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Learn how the Teddy Bear was invented in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt in 1902, after he refused to shoot a bear on a hunting trip. Find out how a political cartoon and a candy shop owner played a role in creating the popular toy.
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Learn how a moment of empathy from President Theodore Roosevelt inspired the creation of the teddy bear, a huggable toy that became a symbol of childhood and American culture. Discover the controversies, milestones and legends of the teddy bear, from its debut in 1902 to its record-breaking sales today.
- Alice George
- Overview
- HISTORY Vault: The Toys That Built America
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Not Theodore Roosevelt.
One of the world’s most beloved toys was named in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt, after he refused to shoot a bear during a Mississippi hunting trip in November 1902. During the trip, guides clubbed a bear and tied it to a tree then invited the president to shoot it. Instead, Roosevelt, an avid outdoorsman and hunter, declined, saying it would be unsportsmanlike to kill a defenseless animal that way.
The incident generated national attention and was depicted in a popular political cartoon by Clifford Berryman. (According to some sources, the newspaper cartoon, titled “Drawing the Line in Mississippi,” was a reference not just to Roosevelt’s refusal to shoot the bruin but also to his handling of a boundary dispute between Mississippi and Louisiana.
Other sources have suggested the cartoon was a comment on the president’s progressive stance on race relations.) Inspired by the cartoon, Brooklyn, New York, shopkeeper Morris Michtom and his wife Rose made a stuffed fabric bear in honor of America’s 26th commander-in-chief and displayed it with a sign, “Teddy’s bear,” in their store window, where it attracted interest from customers. After reportedly writing to the president and getting permission to use his name for their creation, the Michtoms went on to start a successful company that manufactured teddy bears and other toys.
Meanwhile, around the same time the Michtoms developed their bear, a German company founded in 1880 by seamstress Margarete Steiff began making a plush bruin of its own. Designed in 1902 by Steiff’s nephew Richard, who modeled it after real-life bears he’d sketched at the zoo, the mohair bear with jointed limbs debuted at a German toy fair in 1903.
A buyer for a U.S. toy company placed a large order for the stuffed creatures, and Steiff bears (which in 1906 officially became known as teddy bears) quickly became popular and helped drive an international teddy bear craze. Other companies soon began turning out teddy bears of their own. More than a century later, Steiff continues to make stuffed toy bears, and its vintage teddy bears are prized by collectors, commanding steep prices at auctions.
Explore the little-known stories behind America's most iconic toys and games.
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Learn how a political cartoon inspired by President Theodore Roosevelt's refusal to shoot a bear led to the creation of the teddy bear toy. Discover the origins of the Michtom and Steiff companies and the international craze for teddy bears.
- Elizabeth Nix
Learn how President Theodore Roosevelt's act of compassion for a trapped bear in 1902 inspired a political cartoonist and a toy maker to create the teddy bear. Discover how the teddy bear became a symbol of the Republican Party and a cultural icon.
The story that led to the creation of the teddy bear toy unfolded more than a century ago when President Theodore Roosevelt visited west-central Mississippi and northeastern Louisiana. This article tells that story and celebrates the conservation impact Roosevelt had on that part of the nation.
Learn how the famous teddy bear got its name from a hunt that President Theodore Roosevelt refused to shoot a black bear in the Mississippi Delta in 1902. The web page also tells the story of the first teddy bear and its creator Morris Mitchom.
The Teddy Bear (1902) so beloved of children everywhere was named for Theodore Roosevelt after he refused to shoot a defenseless bear on a hunting trip.
