Mornings On Horseback by David McCullough
Reviewed by Vicki Carver
Reading about or nation’s history can really be helpful is gaining a
better understanding about our modern day world. As we struggle with the
bitterness so prevalent in the 2004 election, it may be helpful to learn
that the practice of accusations and name calling is certainly not new in
politics.
Mornings On Horseback by David McCullough tells about the first
twenty-seven years of the life of Theodore Roosevelt,. McCullough has written
other biographies of famous Americans such as John Adams and Harry S. Truman.
It is evident that the author thoroughly researches his subject and
Mornings On Horseback is no exception. The early life of Roosevelt is
described in detail beginning with his birth in 1859 to a very affluent
family living in New York City. As a young child Theodore had every advantage
available to him including private tutoring and a family excursion through
Europe which lasted over a year. However Theodore was a frail child plagued by
asthma attacks which were potentially fatal.
He adored his parents. His mother Mittie had been a Southern belle and his
father Theodore was an attractive man who loved life and treated others with
kindness.
Roosevelt’s early life proceeded to his years at Harvard University, his first
marriage and his eventual adventures out west in the Badlands of North Dakota.
He became involved in politics as a young man and became the youngest
president in history at age 42 after McKinley was assassinated in 1901.
Politics of the mid-1800’s were an integral part of Mornings On
Horseback. Theodore’s father wrote the following quote to his son in a
letter from 1869. He wrote, “I feel sorry for the county…I fear for your
future. We cannot stand so corrupt a government for any great length of time”.
There was also much ill will between the Republican and Democratic parties in
the presidential election of 1876 between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel
Tilden. Partisan politics were evident as several months passed before Hayes
was declared the winner on March 2, 1877 by one electoral vote.
Corruption in the court system was also explained in detail. Jay Gould,
a wealthy New York businessman, manipulated a judge, T. R. Westbrook, to
the extent of holding court in Gould’s private office located in New York’s
Western Union Building.
Mornings On Horseback is available in
regular print,
large print and
on tape. It is intense reading but a worthwhile experience for anyone
interested in historical figures and the politics which have shaped our
nation’s history.