Teddy bears, boxed and wrapped in paper and ribbons, have been tenderly placed beneath Christmas trees for decades, much to the delight of tots and toddlers all around the world. But did you know that the Teddy Bear was invented in honour of President Theodore Roosevelt?

The Bear Hunting Trip

On November 14, 1902, Theodore Roosevelt was on a bear hunting trip near Onward, Mississippi. Governor Andrew H. Longino of Mississippi had invited him, but unlike the other hunters in the group, Theodore had not found a single bear.

A black bear was cornered and tied to a willow tree by Roosevelt’s helpers, commanded by Holt Collier, a born slave and former Confederate cavalryman. They summoned Roosevelt and asked him to shoot it. Roosevelt hesitated to shoot the bear because he thought it was unsportsmanlike. The word of this incident immediately spread across the country through newspaper articles. The papers reported the president’s refusal to shoot a bear. It wasn’t just any president, either; it was Theodore Roosevelt, the big game hunter!

The Teddy Bear Cartoon

“Drawing the Line in Mississippi” by Clifford Berryman for Washington Post, 1902.

Clifford Berryman, a political cartoonist, read the article and chose to lampoon the president’s inability to shoot the bear in a lighthearted manner. His 1902 cartoon published in the Washington Post was the inspiration behind the birth of the teddy bear. The cartoon shows Roosevelt dressed in full rough rider regalia, with his back to a herded, terrified, and very gentle bear cub, refusing to shoot. The cartoon, titled “Drawing the Line in Mississippi,” is thought to be a parody of Roosevelt’s sportsman’s code and his denunciation of lynchings in the South. Berryman’s drawing became so popular that he produced even smaller and cuter “teddy bears” in political cartoons for the duration of Roosevelt’s presidency.

From Candy To Teddy Bears

Bear formerly owned by Kermit Roosevelt, thought to be made by Michtom, the early 1900s; Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, 2012

Morris Michtom, the owner of a Brooklyn candy shop, was inspired by the cartoon. He and his wife Rose created stuffed animals, and Michtom decided to make a stuffed toy bear and dedicate it to the president. They made a soft bear cub and displayed it in their candy shop window with a sign “Teddy’s bear.”

More than a dozen people asked if they could buy the bear. The Michtoms mailed the original to the president as a gift for his children, thinking they might require permission from the White House to create the stuffed bears, and asked if he’d mind if they used his name on the bear. Roosevelt agreed, despite his doubts that it would make a difference.

Teddy’s bear became so successful that the Michtoms left the candy business to focus on the production of teddy bears. Roosevelt made the teddy bear the Republican Party’s symbol for the 1904 election, and the Michtoms would go on to make a fortune as owners of the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company. They gave one of the original teddy bears to the Smithsonian Institution in 1963. It is currently on display in the American Presidency gallery at the National Museum of American History.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_bear

https://www.history.com/news/who-invented-the-teddy-bear

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-history-of-the-teddy-bear-from-wet-and-angry-to-soft-and-cuddly-170275899/

Image Sources:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4118238

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41208714

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_491375