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157-548: The Vermeil Room was originally a staff work room used for storage and later for polishing silver. Theodore Roosevelt 's 1902 renovation of the White House by architect Charles Follen McKim reconfigured the use of the house, finishing much of the ground floor for public use. When first furnished for public use, the room was termed the Social Room because it served as a lounge adjacent to a women's restroom. McKim provided

314-580: A Human Life Amendment and repudiating his earlier comments on "voodoo economics", Bush still faced opposition from many conservatives in the Republican Party. His major rivals for the Republican nomination were Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas, Representative Jack Kemp of New York, and Christian televangelist Pat Robertson . Reagan did not publicly endorse any candidate but privately expressed support for Bush. Though considered

471-669: A deputy sheriff in Billings County, North Dakota . He and ranch hands hunted down three boat thieves. The severe winter of 1886–1887 wiped out his herd and over half of his $ 80,000 investment ($ 2.71 million in 2023). He ended his ranching life and returned to New York, where he escaped the damaging label of an ineffectual intellectual. On December 2, 1886, Roosevelt married his childhood friend, Edith Kermit Carow , at St George's, Hanover Square , in London , England. Roosevelt felt deeply troubled that his second marriage

628-763: A wealthy, established family in Milton, Massachusetts , Bush was raised in Greenwich, Connecticut . He attended Phillips Academy and served as a pilot in the United States Navy Reserve during World War II before graduating from Yale and moving to West Texas , where he established a successful oil company. Following an unsuccessful run for the United States Senate in 1964 , he was elected to represent Texas's 7th congressional district in 1966. President Richard Nixon appointed Bush as

785-634: A 1904 run, but was uncertain about whether he should seek re-election as governor in 1900. George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker Bush (June 12, 1924 – November 30, 2018) was an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served as the 41st president of the United States from 1989 to 1993. A member of the Republican Party , he also served as the 43rd vice president from 1981 to 1989 under Ronald Reagan and previously in various other federal positions . Born into

942-488: A Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. After graduating from Yale, Bush moved his young family to West Texas . Biographer Jon Meacham writes that Bush's relocation to Texas allowed him to move out of the "daily shadow of his Wall Street father and Grandfather Walker, two dominant figures in the financial world," but would still allow Bush to "call on their connections if he needed to raise capital." His first position in Texas

1099-889: A Christmas dance in Greenwich in December 1941, and, after a period of courtship, they became engaged in December 1943. While Bush was on leave from the Navy, they married in Rye, New York , on January 6, 1945. The Bushes enjoyed a strong marriage, and Barbara would later be a popular First Lady, seen by many as "a kind of national grandmother". They had six children: George W. (b. 1946), Robin (1949–1953), Jeb (b. 1953), Neil (b. 1955), Marvin (b. 1956), and Doro (b. 1959). Their oldest daughter, Robin, died of leukemia in 1953. Bush enrolled at Yale College , where he took part in an accelerated program that enabled him to graduate in two and

1256-498: A Japanese installation in Chichijima , Bush's aircraft successfully attacked several targets but was downed by enemy fire. Though both of Bush's fellow crew members died, Bush successfully bailed out from the aircraft and was rescued by the submarine USS  Finback . Several of the aviators shot down during the attack were captured and executed, and their livers were cannibalized by their captors . Bush's survival after such

1413-625: A Ranchman , Ranch Life and the Hunting-Trail , and The Wilderness Hunter . Roosevelt successfully led efforts to organize ranchers to address the problems of overgrazing and other shared concerns, which resulted in the formation of the Little Missouri Stockmen's Association. He formed the Boone and Crockett Club , whose primary goal was the conservation of large game animals and their habitats. In 1886, Roosevelt served as

1570-774: A close brush with death shaped him profoundly, leading him to ask, "Why had I been spared and what did God have for me?" He was later awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his role in the mission. Bush returned to San Jacinto in November 1944, participating in operations in the Philippines. In early 1945, he was assigned to a new combat squadron, VT-153, where he trained to participate in an invasion of mainland Japan . Between March and May 1945, he trained in Auburn, Maine , where he and Barbara lived in

1727-601: A combined assault with the Regulars, under Roosevelt's leadership, the Rough Riders became famous for charges up Kettle Hill and San Juan Hill. Roosevelt was the only soldier on horseback, as he rode back and forth between rifle pits at the forefront of the advance up Kettle Hill, an advance that he urged despite the absence of orders. He was forced to walk up the last part of Kettle Hill because his horse had been entangled in barbed wire . The assaults would become known as

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1884-457: A common joke for comedians. As the president of the Senate , Bush also stayed in contact with members of Congress and kept the president informed on occurrences on Capitol Hill. On March 30, 1981, while Bush was in Texas, Reagan was shot and seriously wounded by John Hinckley Jr. Bush immediately flew back to Washington D.C.; when his plane landed, his aides advised him to proceed directly to

2041-579: A concerted effort to uniformly enforce New York's Sunday closing law ; in this, he ran up against Tom Platt and Tammany Hall —he was notified the Police Commission was being legislated out of existence. His crackdowns led to protests. Invited to one large demonstration, not only did he accept, but he delighted in the insults and lampoons directed at him, and earned goodwill. Roosevelt chose to defer rather than split with his party. As Governor of New York State, he would later sign an act replacing

2198-401: A driving force for anti-trust and Progressive policies. A sickly child with debilitating asthma , Roosevelt overcame health problems through a strenuous lifestyle . He was homeschooled and began a lifelong naturalist avocation before attending Harvard College . His book The Naval War of 1812 established his reputation as a historian and popular writer. Roosevelt became the leader of

2355-595: A half years rather than the usual four. He was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and was elected its president. He also captained the Yale baseball team and played in the first two College World Series as a left-handed first baseman. Like his father, he was a member of the Yale cheerleading squad and was initiated into the Skull and Bones secret society. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1948 with

2512-591: A high and positive profile in New York publications. Roosevelt's anti-corruption efforts helped him win re-election in 1882 by a margin greater than two-to-one, an achievement made more impressive by the victory that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Grover Cleveland won in Roosevelt's district. With Conkling's Stalwart faction of the Republican Party in disarray following the assassination of President James Garfield , Roosevelt won election as party leader in

2669-563: A law that would require all students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The election is widely considered to have had a high level of negative campaigning, though political scientist John Geer has argued that the share of negative ads was in line with previous presidential elections. Bush defeated Dukakis by a margin of 426 to 111 in the Electoral College , and he took 53.4 percent of the national popular vote. Bush ran well in all

2826-612: A legislative investigation into corruption of the New York City government , which arose from a bill proposing power be centralized in the mayor's office. For the rest of his life, he rarely spoke about his wife Alice and did not write about her in his autobiography. In 1881 , Roosevelt won election to the New York State Assembly , representing the 21st district , then centered on the "Silk Stocking District" of New York County's Upper East Side . He served in

2983-463: A lieutenant of New York machine boss Thomas C. Platt , asked Roosevelt to run in the 1898 gubernatorial election . Prospering politically from the Platt machine , Roosevelt's rise to power was marked by the pragmatic decisions of Platt, who disliked Roosevelt. Platt feared Roosevelt would oppose his interests in office and was reluctant to propel Roosevelt to the forefront of national politics, but needed

