by Jenni Nolan

Created on: August 13, 2010

Revolutionary figures in history often reveal a volatile spirit early on.  In this essay, I am going to compare the childhood traits of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, and Golda Meir, the 4th Prime Minister of Israel.

Theodore Roosevelt was born on 27th October 1858 to a wealthy family.  He was frequently unhealthy as a child, suffering badly from asthma and tone deafness.  Because of his frequent ailments, Roosevelt was home-schooled, and often stayed in bed studying natural history.  He was known as a mischievous, hyperactive child and, as a response to his physical weakness, he embraced a more physically demanding life.

Roosevelt studied at Harvard, where he developed his interest in boxing and naval affairs.   He became president at 42, in 1901 when President McKinley was assassinated.

As President, Roosevelt was famous for his energy and range of interests and achievements.  His sogan was ;Speak softly and carry a big stick', which characterised his policies.  He was the first American to win the Nobel peace prize for negotiating an end to the Russo-Japanese war.

 Golda Meir was born on 3rd May 1898 into a non-privileged family.  Her mother, Blume ran a grocery store, where Golda was often put in charge so her mother could go for supplies.

She showed her leadership skills early on by organising a fundraiser to pay for her classmates textbooks.  She also showed rebellion by refusing to obey her mother at the age of fourteen.  Her mother, Blume, wanted Golda to leave school and marry.  Golda refused, and ran away to live with her married sister in Colorado.

She was always a high achiever, and after serving as Minister of Labour and Foreign Minister, became the 4th Prime Minister of the state of Israel.

 I think the differences between Roosevelt and Meir are massive.  Roosevelt was born to a wealthy family and under-achieved as a child, but overcame that by pushing himself as much as he could.  Meir was under-privileged, but always a high achiever.  She rebelled and showed her leadership skills early on in life.

I don’t think there is one defining trait in their childhoods that made them who they were, but if you look at many revolutionary and historical figures, you will find defining traits that were perhaps exaggerated in their maturity.  Examples include Adolf Hitler, Mahatma Ghandi and Mao Zeodong.

Bibliography

 The Daily Reader, Fred White

 Wikipedia

 The Film & More:  Program Transcript Part One

Learn more about this author, Jenni Nolan.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.