Between 1882 and 1884, Theodore Roosevelt represented the Twenty-first District of New York in the state legislative assembly in Albany. An 1881 campaign broadside noted that the young Republican candidate was "conspicuous for his honesty and integrity," qualities not taken for granted in a city run by self-serving machine politicians. This was the start of Roosevelt's long career as a political reformer. Roosevelt as a New York state assemblyman Notman Photographic Company, Albany, New York (active 1878–1927) albumen silver print, 1883 National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Joanna Sturm

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