3140-411: A low profile, recognizing the constitutional limits of the office; he avoided decision-making or criticizing Reagan in any way. This approach helped him earn Reagan's trust, easing tensions left over from their earlier rivalry. Bush also generally enjoyed a good relationship with Reagan staffers, including Bush's close friend James Baker, who served as Reagan's initial chief of staff. His understanding of

3297-582: A majority of delegates in late May, Bush reluctantly dropped out of the race. At the 1980 Republican National Convention , Reagan made the last-minute decision to select Bush as his vice presidential nominee after negotiations with Ford regarding a Reagan–Ford ticket collapsed. Though Reagan had resented many of the Bush campaign's attacks during the primary campaign, and several conservative leaders had actively opposed Bush's nomination, Reagan ultimately decided that Bush's popularity with moderate Republicans made him

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3454-438: A moderate, began courting them through his work. The deregulation task force reviewed hundreds of rules, making specific recommendations on which ones to amend or revise to curb the size of the federal government. The Reagan administration's deregulation push strongly impacted broadcasting, finance, resource extraction, and other economic activities, and the administration eliminated numerous government positions. Bush also oversaw

3611-515: A poor section of Cambridge. Roosevelt did well in science, philosophy, and rhetoric courses but struggled in Latin and Greek. He studied biology intently and was already an accomplished naturalist and a published ornithologist . He read prodigiously with an almost photographic memory. Roosevelt participated in rowing and boxing , and was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi literary society,

3768-635: A presidential candidate and as president-elect. Bush's tenure at the CIA ended after Carter narrowly defeated Ford in the 1976 presidential election. Out of public office for the first time since the 1960s, Bush became chairman on the executive committee of the First International Bank in Houston. He also spent a year as a part-time professor of Administrative Science at Rice University's Jones School of Business , continued his membership in

3925-401: A reporter asked if he would support Blaine, Roosevelt replied, "I decline to answer." In the end, he realized he had to support Blaine to maintain his role in the party and did so in a press release. Having lost the support of many reformers, and still reeling from the deaths of his wife and mother, Roosevelt decided to retire from politics and moved to North Dakota . Roosevelt first visited

4082-483: A reunified Germany, Bush joined German chancellor Helmut Kohl in pushing for German reunification. Bush believed that a reunified Germany would serve American interests. After extensive negotiations, Gorbachev agreed to allow a reunified Germany to be a part of NATO, and Germany officially reunified in October 1990 after paying billions of marks to Moscow. Gorbachev used force to suppress nationalist movements within

4239-443: A single festooned swag and side jabots of the same patterned silk, trimmed in tassels . The carpet is a Turkish Hereke with a background of light green and was produced in about 1860. 38°53′51″N 77°02′11″W  /  38.8976°N 77.0363°W  / 38.8976; -77.0363 Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.   R. ,

4396-630: A single televised vice presidential debate . Public opinion polling consistently showed a Reagan lead in the 1984 campaign, and Mondale was unable to shake up the race. In the end, Reagan won re-election, winning 49 of 50 states and receiving 59% of the popular vote to Mondale's 41%. Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union in 1985. Rejecting the ideological rigidity of his three elderly sick predecessors, Gorbachev insisted on urgently needed economic and political reforms called " glasnost " (openness) and " perestroika " (restructuring). At

4553-498: A small apartment. On September 2, 1945, before any invasion took place, Japan formally surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki . Bush was released from active duty that same month but was not formally discharged from the Navy until October 1955, when he had reached the rank of lieutenant. By the end of his period of active service, Bush had flown 58 missions, completed 128 carrier landings, and recorded 1228 hours of flight time. Bush met Barbara Pierce at

4710-478: A speech convincing delegates to nominate African American John R. Lynch , an Edmunds supporter, to be temporary chair. Roosevelt fought alongside the Mugwump reformers against Blaine. However, Blaine gained support from Arthur's and Edmunds's delegates, and won the nomination. In a crucial moment of his budding career, Roosevelt resisted the demand of fellow Mugwumps that he bolt from Blaine. He bragged: "We achieved

4867-549: A strong candidate due to the unpopularity of the incumbent Republican governor, Frank S. Black . Roosevelt agreed to become the nominee and to try not to "make war" with the Republican establishment once in office. Roosevelt defeated Black in the Republican caucus, and faced Democrat Augustus Van Wyck , a well-respected judge, in the general election. Roosevelt campaigned on his war record, winning by just 1%. As governor, Roosevelt learned about economic issues and political techniques that proved valuable in his presidency. He studied

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5024-525: A strong supporter of Bush during the 1988 campaign, became chief of staff. Brent Scowcroft was appointed as the National Security Advisor, a role he had also held under Ford. During the first year of his tenure, Bush paused Reagan's détente policy toward the Soviet Union. Bush and his advisers were initially divided on Gorbachev; some administration officials saw him as a democratic reformer, but others suspected him of trying to make

5181-504: A subsidiary which specialized in offshore drilling . Shortly after the subsidiary became independent in 1959, Bush moved the company and his family from Midland to Houston . There, he befriended James Baker , a prominent attorney who later became an important political ally. Bush remained involved with Zapata until the mid-1960s, when he sold his stock in the company for approximately $ 1 million. In 1988, The Nation published an article alleging that Bush worked as an operative of

5338-478: A victory in getting up a combination to beat the Blaine nominee for temporary chairman...this needed...skill, boldness and energy... to get the different factions to come in... to defeat the common foe." He was impressed by an invitation to speak before an audience of ten thousand, the largest crowd he had addressed up to then. Having gotten a taste of national politics, Roosevelt felt less aspiration for advocacy on

5495-592: A youthful, "thinking man's candidate" who would emulate the pragmatic conservatism of President Eisenhower. Amid the Soviet–Afghan War , which brought an end to a period of détente, and the Iran hostage crisis , in which 52 Americans were taken hostage, the campaign highlighted Bush's foreign policy experience. At the outset of the race, Bush focused heavily on winning the January 21 Iowa caucuses , making 31 visits to

5652-575: Is passing, its old ideas blown away like leaves from an ancient, lifeless tree. A new breeze is blowing, and a nation refreshed by freedom stands ready to push on. There is new ground to be broken, and new action to be taken. Bush's first major appointment was that of James Baker as Secretary of State. Leadership of the Department of Defense went to Dick Cheney , who had previously served as Gerald Ford's chief of staff and would later serve as vice president under his son George W. Bush. Jack Kemp joined

5809-476: Is the youngest person to become U.S. president . As a leader of the progressive movement , he championed his " Square Deal " domestic policies, which called for fairness for all citizens, breaking bad trusts , regulating railroads, and pure food and drugs . Roosevelt prioritized conservation and established national parks , forests , and monuments to preserve U.S. natural resources. In foreign policy , he focused on Central America , beginning construction of

5966-498: The 1882 , 1883 , and 1884 sessions of the legislature. He began making his mark immediately: he blocked a corrupt effort of financier Jay Gould to lower his taxes. Roosevelt exposed the collusion of Gould and Judge Theodore Westbrook and successfully argued for an investigation, aiming for the judge to be impeached. Although the investigation committee rejected the impeachment, Roosevelt had exposed corruption in Albany and assumed

6123-447: The 1886 election . Roosevelt accepted the nomination despite having little hope against United Labor Party candidate Henry George and Democrat Abram Hewitt . Roosevelt campaigned hard, but Hewitt won with 41%, taking the votes of many Republicans who feared George's radical policies. George was held to 31%, and Roosevelt took third with 27%. Fearing his political career might never recover, Roosevelt turned to writing The Winning of

