In November 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt traveled to Onward, Mississippi, for a bear hunt. When hunting guides captured an exhausted black bear and tied it to a willow tree for the president to shoot, Roosevelt refused, deeming it unsportsmanlike. Political cartoonist Clifford Berryman published a famous sketch titled "Drawing the Line in Mississippi" in The Washington Post on November 16, 1902. Inspired by the cartoon, Brooklyn candy shop owners Morris and Rose Michtom crafted two plush stuffed bears and displayed them as "Teddy's Bear," creating the world's most iconic comforting toy.
In November 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt traveled to Onward, Mississippi, for a bear hunt. When hunting guides captured an exhausted black bear and tied it to a willow tree for the president to shoot, Roosevelt refused, deeming it unsportsmanlike. Political cartoonist Clifford Berryman published a famous sketch titled "Drawing the Line in Mississippi" in The Washington Post on November 16, 1902. Inspired by the cartoon, Brooklyn candy shop owners Morris and Rose Michtom crafted two plush stuffed bears and displayed them as "Teddy's Bear," creating the world's most iconic comforting toy.
