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by James Blase (Author)
This recently released, coffee table size book traces President Roosevelt's train trips across the continental United States by constructing a first-person journal account of the President's tour of the entire country, from the spring of 1902 through the fall of 1905---five months of Theodore Roosevelt's presidency, in total.
50 years in the making, the author has included a prelude to each chapter of the President's journey, highlighting the message of brotherhood the President preached in each particular geographical area of the country.
To add to the reader's enjoyment, the author has included over 250 photographs and turn-of-the-century railroad maps from virtually every day of the President's travels.
The President's domestic trips to all 48 states and territories of the country included:
THE ATLANTIC COAST - 1902. These were Theodore Roosevelt's first trips since being in the White House, and included two trips where Mrs. Roosevelt accompanied him. A highlight was the couple's tour of Fort Sumter.
NEW ENGLAND - 1902. This is TR's second trip outside the White House, and one where he was a part of a horrific accident involving a trolley car, an accident in which his chief secret service agent and close friend tragically lost his life.
THE MID-SOUTH - 1902. Though still ailing from his recent trolley accident, TR nevertheless sticks to his schedule and makes a short trip into the mid-south, his time visiting the Chattanooga area Civil War battlefields being among the highlights.
THE MIDWEST - 1902. Soon after returning from the mid-south, TR leaves for a long-planned tour of the west, but only makes it as far as Indianapolis, when the effects of the trolley accident in New England befall him, and he must return to Washington.
THE WEST - 1903. TR resumes his tour of the western states, among the highlights being his return to North Dakota, and his trip to the Grand Canyon, where his efforts are key in preserving the canyon until it would eventually become a national park, shortly after TR's passing in early 1919. Another significant part of this tour is TR's three-night camping trip with John Muir, in Yosemite National Park, which many feel is how TR became "the National Park President." TR also camps in Yellowstone National Park, and dedicates the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis.
THE SOUTHWEST - 1905. Among the highlights of this trip is TR's reunion with his Rough Riders, in San Antonio. TR also very much enjoys the beauty of Colorado.
THE SOUTHEAST - 1905. A highlight of this trip was TR's speech in Tuskegee, alongside Booker T. Washington. TR is accompanied by Mrs. Roosevelt for a portion of this trip, and together they visit the home of TR's mother, Martha Bulloch.
