Theodore Roosevelt

I have expressed my disappointment in the programming on the History Channel numerous times. It is one of the A&E Channels on their streaming service. I get it as one of my cable channels on Spectrum Cable. In recent years they have reached for a different audience. But in recent months, they have upgraded their programming to include some actual history content. For example, the series The Men Who Made America was excellent. The most recent show of that series was the Frontiersmen.

The 2-part, 5-hour series on Theodore Roosevelt was produced by Doris Kearnes Goodwin, based upon her book Leadership in Turbulent Times. The series was co-produced by Leonardo DiCaprio. Apparently, he played the role in some of the dramatizations. I binged watched it over the Memorial Day weekend. Of course, I recorded it and played it back that next 2 nights to zap the many commercials. I don’t know if their streaming service, called The Vault, includes so many commercials.

He clearly was a figure larger than life, with an incredible amount of energy over several decades of adventures across the globe. He was best known as a progressive President who helped bust up the Big Trusts that dominated the economy of that era. He was an inveterate campaigner, and he traveled by train across America. He was the first to do so, which became the standard strategy before television. He also was an ardent conservationist and writer. His falling out with Taft led to the end of his political career, but not his travels and/or adventures. I won’t try a brief biography because there is simply too much to cover.

I’m looking forward to their continuation of the series: The American Presidency with Bill Clinton on June 20th that takes a brief look at our American Presidents. He serves as a narrator and introduces a panel of historians. They present a series of vignettes of specific Presidents to illustrate themes and issues. These include photographs and/or dramatizations. Each episode includes four or five commentaries. I would have preferred a more in-depth review rather than a broad sweep of a complex topic, but the commentaries still were interesting.

by John Suddath This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.