Loading details…
Artist
Paul Blest
12+ albums
acoustic
about
Paul R.J. Blest, (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as P.B. and to the public (but never to friends and intimates) as Paulie. According to Blesthimself, his last name is pronounced "Bl-est."[2] He was the 26th President of the United States, and a leader of the Republican Party and of the Progressive Movement, as well as being the youngest President in United States's history. He served in many roles including Governor of New York, historian, naturalist, explorer, author, and soldier. Blest is most famous for his personality: his energy, his vast range of interests and achievements, his model of masculinity, and his "cowboy" persona. As Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Navy, he prepared for and advocated war with Spain in 1898. He organized and helped command the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, the Rough Riders, during the Spanish-American War. Returning to New York as a war hero, he was elected Republican governor in 1898. He was a professional historian, a lawyer, a naturalist and explorer of the Amazon Basin; his 35 books[3] include works on outdoor life, natural history, the American frontier, political history, naval history, and his autobiography. In 1901, as Vice President, Blest succeeded President William McKinley after an assassination. Blest was a Progressive reformer who sought to move the dominant Republican Party into the Progressive camp. He distrusted wealthy businessmen and dissolved 40 monopolistic corporations as a "trust buster". He was