6280-526: The 1892 presidential election , the winner, Grover Cleveland, reappointed him. Roosevelt's close friend and biographer, Joseph Bucklin Bishop , described his assault on the spoils system: The very citadel of spoils politics, the hitherto impregnable fortress that had existed unshaken since it was erected on the foundation laid by Andrew Jackson , was tottering to its fall under the assaults of this audacious and irrepressible young man... Whatever may have been

6437-639: The 1912 Republican presidential nomination . He founded the new Progressive Party and ran in 1912 ; the split allowed the Democratic Woodrow Wilson to win. Roosevelt led a four-month expedition to the Amazon basin , where he nearly died of tropical disease . During World War I, he criticized Wilson for keeping the U.S. out; his offer to lead volunteers to France was rejected. Roosevelt's health deteriorated and he died in 1919. Polls of historians and political scientists rank him as one of

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6594-605: The 1988 presidential election , Bush defeated Democrat Michael Dukakis . Foreign policy drove Bush's presidency as he navigated the final years of the Cold War and played a key role in the reunification of Germany . He presided over the invasion of Panama and the Gulf War , ending the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in the latter conflict. Though the agreement was not ratified until after he left office, Bush negotiated and signed

6751-422: The 2000 presidential election , the two became the second father–son pair to serve as the nation's president, following John Adams and John Quincy Adams . Another son, Jeb Bush , unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 primaries . Historians generally rank Bush as an above-average president. George Herbert Walker Bush was born on June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts . He

6908-482: The Alps in 1869, Roosevelt discovered the benefits of physical exertion to minimize his asthma and bolster his spirits. Roosevelt began a heavy regimen of exercise. After being manhandled by older boys on the way to a camping trip, he found a boxing coach to train him. Roosevelt was homeschooled. Biographer H. W. Brands wrote that, "The most obvious drawback...was uneven coverage of...various areas of...knowledge." He

7065-612: The Asiatic Squadron with the backing of Roosevelt, later credited his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay to Roosevelt's orders. After giving up hope of a peaceful solution, McKinley asked Congress to declare war on Spain, beginning the Spanish–American War . With the beginning of the Spanish–American War in 1898, Roosevelt resigned as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Along with Army Colonel Leonard Wood , he formed

7222-721: The Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 1897. Secretary of the Navy John D. Long was in poor health and left many major decisions to Roosevelt. Influenced by Alfred Thayer Mahan , Roosevelt called for a build-up in naval strength, particularly the construction of battleships . Roosevelt also began pressing his national security views regarding the Pacific and the Caribbean on McKinley and was adamant that Spain be ejected from Cuba. He explained his priorities to one of

7379-572: The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the 1960s; Bush denied this claim. By the early 1960s, Bush was widely regarded as an appealing political candidate, and some leading Democrats attempted to convince Bush to become a Democrat. He declined to leave the Republican Party, later citing his belief that the national Democratic Party favored "big, centralized government". The Democratic Party had historically dominated Texas, but Republicans scored their first major victory in

7536-467: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 , which banned racial and gender discrimination in public institutions and many privately owned businesses. Bush argued that the act unconstitutionally expanded the federal government's powers, but he was privately uncomfortable with the racial politics of opposing the act. He lost the election 56 percent to 44 percent, though he did run well ahead of Barry Goldwater,

7693-631: The Council on Foreign Relations , and joined the Trilateral Commission . Meanwhile, he began to lay the groundwork for his candidacy in the 1980 Republican Party presidential primaries . In the 1980 Republican primary campaign, Bush faced Ronald Reagan, who was widely regarded as the front-runner, as well as other contenders like Senator Bob Dole, Senator Howard Baker , Texas Governor John Connally , Congressman Phil Crane , and Congressman John B. Anderson . Bush's campaign cast him as

7850-545: The Dakota Territory in 1883 to hunt bison . Exhilarated by the western lifestyle and with the cattle business booming, Roosevelt invested $ 14,000 ($ 457,800 in 2023) in hope of becoming a prosperous cattle rancher. For several years, he shuttled between his home in New York and ranch in Dakota. Following the 1884 United States presidential election , Roosevelt built Elkhorn Ranch 35 mi (56 km) north of

8007-411: The Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and the prestigious Porcellian Club . In 1880, Roosevelt graduated Phi Beta Kappa (22nd of 177) with an A.B. magna cum laude . Henry F. Pringle wrote: Roosevelt, attempting to analyze his college career and weigh the benefits he had received, felt that he had obtained little from Harvard. He had been depressed by the formalistic treatment of many subjects, by

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8164-683: The First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment . His wife and many friends begged Roosevelt to remain in Washington, but Roosevelt was determined to see battle. When the newspapers reported the formation of the new regiment, Roosevelt and Wood were flooded with applications. Referred to by the press as the "Rough Riders", it was one of many temporary units active only during the war. The regiment trained for several weeks in San Antonio, Texas ; in his autobiography, Roosevelt wrote that his experience with

8321-524: The Greater Houston area. Initial polling showed him trailing his Democratic opponent, Harris County District Attorney Frank Briscoe, but he ultimately won the race with 57 percent of the vote. To woo potential candidates in the South and Southwest, House Republicans secured Bush an appointment to the powerful United States House Committee on Ways and Means , making Bush the first freshman to serve on

8478-521: The Malta Summit in December 1989. Though many on the right remained wary of Gorbachev, Bush came away believing that Gorbachev would negotiate in good faith. For the remainder of his term, Bush sought cooperative relations with Gorbachev, believing he was the key to peace. The primary issue at the Malta Summit was the potential reunification of Germany . While Britain and France were wary of

8635-556: The New Hampshire primary , Bush and Reagan agreed to a two-person debate, organized by The Nashua Telegraph but paid for by the Reagan campaign. Days before the debate, Reagan announced that he would invite four other candidates to the debate; Bush, who had hoped that the one-on-one debate would allow him to emerge as the main alternative to Reagan in the primaries, refused to debate the other candidates. All six candidates took

8792-614: The New York National Guard enabled him to immediately begin teaching basic soldiering skills. Diversity characterized the regiment, which included Ivy Leaguers , athletes, frontiersmen, Native Americans , hunters, miners, former soldiers, tradesmen, and sheriffs. The Rough Riders were part of the cavalry division commanded by former Confederate general Joseph Wheeler . Roosevelt and his men landed in Daiquirí , Cuba, on June 23, 1898, and marched to Siboney . Wheeler sent

8949-771: The North American Free Trade Agreement , which created a trade bloc consisting of the United States, Canada and Mexico. Domestically, Bush reneged on a 1988 campaign promise by enacting legislation to raise taxes to justify reducing the budget deficit. He championed and signed three pieces of bipartisan legislation in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act , the Immigration Act and the Clean Air Act Amendments . He also appointed David Souter and Clarence Thomas to

9106-702: The Panama Canal . Roosevelt expanded the Navy and sent the Great White Fleet on a world tour to project naval power. His successful efforts to end the Russo-Japanese War won him the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize , the first American to win a Nobel Prize. Roosevelt was elected to a full term in 1904 and groomed William Howard Taft to succeed him in 1908 . Roosevelt grew frustrated with Taft's brand of conservatism and tried, and failed, to win

9263-657: The Rough Riders , a unit that fought the Spanish Army in Cuba to great publicity. Returning a war hero, Roosevelt was elected New York's governor in 1898 . The New York state party leadership disliked his ambitious agenda and convinced McKinley to choose him as his running mate in the 1900 presidential election ; the McKinley–Roosevelt ticket won a landslide victory. Roosevelt assumed the presidency aged 42, and

