AHC: Theodore Roosevelt – WORST, most DESPISED president in US history

Get him elected President in 1912 as a Progressive, only to be hamstrung by a Congress composed entirely of bitter Republicans and Democrats calling him a socialist. He achieves little, is vilified for trying to push the United States into the Great War and is destroyed in 1916 by a candidate with backing from both the Republicans and Democrats who promptly enacts a slew of reforms lame duck Teddy never could.

The USA stays out of the War, profits immensely and enters the Roaring Twenties in even finer shape. Revisionists will try to defend him as a hostage to vested party political interests but he is remembered as the man who promised everything and delivered nothing. His jingoism is considered less the confident imperialism of a rising power and more that of an American Kaiser. He is also bemoaned by the Republicans in particular for dividing the party and ushering in a decade and a half of Democratic domination.

I doubt this would make him the most hated President of all time, but he isn't fondly remembered by any stretch of the imagination.
 

Japhy

Banned
There's plenty of room in TR's Domestic Policy to cause him to lose his allure. Just because he had dinner with Booker T Washington once, for example does not make him racially Progressive. Just look at his actions during the Alabama Peonage Trials.

There is plenty of stuff like that, which if ampped up somehow, could destroy the "Greatness" of a Roosevelt administration, just like Andrew Jackson's actions against the Southern Tribes were popular for a long time, but more modern historians,and for example people on this site despise him for that and other actions.

I mean if Roosevelt supports the Peonage trials further and then backs off like he did IOTL, you have a disaster for blacks in the South, as it would be a shown as a fact that Blacks were being kept in Peonage and worked to death in mines and then the Government chose to do nothing about it when caught. Thats a great way to shatter a legacy right there.

Never mind all kinds of talk about Eugenics, War-mongering, the ability for Taft or another Post-TR figure to actually be seen as a progressive Trust-buster as opposed to Roosevelt, the fighting with Mark Hanna damaging his standing in the Republican Party, fighting with JP Morgan threatening the economy especially in 1907, the New Nationalism being put into effect, and being seen as a clear power grab by Roosevelt...

The man is far from perfect, no matter what the fandom says. Its easy to turn him into something less appreciated. Look at Jackson, look at Grant, look at LBJ. There are plenty of people who have smeared Great men and dragged them down, no matter what their victories and positive attributes were. Teddy is not immune, and is in fact more vulnerable then most.
 
Could we get him to be incredibly contoversial?

Otl, macleans magazine did a poll of the best and worst canadians of all time. Pierre trudeau made the top ten on both lists.

I forget the original challenge,does he have to be universally despised or only by a significant segment of the population?
 
TR goes blind. He then turns his laser beam of awesome against the United States by accident, believing it to be the Kaiser and Spanish. His Rough Riders regroup and run through the streets spilling blood and creating mayhem in their wake. An area corresponding to the shape of the central powers nations is rendered completely uninhabited. Upon stopping his killing long enough, TR is informed of what he has done. He runs his horse backwards at 88 mph to travel to before he went blind, thus preventing this tragedy and creating our timeline.
I'd have no other part in this discussion than to thank you for this short paragraph. It was utterly hilarious.
 
I mean if Roosevelt supports the Peonage trials further and then backs off like he did IOTL, you have a disaster for blacks in the South, as it would be a shown as a fact that Blacks were being kept in Peonage and worked to death in mines and then the Government chose to do nothing about it when caught. Thats a great way to shatter a legacy right there.

Never mind all kinds of talk about Eugenics, War-mongering, the ability for Taft or another Post-TR figure to actually be seen as a progressive Trust-buster as opposed to Roosevelt, the fighting with Mark Hanna damaging his standing in the Republican Party, fighting with JP Morgan threatening the economy especially in 1907, the New Nationalism being put into effect, and being seen as a clear power grab by Roosevelt...

The man is far from perfect, no matter what the fandom says. Its easy to turn him into something less appreciated. Look at Jackson, look at Grant, look at LBJ. There are plenty of people who have smeared Great men and dragged them down, no matter what their victories and positive attributes were. Teddy is not immune, and is in fact more vulnerable then most.

I'm not sure whether making Roosevelt less appreciated or even an object of condemnation fits the thread title, which implies making him a rival for James Buchanan for sheer awfulness, which is considerably more difficult than making him an early version of Lyndon Johnson or a later version of Andrew Jackson.

