The origin of the Teddy Bear dates back to 1902, during Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency. On November 14th, Roosevelt, a frequent hunter, was on a hunting trip near Onward, Mississippi when the group encountered a bear cub. Roosevelt’s companions clubbed the bear and tied it to a tree, insisting the Roosevelt finish it off. However, Roosevelt refused to shoot the bear because he thought it was unethical to kill a defenseless animal. News of this event were widely publicized through newspapers and a satirical cartoon by Clifford Barryman. In the cartoon, Roosevelt is depicted as a noble man “drawing the line” between hunting for sport and killed an animal in an unsportsmanlike manner.
Inspired by Barryman’s cartoon, a New York store owner named Morris Michtom had the idea to create a plush bear toy and dedicate it to Roosevelt. Mitchtom and his wife then sewed the first Teddy Bear and sold it at their store. The toy quickly gained popularity and the Mitchtoms wrote to Roosevelt to get permission to use his name. They founded the Ideal Toy Company and mass-produced Teddy Bears for the public. As more and more customers bought Teddy Bears, several more companies sprung up to make more of them. Eventually, Teddy Bears became so popular to the public that Roosevelt used them as a symbol to promote himself during his reelection campaign in the election fo 1904. To this day, Teddy Bears are a beloved toy found in many American households. Another thing that is interesting to note is that the Teddy Bear has caused many people to refer to Theodore Roosevelt as “Teddy.” This is ironic because Roosevelt hated the nickname and only his very close friends called him by “Teddy.”
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It's really interesting to hear how items come to be. I had never questioned why teddy bears were called teddy bears but now knowing the story it's really cool to see how one moment can lead to the creation of something so popular. I think it's also interesting to consider that if the artist had drawn the cub in a different way maybe there wouldn't have been the creation of the teddy bear. The drawing of the cub is very cute and stuffed animal like which probably one of the reasons that Michtom had the idea to create the teddy bear. If it was depicted in a different way if it was drawn in a different way it's possible it could have not sparked the same inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI really liked that you stated Roosevelts morals and reasoning for not killing the bear, I feel that him not killing the bear because he thought it was unethical to kill something defenseless speaks a lot to his character and who he was as a person. I personally feel that the reasoning behind his actions regarding the bear are what made the situation so famous, he showed mercy and kindness, something that many previous presidents were not known for. Since Roosevelt was known for being likable and naturist this situation really captured his public image and put a good view of him into the public eye. I also loved how you included that Roosevelt hated being called Teddy so the bears name was ironic because that was on my mind the whole time while I was reading this blog.
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ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this post. I never knew that the teddy bear was linked to this story of Theodore Roosevelt and it was very interesting. The story reflects many of the ideals Roosevelt beieved in, as he was a environmentalist. Also, early on the Mitchtoms were in the candy business but the new teddy bear was so popular they left the candy business completely. Roosevelt consented believing it did not make a difference, but the irony is that more and more people began to refer to Roosevelt as Teddy
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