Member-only story
Teddy Roosevelt’s Staunchly Feminist Senior College Thesis
The former president advocated strongly for women’s rights as a youth, which sparked a lifetime of feminist advocacy
Theodore “Teddy Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, left a legacy of being a man’s man. He loved the outdoors, being a voracious hunter and enthusiastic leader of his “Rough Riders” cavalry during the Spanish American War. However, he was also surprisingly well connected to feminism; going back all the way to his college days when he wrote his undergraduate thesis arguing the merits of women’s rights.
Few presidents can claim the the same level of advocacy that Roosevelt had while a resident of the White House. He was a champion of animals and the environment, and in 1912, after his two terms were over, he came out publicly in support of women’s rights. It was not a quick flight of fancy for him, as despite living in a male-dominated society, his record of feminism patronage dates back to at least his days as a college student.
While a senior at prestigious Harvard University in 1880, Roosevelt wrote his thesis called “Practicability of Giving Men and Women Equal Rights” as an impassioned plea for woman’s rights. He not only advocated for equality, he also suggested a practically unheard…
