Theodore arrived in Cambridge in late September 1876. He resided at a boarding house on 16 Winthrop Street and occupied a room in the northeast corner of the second floor. The boarding house was run by Mrs. Richardardson but Bamie, Teddy's older sister and mother-like figure, had already furnished and decorated the room before he arrived and made it quite homey. Most of the freshman class would find accommodations at Harvard Yard, but with only ground floor lodgings remaining, it was feared that these might aggravate Teddy's asthma. A man with Teddy's zest for exercise certainly didn't mind the five minute walk to class, and this location also put him closer to the Charles River where he could row, swim, and skate. Four large windows on the front provided great light for reading and for his taxidermy work on the birds and other animals he collected.

Almost at once, Roosevelt gravitated to the upper crust of the social scales at Harvard. He preferred the snobbish well-to-do Bostonians over the rest of his classmates. His personality and manners however, would not allow him to totally ignore the others. Within several weeks he ceased to eat at the Commons, but preferred eating with the Bostonians. He gave as a reason the fact that the food was getting steadily worse, but one has to wonder if it wasn't because the Commons was to 'common' for the Bostonians whom he chose for company.

Teddy Roosevelt was somewhat perplexing to those around him who were trying to figure out this quirky small framed bundle of energy. He could analyze boxing techniques while at the same time quote Lincoln speeches, recite fine prose, and describe what it was like to try to remain submerged in the Dead Sea. Despite all of his quirks, one couldn't help but like the talkative guy who was so full of energy and zest for life. Roosevelt squeezed more from life than most people could even dream.

Roosevelt may have had his first political encounter on the evening of October 26, 1876. A freshman rally was being held in support of Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes. The crowd was shouting all sorts of campaign slogans when a senior Democrat yelled from his window "Hush up, you blooming freshman!" Albert Bushnell Hart would later record the events, as he himself was a member of the crowd. "Every student there was profoundly indignant. I noticed one little man, small but firmly knit. He had slammed his torch to the street. His fists quivered like steel springs and swished through the air as if plunging a hole through a mattress. I had never seen a man so angry before. "It's Roosevelt from New York," some one said. I made an effort to know Roosevelt better from that moment."¹

Roosevelt's course of study for his freshman year consisted of German, mathematics, physics, chemistry, Greek composition and translation, Latin composition and translation, and classical literature. He performed best in German most likely from his time of study in Dresden and scored a 92 for the year. He struggled in mathematics, which consisted of analytical geometry and trigonometry. He still found both Greek and Latin to be enormously challenging. But by the end of the year he had managed an average of 75 with honor grades in five out of his seven subjects.

Before leaving Harvard for his first summer break Roosevelt would entertain several guests from New York, one of these being Edith Carow. Sensing her competitors for his affections she was flirtatious with both Teddy and his classmates. Upon her return to New York, T.R. wrote in a letter to his sister Corinne "I don't think I ever saw Edith looking prettier; everyone ... admired her little Ladyship intensely, and she behaved as sweetly as she looked." At the end of the semester however he did not return to New York but instead headed for the Adirondacks to view the birds while they were in their best plumage.

It was during the summer of 1877, before his nineteenth birthday that Theodore Roosevelt published his first printed work. The publication was a scientific catalog called The Summer Birds of the Adirondacks in Franklin County, N.Y. The work recorded ninety-seven species of birds in thumbnail sketches as well as song. Roosevelt explains in an introductory note that this work was the compilation of observations made on three different occasions from August 1874 through July of 1877. Roosevelt by this time had accumulated a collection of birds and skins, which numbered well into the hundreds and was most likely unequaled in quality and variety by any of his peers. He was listed in a national directory of biologists and his knowledge of bird song, coloration, courtship, and flight left him unrivalled as an ornithologist by any one his age.

It was during this time that Theodore, Sr., seeing his son's abilities took him aside and told him that if he wished to pursue a career in science that he would have his blessings. In his autobiography T.R. describes the encounter as "... he told me that if I wished to become a scientific man I could do so. He explained that I must be sure that I really intensely desired to do scientific work, because if I went into it I must make it a serious career; that he had made enough money to enable me to take up such a career and do non-remunerative work of value if I intended to do the very best work there was in me; but that I must not dream of taking it up as a dilettante. He also gave me a piece of advice that I have always remembered, namely, that, if I was not going to earn money, I must even things up by not spending it. As he expressed it, I had to keep the fraction constant, and if I was not able to increase the numerator, then I must reduce the denominator. In other words, if I went into a scientific career, I must definitely abandon all thought of the enjoyment that could accompany a money-making career, and must find my pleasures elsewhere. "² T.R. had made up his mind at that point to pursue a career in science. Shortly after that he discovered that Harvard's view of a scientist was one who used the microscope or did "section-cutting in the study of tissue". Theodore was an outdoor naturalist, a faunal naturalist, and an observer of nature and at that time those fields of study were outside of Harvard's view of the scientist. Roosevelt would not give up on the study of science altogether, but he began to look for other career paths.

