Theodore Roosevelt and His Secretary of the Interior, James R. Garfield 1907-1909
Roosevelt had, from the start, surrounded himself with a group of man of progressive political ideals who supported his plans for reform. These men became his unofficial advisers who met more frequently on an athletic field than at a conference table. Since the members of a president's cabinet are usually chosen by their geographical sector, religion, nationality, or political affiliation. Presidents often find it impossible to place those men most valuable to them in the official cabinet. Theodore Roosevelt’s first cabinet had been McKinley’s; and since he had committed himself to carrying out McKinley's policies, he asked that cabinet to stay on as his own. Given this situation, T.R. Made use of a device used by other presidents before and after him—he associated himself socially and politically with unofficial advisers called, in Roosevelts case, the Tennis Cabinet. The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between Theodore Roosevelt and one of these men James H. Garfield, shots he appointed Secretary of the interior in 190? and to determine the in­fluence he had in this position on carrying out the progressive poli­cies of the president with regard to conservation
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