For most people, the teddy bear is just a soft toy with a comforting name. Behind that name is a strange mix of politics, hunting, a newspaper cartoon, and a Brooklyn shop window. The story of how the teddy bear got its name is one of those rare moments when a public relations opportunity accidentally created a new industry.

In Short

• In November 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt went on a bear hunt in Mississippi and famously refused to shoot a captured bear.
• A political cartoonist turned that moment into a widely shared illustration that showed Roosevelt sparing a small bear.
• Inspired by the cartoon, a Brooklyn shop owner, Morris Michtom, created a stuffed toy bear and asked to name it “Teddy’s bear.”
• The bear became so popular that Michtom and his wife began mass producing them, helping launch the teddy bear craze.
• At the same time, German toy maker Steiff was developing its own jointed toy bears, which also became wildly successful.

The Mississippi Bear Hunt

In 1902, Roosevelt accepted an invitation from Mississippi governor Andrew Longino to join a bear hunt near Onward, Mississippi. Other members of the hunting party managed to find and kill bears, but Roosevelt did not have any luck at first.

Guides eventually tracked down a black bear, cornered it, and tied it to a tree so the president could have an easy shot. When Roosevelt arrived and saw the injured and restrained animal, he refused to shoot it. He reportedly felt that killing a helpless, tied up bear would be unsportsmanlike.

From Political Cartoon to Toy Idea

Political cartoonist Clifford Berryman heard about the incident and turned it into a cartoon titled “Drawing the Line in Mississippi,” which ran in the Washington Post. In that drawing, Roosevelt stands next to a small, frightened bear, symbolizing both the actual hunt and broader political issues of the time.

The cartoon was widely reprinted and helped cement the connection between Roosevelt and the image of a little bear. Over time, Berryman continued to draw Roosevelt with a bear companion, gradually making the animal look more cute and childlike than threatening.

Morris Michtom and “Teddy’s Bear”

In Brooklyn, New York, candy shop owner Morris Michtom saw Berryman’s cartoon and had an idea. He and his wife Rose made a stuffed toy bear and put it in their shop window with a sign referring to “Teddy” Roosevelt. Before fully adopting the name, Michtom wrote to the White House to ask permission to use the president’s nickname on the toy.

According to later accounts, Roosevelt gave his approval, and the bears were officially sold as “Teddy’s bears.” Demand grew quickly. Michtom soon shifted from candy to toy making and eventually formed the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company, one of the major American toy makers of the early twentieth century.

What About Steiff?

At roughly the same time, in Germany, the Steiff company was also developing jointed plush bears. Richard Steiff designed a realistic, poseable bear that debuted in the early 1900s and caught the attention of buyers in the United States. Steiff bears became popular in their own right, independent of the Roosevelt story.

Because these timelines overlap, there is an ongoing debate among toy historians about which company made the “first” teddy bear. The Roosevelt-related Michtom bears clearly explain the origin of the name “teddy bear” in the United States, while Steiff’s creations played a major role in shaping how the classic bear looked and felt.

Why This Story Keeps Coming Back

The origin of the teddy bear sticks around because it neatly combines a powerful image, a memorable nickname, and a simple moral: a famous hunter refusing to take an easy, unfair shot. The real hunt was more complicated than the cartoon version, but the idea of sparing a defenseless animal proved irresistible for cartoonists, toy makers, and the public.

A little over a century later, it is easy to forget that this common children’s toy started as a political cartoon about a president in the woods. The next time you see the word “teddy” on a toy tag, you are looking at a tiny echo of a hunting trip in Mississippi in 1902.

In Short

• Roosevelt’s refusal to shoot a tied up bear during a 1902 hunt inspired a widely shared political cartoon.
• A Brooklyn shop owner turned that cartoon into a marketing idea, creating “Teddy’s bears” with the president’s blessing.
• German maker Steiff was also developing early plush bears at the same time, which helped define the look of the toy.
• Between those two threads, the teddy bear went from newspaper cartoon to worldwide children’s staple in just a few years.

Sources

• U.S. National Park Service – “The Story of the Teddy Bear”
• Theodore Roosevelt Association – “The Real Teddy Bear Story”
• Theodore Roosevelt Center – “Teddy Bear”