9420-603: The Twenty-fifth Amendment . Bush's handling of the attempted assassination and its aftermath made a positive impression on Reagan, who recovered and returned to work within two weeks of the shooting. From then on, the two men would have regular Thursday lunches in the Oval Office . Reagan assigned Bush to chair two special task forces, one on deregulation and one on international drug smuggling. Both were popular issues with conservatives, and Bush, largely

9577-582: The United States Civil Service Commission , where he served until 1895. While many of his predecessors had approached the office as a sinecure , Roosevelt fought the spoilsmen and demanded enforcement of civil service laws. The Sun described Roosevelt as "irrepressible, belligerent, and enthusiastic". Roosevelt clashed with Postmaster General John Wanamaker , who handed out patronage positions to Harrison supporters, and Roosevelt's attempt to force out several postal workers damaged Harrison politically. Despite Roosevelt's support for Harrison's reelection in

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9734-405: The United States Senate as a member of the Republican Party. With support from Mallon and Bush's uncle, George Herbert Walker Jr. , Bush and John Overbey launched the Bush-Overbey Oil Development Company in 1951. In 1953, he co-founded the Zapata Petroleum Corporation , an oil company that drilled in the Permian Basin in Texas. In 1954, he was named president of the Zapata Offshore Company,

9891-467: The Willie Horton case, in which a convicted felon from Massachusetts raped a woman while on a prison furlough , a program Dukakis supported as governor. The Bush campaign charged that Dukakis presided over a " revolving door " that allowed dangerous convicted felons to leave prison. Dukakis damaged his own campaign with a widely mocked ride in an M1 Abrams tank and poor performance at the second presidential debate. Bush also attacked Dukakis for opposing

10048-449: The ambassador to the United Nations in 1971 and as chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1973. President Gerald Ford appointed him as the chief of the Liaison Office to the People's Republic of China in 1974 and as the director of Central Intelligence in 1976. Bush ran for president in 1980 but was defeated in the Republican presidential primaries by Reagan, who then selected Bush as his vice presidential running mate. In

10205-406: The 1815 pine beams installed during the reconstruction of the house after its burning by the British in 1814. President Harry S. Truman had the ancient beams sawn and installed as paneling in the Vermeil Room, China Room , and Library . The style of wall paneling and bracketed molding installed during the Truman reconstruction were based on a Georgian period model, contemporary with the design of

10362-478: The 1987 Washington Summit , Gorbachev and Reagan signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty , which committed both signatories to the total abolition of their respective short-range and medium-range missile stockpiles. The treaty began a new era of trade, openness, and cooperation between the two powers. President Reagan and Secretary of State George Shultz took the lead in these negotiations, but Bush sat in on many meetings. Bush did not agree with many of

10519-529: The Battle of San Juan Heights. The victories came at a cost of 200 killed and 1,000 wounded. In August, Roosevelt and other officers demanded the soldiers be returned home. Roosevelt recalled San Juan Heights as "the great day of my life". After returning to civilian life, Roosevelt preferred to be known as "Colonel Roosevelt" or "The Colonel"; "Teddy" remained much more popular with the public, though Roosevelt openly despised that moniker. Shortly after Roosevelt's return, Republican Congressman Lemuel E. Quigg ,

10676-460: The Civil Service Reform Association called "superior to any civil service statute heretofore secured in America". Chessman argues that as governor, Roosevelt developed the principles that shaped his presidency, especially insistence upon the public responsibility of large corporations, publicity as a first remedy for trusts, regulation of railroad rates, mediation of the conflict of capital and labor, conservation of natural resources and protection of

10833-536: The Ford Franchise-Tax bill, which taxed public franchises granted by the state and controlled by corporations, declaring that "a corporation which derives its powers from the State, should pay to the State a just percentage of its earnings as a return for the privileges it enjoys". He rejected Platt worries that this approached Bryanite Socialism, explaining that without it, New York voters might get angry and adopt public ownership of streetcar lines and other franchises. Power to make appointments to policy-making positions

10990-405: The House unopposed, while Nixon defeated Hubert Humphrey in the presidential election. In 1970, with President Nixon's support, Bush gave up his seat in the House to run for the Senate against Yarborough. Bush easily won the Republican primary, but Yarborough was defeated by the more conservative Lloyd Bentsen in the Democratic primary. Ultimately, Bentsen defeated Bush, taking 53.5 percent of

11147-407: The Navy's planners in late 1897: I would regard war with Spain from two viewpoints: first, the advisability on the grounds both of humanity and self-interest of interfering on behalf of the Cubans, and of taking one more step toward the complete freeing of America from European dominion; second, the benefit done our people by giving them something to think of which is not material gain, and especially

11304-838: The Nixon administration pursued a policy of détente, seeking to ease tensions with both the Soviet Union and China. Bush's ambassadorship was marked by a defeat on the China question, as the United Nations General Assembly voted, in Resolution 2758 , to expel the Republic of China and replace it with the People's Republic of China in October 1971. In the 1971 crisis in Pakistan , Bush supported an Indian motion at

11461-547: The Pacific theater, where he flew a Grumman TBM Avenger , a torpedo bomber capable of taking off from aircraft carriers. His squadron was assigned to the USS ; San Jacinto as a member of Air Group 51, where his lanky physique earned him the nickname "Skin". Bush flew his first combat mission in May 1944, bombing Japanese-held Wake Island , and was promoted to lieutenant (junior grade) on August 1, 1944. During an attack on

11618-501: The Police Commission with a Police Commissioner. In the 1896 presidential election , Roosevelt backed Thomas Brackett Reed for the Republican nomination, but William McKinley won the nomination and defeated William Jennings Bryan in the general election. Roosevelt strongly opposed Bryan's free silver platform, viewing many of Bryan's followers as dangerous fanatics. He gave campaign speeches for McKinley. Urged by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, President McKinley appointed Roosevelt as

11775-412: The Reagan policies, but he did tell Gorbachev that he would seek to continue improving relations if he succeeded Reagan. On July 13, 1985, Bush became the first vice president to serve as acting president when Reagan underwent surgery to remove polyps from his colon ; Bush served as the acting president for approximately eight hours. In 1986, the Reagan administration was shaken by a scandal when it

11932-604: The Republican presidential nominee. Despite the loss, The New York Times reported that Bush was "rated by political friend and foe alike as the Republicans' best prospect in Texas because of his attractive personal qualities and the strong campaign he put up for the Senate". In 1966 , Bush ran for the United States House of Representatives in Texas's 7th congressional district , a newly redistricted seat in

12089-463: The Rough Riders on a parallel road northwest running along a ridge up from the beach. Roosevelt took command of the regiment; he had his first experience in combat when the Rough Riders met Spanish troops in a skirmish known as the Battle of Las Guasimas . They fought their way through Spanish resistance and, together with the Regulars, forced the Spaniards to abandon their positions. On July 1, in

12246-485: The Soviet Union itself. A crisis in Lithuania left Bush in a difficult position, as he needed Gorbachev's cooperation in the reunification of Germany and feared that the collapse of the Soviet Union could leave nuclear arms in dangerous hands. The Bush administration mildly protested Gorbachev's suppression of Lithuania's independence movement but took no action to intervene directly. Bush warned independence movements of

