The most common explanation for the teddy bear’s rise in popularity begins in November 1902, when President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt visited the southern United States to help resolve a border dispute between Mississippi and Louisiana. During the trip, President Roosevelt went bear hunting. Cornered near a watering hole, a bear fought back and killed one of the group’s hunting dogs. When President Roosevelt saw what had happened, he ordered his men to humanely lift the wounded bear out of its misery. Read more about Roosevelt’s role in the border dispute in American history magazines.
Clifford Berryman, a cartoonist for the Washington Post, witnessed the incident and turned it into a cartoon called “Drawing the Line in Mississippi.” The cartoon depicted President Roosevelt’s accomplishments on the trip, negotiating border disputes and protecting wildlife. To Berryman’s surprise, the cartoon was published in newspapers across the country.
Because the bear that President Roosevelt and his hunting party encountered was not the helpless animal that Berryman portrayed, it was an angry bear that killed a dog, Berryman redrawn the cartoon and the story changed as well. Before long, the altered story became legend: After having bad hunting luck, Roosevelt was given the opportunity to shoot a bear cub that his staff had captured. Of course, Roosevelt refused.
This new version of the hunting trip earned President Roosevelt the respect and admiration of millions of Americans who felt it represented the president’s strong character and sense of fair play. Soon the bear cub, nicknamed “Teddy Bear,” was appearing in every Berryman cartoon featuring the president.
Enter Morris Michtom, a Russian immigrant who owned a small novelty store in Brooklyn. Michtom’s wife sewed several stuffed replicas of the bear, with large heads and eyes, to sell in the family store. When they quickly sold out, Michtom sent President Roosevelt a bear and asked permission to use the president’s name on the bears. Roosevelt agreed. So Michtom, along with a large wholesaler, Butler Brothers, began mass-producing the toy bears. They became an immediate success and Michtom founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co., which still exists today. Another toy bear maker, Margaret Steiff, also helped the teddy bear craze. Read more about the mass production of teddy bears in the retail industry magazines.
Soon, teddy bears were featured in women’s magazines, offering patterns for fans to make their own bear clothing. The bears even inspired music, including a 1907 song called “Teddy Bear March and Two Step.”
Over the years, the international popularity of the teddy bear has remained stable and it has become the best-selling plush of all time. While most mass-produced teddy bears are soft, cuddly, and sold as children’s toys, there is also a market for more carefully constructed bears as collectibles for adults. Teddy Bear magazines include Teddy Bear Review magazine and Teddy Bear and Friends magazine.