Quote:
Originally posted by CommoGeek
Teddy Roosevelt for starting the US down the road to being a world power. The man had vision.
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TR had vision, but William McKinley deserves the credit for starting the US down that path. Victory in the Spanish-American War, the occupation of Cuba, annexation of Puerto Rico and the Philippines, and the China Relief Expedition were on his watch. Of course, while McKinley came into office determined to resolve the Cuba question, much of McKinley's policy towards Spain was influenced by his Assistant Secretary of the Navy.
Our rise to world power status was inevitable given our growing economic power. One thing TR did was make sure we wouldn't be a world power in the European mold, by eschewing grand imperial ambitions (although maybe he should have kept Cuba).
McKinley and TR also had the able service of Elihu Root as Secretary of War (and later as TR's Secretary of State). Root created the modern US Army. Few occupants of that office have overseen a military transformation so marked, although Rumsfeld's legacy won't be known for years, if not decades. Probably the only other Secretary to have near as much of a legacy is Henry L. Stimson, but that's a topic for another thread...
BTW, my list (in chronological, not greatness, order):
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
Abraham Lincoln
Theodore Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Ronald Reagan
BTW, for those criticizing the inclusion of FDR on various lists because of the New Deal, you might want to look again at TR's domestic policies for a more balanced picture of both men.
PS: in case anyone is confused, while no doubt our own TR is also a man of vision and would have led the Rough Riders with aplomb
, the "TR" referred to above is Teddy Roosevelt.