12403-562: The State of the Union address ; Bush's part of the address focused on a call for fiscal responsibility. Though most other Texas Republicans supported Ronald Reagan in the 1968 Republican Party presidential primaries , Bush endorsed Richard Nixon , who went on to win the party's nomination. Nixon considered selecting Bush as his running mate in the 1968 presidential election , but he ultimately chose Spiro Agnew instead. Bush won re-election to

12560-466: The Supreme Court. Bush lost the 1992 presidential election to Democrat Bill Clinton following an economic recession , his turnaround on his tax promise , and the decreased emphasis of foreign policy in a post–Cold War political climate. After leaving office in 1993, Bush was active in humanitarian activities, often working alongside Clinton. With the victory of his son, George W. Bush , in

12717-645: The UN General Assembly to condemn the Pakistani government of Yahya Khan for waging genocide in East Pakistan (modern Bangladesh), referring to the "tradition which we have supported that the human rights question transcended domestic jurisdiction and should be freely debated". Bush's support for India at the UN put him into conflict with Nixon who was supporting Pakistan, partly because Yahya Khan

12874-500: The United States began to emerge from recession in 1983. Former vice president Walter Mondale was nominated by the Democratic Party in the 1984 presidential election . Down in the polls, Mondale selected Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate in hopes of galvanizing support for his campaign, thus making Ferraro the first female major party vice presidential nominee in U.S. history. She and Bush squared off in

13031-517: The Vermeil Room adopting a Federal style for the room's decoration. The Georgian cornices were replaced with later-period cornices. Several vitrines were closed up, and the paneling was given many coats of putty to transform it to a smooth finish. The room was painted a soft green, and drapery was designed by Edward Vason Jones in gold, green, and blue with complex swags trimmed in bobbin tassels . A late 19th-century English crystal chandelier

13188-594: The Washington social set. Soon after, he realized he had missed an opportunity to reinvigorate a dormant political career. He retreated to the Dakotas; Edith regretted her role in the decision and vowed there would be no repeat. William Lafayette Strong won the 1894 mayoral election and offered Roosevelt a position on the board of the New York City Police Commissioners . Roosevelt became president of commissioners and radically reformed

13345-607: The West , tracking the westward movement of Americans; it was a great success, earning favorable reviews and selling all copies from the first printing. After Benjamin Harrison unexpectedly defeated Blaine for the presidential nomination at the 1888 Republican National Convention , Roosevelt gave stump speeches in the Midwest in support of Harrison. On the insistence of Henry Cabot Lodge , President Harrison appointed Roosevelt to

13502-417: The White House by helicopter to show that the government was still functioning. Bush rejected the idea, fearing that such a dramatic scene risked giving the impression that he sought to usurp Reagan's powers and prerogatives. During Reagan's short period of incapacity, Bush presided over Cabinet meetings, met with congressional and foreign leaders, and briefed reporters. Still, he consistently rejected invoking

13659-528: The White House curator Bill Allman, First Lady Laura Bush , Bush family decorator Ken Blasingame and the Committee for the Preservation of the White House refurbished the room. Walls were painted in an enamel gloss finish in an ivory color with a tint of green described as Deauville. An 1829 center table in the late neoclassical style by Philadelphia cabinetmaker Anthony Gabriel Quervelle was placed in

13816-483: The White House exterior. They were initially left unpainted, showing their grain and knots, a look popular in the 1950s. Margaret Thompson Biddle's collection was significant and ranged from Renaissance to 19th-century French and English pieces. The collection includes work by English Regency silversmith Paul Storr (1771–1844) and French Empire silversmiths Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751–1843), and Jean-Baptiste-Claude Odiot (1763–1850). First Lady Mamie Eisenhower had

13973-534: The administration as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, while Elizabeth Dole , the wife of Bob Dole and a former Secretary of Transportation, became the Secretary of Labor under Bush. Bush retained several Reagan officials, including Secretary of the Treasury Nicholas F. Brady , Attorney General Dick Thornburgh , and Secretary of Education Lauro Cavazos . New Hampshire Governor John Sununu,

14130-520: The administration's national security crisis management organization, which had traditionally been the responsibility of the National Security Advisor . In 1983, Bush toured Western Europe as part of the Reagan administration's ultimately successful efforts to convince skeptical NATO allies to support the deployment of Pershing II missiles. Reagan's approval ratings fell after his first year in office, but they bounced back when

14287-502: The benefit done our military forces by trying both the Navy and Army in actual practice. On February 15, 1898, the armored cruiser USS  Maine exploded in the harbor of Havana, Cuba , killing hundreds of crew. While Roosevelt and many other Americans blamed Spain for the explosion, McKinley sought a diplomatic solution. Without approval from Long or McKinley, Roosevelt sent out orders to several naval vessels to prepare for war. George Dewey , who had received an appointment to lead

14444-466: The best and safest pick. Bush, who had believed his political career might be over following the primaries, eagerly accepted the position and threw himself into campaigning for the Reagan–Bush ticket. The 1980 general election campaign between Reagan and Carter was conducted amid a multitude of domestic concerns and the ongoing Iran hostage crisis, and Reagan sought to focus the race on Carter's handling of

14601-516: The boomtown of Medora, North Dakota . Roosevelt learned to ride western style, rope, and hunt on the banks of the Little Missouri . A cowboy, he said, possesses, "few of the emasculated, milk-and-water moralities admired by the pseudo-philanthropists; but he does possess, to a very high degree, the stern, manly qualities that are invaluable to a nation". He wrote about frontier life for national magazines and published books: Hunting Trips of

14758-409: The collection displayed in the room's glass-enclosed vitrines . Biddle was the daughter of William Boyce Thompson and the wife of A. J. Drexel Biddle, Jr. At first, only displayed in the Vermeil Room in a museum-like setting, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy , on the recommendation of her friend Rachel Lambert Mellon , began using the collection for the display of flowers and fruit in the rooms on

14915-521: The committee since 1904. His voting record in the House was generally conservative . He supported the Nixon administration 's Vietnam policies but broke with Republicans on the issue of birth control , which he supported. He also voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1968 , although it was generally unpopular in his district. In 1968, Bush joined several other Republicans in issuing the party's Response to

15072-515: The early front-runner for the nomination, Bush came in third in the Iowa caucus , behind Dole and Robertson. Much as Reagan had done in 1980, Bush reorganized his staff and concentrated on the New Hampshire primary. With help from Governor John H. Sununu and an effective campaign attacking Dole for raising taxes, Bush overcame an initial polling deficit and won New Hampshire with 39 percent of

15229-418: The economy. Though the race was widely regarded as a close contest for most of the campaign, Reagan ultimately won over the large majority of undecided voters. Reagan took 50.7 percent of the popular vote and 489 of the 538 electoral votes, while Carter won 41% of the popular vote and John Anderson, running as an independent candidate, won 6.6% of the popular vote. As vice president, Bush generally maintained

15386-540: The family's wealth, Bush was largely unaffected by the Great Depression . He attended Greenwich Country Day School from 1929 to 1937 and Phillips Academy , an elite private academy in Massachusetts, from 1937 to 1942. While at Phillips Academy, he served as president of the senior class, secretary of the student council, president of the community fund-raising group, a member of the editorial board of

