus strongman Richard Welling to a contest to see how long they could skate outdoors in the freezing cold.
Welling remembered Roosevelt kept saying “Isn’t this perfectly bully?” After three hours TR suggested they go home.
He boxed, but didn’t participate in any team sports. He showed courage in the ring if nothing else. He was only moderately successful.
At a Hayes-Tilden Campaign rally a bystander on the sidewalk said something derogatory. TR decked him.
In a lightweight boxing tournament in March of 1879 Roosevelt fought Charley Hanks. They were both 135 lbs. but Hanks was nearly 3 inches taller with a longer reach. TR’s bad eyesight didn’t help. While he was bloodied and winded and lost the fight; he didn’t lose his spirit.
Looking back on his Harvard days TR wrote, “I am sorry I did not study elocution in college; but I am exceedingly glad that I did not take part in the type of debate in which stress is laid, not upon getting a speaker to think rightly, but on getting him to talk glibly on the side to which he is assigned without regard either to what his convictions are or to what they ought to be.”
Roosevelt wanted schools to graduate students with ardent convictions on the side of right, not students who can make a good argument for either right, or wrong “as their interest bids.”
By the time of his junior year he stopped studying the natural sciences. In his autobiography he wrote he hated working in laboratories. “Accordingly I abandoned all thought of becoming a scientist.”
In 1876 to 1880 majors were not offered at Harvard. Even today Harvard uses the term Consideration for majors and Secondary Field for minors. Roosevelt earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree.
According to the Crimson TR graduated 21st in a class of 161. He flunked Greek (58) and French (51). His average in each of his four years were; 75, 87, 82, and 78. He received his worst grades in forensics, a subject he hated.
A key to understanding Roosevelt is to realize he didn’t simply believe in studying what was already known. TR believed you try your best to add to the sum of human knowledge. It’s what drove him to study birds, catalog species, hunt big game and scale Mt. Vesuvius. It’s why he dove in a submarine, traveled the great American west, fought in Cuba, flew in St. Louis, hunted in Kenya and explored The River of Doubt.
At Harvard TR was out of step. His greetings halfway across Harvard Yard were considered offensive. When it was good form to walk, Roosevelt ran. Enthusiasm was considered vulgar.
He randomly argued with classmates and enjoyed Endurance Contests. He challenged Richard Welling to see how long they could skate outdoors in the freezing cold. Welling remembered TR kept saying “Isn’t this perfectly bully.” After three hours TR suggested they go home.
TR wrote, “I am sorry I did not study elocution in college, but I am exceedingly glad that I did not take part in the type of debate in which stress is laid not upon getting a speaker to think rightly, but on getting him to talk glibly on the side to which he is assigned without regard either to what his convictions are, or to what they ought to be.”
By his junior year he stopped studying natural science. He hated laboratory work. In his autobiography he wrote, “Accordingly, I abandoned all thought of becoming a scientist.” In his senior year he studied Political Economy – Financial Legislation taught by Professor Dunbar Caines. The course dealt with the public finance of the Civil War.
Harvard Around 1880