Authors--Interviews

In an e-mail interview with Gregory A. Wynn of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, John M. Thompson, author of Great Power Rising: Theodore Roosevelt and the Politics of U.S. Foreign Policy, discusses his personal background, his decision to write about Theodore Roosevelt, and the sources he used in completing his study. Thompson also details Roosevelt’s careful cultivation of the press, especially newspaper reporters, and he asserts that Roosevelt mastered the process of cultivating support for his foreign policy in the domestic arena. Thompson also notes Roosevelt’s efforts to win the support of German-Americans, and he offers his opinions about the shortcomings in Roosevelt’s record as a diplomat.

A photograph of Thompson and the front cover illustration of Great Power Rising supplement the text of the interview.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

In his interview with Gregory A. Wynn of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, Matthew Oyos, author of In Command: Theodore Roosevelt and the American Military, discusses several aspects of President Theodore Roosevelt’s military policies, including the voyage of the Great White Fleet and the Brownsville affair. Oyos stresses that Roosevelt was a figure whose values were shaped by the nineteenth century but who had to command the armed forces of the rapidly changing twentieth century, and he notes that Roosevelt’s strategic vision meshed with his personal pursuit of the strenuous life in that he wanted the United States to play an active role in world affairs. To assume that role required professional military forces, in particular a naval fleet.

Two photographs of Oyos and the front cover of In Command accompany the text of the interview.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

In an e-mail interview with Gregory A. Wynn of the Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA), Darrin P. Lunde, author of The Naturalist: Theodore Roosevelt, a Lifetime of Exploration, and the Triumph of American Natural History, admits that he came to study and write about Theodore Roosevelt while contemplating his own career as a museum naturalist. Lunde realized that he and Roosevelt had a similar preoccupation with natural history stretching back to their youths. Lunde explains and defends Roosevelt’s hunting record, praises his powers of observation, and highlight’s Roosevelt’s contributions to conservation.

The front cover of The Naturalist and a photograph of Lunde with Tweed Roosevelt supplement the text of the interview. A text box with the mission statement of the TRA appears on the last page of the interview.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Gregory A. Wynn interviews the author of Theodore Roosevelt’s Ghost, Michael Patrick Cullinane. Cullinane describes his book as a work of historiography, and he addresses issues such as the efforts to memorialize Theodore Roosevelt that failed in the immediate years after his death. Cullinane also touches on the evolving reputation of American presidents, and he highlights the importance of the work of historians Henry F. Pringle and Elting Elmore Morison. Cullinane recommends that the Theodore Roosevelt Association continue to spend money on projects that further research on Roosevelt. A photograph of Wynn, Cullinane, and Tweed Roosevelt accompanies the text of the interview.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

2018