Black Belt and Blue Water : The Vigorous Lives and Presidencies of Theodore and Franklin D . Roosevelt
By Max J . Skidmore
ABSTRACT
The presidencies of these two distant cousins stand out as connected , and especially noteworthy , for many reasons , including physical challenges . TR was a puny child , who built his body to match his mind . He came to practice what William Harbaugh called “ virile intellectualism ,” and at the beginning of the twentieth century set the tone for the dynamism of America , and for that of the incredible presidency of FDR . Franklin was an athletic devotee of the oceans . He fought back from polio , first to survive , and then in a muscular fashion , to shepherd the nation through the Great Depression , World War II , and to become a world inspiration .
KEYWORDS
Martial Arts , Physical Activities , The Presidency , The Roosevelts , Presidential Vigor , Judo , Sailing
INTRODUCTION
Theodore Roosevelt undoubtedly was the most vigorous of all American presidents , probably intellectually ( despite Kennedy ’ s quip to a group of Nobel laureates that it was the most intellectually powerful force gathered in the White House since Thomas Jefferson dined alone ), and certainly physically . His well-rounded vigor helped shape his equally vigorous presidency .
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