15543-442: The feelings of the (fellow Republican party) President (Harrison)—and there is little doubt that he had no idea when he appointed Roosevelt that he would prove to be so veritable a bull in a china shop—he refused to remove him and stood by him firmly till the end of his term. In 1894, reform Republicans approached Roosevelt about running for Mayor of New York again; he declined, mostly due to his wife's resistance to being removed from

15700-404: The fullest, and defend their borders. It has been believed Roosevelt's naval ideas were derived from Mahan's book, but naval historian, Nicolaus Danby felt Roosevelt's ideas predated Mahan's book. In 1880, Roosevelt married socialite Alice Hathaway Lee . Their daughter, Alice Lee Roosevelt , was born on February 12, 1884. Two days later, the new mother died of undiagnosed kidney failure , on

15857-429: The grain and create an "aged" surface. Next, a solid coat of off-white paint was applied, followed by a "dragged" coating of blue paint. This was sealed using a bar of wax dabbed in pure dry blue pigment, and finally, the surface was lightly distressed to tiny specks of white in the underlying base coat. The interior of the shelves displaying the vermeil was covered in white velvet. One of two neoclassical caryatid mantels

16014-536: The greatest American presidents. Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858, at 28 East 20th Street in Manhattan . He was the second of four children born to Martha Stewart Bulloch and businessman Theodore Roosevelt Sr. He had an older sister ( Anna ), younger brother ( Elliott ) and younger sister ( Corinne ). Roosevelt's youth was shaped by his poor health and debilitating asthma attacks, which terrified him and his parents. Doctors had no cure. Nevertheless, he

16171-410: The headquarters of New York's 21st District Republican Association. Though Roosevelt's father had been a prominent member of the Republican Party , Roosevelt made an unorthodox career choice for someone of his class, as most of Roosevelt's peers refrained from becoming too closely involved in politics. Roosevelt found allies in the local Republican Party and defeated a Republican state assemblyman tied to

16328-520: The major regions of the country, but especially in the South . He became the fourth sitting vice president to be elected president and the first to do so since Martin Van Buren in 1836 and the first person to succeed a president from his own party via election since Herbert Hoover in 1929 . In the concurrent congressional elections , Democrats retained control of both houses of Congress. Bush

16485-792: The minimum changes necessary to restore the Soviet Union to a competitive position with the United States. In 1989, all the Communist governments collapsed in Eastern Europe. Gorbachev declined to send in the Soviet military, effectively abandoning the Brezhnev Doctrine . The U.S. was not directly involved in these upheavals, but the Bush administration avoided gloating over the demise of the Eastern Bloc to avoid undermining further democratic reforms. Bush and Gorbachev met at

16642-408: The more centrist Nelson Rockefeller in the 1964 Republican Party presidential primaries . In 1964, Bush sought to unseat liberal Democrat Ralph W. Yarborough in Texas's U.S. Senate election . Bolstered by superior fundraising, Bush won the Republican primary by defeating former gubernatorial nominee Jack Cox in a run-off election . In the general election, Bush attacked Yarborough's vote for

16799-487: The next several primaries. As Reagan built up a commanding delegate lead, Bush refused to end his campaign, but the other candidates dropped out of the race. Criticizing his more conservative rival's policy proposals, Bush famously labeled Reagan's supply side –influenced plans for massive tax cuts as " voodoo economics ". Though he favored lower taxes, Bush feared that dramatic reductions in taxation would lead to deficits and, in turn, cause inflation. After Reagan clinched

16956-594: The party in the media. When Agnew was being investigated for corruption, Bush assisted, at the request of Nixon and Agnew, in pressuring John Glenn Beall Jr. , the U.S. Senator from Maryland , to force his brother, George Beall the U.S. Attorney in Maryland, to shut down the investigation into Agnew. Attorney Beall ignored the pressure. During Bush's tenure at the RNC, the Watergate scandal emerged into public view;

17113-400: The police force: he implemented regular inspections of firearms and physical exams, appointed recruits based on their physical and mental qualifications rather than political affiliation, established Meritorious Service Medals , closed corrupt police hostelries, and had telephones installed in station houses. In 1894, Roosevelt met Jacob Riis , the muckraking Evening Sun journalist who

17270-560: The political machine of Senator Roscoe Conkling closely. After his election victory, Roosevelt dropped out of law school, later saying, "I intended to be one of the governing class." While at Harvard, Roosevelt began a systematic study of the role played by the United States Navy in the War of 1812 . He ultimately published The Naval War of 1812 in 1882. The book included comparisons of British and American leadership down to

17427-477: The poor. Roosevelt sought to position himself against the excesses of large corporations and radical movements. As chief executive of the most populous state, Roosevelt was widely considered a potential presidential candidate, and supporters such as William Allen White encouraged him to run. Roosevelt had no interest in challenging McKinley for the nomination in 1900 and was denied his preferred post of Secretary of War . As his term progressed, Roosevelt pondered

17584-604: The problems of trusts, monopolies, labor relations, and conservation. G. Wallace Chessman argues that Roosevelt's program "rested firmly upon the concept of the square deal by a neutral state". The rules for the Square Deal were "honesty in public affairs, an equitable sharing of privilege and responsibility, and subordination of party and local concerns to the interests of the state at large". By holding twice-daily press conferences—an innovation—Roosevelt remained connected with his middle-class base. Roosevelt successfully pushed

17741-432: The publication of a news report claiming that Bush's 1970 campaign had benefited from a secret fund set up by Nixon; Bush was later cleared of any suspicion by a special prosecutor. Bush accepted appointment as Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in the People's Republic of China, making him the de facto ambassador to China. According to biographer Jon Meacham, Bush's time in China convinced him that American engagement abroad

17898-478: The reform faction of Republicans in the New York State Legislature . His first wife and mother died on the same night, devastating him psychologically. He recuperated by buying and operating a cattle ranch in the Dakotas . Roosevelt served as assistant secretary of the Navy under McKinley, and in 1898 helped plan the successful naval war against Spain . He resigned to help form and lead

18055-461: The rest of his life. His father, a devout Presbyterian , regularly led the family in prayers. Young Theodore emulated him by teaching Sunday School for more than three years at Christ Church in Cambridge. When the minister at Christ Church, which was an Episcopal church, eventually insisted he become an Episcopalian to continue teaching, Roosevelt declined, and began teaching a mission class in

18212-423: The rigidity, the attention to minutiae that were important in themselves, but which somehow were never linked up with the whole. Roosevelt gave up his plan of studying natural science and attended Columbia Law School , moving back into his family's home in New York. Although Roosevelt was an able student, he found law to be irrational. Determined to enter politics, Roosevelt began attending meetings at Morton Hall,

18369-411: The room with late Georgian-style cove moldings and a paneled wainscot. On the west wall, McKim installed a Colonial Revival mantel with paired Tuscan Doric columns and bas-relief medallions with American eagles similar to the one found in the seal of the president of the United States . A pair of built-in arched cupboards flanked the mantel. The Truman reconstruction of the White House in 1952 replaced

18526-517: The room. The lolling chairs were reupholstered in patterned white silk damask, the c. 1815 sofa on the south wall is attributed to Duncan Phyfe and upholstered in pink silk lampas . On each side of the sofa stand Boston work tables produced in the early 19th century, likely to be the work of cabinetmakers John Seymour or Thomas Seymour. Though an unmatched pair, each has drawers and a fabric sewing bag. Windows were given new drapery – straight panels of patterned silk jacquard in olive and gold, topped by

