Will Rogers Research Paper

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Pages: 3

“Will Rogers liked to brag that he was born on Tuesday, November 4, 1879, Election Day. And for the rest of his life, politics was a big part of his life.”(White 3). He was born November 4, 1879, on a ranch between Claremore and Oologah, Oklahoma. Will's parents were Clem Rogers (father) and Mary America Rogers (mother). His parents were both of mixed-race Cherokee ancestry. Will attended many different schools during his childhood. When he was 16 he attended school in Indian Territory at the Willie Halsell College in Vinita in 1895- 1897. When he was 18 he attended Kemper Military School in Boonville from 1897-1898. When young Will Rogers finished high school, he had an itch to travel and experience the Old West. In 1898, at age 19, Will left …show more content…
From South America, he took care of the animals on a ship journey to South Africa. He worked on a horse ranch in South Africa for about a year. In 1903 Texas Jack's Great Wild West Show and Circus came through the town he worked in. “Will joined Texas Jack's Great Wild West Show for twenty dollars a week to do rope tricks and ride bucking horses and later became known as the “Cherokee Kid”.”(Will Rogers Biography). After he traveled the world with the circus, he returned home and met Betty Blake in Oologah. In 1908 Will Rogers and Betty Blake married in Rogers County. Will and Betty had four children, Will Jr., Mary, Jim, and Fred Rogers, who died as an infant. It was hard for his children growing up without having their father there most of the time because he was performing on Broadway. “In his later life, when Jim Rogers was asked to reflect upon his father, Will Rogers, he said, “We grew up with two men: WR and Dad.” (Will Rogers American Humorist). The word about Will Rogers's fame got out by 1930 and he was no longer treated as an uneducated outsider. His country loved him and he was able to voice his wisdom and opinions while playing