Invited to one large demonstration, not only did he surprisingly accept, he delighted in the insults, caricatures, and lampoons directed at him, and earned some surprising good will.[88] Roosevelt chose to defer rather than split with his party.[89] As Governor of New York State, he would later sign an act replacing the Police Commission with a single Police Commissioner.[90]

Emergence as a national figure
Assistant Secretary of the Navy
The Asiatic Squadron destroying the Spanish fleet in the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898
In the 1896 presidential election, Roosevelt backed Speaker of the House Thomas Brackett Reed for the Republican nomination, but William McKinley won the nomination and defeated William Jennings Bryan in the general election.[91] Roosevelt strongly opposed Bryan's free silver platform, viewing many of Bryan's followers as dangerous fanatics. He gave scores of campaign speeches for McKinley.[92] Urged by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, President McKinley appointed Roosevelt as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 1897.[93] Secretary of the Navy John D. Long was more concerned about formalities than functions, was in poor health, and left many major decisions to Roosevelt. 