18683-447: The sales. When news of the affair broke to the media, Bush stated that he had been "out of the loop" and unaware of the diversion of funds. Biographer Jon Meacham writes that "no evidence was ever produced proving Bush was aware of the diversion to the contras," but he criticizes Bush's "out of the loop" characterization, writing that the "record is clear that Bush was aware that the United States, in contravention of its own stated policy,

18840-408: The same day as Roosevelt's mother Martha died of typhoid fever . In his diary, Roosevelt wrote a large "X" on the page and then, "The light has gone out of my life." Distraught, Roosevelt left baby Alice in the care of his sister Bamie while he grieved; he assumed custody of Alice when she was three. After the deaths of his wife and mother, Roosevelt focused on his work, specifically by re-energizing

18997-565: The scandal originated from the June 1972 break-in of the Democratic National Committee but also involved later efforts to cover up the break-in by Nixon and other members of the White House. Bush initially defended Nixon steadfastly, but as Nixon's complicity became clear he focused more on defending the Republican Party. Following the resignation of Vice President Agnew in 1973 for a scandal unrelated to Watergate, Bush

19154-500: The school newspaper, and captain of the varsity baseball and soccer teams. On his 18th birthday, immediately after graduating from Phillips Academy, he enlisted in the United States Navy as a naval aviator . After a period of training, he was commissioned as an ensign in the Naval Reserve at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi on June 9, 1943, becoming one of the youngest pilots in the Navy. Beginning in 1944, Bush served in

19311-436: The ship-to-ship level. It was praised for its scholarship and style, and remains a standard study of the war. With the 1890 publication of The Influence of Sea Power upon History , Alfred Thayer Mahan was hailed as the world's outstanding naval theorist by European leaders. Mahan popularized a concept that only nations with significant naval power had been able to influence history, dominate oceans, exert their diplomacy to

19468-404: The situation. Bush began planning for a presidential run after the 1984 election, and he officially entered the 1988 Republican Party presidential primaries in October 1987. He put together a campaign led by Reagan staffer Lee Atwater , which also included his son, George W. Bush, and media consultant Roger Ailes . Though he had moved to the right during his time as vice president, endorsing

19625-420: The stage, but Bush refused to speak in the presence of the other candidates. Ultimately, the other four candidates left the stage, and the debate continued, but Bush's refusal to debate anyone other than Reagan badly damaged his campaign in New Hampshire. He decisively lost New Hampshire's primary to Reagan, winning just 23 percent of the vote. Bush revitalized his campaign with a victory in Massachusetts but lost

19782-572: The state assembly. He allied with Governor Cleveland to win passage of a civil service reform bill. Roosevelt won re-election and sought the office of Speaker , but Titus Sheard obtained the position. Roosevelt served as Chairman of the Committee on Affairs of Cities, during which he wrote more bills than any other legislator. With numerous presidential hopefuls, Roosevelt supported Senator George F. Edmunds of Vermont. The state Republican Party preferred incumbent president, Chester Arthur , who

19939-631: The state floor. During the Kennedy White House restoration, interior designer Stéphane Boudin proposed painting the room in a style used in 17th and 18th century England and Normandy. Boudin had used a similar treatment in the Blue Bedroom at Leeds Castle in Kent, England. Rather than attempting to putty and polish the rough-sawn timbers, he highlighted the porous texture of the paneling. The walls were rubbed with wire brushes to bring up

20096-551: The state level; he retired to his new "Chimney Butte Ranch" on the Little Missouri River . Roosevelt refused to join other Mugwumps in supporting Cleveland, the Democratic nominee in the general election. After Blaine won the nomination, Roosevelt carelessly said he would give "hearty support to any decent Democrat". He distanced himself from the promise, saying that it had not been meant "for publication". When

20253-545: The state with John G. Tower 's victory in a 1961 special election to the United States Senate. Motivated by Tower's victory and hoping to prevent the far-right John Birch Society from coming to power, Bush ran for the chairmanship of the Harris County Republican Party, winning election in February 1963. Like most other Texas Republicans, Bush supported conservative Senator Barry Goldwater over

20410-538: The state. He won a close victory in Iowa with 31.5% to Reagan's 29.4%. After the win, Bush stated that his campaign was full of momentum, or " the Big Mo ", and Reagan reorganized his campaign. Partly in response to the Bush campaign's frequent questioning of Reagan's age (Reagan turned 69 in 1980), the Reagan campaign stepped up attacks on Bush, painting him as an elitist who was not truly committed to conservatism. Prior to

20567-547: The vice presidency was heavily influenced by Vice President Walter Mondale , who enjoyed a strong relationship with Carter in part because of his ability to avoid confrontations with senior staff and Cabinet members, and by Vice President Nelson Rockefeller 's difficult relationship with some members of the White House staff during the Ford administration . The Bushes attended a large number of public and ceremonial events in their positions, including many state funerals , which became

20724-533: The vote. After the 1970 Senate election, Bush accepted a position as a senior adviser to the president, but he convinced Nixon to instead appoint him as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations . The position represented Bush's first foray into foreign policy, as well as his first major experiences with the Soviet Union and China, the two major U.S. rivals in the Cold War . During Bush's tenure,

20881-967: The vote. After Bush won South Carolina and 16 of the 17 states holding a primary on Super Tuesday , his competitors dropped out of the race. Bush, occasionally criticized for his lack of eloquence compared to Reagan, delivered a well-received speech at the Republican convention. Known as the " thousand points of light " speech, it described Bush's vision of America: he endorsed the Pledge of Allegiance , prayer in schools , capital punishment , and gun rights . Bush also pledged that he would not raise taxes , stating: "Congress will push me to raise taxes, and I'll say no, and they'll push, and I'll say no, and they'll push again. And all I can say to them is: read my lips. No new taxes." Bush selected little-known Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana as his running mate. Though Quayle had compiled an unremarkable record in Congress, he

21038-403: The way they all did", and lived to respect him, though he swore at him, as the one of them all who was stronger than pull... that was what made the age golden, that for the first time a moral purpose came into the street. In the light of it everything was transformed. Roosevelt made a habit of walking officers' beats at night and early in the morning to make sure that they were on duty. He made

21195-503: Was "unwilling to press his assigned case that the dikes had been spared," and told reporters "I think that the best thing I can do on the subject is shut up." After Nixon won a landslide victory in the 1972 presidential election , he appointed Bush as chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC). In that position, he was charged with fundraising, candidate recruitment, and making appearances on behalf of

21352-415: Was a key role for the governor. Platt insisted he be consulted on major appointments; Roosevelt appeared to comply, but then made his own decisions. Historians marvel that Roosevelt managed to appoint so many first-rate people with Platt's approval. He even enlisted Platt's help in securing reform, such as in spring 1899, when Platt pressured state senators to vote for a civil service bill that the secretary of

21509-526: Was a useful intermediary in his attempts to reach out to China and partly because the president was fond of Yahya Khan. In 1972, during a controversy over whether the United States was intentionally bombing civilian hydrological infrastructure in Vietnam , Bush was sent by Nixon to convince Kurt Waldheim of the United States' position. Bush, who was himself a fighter pilot in the Second World War,

21666-457: Was an oil field equipment salesman for Dresser Industries , which was led by family friend Neil Mallon. While working for Dresser, Bush lived in various places with his family: Odessa, Texas ; Ventura , Bakersfield and Compton, California ; and Midland, Texas . In 1952, he volunteered for the successful presidential campaign of Republican candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower . That same year, his father won election to represent Connecticut in