His sophomore year went better for Roosevelt in that he was able to take some courses in natural history. Except for French and Composition his marks were all in the honors range. Honors scores were a 70 for elective classes and 75 for required course work. He once again shined in German composition with a 96. With an 89 in elementary botany, an 87 in Anlglo-American constitutional history, a 79 in vertebrate biology, and a 94 in rhetoric. Roosevelt would also begin following in his father's footsteps by teaching a Sunday school class for children at the Episcopal Christ Church in Cambridge. Theodore Sr. had faithfully observed the Sabbath and taught his children to do likewise. Even while traveling in Europe, the family would attend church or be schooled by their father from the Scriptures. Roosevelt kept for himself a high moral standard, which set him apart from many of his classmates. He did not smoke, and though he wasn't a teetotaler he did not believe in immoderate consumption of alcohol. As for promiscuity Roosevelt believed in being pure until marriage. On these creeds he would stand firmly without wavering. Roosevelt was uncompromising when it came to his integrity and he saw things as black and white. He had his father to use as a yardstick and could base decisions on right and wrong as to if his father would be proud of what he had done. This creed, although some found it prudish, served Roosevelt well, and he was perfectly happy. In fact two days before his eighteenth birthday he sent a letter to his mother in which he stated, "It seems perfectly wonderful, in looking back over my eighteen years of existence, to see how I have literally never spent an unhappy day, unless by my own fault!" This, coming from a boy who had suffered so much from childhood illnesses, is quite a statement.

In October of 1877 an event happened which would leave its affect on Roosevelt and his future actions. The political arena of the day had Rutherford B. Hayes in the White House, and many believed that he had won the election fraudulently. Hayes himself after winning a very suspect election then stood up as a reformer. One of his primary targets was Roscoe Conkling, the Republican Senator from New York, and chief of the well organized Republican machine in New York. Future president Chester A. Arthur was currently the collector of customs at the port of New York and a staunch Conkling colleague. Because this position was by executive appointment, it was well within Hayes' umbrella of power. Hayes sought at once to get rid of Arthur, and sent the name of Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. to the Senate for confirmation. Conkling would have none of this and began to stir in the Senate the belief that this was a battle over principal of party rule. Even though Conkling had nothing against the senior Roosevelt, he was fighting for control over the Republican machine. The controversy split the Republican party, and eventually the nomination was rejected by a vote of 31 to 25. This controversy took its toll on Theodore, Sr. and those who knew him said that it visibly aged him. The stresses would culminate in an intestinal blockage. Theodore, Sr. would try to hide the diagnosis from his children. His health declined just before Christmas, but he rebounded somewhat on Christmas day. Feeling that the worst was over, Teddy returned to his studies which were going very well. But Theodore Sr. had a tumor which would prevent him from eating and caused him excruciating pain. The family worked to shield this from Teddy until the last possible minute when he was sent a telegram informing him of his father's grave condition. He arrived home by train only hours after his father had died just before midnight on February 9, 1878.

The death of his father had a profound effect on Theodore Roosevelt, which would be revealed throughout his life. He couldn't help but believe that the political battle over the collectorship had brought about or at least hastened his father's death. He would disdain the lowly politicians. And yet at the funeral he would see such an outpouring of love for the man who had done so much public service. Standing in long lines at the funeral were some of the wealthiest men of New York, along side some of the poorest whom his father had done so much to help. Seeing the good that could be done by public service also strengthened his resolve to be a public figure. The love of this son for his father was a very special one. In his autobiography Theodore Roosevelt said of his father, "My father, Theodore Roosevelt, was the best man I ever knew. He combined strength and courage with gentleness, tenderness, and great unselfishness."³ The devastation caused by the premature loss of his father is evident in these excerpts from his diary. "Looking back on his life, it seems as if mine must be such a weak useless one in comparison." "Have been thinking about Father all the evening; have had a good square break down and feel much the better for it." "It is one day since the blackest day of my life." "Sometimes when I think of my terrible loss it seems as if my heart would break; he shared all my joys, and in sharing doubled them, and soothed all the few sorrows I ever had." "O, Father, Father: how bitterly I miss you, mourn you and long for you." Three days after the funeral T.R. would have these words to say, "He has just been buried. I shall never forget these terrible three days; the hideous suspense of the ride on; the dull, inert sorrow, during which I felt as if I had been stunned, or as if part of my life had been taken away; and the two moments of sharp, bitter agony, when I kissed the dear, dead face and realized that he would never again on this earth speak to me or greet me with his loving smile, and then when I heard the sound of the first clod dropping on the coffin holding the one I loved dearest on earth. He looked so calm and sweet. I feel that if it were not for the certainty that, as he himself has so often said, he is not dead but gone before, I should almost perish. With the help of my God I will try to lead such a life as he would have wished." This last phrase became a beacon for his life, for Roosevelt would forever push himself physically, morally, and intellectually to try to lead "such a life as he would have wished."

