The Progressive Era Roosevelts Square Deal Roosevelt Shapes

The Progressive Era Roosevelt’s Square Deal

Roosevelt Shapes the Modern Presidency • The presidents of the late 1800 s seen as weak and ineffective • The arrival of Theodore Roosevelt ushered in a new era • Roosevelt a charismatic individual who embraced Progressive ideals • Changed the way Americans viewed the President and the government

Roosevelt Shapes the Modern Presidency • Roosevelt became the youngest president at 43 when William Mc. Kinley was assassinated • The child of wealthy parents, Roosevelt used his parents’ money to develop his strength and mind • Roosevelt graduated from Harvard in 1880 and was elected to the New York Assembly

Roosevelt Shapes the Modern Presidency • After 3 years and the deaths of his mother and wife, Roosevelt retired to a ranch in the west where he developed a deep love of the wilderness • Returned to politics in 1889 as the president of New York City’s Board of Police where he became famous fighting corruption

Roosevelt Shapes the Modern Presidency • President Mc. Kinley noticed him and named him Assistant Secretary of the Navy • When the Spanish-American war broke out in 1898, Roosevelt resigned the post and formed the Rough Riders • After the war, he was elected governor of New York where he pushed for Progressive reforms

Roosevelt Shapes the Modern Presidency • To leave New York, and them, alone Republican leaders convinced Mc. Kinley to choose Roosevelt as his Vice President • After Mc. Kinley's assassination, Roosevelt dominated public attention • Roosevelt greatly expanded the power of the President

Roosevelt’s Square Deal • Roosevelt’s reform program was called the Square Deal (goals were to keep the wealthy and powerful from taking advantage of small business owners and the poor) • Believed that government should be fair, but did not believe everyone would get rich or that the government should take care of the lazy

Trustbusting and Regulating Industry • Roosevelt often stepped in to industrial disputes • In 1902 he threatened to use federal workers to mine coal if mine owners and workers couldn’t come to an agreement • Mine owners eventually gave miners a small pay raise and a 9 -hour workday

Trustbusting and Regulating Industry • Coal strike was one of many steps Roosevelt took to control power of corporations • By 1903, he asked Congress to establish the Department of Commerce and Labor to monitor businesses engaged in interstate commerce

Roosevelt and the Railroads • Cost of shipping on the railroad a concern since the 1870 s • Railroads able to charge whatever they wanted • In 1887 Congress created the ICC to oversee rail charges for shipments that passed through more than one state • In 1903 Roosevelt pushed Congress to pass the Elkins Act which imposed fines on railroads that gave special rates to favored shippers

Roosevelt and the Railroads • In 1906 Congress passed the Hepburn Act (gave the ICC stronger enforcement powers) • Gave the government the authority to set and limit shipping costs • Set maximum prices for ferries, bridge tolls, and oil pipelines

Roosevelt and the Sherman Antitrust Act • Roosevelt and his administration earned a reputation as “trustbusters” • In 1904 the Supreme Court ruled the Northern Securities Company was an illegal trust and forced the company to split into smaller companies

Roosevelt and the Sherman Antitrust Act • Roosevelt saw a difference between “good trusts” and “bad trusts” • He believed big business was bad only if it bullied smaller outfits or cheated consumers • Roosevelt supported powerful corporations who did business fairly

Regulating Food and Drugs • Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle revolted the public and infuriated Roosevelt • Roosevelt urged Congress to pass the Meat Inspection Act in 1906 • Provided federal agents to inspect any meat sold across state lines and required federal inspection of meat processing plants

Regulating Food and Drugs • The Pure Food and Drug Act • Placed the same controls on other foods and medicines • Banned interstate shipment of impure food and mislabeling of food and drugs

Roosevelt and the Environment • Roosevelt’s deep love of nature helped shape his politics • Roosevelt believed that the land should be preserved, but not all lands (some held natural resources that were needed) • He called up experts to study both preserving and using nature

Roosevelt and the Environment • Roosevelt believed forests should be protected to give the trees time to grow, and then used to build houses • Roosevelt pushed Congress to pass the National Reclamation Act • Gave federal government power to build and manage dams to create reservoirs and decide where and how water would be distributed • Gave government ability to generate power with water