In search of oneself and wildlife. Theodore Roosevelt in North Dakota

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the complex stage in the fate of Theodore Roosevelt, his life in the «Badlands» of North Dakota, where he first appeared in September 1883 to hunt bison. Literally, we can say at first glance he fell in love with these places. Fascinated by Dakota, Roosevelt decided to invest 14 thousand dollars in the purchase of the Chimney Butte Ranch, later renamed the Maltese Cross Ranch. Roosevelt turned the management of the lands over to Sylwane Ferris and Bill Merrifield, who built for T. Roosevelt a one-story house with a tiled roof, an attic and a basement - called the Maltese Cross Cottage on the newly acquired lands. Hunting and cattle breeding in Dakota turned out to be a very useful stage for the formation of the views of the future president. Over the next few years, Roosevelt traveled between New York and the ranch in Dakota. In the fall of 1884, he took part in the election campaign, then returned to Dakota to help form the regional association of cattle breeders to protect the interests of the ranchers and was elected chairman of the association. Although the cattle -breeding enterprise in the «Badlands» of the Northern Dakota turned out to be a financial disaster for Roosevelt, the experience gained was invaluable. In 1887, relying on his Dakota experience, T. Roosevelt organized a non -profit organization advocating for fair hunting in support of the habitat conservation. Currently, this club is the oldest wildlife conservation organization in North America. Roosevelt developed Hunter Ethics Statement. In 1901, Theodore Roosevelt became the 26th president of the United States and, in fact, one of the greatest conservationists.