The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt (Modern Library Paperbacks)

The first two essays cover Roosevelt's role in the rise of American Imperialism and America's rise to world power. Later essays deal with the cementing of the Anglo-American alliance, China, the Far East and Europe.

The two underlining themes of this book are Roosevelt's assertion of the Monroe Doctrine in the Americas and his search for balances of power elsewhere in the world. His defense of the Monroe Doctrine is manifest in the resolution of the Venezuelan Dispute of 1902 during which TR prepared to go to war with Germany in order to prevent it from establishing a foothold in South America.

An early major step in TR's foreign policy the establishment an alliance with Britain. This move was a natural, as many in America's ruling class, not including TR, were Anglophiles. TR recognized that common language and interests cemented Anglo-American relations. An alliance with Britain was essential to the establishment of a balance to the power of a rising Germany. TR's restraint during the Boer War, despite his sympathy for the underdogs, was repaid in Britain's cooperation in the Venezuelan Crisis and its face saving, but ineffective, support of Canada during the Alaskan Boundary dispute of 1901-3.

The main American interest in China was the maintenance of the Open Door policy, which could have been closed had any one nation attained the upper hand in China. Despite his belief in white supremacy, it was Roosevelt's America which used a portion of the Boxer reparations for the benefit of China. In his effort to establish a balance of power in the region, TR supported China in its struggles against Russia over Manchuria.

In the Far East, in addition to China, TR's main interest was the negotiation of the peace treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War, an accomplishment which won him the Nobel Peace Prize. Even more than a general desire for peace, TR was motivated by the desire to establish a balance of power in the region. He recognized and respected Japan, an ally of Britain, and actively supported them in the early stages of the war. He recognized Russia as the greater threat to the U. S. and was pleased to see its thrust into Asia blunted. His intervention with both the Japanese and Czar Nicholas was instrumental in preventing a breakdown in the Portsmouth Peace Conference, an action which saved Japan from bankruptcy and Russia from further military disaster. After the war, TR acted, through the cruise of the Great White Fleet, to impress upon an emboldened Japan the folly of taking on the United States as it had Russia.

Perhaps TR's most assertive foreign policy initiatives involved his role in the Algerciras Conference on Morocco in 1905. Ignoring the Monroe Doctrine's provision that America would stay out of European affairs, TR became an active intermediary in a dispute in which America's only direct interest was to keep Morocco open to American trade. America's most vital interest was to keep Germany from obtaining excessive dominance in Europe which would enable it to attempt an expansion into Latin America, particularly into areas with large German populations.

An assessment of TR's management of America's rise would have to conclude that he was generally successful in his initiatives. Germany was kept out of Venezuela and power in Morocco remained divided. Japan achieved its sphere of influence in Korea, and the Open Door remained open. It is true that TR did not vanquish America's rivals, but he did maintain the peace and enhanced America's position during his reign. World War I did not erupt until 5 years after he left office and neither did Japan attack America not Russia become a major rival until another Roosevelt Administration over 30 years after TR left the White House.

I found Professor Beale's work to be the best study of TR's foreign policy which I have found and, as my Amazon reviews indicate, I have read quite a bit about him. I recommend it for any serious student of TR or the history of American foreign policy.

Theodore Roosevelt is one of AmericaÂ's liveliest and most influential figures. He was a scholar, cowboy, war hero, explorer, and a brilliant politician. As president, RooseveltÂ's far-reaching policies abroad and at home forever changed both our nationÂ's place in the world and the life of every modern American.

Fascinating details and an intimate, fast-paced narrative explore the heroic life and complex world of an American icon.

The Rise of Roosevelt University: Presidential Reflections

Average customer rating:

Unmemorable Memoir

The Rise of Roosevelt University: Presidential Reflections
Theodore L. Gross
Manufacturer: Southern Illinois University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Educators | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0809326078

Underscoring professional and educational issues pertinent to higher learning at universities across the country, Theodore L. Gross’s memoir of his years in academia chronicles his successful fourteen-year presidency at Chicago’s Roosevelt University, a period of leadership that resulted in an upsurge of fund-raising, sharp increases in enrollment and endowment, and the transformation of an urban campus into a metropolitan university.

Beginning with a description of his childhood and adolescent education and experiences, Gross recalls his years as a faculty member and academic administrator at the City College of New York from 1958 to 1978, when the college was moving from selective admissions to open enrollment. He also served in administrative positions at Penn State University and SUNY Purchase before accepting the Roosevelt presidency in 1988. Focusing on the tension between the promise of open admissions and aspirations of academic excellence, The Rise of Roosevelt University: Presidential Reflections relates Gross’s perceptions of the failure of open admissions at CCNY and his resolution to learn from those mistakes while at Roosevelt.

Drawing on private correspondence and conversations, essays, university documents, and other archival materials and research, Gross re-creates the highs and lows of his quest to make Roosevelt distinctive. His strategic plan included the appointment of senior executives and deans, the creation of a performing arts conservatory, the development of an educational alliance with other universities, online instruction, an honors program, a Chicago School of Real Estate, an MBA for Chinese students, the Partners in Corporate Education program, and the implementation of a second comprehensive campus. He describes the creation of the Albert A. Robin campus in Schaumburg and the realization of Roosevelt as a metropolitan university, creating a vivid portrait of the suburban culture, the educational context of large community colleges throughout the northwest suburbs, the development of a community advisory board that helped secure funds, and the improved morale of faculty and administration.

Gross’s fund-raising efforts increased the endowment from $3 million to $33 million, and a capital campaign surpassed the goal of $45 million. In this volume, he describes meetings with major donors, the successes and failures of contributions, and the development of greater alumni support in the context of fund-raising throughout Chicago. He also analyzes the highly publicized legal dispute between the Auditorium Theatre Council and Roosevelt University over ownership of the world renowned theatre, pointing out how the case epitomizes issues that all universities confront: the university’s need to control its entities, detrimental publicity, sectional and regional conflicts, and a split in the arts community. Throughout this narrative, Gross juxtaposes his personal life and professional career, dramatizing how the two are related.

More than a retelling of anecdotes and statistics, the volume provides a rare perspective on the intersection of higher education and politics in Chicago. Gross analyzes the different public and private universities in the city and in surrounding Cook County to describe their relationships with ethnicity, religion, class, and with city hall. He also covers the Daley political machine’s influence on higher education, the politics of university governance, the spectacular growth of the western suburbs, and city versus suburban identities.

A personal road map of the development of higher education through the post–World War II decades, The Rise of Roosevelt University: Presidential Reflections mirrors the social climate that affected the country’s universities at large, from the open admissions policies and student rebellions of the ’60s and ’70s, to the urban blight and suburban sprawl of the ’80s, to the strategic planning and expansion of the ’90s and the new century. The result is a captivating account of the issues involved in presidential transition and leadership, the strategic development of metropolitan universities, and the future role of Roosevelt and similar institutions.

Examining conflict and warfare in Chad from both historic and contemporary perspectives, Mario Azevedo explores not only how violence has permeated and become almost an intrinsic part of the fabric of the central-eastern Sudanic societies, but how foreign interference from centuries ago to the present-day have exacerbated rather than suppressed the violence. Although the main objective of the volume is to understand present Chad, it provides comprehensive and analytical discussion of Chad's violent past. This strategy goes beyond putting the blame on the unwise and ethnic policies at Francois Tombalbaye or Felix Malloum; instead, Roots of Violence clarifies the role of violence in both pre- and post-colonial Chad and, thus, demythologizes many of the assumptions held by scholars and non-scholars alike.