PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT - NAVAL APPOINTMENT SIGNED 03/11/1907 CO-SIGNED BY: VICTOR H. METCALF - HFSID 5668

THEODORE ROOSEVELT, CO-SIGNED BY: VICTOR H. METCALF
In 1907, Roosevelt signed this appointment with his Secretary of the Navy, Victor Metcalf making a sailor an ensign
Naval appointment signed "V. H. Metcalf" in black ink as Secretary of the Navy and "Theodore Roosevelt" in brown ink. 1 page, 16x19½, with blue 2½-inch United States Navy Department seal affixed. Feb. 2, 1907. Appointment of Duncan J. Delridge as an ensign in the United States Navy. ROOSEVELT (1858-1919) is one of America's most well-known and flamboyant presidents. Roosevelt's heroism in the Spanish-American War, where he earned the Medal of Honor for leading his volunteer "Rough Riders" in a charge up San Juan Hill (1898), helped him win the governorship of New York the next year. Elected Vice President in 1900, Roosevelt assumed the presidency upon President William McKinley's assassination (1901), becoming America's youngest president. He was re-elected in 1904. Roosevelt was the first American to win a Nobel Prize for Peace, receiving the 1906 award for mediating the end of the Russo-Japanese War. Known for his "Speak softly and carry a big stick" foreign policy, Roosevelt settled the Canadian-Alaskan boundary dispute in 1903 and initiated construction of the Panama Canal in 1904. He converted more than 125 million acres of land into national forests and was a staunch advocate of antitrust legislation. After failing to secure the Republican nomination, he run as the Progressive ("Bull Moose") candidate in the famous presidential contest of 1912. He lost to Democrat Woodrow Wilson but securing more votes than incumbent William Howard Taft, becoming the most successful third-party candidate in recent United States history as of this biography. METCALF (1853-1936) was Secretary of Commerce and Labor (1904-1906) and Secretary of the Navy (1906-1908) under Roosevelt. A former attorney, Metcalf had represented California in the U.S. House of Representatives (1899-1904), where he served on the House Committee on Naval Affairs and advocated the building of a large battleship navy. During his tenure as Roosevelt's Secretary of the Navy, "The Great White Fleet" was launched. Lightly toned, spotted and creased. Left, right and top edges are irregular. Small tears on all four edges (do not touch signatures). Otherwise, fine condition.