Teddy Roosevelt’s statue will stricken the American Museum of Natural History, an institution that was founded by his father.
TR was a bona fide naturalist who doubled the amount of national parks while he was president and also paved the way for future conservation by enacting the Antiquities Act of 1906.
Ironically, from his wiki:
“ His lifelong interest in zoology began at age seven when he saw a dead seal at a local market; after obtaining the seal's head, Roosevelt and two cousins formed what they called the "Roosevelt Museum of Natural History". Having learned the rudiments of taxidermy, he recorded his observation of insects in a paper entitled "The Natural History of Insects".”
He loved nature and devoted his life to protect it. He loved New York, too. David McCullough’s “Mornings on Horseback” is a terrific biography; you should read it before it’s banned.
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It’s in the linked article.
According to the museum, the architect’s intent was to depict “a heroic group” - here’s what the museum director said:
“ Pope refers to the figures as a ‘heroic group.’ That’s important. In some criticisms, the standing figures were taken to be lesser than Roosevelt. That was never the intention. They are allegorical figures representing Africa and America, emphasized by the animals on the parapet reliefs.”—Harriet F. Senie, Director, M.A. Art History, Art Museum Studies, The City College of New York”
Verdict: Guilty
Thanks for clearing this up, Gary. Come on. That's clearly depicting Black and Native people as subservient.
That’s a relief to hear, but sadly this distinction won’t be made by many in the media, and few will have courage to stand up for TR and say, for instance, that TR was the first president to host an African-American, (link related).
Prez TR hosts Booker T. Washington - ( New Window )
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And his great-grandson Teddy V agrees it the right decision.
So why not have a new statue of just Teddy made to repLace it?
I’m sure if you offer to commission and donate a worthy replacement they’ll consider it. In the meantime, they’re naming the Hall of Biodiversity for Roosevelt.
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Verdict: Guilty
Thanks for clearing this up, Gary. Come on. That's clearly depicting Black and Native people as subservient.
Now that you bring this up, I’m not seeing subservience. I see noble solidarity in that sculpture, standing tall, eyes forward; which lines up with the original intent that it’s supposed to be a “heroic group”.
I am in favor of making sure Teddy Roosevelt is commemorated at the museum...a lot.
His father's house was were the charter was drawn up and signed. Roosevelt's family and Roosevelt himself donated specimens early Nd often.
Across a lifetime he donated a staggering amount to the museum, the Peabody, the Chicago Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian.
Although a man of his times he was also man who looked far into the future.
For example, many of you remember he got shot campaigning as the Bull Moose Party. The folded up papers which helped stop the bullet was the handwritten pledges of what Roosevelt promised to do as President.
90% of it got done and is current law. We know it as the New Deal and Johnsons Great Society legislation. Actually they nominated and passed what TR saw as protection the majority of Americans needed and deserved to be safe in a capitalist and corporatism society.
As for the statue, even his family hS asked for it to be removed as not representative of what he thought or did.
Non story. Hopefully they replace it with another statue of TR...or nothing at all
Quote:
And his great-grandson Teddy V agrees it the right decision.
That’s a relief to hear, but sadly this distinction won’t be made by many in the media, and few will have courage to stand up for TR and say, for instance, that TR was the first president to host an African-American, (link related). Prez TR hosts Booker T. Washington - ( New Window )
"That’s a relief to hear..." So what the fuck actually is your point? Just want to start some phantom outrage?
I am in favor of making sure Teddy Roosevelt is commemorated at the museum...a lot.
His father's house was were the charter was drawn up and signed. Roosevelt's family and Roosevelt himself donated specimens early Nd often.
Across a lifetime he donated a staggering amount to the museum, the Peabody, the Chicago Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian.
Although a man of his times he was also man who looked far into the future.
For example, many of you remember he got shot campaigning as the Bull Moose Party. The folded up papers which helped stop the bullet was the handwritten pledges of what Roosevelt promised to do as President.
90% of it got done and is current law. We know it as the New Deal and Johnsons Great Society legislation. Actually they nominated and passed what TR saw as protection the majority of Americans needed and deserved to be safe in a capitalist and corporatism society.
