Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt • -rose steadily through gov’t ranks • -Spanish American War • Rough Riders at San Juan Hill • -Gov. of NY • reform governor • Political machines want him out of power in NY because he is cleaning up the government • -Vice President of William McKinley • -Became President with McKinley’s assassination • Federal responsibility to help the citizens when the states cannot Teddy Roosevelt: The First Progressive President Teddy Roosevelt was born into a wealthy New York family in 1858. An asthma sufferer, Teddy drove himself to accomplish demanding physical feats. As a teenager, he mastered marksmanship and horseback riding. At Harvard, he boxed and wrestled. After he battled in San Juan Hill, he was elected governor of NY. Eventually the political machines in NY want him out of power, and get him the nomination for VP of the United States.

Square Deal • -”hit the line hard” • -Presidency as the “bully pulpit” • Influence the news and media to shape legislation • he serves as the protector of the people • -Square Deal was his program to fix the evils of society • Modern America requires a strong federal government • -”politics is the art of the possible” • -”speak softly and carry a big stick” • Foreign and domestic policy “It is the duty of the President to act upon the theory that he is the steward of the people, and…to assume that he has the legal right to do whatever the needs of the people demand, unless the Constitution or the laws explicitly forbid him to do it.” ~Teddy Roosevelt

Roosevelt’s Square Deal: The Four C’s Controlling Corporations Conser v i ng Resources Creating Regulations Consumer Protection

Gov’t Involvement • -1902 coal strike • mine owners refused to bargain • -strike threaten fuel needs of the nation • Roosevelt threatens to take over the mines to meet needs • -Roosevelt had both groups to meet and go to arbitration • Showed the disputes could be settled orderly with experts • -set an example of Presidents mediating conflicts The Coal Strike of 1902 was a strike by the United Mine Workers of America in Pennsylvania. The strike threatened to shut down the winter fuel supply to all major cities President Roosevelt became involved and set up a commission that suspended the strike. The strike never resumed, as the miners received more pay for fewer hours; the owners got a higher price for coal. It was the first labor episode in which the federal government intervened as a neutral arbitrator.

Trustbusting • -trusts controlled 4/5 of industry • Legal groups created to control the industry, limit competition • -Roosevelt believed in good and bad trusts • Wanted to stop those that harmed public interest • -several trusts were broken and real gov’t regulation began • 44 suits filed, most won • -RR regulation • Northern Securities v. US • Had a monopoly over northwestern railroads; Supreme Court dissolved company

As part of his Square Deal, President Roosevelt aggressively used the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 to attack big businesses engaging in unfair practices. His victory over his first target, the Northern Securities Company, earned him a reputation as a hard-hitting trustbuster committed to protecting the public interest.

President Roosevelt took a stand against the large trusts of the nation, filing 44 suits against large trusts, and winning most of his claims.

The Jungle • -written by Upton Sinclair • -muckraking novel • expose the bad in society • -meant to expose the conditions of immigrants • Working in the stockyards, change for immigrants • -impact of novel was the description of meatpacking industry • Disgusted President Roosevelt "All day long the blazing midsummer sun beat down upon that square mile of abominations: upon tens of thousands of cattle crowded into pens whose wooden floors stank and steamed contagion; upon bare, blistering, cinder-strewn railroad tracks and huge blocks of dingy meat factories, whose labyrinthine passages defied a breath of fresh air to penetrate them; and there are not merely rivers of hot blood and carloads of moist flesh, and rendering-vats and soup cauldrons, glue-factories and fertilizer tanks, that smelt like the craters of hell-there are also tons of garbage festering in the sun, and the greasy laundry of the workers hung out to dry and dining rooms littered with food black with flies, and toilet rooms that are open sewers.“ --The Jungle "This is no fairy story and no joke; the meat will be shoveled into carts and the man who did the shoveling will not trouble to lift out a rat even when he saw one."-The Jungle

Gov’t Action • -investigated Sinclair’s claims • -passed Meat Inspection Act, 1906 • Dictated strict cleanliness requirements for meat packers and meat inspection • Used until the 1990s • -later passage of Pure Food and Drug Act • Halted the sale of contaminated foods and medicines • Must be truthful in package labeling of foods/medicines • -FDA • Food and Drug Administration Before any federal regulations were established for advertising food and drugs, manufacturers had claimed that their products accomplished everything from curing cancer to growing hair. In addition, popular children’s medicines often contained opium, cocaine, or alcohol.

Conservation • -industry was consuming large portions of natural resources • -pollution was destroying waterways • Coal mining and lumbering • Roosevelt wants to protect the land and resources • -established several national parks • -set aside large portions of forestlands– kept land from private sale • -Gifford Pinchot • -development of land for the common good

Civil Rights • -Progressive era as a whole ignored the needs of minorities • Roosevelt did not advocate for large-scale civil rights, only gave power to some • -Booker T. Washington • Respected by rich, powerful whites • Gradual integration • -W.E.B. DuBois • Pushed for full equality now • NAACP • Nothing less than fully equality • Used the court system Teddy Roosevelt and Booker T. Washington at a parade together in Washington, D.C.

Theodore Roosevelt

The Square Deal By Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt