The teddy bear is a child’s toy, a nice soft stuffed animal suitable for cuddling. It is, however, a toy with an interesting history behind it.
Theodore Roosevelt, or Teddy as he was commonly called, was president of the United States 1901-1909. He was an unusually active man with varied pastimes, one of which was hunting. One day president was invited to take part in a bear hunt; and inasmuch as Teddy was president, his host wanted to ensure that he caught a bear. A bear was captured, clanked over the head to knock it out, and tied to a tree; however, Teddy, who really wanted to hunt a bear, refused to shoot the bear and, in fact, demanded that the bear be extricated from the ropes; that is, he demanded that the bear be set free.
The incident attracted a lot of attention among journalists. First a cartoon – drawn by Clifford K Berryman to make fun of this situation – appeared in Washington Post, and the cartoon was widely distributed and reprinted throughout the country. The toy manufacturers began producing a toy bear which they called a “teddy bear.” The teddy bear became the most widely recognized symbol of Roosevelt’s Presidency.