What happens if aesthetics don’t reflect intent?
Franklin Square, L.I.: Re “Turning on Teddy” (editorial, Jan. 21): The woke mob missed the point by calling for the removal of Theodore Roosevelt’s statue at the American Museum of Natural History. It debuted in 1940 as World War II began. The designer’s intent was to honor a man, Col. Roosevelt, who helped lead the United States to victory in an earlier conflict, the Spanish-American War. The statue depicted Teddy Roosevelt atop a gallant steed. It also featured noble and powerful figures of an African man and a Native American man guiding the explorer on his journeys of scientific discovery in Africa and out West.
The 2nd Cavalry Brigade, known as Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, was an odd mixture of volunteers composed of frontiersmen, gunfighters, outlaws, renegade soldiers, trappers and Native Americans. They are best remembered for their conduct during the Battle of San Juan Hill. Some Americans may remember the story of how Roosevelt led their charge there, routing the Spanish army. This helped Roosevelt to become vice president and then, after the assassination of William McKinley, president.
The real history of that war, however, turns out to be a little different. Roosevelt and his Rough Riders made it to the top of San Juan Hill after the bulk of the fighting was over — after regiments of African-American soldiers cleared out most of the Spanish opposition. It was these Black soldiers who saved the Rough Riders from annihilation.
This statue was not meant to glorify “America’s systemic racism,” as its detractors claimed. As a student of American military history, I was saddened to see it removed from New York City and banished to a small town in North Dakota.