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December 6, 2025 — Today marks the 121st anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt’s Fourth Annual Message to Congress on December 6, 1904—just a short month after he was elected in his own right for a second presidential term.
In this message, which Roosevelt wrote but did not deliver before Congress given the custom of the time, he noted the need for a stronger federal government as the nation faces new responsibilities. Many of the topics he discussed are still relevant today:
- Labor and capital
- Corporate regulation
- Urban social conditions
- Conservation
- Immigration
- Election reform
- Currency stability
He also introduced what’s known today as the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine in which he wrote that the United States would intervene in the affairs of Latin American countries, preventing European intervention.
And in this message, he was the first sitting president to argue for bison conservation, writing, “We owe it to future generations to keep alive the noble and beautiful creatures which by their presence add such distinctive character to the American wilderness.”
When you visit the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, you’ll experience the White House as a workshop for democracy not only learning about Roosevelt’s presidency as public platform but also making your own presidential decisions in the Leadership in Action and the Run Your Own Presidency galleries.
Get prepared for the opening of the Library by brushing up on your knowledge about TR’s presidency with the quiz. |
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A Brief Look at the Roosevelt’s Presidency
 In his seven-and-a-half years as president, Roosevelt transformed the office, fundamentally changing the presidency and its relationship to executive power. He signed 1,081 executive orders—nearly as many as all of his predecessors combined; their total was 1,262 executive orders spread across 24 presidents.
 Roosevelt was a president of “firsts”—the first president to ride in a submarine, the first president to leave the United States while in office, the first president to ride in a car as part of official presidential duties, the first president to invite an African American to the White House for dinner, and the first president (and American) to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
 Domestically, he was known for his Square Deal policies, his conservation efforts, and his work championing safer food. No president before Roosevelt had ever named his domestic program, but many presidents after him followed in Roosevelt’s footsteps.
 In foreign policy, Roosevelt’s presidency helped the United States become a world power. He is well-known for his “big stick diplomacy,” as demonstrated by the Panama Canal, the Great White Fleet, and his promotion of American imperialism—but also his efforts to end the Russo-Japanese War, earning him the Nobel Peace Prize. |
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 Dive Deep into the History
- What makes Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency and life important.
- Timeline of important events in Roosevelt’s presidency.
- Political cartoon of Roosevelt’s seventh annual message, depicting it as 30,000 words. (It was actually 27,397 words!)
- Roosevelt’s decision not to speak about women’s suffrage in his eighth annual message—though he supported it.
- A newspaper article that called Roosevelt’s fourth annual message a “sermon” with “nothing weighty in [it] but its style.”
- Photograph of Theodore Roosevelt reading his message to the cabinet before sending it to Congress in 1902.
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 Virtual Programs Update
Get a head start on your holiday baking with recipes Theodore Roosevelt and his family enjoyed during Christmas at the family home, Sagamore Hill, and at the White House by watching our Taste of History: Holiday Edition event—if you missed it last Monday.
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Visit: trlibrary.com |
“Thanksgiving was an appreciated festival, but it in no way came up to Christmas. Christmas was an occasion of literally delirious joy. . . . I never knew any one else have what seemed to me such attractive Christmases, and in the next generation I tried to reproduce them exactly for my own children.” ~Theodore Roosevelt in his Autobiography
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 In the Press
The Library is dee-lighted to announce that Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential historian, and Beth Laski, award-winning storyteller and media strategist, have joined its Board of Trustees. |
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 Events
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 Book Talk featuring Jean Flahive’s Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride with Phil Morse
Jean Flahive and Phil Morse take us through TR’s transformative time in Maine, the interurban named Narcissus on which TR traveled, and the story it inspired.
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Visit: trlibrary.com
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What Next?
 Tell us what you’d like to learn more about from Theodore Roosevelt’s life
Support the Library’s education and public programming efforts
 Become a member and join the mission of exploring TR’s life, legacy, and enduring relevance |
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In the Press
The Library is dee-lighted to announce that Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize-winning presidential historian, and Beth Laski, award-winning storyteller and media strategist, have joined its Board of Trustees. |
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Architectural Firm
Progress Photos. TR Presidential Library opens July 4, 2026.
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