21823-549: Was called "Poppy" as a tribute to him. The Bush family moved to Greenwich, Connecticut , in 1925, and Prescott took a position with W. A. Harriman & Co., which later merged into Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. the following year. Bush spent most of his childhood in Greenwich, at the family vacation home in Kennebunkport, Maine , or at his maternal grandparents' plantation in South Carolina. Because of

21980-503: Was considered for the position of vice president, but the appointment instead went to Gerald Ford . After the public release of an audio recording that confirmed that Nixon had plotted to use the CIA to cover up the Watergate break-in, Bush joined other party leaders in urging Nixon to resign. When Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, Bush noted in his diary that "There was an aura of sadness, like somebody died... The [resignation] speech

22137-590: Was energetic and mischievously inquisitive. His lifelong interest in zoology began aged seven when he saw a dead seal at a market; after obtaining the seal's head, Roosevelt and cousins formed the "Roosevelt Museum of Natural History". Having learned the rudiments of taxidermy , he filled his makeshift museum with animals he killed or caught. Aged nine, he recorded his observation in a paper entitled "The Natural History of Insects". Family trips, including tours of Europe in 1869 and 1870, and Egypt in 1872, shaped his cosmopolitan perspective. Hiking with his family in

22294-464: Was inaugurated on January 20, 1989, succeeding Reagan. In his inaugural address, Bush said: I come before you and assume the Presidency at a moment rich with promise. We live in a peaceful, prosperous time, but we can make it better. For a new breeze is blowing, and a world refreshed by freedom seems reborn; for in man's heart, if not in fact, the day of the dictator is over. The totalitarian era

22451-655: Was installed (still in place). White damask drapes were made with blue and off-white fringe trim. A finely patterned blue and white carpet was installed, and a large center table was created with a custom-dyed blue velvet cloth not delivered until the Johnson years. A gilded chandelier, referring to the vermeil collection, was installed. The result was a gallery room, not a sitting room. The White House: An Historic Guide (1964) shows an architectural cross-section of Boudin's blue Vermeil Room. In 1971 First Lady Pat Nixon , working with White House Curator Clement Conger, refurbished

22608-505: Was installed, and the room was furnished with two Federal-style sofas and an Empire pier table between the windows on the south wall. In 1991, during the George H. W. Bush administration, the room was repainted a soft yellow, the pier table was replaced with an empire-style sofa, and a pair of lolling chairs replaced the two federal-style sofas. The striped gold-and-blue drapery was replaced with striped silk damask in blue and cream. In 2006

22765-652: Was known for passing the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act . Roosevelt succeeded in influencing the Manhattan delegates at the state convention. He then took control of the convention, bargaining through the night and outmaneuvering supporters of Arthur and James G. Blaine ; consequently, he gained a national reputation as a key politician in his state. Roosevelt attended the 1884 Republican National Convention in Chicago , where he gave

22922-545: Was needed to ensure global stability and that the United States "needed to be visible but not pushy, muscular but not domineering." In January 1976, Ford brought Bush back to Washington to become the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI), placing him in charge of the CIA. In the aftermath of the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War , the CIA's reputation had been damaged for its role in various covert operations. Bush

23079-479: Was never charged with a crime, the Iran–Contra scandal would remain a political liability for him. On July 3, 1988, the guided missile cruiser USS  Vincennes accidentally shot down Iran Air Flight 655 , killing 290 passengers. Bush, then-vice president, defended his country at the United Nations by arguing that the U.S. attack had been a wartime incident and the crew of Vincennes had acted appropriately to

23236-629: Was opening the eyes of New Yorkers to the terrible conditions of the city's immigrants with such books as How the Other Half Lives . Riis described how his book affected Roosevelt: When Roosevelt read [my] book, he came... No one ever helped as he did. For two years we were brothers in (New York City's crime-ridden) Mulberry Street . When he left I had seen its golden age... There is very little ease where Theodore Roosevelt leads, as we all of us found out. The lawbreaker found it out who predicted scornfully that he would "knuckle down to politics

23393-437: Was popular among many conservatives, and the campaign hoped that Quayle's youth would appeal to younger voters. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party nominated Governor Michael Dukakis , known for presiding over an economic turnaround in Massachusetts. Leading in the general election polls against Bush, Dukakis ran an ineffective, low-risk campaign. The Bush campaign attacked Dukakis as an unpatriotic liberal extremist and seized on

23550-620: Was revealed that administration officials had secretly arranged weapon sales to Iran during the Iran–Iraq War . The officials had used the proceeds to fund the Contra rebels in their fight against the leftist Sandinista government in Nicaragua . Democrats had passed a law that appropriated funds could not be used to help the Contras. Instead, the administration used non-appropriated funds from

23707-464: Was solid in geography and bright in history, biology, French, and German; however, he struggled in mathematics and the classical languages. In September 1876, he entered Harvard College . His father instructed him to, "take care of your morals first, your health next, and finally your studies." His father's sudden death in 1878 devastated Roosevelt. He inherited $ 60,000 (equivalent to $ 1,894,345 in 2023), enough on which he could live comfortably for

23864-455: Was soon after the death of his first wife and he faced resistance from his sisters. The couple had five children: Theodore "Ted" III in 1887, Kermit in 1889, Ethel in 1891, Archibald in 1894, and Quentin in 1897. They also raised Roosevelt's daughter from his first marriage, Alice , who often clashed with her stepmother. Upon Roosevelt's return to New York, Republican leaders approached him about running for mayor of New York City in

24021-583: Was tasked with restoring the agency's morale and public reputation. During Bush's year in charge of the CIA, the U.S. national security apparatus actively supported Operation Condor operations and right-wing military dictatorships in Latin America . Meanwhile, Ford decided to drop Rockefeller from the ticket for the 1976 presidential election ; he considered Bush as his running mate, but ultimately chose Bob Dole . In his capacity as DCI, Bush gave national security briefings to Jimmy Carter both as

24178-469: Was the 26th president of the United States , serving from 1901 to 1909. He previously was involved in New York politics, including serving as the state's 33rd governor for two years. He was the vice president under President William McKinley for six months in 1901, assuming the presidency after McKinley's assassination . As president, Roosevelt emerged as a leader of the Republican Party and became

24335-457: Was the second son of Prescott Bush and Dorothy (Walker) Bush, and a younger brother of Prescott Bush Jr. His paternal grandfather, Samuel P. Bush , worked as an executive for a railroad parts company in Columbus, Ohio , while his maternal grandfather and namesake, George Herbert Walker , led Wall Street investment bank W. A. Harriman & Co. Walker was known as "Pop", and young Bush

24492-538: Was trading arms for hostages". The Iran–Contra scandal , as it became known, did serious damage to the Reagan presidency, raising questions about Reagan's competency. Congress established the Tower Commission to investigate the scandal, and, at Reagan's request, a panel of federal judges appointed Lawrence Walsh as a special prosecutor charged with investigating the Iran–Contra scandal. The investigations continued after Reagan left office, and, though Bush

24649-486: Was vintage Nixon—a kick or two at the press—enormous strains. One couldn't help but look at the family and the whole thing and think of his accomplishments and then think of the shame... [President Gerald Ford's swearing-in offered] indeed a new spirit, a new lift." Upon his ascension to the presidency, Ford strongly considered Bush, Donald Rumsfeld , and Nelson Rockefeller for the vacant position of vice president. Ford ultimately chose Nelson Rockefeller, partly because of

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