Innocents Abroad

I. The Grand Tour I

A. Transportation Technology

1. Screw-propeller ships--the advent of the steam-powered screw-propeller ship greatly reduced the time required for crossing large bodies of water--particularly the Atlantic Ocean. This reduction in time meant that the sips could cross the ocean more frequently, which led to the shipping lines dropping  the price and allowed more people to cross the ocean more frequently. This was the case not only for middle class Americans crossing the ocean to visit Europe, but also for former Euopean Peasants to cross the ocean seeking employment.

2. Railroads--the spread of rail transportation occurred not only in the United States, but in Europe, as well. The Roosevelt grand tour of Europe could not of occurred without the advent of the railroad on the continent.

B. Justification for the trip.

1. Educational benefits--none of the Roosevelt children attended any kind of grammar school or primary school; they were all home schooled by a series of tutors. This insulated the children from any untoward influences--but also  isolated them from much of everything else, as well. The trip to Europe would expose them to a whole new world (the "Old World," ironically), and would broaden their horizons. The Roosevelt's also  made a real attempt to learn European languages (it was what "cultured" people of their class did). The children were also exposed to many sites that they had  only read about.

2. Fashionability--the Grand Tour was an expected norm for people of the Roosevelt's class; Thee, in fact, had visited Europe on such an excursion before his marriage to Mittie.

3. Visit relatives--James and Irvine Bulloch had remained in England after the Confederate surrender, since they faced considerable legal entanglements from their involvement in the Civil War. The children finally got to meet their heroic Southern relatives

4. Visiting the "Other"-- in large cities the family was exposed to the misery that industrial capitalism induced in poor people--although there was no recognition that that was the cause of so many women and children begging in the streets.

II. Grand Tour II

A. Egypt--the cradle of "civilization" was also the home of even stranger "others." The Roosevelt family spent a month or so floating up and  down the Nile, seeing the pyramids and sundry other sites.

B. The Rise of TR

1. Challenge from Thee--after  the first trip, TR went through an extremely difficult spell with asthma attacks; much of the next several years he spent in the company of his mother at a variety of places seeking treatment.  Thee, fearing this disease was sapping TR's masculinity, urged him to exercise more will power and to exercise his body as a means of diminishing the effects of the disease.

2. Exercise regimen--TR and Elliott were taken to the gym, and then the latest exercise equipment was purchased and installed in their home. TR was especially diligent in pursuing a daily exercise routine, which slowly paid off in making him stronger and toning his body.

3. Eyeglasses--it was during this time period that TR was finally diagnosed as nearsighted and fitted with "spectacles." TR became much more engaged with his surroundings,  as a result.

4. Budding naturalist--TR spent much of the trip in Egypt shooting birds with his new shotgun and then stuffing them to use as "scientific specimens." This sounds abhorrent to us today, but it is also how the noted naturalist illustrator John Jay  Audubon was  able to make all of those lovely illustrations.

5. Stay in Dresden German--Germany has become the center of western learning by the early 1870s,  and the three younger Roosevelt children stayed in  Dresden to soak up some of that learning.

C. Fall of Elliott--TR's rise was accompanied by the long slow decline of Elliott, who felt he could not compete any longer with his older brother. Elliott's bouts of self-doubt and depression manifested themselves physically in fainting spells, which led to his dismissal from St. Mark's School.


III. Movin' On Up

A. Death of  CVS Roosevelt--left Thee and his brothers with a sizable inheritance; Thee's share was somewhere between $1 and $3 million ($30-$40 million in today's dollars). With the money,Thee and a brother bought adjacent lots in the newly fashionable Upper East Side, near Central Park, abandoning Union Square.

B. Thee's philanthropies--The felt a sense of noblesse oblige with this big pile of money, which he had felt much of his adult life, and continued to fund--and encourage others of his class to fund--a number of "worthy causes."

1. Newsboys

C. Thee the Politician--Thee's disgust with the "corruption" rampant in politics led him to enter into the fray to return the United States back to the kind of politics he remembered from his childhood.

1. The Tamany Machine--Tamany Hall was the center of organization for much of the Democratic Party in New York City.

a.  George Washington Plunkitt and "honest graft."

b. Urban political machines

2. The Roscoe Conkling machine--a US Senator from New York who essentially ran the Republican Party in the state of New York. His second in command,  Chester A. Arthur, held the patronage rich position of collector of tariffs fro  the Port of New York. Conkling had nothing but disdain for political reformers, since in his opinion they had no idea how political power operated.

3. Conkling bid blocked--reformers did know enough about power politics to block Conkling from being nominated for the presidency in 1876.

4. Thee's nomination--Conkling returned the favor when Thee was nominated for the position of  collector of the tariffs, using his position in the Senate to block  the nomination.