The death of his father also caused another change in his life. Shortly after the funeral his Uncle James Roosevelt revealed to Theodore that his share of inheritance would yield him approximately $8,000 dollars annually. In comparison that would be about $100,000 in the 1990's. Roosevelt would take well to the money, and became somewhat of a 'dandy' carrying on in his father's example with a somewhat extravagant wardrobe.

With the summer of 1878 drawing to a close Roosevelt was struggling with a decision as to whether or not to pursue a career in science. Before the death of his father he would have consulted with the senior Roosevelt and felt at ease with the decision, but with his father gone, the young man would turn to his uncle who although sympathetic, was little help in the decision making. It was during this time that a friend suggested that he take a trip to Maine to hunt in the fellowship of a backwoodsman named Bill Sewall. Sewall was a big man, who although a backwoodsman would quote poetry while chopping trees or guiding his canoe downstream. It took Roosevelt two days to get there and when he arrived with two cousins and Doctor Thompson, he was suffering from a case of asthma. The doctor took Sewall aside and told him of Roosevelt's health problem, which included a weak heart due to years of illness as a child. Roosevelt, although wheezing was full of grit, and wouldn't let any illness stand in his way. Sewall was impressed with the thin energetic Roosevelt, who despite his illness managed to keep up with the backwoodsman over a twenty-five mile hike on this first of several visits. Sewall and Roosevelt hit it off at once and started a friendship that would last a lifetime. During their time in the woods, Sewall could be the confidant that Roosevelt so desperately needed. How different it was for the somewhat snobbish Roosevelt to hear epic poetry flowing from the lips a backwoodsman who was the son of a carpenter. Sewall would express his opinions through poetry that the true nobles of this land were not the rich, but the farmers and backwoodsman who cleared the land and worked the soil.

With the arrival of September 1878 Roosevelt was back at Harvard, taking on his most challenging semester to date which would include nine subjects. The workload suited him well, however, as he did his best academically. He finished 13th overall in his class of 166 and first in his class in both natural history and philosophy. It was also during his junior year that he was offered membership in two different clubs. He would ultimately choose to be a member of the Porcellian, which brought with it the highest social honors at Harvard.

In October one of Roosevelt's best friends, Dick Saltonstall, would take him home for a visit to his luxurious home in Chestnut Hill. Roosevelt felt at home here with the Saltonstalls and their neighbors and relatives, the Lees, who were among the wealthiest people of New York. It was on this visit that Theodore was introduced to the radiant seventeen-year-old Alice Lee. By Thanksgiving Roosevelt had become a regular among the circles at Chestnut Hill and had become so enamored with Alice that he would do what he must to win her.

Alice would quickly play a part in making Theodore's decision to leave a career of science behind. She was not fond of the lingering smells of the lab, which would remain with him and he at once began to move toward a career in politics. He would make his first public speech at one of his many club meetings, and it was certainly not a memorable speech. He would struggle with enunciation, and at times have trouble even getting the words out at all.

By February he would again feel the recurring urge to be out in the wilds, and he would again head north to spend time in Maine with Bill Sewall. It was on this trip that he would get to know Sewall's nephew, Wilmot Dow, a man as big as Sewall and one whom Roosevelt would grow to like just as much. During one hunting expedition Roosevelt, trudging for the first time on snowshoes, would track a caribou for nearly 36 hours and found himself with Will Dow miles from camp with no tent or blankets to keep warm. They were forced to stay up all night keeping a hot fire burning against the sub-zero temperatures. The next day when the chase was resumed, the caribou got the best of them and escaped, but they still managed to bag a deer, a lynx, a raccoon, a fox and a porcupine. Roosevelt found the north in deep winter snow intoxicating. He wrote, "I have never seen a grander or more beautiful sight than the northern woods in winter." Roosevelt would comment on the trip, "I have never passed a pleasanter two weeks."

On March 22, 1879 another popular story of Roosevelt's life unfolded at the spring meeting of the Harvard Athletic Association. Theodore Roosevelt, at 135 pounds was entering the final bout of the lightweight boxing championship. He would be facing the defending champion C. S. Hanks weighing in at 133 and a half pounds. During the fight time was called on a round and Roosevelt dropped his guard. Hanks then landed a heavy shot to Roosevelt's nose causing blood to spurt. The crowd responded with hisses at this foul play by Hanks, but Roosevelt instantly flung up his arm to quiet the crowd. "It's alright, he didn't hear him," he said as he pointed to the time-keeper. With blood still oozing from his nose he walked up and shook hands with Hanks. Roosevelt was no match for Hanks, and would go on to lose the fight, but despite the fact that he was getting pummeled, he would not give up. He proved himself as gritty at boxing as he was in the outdoors.

In January of 1880, Roosevelt would propose to Alice for the second time, having been turned down the previous year, and this time she would consent. The official announcement would be made on February 14, 1880. With his excitement over the engagement and all of the social events that were associated with it, Theodore's grades uncharacteristicly slipped slightly his senior year. He would still graduate as a B.A. magna cum laude, twenty-first in a class of 177. He would marry Alice on his 22nd birthday October 27, 1880.