More than a century after his death, Theodore Roosevelt still inspires with his ferocious energy, consummate intelligence and manifold achievements. But perhaps most fascinating is his complex, even paradoxical, personality. A man with genuine empathy for the disadvantaged, he embraced the racial and cultural prejudices of his time; an avowed trustbuster, he accepted the patronage of banks and corporations; a steadfast conservationist, he slaughtered hundreds of wild animals. Today, when the legacies of many American heroes are being re-examined, what are we to make of Teddy Roosevelt?

Source: Wall Street Journal August 12, 2020 21:45 UTC