Thrice over to the good fortune of our countrymen, it was given to you to strike this highest note.” To take grim, homely, old Sherman, the type and ideal of a democratic general, and put with him an allegorical figure, such as you did, could result in one of two ways - a ludicrous failure, or striking the very highest note of the sculptor's art. In a letter to Saint-Gaudens, Roosevelt wrote, “But I can say with all sincerity that I know of no man, of no one living, who could have done it. Roosevelt had been impressed by many of Saint-Gaudens’ monuments, especially his 1902 monument of General William Tecumseh Sherman. Roosevelt chose Saint-Gaudens because he ushered in the nascent American art scene and because he often used American symbols and allegorical figures in his art such as angels, bald eagles, and stars and stripes.

One way did this was by commissioning an American artist, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, to design currency that represented American progress and ideals. With these social and economic changes, Theodore Roosevelt found it more important than ever to create a distinct American culture.ĭuring his presidency from 1901 to 1909, Roosevelt helped to create and promote American culture in the country and the world. Large influxes of immigrants arrived as new manufacturing technology drove the economy. In the years following the Civil War, the United States was going through a cultural shift.

Along with the coins, Saint-Gaudens also designed Roosevelt’s 1905 Inaugural Medal. Their most famous project together was the beautifully designed ten- and twenty-dollar gold coins. A Living Thing and Typical of Progress: Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Theodore Roosevelt, and the CoinsĪugustus Saint-Gaudens and Theodore Roosevelt’s relationship was not only a working one, but also a friendly one.

Us 1 dollar gold coin