Teddy Roosevelt’s Square Deal

1. Teddy Roosevelt’s Square Deal Chapter 17 Section 3

2. Terms & Names Theodore Roosevelt Square Deal The Jungle Upton Sinclair Meat Inspection Act Pure Food and Drug Act conservation NAACP

3. A Rough Riding President • Suffered from asthma as a child • Drove himself to accomplish many physical feats • Marksmanship • Horseback riding • Boxing • Wrestling

4. Roosevelt’s Rise • Served three terms in the New York state assembly • New York City police commissioner • Assistant Secretary of the US Navy • Started a volunteer calvary and fought in the battle at San Juan Hill in Cuba • Governor of New York • Vice President of the United States

5. The Modern Presidency • Became president in 1902 • Youngest president – 42 years old • Bully Pulpit • Influence news media • Shape legislation • Square Deal • Described the progressive reforms

6. 1902 Coal Strike • 140,000 coal miners in PA went on strike • 20% raise • 9 hour work day • Right to organize a union • Mine operators refused to negotiate • Coal supplies ran low

7. Roosevelt’s Options • Settle the strike • US Military will take over the mines • Results • 10% pay hike • 9 hour day • Cannot strike for 3 years • Whenever a strike threatens public safety, the federal government can step in

8. Trustbusting • Trusts • Companies that control all of a particular good or service • Many trusts used unfair business practices • “good” trusts had a conscience • “bad” trusts abused the public • Roosevelt filed 44 lawsuits under the Sherman Antitrust Act • Was able to break up some of the trusts

9. Railroad Regulation • 1887 – Interstate Commerce Act • Prohibited railroad owners from dividing business in certain areas then sharing the profits • 1903 – Elkins Act • Illegal for railroad officials / shippers to give or receive rebates for using their railroad • Rates could not be changed WITHOUT letting the public know

10. 1906 – The Hepburn Act • Limited the distribution of free railroad passes (bribery) • Gave the ICC power to set maximum railroad rates

11. Protecting Health • The Jungle by Upton Sinclair • Identified unsanitary conditions in meat packing plants • 1906 – Meat Inspection Act • Strict cleanliness for meatpackers • Created the program of federal meat inspection

12. Pure Food and Drug Act • 1906 • Stopped the sale of contaminated foods or medicines • Called for truth in labeling • Popular children’s medicine often contained opium, cocaine, or alcohol • This act did not ban harmful products outright, but allowed consumers to be educated

13. Conservation & Natural Resources • Federal government paid little attention to the nation’s natural resources • Farmers • Cut down forests and plowed up prairies • Ranchers • Allowed cattle to overgraze • Coal companies • Cluttered the land with spoil dumps • Lumber companies • Didn’t replace the trees they cut down

14. John Muir • Naturalist / Writer • Persuaded the president to set aside 148 million acres of forest reserves • Roosevelt also set aside 1.5 million acres of water – power sites and 80 million acres of land to be explored for mineral and water resources

15. Gifford Pinchot • A professional conservationist • Head of the US Forest Service • Conserve forest and grazing lands • Keep large tracts of federal land exempt from private sale

16. Conservation Some wilderness areas would be preserved while others would be developed for the common good National Reclamation Act of 1902 (Newlands Act) funded irrigation to states in the Midwest

17. Roosevelt and Civil Rights • Wasn’t a supporter of civil rights • Did support individual African Americans • Appointed an African American as head of a South Carolina custom house • Did not bow to the demands to dismiss a black postmistress in Mississippi • Invited Booker T. Washington to the White House

18. NAACP • National Association for the Advancement of Colored People • Formed in 1909 • Aimed for equality among the races