The year was 1902.

Theodore Roosevelt had been President for a year and was invited on a hunting trip in Mississippi by Governor Andrew H. Longino.

At the time, it was pretty common knowledge that President Roosevelt was an expert trapper and marksman.

Up till 1902, Roosevelt had shot and killed thousands of animals. The majority of them for museums and academic purposes.

So if anyone wanted to get on Roosevelt’s good side, they knew the best way to do it was to take him hunting.

It was November and the air was finally starting to cool down making it the perfect month for a large-scale hunt.

Well, for the 15 other men who were with him.

For the next five days, Roosevelt was the only one who couldn’t get a shot at anything.

And being the President of the United States, no one dared to brag about the kills they had gotten.

But on the sixth day on November 14th, some of their hounds had picked up on a scent and began to make a run for it.

Roosevelt and his friend Foote, both on their horses, proceeded to gallop after the pack, but thickening woods had cut them off.

Eventually, the barking of their hounds grew silent. And after a few hours of searching, Roosevelt and Foote decided to call it quits and ride back to camp for lunch.

But shortly after the duo had left, a lean black bear burst through the brush with the hounds hot on its heels. The bear lunged into a nearby pond giving one of the hunters who stayed behind a chance to throw a rope around its neck to reel him in.

Once the hunter had reeled him in, he took the butt of his gun and cracked the bear’s skull to daze it, but not enough to kill it.

That was for President Roosevelt to do.

Back at the camp, a messenger came running to tell Roosevelt that a bear was caught and they wanted the President to come finish the job.

Roosevelt rode for ten miles to get back to the very spot he was at that morning only to find a stunned runt tied to a tree.

And even after five days of not getting a single shot off, Roosevelt refused to shoot the bear.

In a matter of days, publications around the U.S. applauded Roosevelt for his refusal to kill for killing’s sake.

Even the Washington Post cartoonist made a drawing depicting the moment when Roosevelt stood up for his morals.

Quickly, Americans demanded more “bear cartoons.” And as the months went by, the bear got smaller, rounder, and cuter.

By the end of 1902, toy factories started to manufacture plush bear cubs and used the story of “Teddy” Roosevelt to help sales.

Hence the name Teddy Bear was born.

As interesting as the story is, I can’t help but think about Roosevelt’s choice.

Here he is, a hunter who hasn’t gotten a shot off in days suffering from an ill case of itchy trigger finger, still found it in his heart to stand up for what’s right.

And I think that’s a lesson we all need to remember.

There’s going to be a time in your life when you’re going to get offered something.

It might be in exchange for money, fame, or power. But it’s going to be at the expense of your morals.

And it’ll be up to you to decide whether or not the prize is worth giving up what you believe in.

For a lot of us, what we believe in is the greatest thing we’ll ever own.

So learn from Theodore Roosevelt. Remember that sacrificing who you are in the long term for pleasure in the short term just isn’t worth it.

Besides, you’ll likely walk away with something even more valuable in the end.

Until next time,
Isaiah Taylor

Dive Deeper

What I’m Currently Reading - I’m now reading Marcus Aurelius: The Stoic Emperor by Donald J. Robertson. A biographical account of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and the influence Stoicism had on his life and empire.

Quote Of The Week - “We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.” — Chuck Palahniuk