Roosevelt had pledged when he ran in 1904 that he would not seek another term as president. Therefore, he did not run in 1908 but instead retired to Oyster Bay, New York. He left for a safari to Africa from 1909 to 1910 where he collected important plant and animal specimens for the Smithsonian Institute. After returning home, he found himself disagreeing with successor William Howard Taft's policies and decided to run again for president in 1912.

Bull Moose

Roosevelt sought the Republican nomination again in 1912 but was denied the opportunity. He then left to form his own third party, called the Bull Moose party. His entry into the 1912 presidential race split the Republican vote to such an extent that Democrat Woodrow Wilson was able to win the election.

Assassination Attempt and Death

A would-be assassin named John Schrank attempted to kill Roosevelt in 1912 while he was campaigning in Milwaukee. Roosevelt's fifty-page speech and steel spectacle case kept a bullet from killing him by slowing it down. Roosevelt went ahead and gave his planned speech before being seen by a doctor. Surgeons left the bullet in him, and he did not seem to be affected by it for the rest of his life. However, it effectively ended his campaign for reelection in the election of 1912.

Roosevelt died on January 6, 1919, of a coronary embolism. Theodore Roosevelt would always be remembered as a fiery individualist who embodied the American culture of the early 1900s. To this effect, he is enshrined on Mount Rushmore along with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln.