Swingin’ that big stick… TR and the Rough Riders in Cuba.
Ken Burns’ new documentary “The Roosevelts: An Intimate History” starts Sunday night on PBS stations.
Theodore Roosevelt was a Frontier Partisan President. Franklin was not. TR had experience on the South Dakota frontier, famously fought with the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War, and wrote an excellent history of the early frontier in “The Winning of the West.”
“The Winning of the West” is triumphalist history that bears the marks of TR’s personal prejudices and those of his time, but it is vividly written and very well-researched. It remains valuable Frontier Partisan history not only for itself, but for what it reveals about early 20th Century attitudes towards the frontier experience.
I’m looking forward to the Burns treatment of 100 years of American history told through the stories of this remarkable political family.
Pat H says
I’m really looking forward to this as well. Burns always does an excellent job on his documentaries, so I have high hopes.
Pat_H says
So what was your overall impression of the documentary?
I found it a bit light on TR, but then I would, as he was such a fascinating man and easily worthy of the same documentary treatment in and of itself. I found the parts of Elanor and FDR very interesting, but I knew less about them. I suppose that makes the overall effort a success, as most folks would know less about TR than I do, and probably be equally informed by the effort on him.
JimC says
Agree — way light on TR for my tastes. But probably right on the money for the public…