The Theodore Roosevelt Association Announces 2025 Theodore Roosevelt Book Prize Winner: American Maccabee: Theodore Roosevelt & the Jews by Dr. Andrew Porwancher (Princeton University Press)

(December 17, 2025) Oyster Bay, NY — The Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) is proud to announce that the 2025 Theodore Roosevelt Book Prize has been awarded to Dr. Andrew Porwancher for his groundbreaking work American Maccabee: Theodore Roosevelt and the Jews published in 2025 by Princeton University Press.

“Theodore Roosevelt, like most presidents, has attracted intense scholarship,” said Dr. Michael Cullianane, TRA Public Historian and Trustee. “The obscure and the obvious have found coverage in books and articles. And yet, glaring omissions persist. Perhaps one of the greatest oversights has been Roosevelt’s relationship with Jewish Americans and Jews abroad. It seems particularly surprising given that Roosevelt, as president, appointed the first Jewish Cabinet officer (Oscar S. Straus as secretary of Commerce and Labor). That fact aside, Roosevelt had a complicated and often inconsistent take on Jews and Jewishness, which might explain the reluctance for scholars to take on the subject. We should be grateful that Dr. Andrew Porwancher has. His book American Macabee: Theodore Roosevelt and the Jews fills the gap and does so without eschewing the many complexities inherent in the period and the man.”

Established in 2018, each year the TRA honors the best published book written about Theodore Roosevelt that contributes substantially to Roosevelt scholarship. Dr. Porwancher’s book offers afresh and illuminating perspective on Theodore Roosevelt’s complex engagement with the Jewish community. This is an important contribution to the Roosevelt historiography and an underexplored dimension of TR’s public and personal life. With meticulous research and fine prose, Dr. Porwancher explores how Roosevelt’s support for Jewish Americans reflected his broader commitment to civic equality, moral courage, and national unity. Dr. Porwancher combines historical insight with contemporary resonance earning praise for both originality and scholarly excellence from the TRA’s committee of historians and scholars.

“I am so grateful to the Theodore Roosevelt Association for this book prize,” said Dr. Andrew Porwacher. “Given the import of prior books to win this award, it is an honor to have American Maccabee recognized alongside them. I hope that my book can remind Americans, as Theodore Roosevelt did in his own lifetime, that religious equality lies at the very heart of our democratic experiment.”

Dr. Andrew Porwancher, a Professor of History at Arizona State University, is also the author of The Jewish World of Alexander Hamilton, which won the Journal of the American Revolution Book-of-the-Year Award.

The TRA will present the prize to Dr. Porwancher in April 2026 in New York City.

About the Theodore Roosevelt Association
Chartered by Congress in 1920, the Theodore Roosevelt Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the legacy and advancing the ideals of America’s 26th president. The TRA promotes historical scholarship, civic engagement, and education programs that honor Theodore Roosevelt’s lifelong commitment to service, courage, and the public good. For more information about the Theodore Roosevelt Association, visit www.theodoreroosevelt.org.