Early Public Life
Roosevelt was a Republican activist during his years in the Assembly, writing more bills than any other New York state legislator. Already a major player in state politics, he attended the Republican National Convention in 1884, and fought alongside the Mugwump reformers who opposed the Stalwarts; they lost to the conservative faction that nominated James G. Blaine. Refusing to join other Mugwumps in supporting Grover Cleveland, the Democratic nominee, he stayed loyal to the party and supported Blaine. During this Convention Roosevelt also received attention for seconding an African-American for the position of Chairman.
Deaths of first wife and mother
Theodore's first wife, Alice, and his mother, Martha, both died on Valentine's Day 1884 in the same house, only two days after his wife gave birth to their only daughter, Alice. Roosevelt was beyond consolation. After drawing a large "X" in his diary (right photo), he wrote, "The light has gone out of my life."
Although he noted her loss in his diary and made several references to her in the subsequent months, from the next year on Roosevelt refused to speak his first wife's name again (even omitting her name from his autobiography) and did not allow others to speak of her in his presence.
Later that year, Roosevelt left the General Assembly and his infant daughter Alice, whom he had left in the long-term care of his older sister, Bamie. He moved to his ranch in the Badlands of the Dakota Territory to live a more simple life as a rancher and lawman.
This practice put an early strain on his relationship with his daughter who was given his late wife's name. However, as she (Alice) grew into adulthood, and she better understood her father's deep moral convictions, the bond between Theodore and his daughter became strong. Alice would continue to support her father's ideas even after his death in 1919. She worked behind the scenes to help kill Wilson's League of Nations (something Theodore very much opposed) and later defended her father's character against the democratic FDR administration. She resided in the capitol city and due to her social parties and connections became known as "the other Washington monument." Alice died in 1980 at the age of 96.
Life in the Badlands, return and marriage to Edith Carow
Living near the boomtown of Medora, North Dakota, Roosevelt learned to ride and rope, occasionally getting involved in fistfights, and spent his time in the rough-and-tumble world of the final days of the American Old West. On one occasion, as a Deputy Sheriff, he hunted down three outlaws taking a stolen boat down the Little Missouri River, successfully taking them back overland for trial.
After the 1886-1887 winter wiped out his herd of cattle and his $60,000 investment (together with those of his competitors), he returned to the Eastern United States, where in 1885, he had purchased Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay, New York. It would be his home and estate until his death. Roosevelt ran as the Republican candidate for mayor of New York City in 1886, coming in a distant third. Following the election he went to London, there marrying his childhood sweetheart, Edith Kermit Carow. They honeymooned in Europe, and Roosevelt took the time to climb Mont Blanc, leading only the third expedition of record to reach the summit.
Roosevelt is the only President to have become a widower and remarry before becoming President.
In the 1880s, he gained recognition as a serious historian. His The Naval War of 1812 (1882) was the standard history for two generations, but his hasty biographies of Thomas Hart Benton (1887) and Gouverneur Morris (1888) were potboilers. His major achievement was a four-volume history of the frontier, The Winning of the West (1889-1896), which had a notable impact on historiography as it presented a highly original version of the frontier thesis originally developed in 1893 by his friend Frederick Jackson Turner. His many articles in upscale magazines provided a much-needed income, as well as cementing a reputation as a major national intellectual. He was later elected president of the American Historical Association.