As for the statue, even his family hS asked for it to be removed as not representative of what he thought or did.
Non story. Hopefully they replace it with another statue of TR...or nothing at all
Great stuff, never heard about the folded up pledges before. What he achieved was absolutely staggering, he personified “walking the walk”.
Every statue will be pulled down eventually. Doesn't matter who, there's no limiting ideology other than it represents something in the past.
BTW... when Roosevelt left office as President, he was a relatively young man of 50 years...
btw, for those people who will throw away their dollar bills in disgust...I'll take them.
I am in favor of making sure Teddy Roosevelt is commemorated at the museum...a lot.
His father's house was were the charter was drawn up and signed. Roosevelt's family and Roosevelt himself donated specimens early Nd often.
Across a lifetime he donated a staggering amount to the museum, the Peabody, the Chicago Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian.
Although a man of his times he was also man who looked far into the future.
For example, many of you remember he got shot campaigning as the Bull Moose Party. The folded up papers which helped stop the bullet was the handwritten pledges of what Roosevelt promised to do as President.
90% of it got done and is current law. We know it as the New Deal and Johnsons Great Society legislation. Actually they nominated and passed what TR saw as protection the majority of Americans needed and deserved to be safe in a capitalist and corporatism society.
As for the statue, even his family hS asked for it to be removed as not representative of what he thought or did.
Non story. Hopefully they replace it with another statue of TR...or nothing at all
Think you may have mixed up the Roosevelts. The New Deal was the work of his Democrat 5th cousin Franklin.
Also, 'lol, right after they come from your guns"
guess what, Minnesota has removed Mark Twain (Huck Finn) and Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird) from all public school curriculum. Because of the "uncomfortable atmosphere" their language creates. Isn't that the point?
"Book burning" is happening and we're not better as a society for it.
I don't think every statue should stay or every book is appropriate, but I don't think the knee jerk reactions do what people think.
Statues of Ulysses S. Grant are being torn down. The guy had his eulogy written by Frederick Douglas. These were Douglas' words describing Grant: "a man too broad for prejudice, too humane to despise the humblest, too great to be small at any point. In him the Negro found a protector, the Indian a friend, a vanquished foe a brother, an imperiled nation a savior.”
People deserve this and those cheering it on, should be the first ones hit by this karma.
Well, since they toppled Grant (it was San Francisco, though) you might as well burn the books.
The Roosevelt statue doesn't represent a modern belief about Roosevelt or America's relationship with Native Americans and Africans - to me, a museum is exactly where such a statue belongs, to remember the twisted, perverted beginnings of this country and the way America tried to rewrite that history as one of America leading the way, rather than the actual genocide and slavery that took place.
I understand why people want to take Teddy down, but I hope they done - the ancient, negative, imperialist, racist overtones of that statue is EXACTLY why it should stay.
Never Forget.
The clear advocacy or those policies was from TR. The implementation ( granted a harder task) was FDR.
True. Factual. Real.
Take care
True to Roosevelt's progressive beliefs, the platform of the party called for major reforms including women's suffrage, social welfare assistance for women and children, farm relief, revisions in banking, health insurance in industries, and worker's compensation. The party also wanted an easier method to amend the constitution.
Many prominent social reformers were drawn to the Progressives, including Jane Addams of Hull House, Survey magazine editor Paul Kellogg, Florence Kelley of Henry Street Settlement, Owen Lovejoy of the National Child Labor Committee, and Margaret Dreier Robins of the National Women's Trade Union.
Some of the names in the last paragraph can also be found as advisors to some New Deal circles
My point is that its easy to do your homework on this subject...enjoy
Instead of misrepresenting history or suppressing it to look favorably, we now are creating narratives to cast doubt on anyone depicted in a statue.
If we don't trust ourselves to learn from history, it just becomes a different form of censorship.
Crazy fucking times we are in now where mob rule is driving certain reactions and actions
Wonder what will happen to the large allegorical figure sitting on the island in the Harbor.