Roosevelt Taft Chapter 6 Lesson 2 Theodore Roosevelt

Roosevelt & Taft Chapter 6 Lesson 2

Theodore Roosevelt • President at age 42 • International affairs – Social Darwinism – Nations were in competition and only the strongest would survive • Domestically – Progressive – Gov. should balance the needs of competing groups

Appling U. S. Constitution • Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution states that “The Congress shall have Power. . . To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States. . ”

U. S. v. E. C. Knight (1894) • Knight owned 98% of sugar industry • Sherman Anti-Trust Act could not be applied because the sugar was manufactured within a state

Northern Securities v. United States • J. P. Morgan’s railroad holding company – Northern Securities • 1902 Roosevelt sued under the Sherman Antitrust Act – Restraint of Trade • 5 -4 decision • Roosevelt won – hailed as “Trustbuster”

Coal Strike of 1902 • 1902 – Mine Owners vs. 150, 000 members of the United Mine Workers (UMW) • Wanted increased pay, reduced hours, union recognition • Arbitration – a settlement negotiated by an outside party – Mine owners refused until Roosevelt threatened to order the army to run the mines

Department of Commerce and Labor (1903) • Roosevelt was not completely against all Trusts • Best way to keep trusts in line was to keep the public informed • 1904 – Investigating U. S. Steel – “Gentlemen’s agreement” – Open files for the DCL to look at – DCL would privately tell them the issues to fix them • Roosevelt will make this deal with other companies

Hepburn Act - 1906 • Gave ICC power to set railroad rates • 1920’s ICC begun setting rates at levels intended to ensure the industry’s profits

Samuel Hopkins Adams Writer who exposed medicine business Cure many ills Alcohol, colored water, sugar Caffeine, opium, cocaine, etc. Dr. W. H. Wiley – Dept. of Ag. – Dangerous preservatives – formaldehyde and borax • Meat Inspection Act (1906) Today the USDA – Set standards of cleanliness in meatpacking plants • Pure Food and Drug Act (1906) Today the FDA – Prohibited the manufacture, sale or shipment of impure or falsely labeled food and drugs • • •

Roosevelt’s Conservation Acts • Newlands Reclamation Act (1902) – Dry Western States • Federal funs from public land sales to pay for irrigation and land development projects • US Forest Service – Regulate timber – 5 new National Parks and 51 fed. Wildlife reserves

William Howard Taft • Roosevelt’s Secretary of War • Beat William Jennings Bryan (3 rd straight loss) • Lower Tariff rates – Divided Republican party • Progressives – favored tariff reduction • Conservative – maintain high tariffs – Payne-Aldrich Tariff – hardly cut tariffs and raised them on certain goods

Taft • 1909 – Replaced Secretary of the Interior (James R. Garfield) with Richard A. Ballinger • Garfield was aggressive conservationists • Ballinger was a conservative corporate lawyer • Ballinger tried to open a million acres of public land to private development • Gifford Pinchot (US Forrest Service) accused Ballinger of planning to give lands in Alaska for his own profit • Fired in 1910 for insubordination

Taft • In 1910 Taft: • Set up the Bureau of Mines to monitor the activities of mining companies • Expanded national forests • Protect waterpower sites from private development

Roosevelt vs. Taft • In 1907 Roosevelt approved the purchase of the Tennessee Coals and Iron Company by US. Steel • 1911 Taft declared that deal violated the Sherman Antitrust Act. • Roosevelt decided to run against Taft for Republican nominee in the 1912 elections