With that said, I think you've mentioned a number of ways to prevent Theodore Roosevelt from being an idealized President, and even a subject of condemnation by future historians. Aside from what you've mentioned already, may I suggest another option? Roosevelt never makes his comment about not running in 1908, and when that year comes, rather than standing aside, he actually runs and wins another term in office. As Mikestone has pointed out on numerous occasions, the Republican Party was in many respects in trouble in 1912 even without TR's third party run. And with TR still President, it's not all that hard for me at least to imagine a progressive movement that's opposed to Roosevelt, or at least believes that he doesn't go far enough. Someone else is elected President in 1912, and that President is seen as the "real" progressive in comparison to the demagogic, but ultimately conservative, Theodore Roosevelt. I know, that doesn't exactly make him a horrible President, but it might make his long term reputation more akin to that of McKinley and Taft than his reputation today, indeed, he might have a slightly worse reputation, given what could be perceived as an outright power grab in 1908. Most people don't criticize FDR for running in 1940, because there was the Second World War on the horizon to justify such an unprecedented run. In 1908, as far as I am aware, there wasn't any similar sort of crisis underway that might justify what would be in effect a third term. So Theodore Roosevelt would be someone who couldn't stand aside, and who spoke of much an accomplished far less than his hypothetical successor. Then, either somehow avoid the Great War, have it end in 1916, or have Roosevelt's successor lose the election of 1916, and have his successor blamed for the almost inevitable excesses associated with American involvement in that conflict.

Alternatively, you have another option. Have him bite his tongue and stay out in 1912. Taft still loses, and in 1916, Theodore Roosevelt is able to win the nomination, and narrowly defeats President Wilson to return to the White House. Here it's TR who brings us into WWI, it's TR who is responsible for the war-time excesses that are a large part of the reason why a lot of posters here absolutely despise Woodrow Wilson.

Ah, but then I've only made him another Wilson, I probably haven't done enough.
 
The posts about a Vietnam style war makes me think...

A Filipino POW, survivor of the concentration camps, sneaks into the White House, and murders several members of Roosevelt's family. The horrified, and emotionally crucified president goes on a terrifying witch hunt, hunting down all people involved in the matter. With a trail leading to a conspiracy the Irreconcilables, the President sends in full force to eliminate them. The public, sympathetic to the grieving president, support putting down the Irrenconcilables .

But in only several months, the Irrenconcilables War turns into an ethnic cleansing campaign. Torture, and Murder is a common sight in the Philippines. As news of the ever increasing brutalities, public sentiment turns against Roosevelt.
He is impeached by the House and Senate (House: 302-81 Senate: 68-22) President John Hays takes over in July 9, 1903.

Roosevelt dies in 1909, after years of depression and deteriorating health.

________________________________________________________________

Hows that? Too long, short, unrealistic?
 
The posts about a Vietnam style war makes me think...

A Filipino POW, survivor of the concentration camps, sneaks into the White House, and murders several members of Roosevelt's family. The horrified, and emotionally crucified president goes on a terrifying witch hunt, hunting down all people involved in the matter. With a trail leading to a conspiracy the Irreconcilables, the President sends in full force to eliminate them. The public, sympathetic to the grieving president, support putting down the Irrenconcilables .

But in only several months, the Irrenconcilables War turns into an ethnic cleansing campaign. Torture, and Murder is a common sight in the Philippines. As news of the ever increasing brutalities, public sentiment turns against Roosevelt.
He is impeached by the House and Senate (House: 302-81 Senate: 68-22) President John Hays takes over in July 9, 1903.

Roosevelt dies in 1909, after years of depression and deteriorating health.

________________________________________________________________

Hows that? Too long, short, unrealistic?

Would people have cared about a dirty war in the Philippine's though? We're far closer to the Indian wars than we are to Vietnam and Imperialism was cool at the turn of the century. Even a dirty war by the UK against European opponents in South Africa which coined the term concentration camps didn't end anything.
 
Yup. Not many cared about the OTL genocide there.

Would people have cared about a dirty war in the Philippine's though? We're far closer to the Indian wars than we are to Vietnam and Imperialism was cool at the turn of the century. Even a dirty war by the UK against European opponents in South Africa which coined the term concentration camps didn't end anything.

I overestimated how much the public would care for a conquered people, I figured having TR be a genocidal blood seeker would be enough to turn the people against him, but that wasn't to shocking for the people. However, I believe in retrospect, those actions would color him in a bad light. 100 years is enough to turn the world around.
 
I overestimated how much the public would care for a conquered people, I figured having TR be a genocidal blood seeker would be enough to turn the people against him, but that wasn't to shocking for the people. However, I believe in retrospect, those actions would color him in a bad light. 100 years is enough to turn the world around.

Could make him one of those presidents who was popular in their own time but who is ripped apart by modern revisionists. I'm seeing TR as a 20th century Andrew Jackson with your POD.
 
T.R. wins the Republican nomination in 1920, and doesn't do anything really all that 'progressive'. Becomes rather conservative in his old age, ala Churchill.
 

Rex Mundi

Banned
"Get out of my way, woman, I AM THE PRESIDENT!"
"If the President does something, that means it is not unlawful."
"Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far."
"As far as I am concerned, Mr Morgan needs a good panic." (On blocking the US Steel-TC&I merger)
Quotations of US Presidents, Theodore Roosevelt 1901-1909

This and Taft's reaction are amazingly awesome. "I AM THE PRESIDENT!" What a badass.
 
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