Ch 13, Sec 2: Roosevelt in Office

Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt• believed in competition with other countries• Progressive Ideas-believed gov’t should help

balance competition within the U.S.• Created the Square Deal Program– Make America efficient to compete

• Wanted to destroy the trusts that hurt American society

Northern Securities Company

• 3 railroad tycoons merged companies– E.H. Harriman, James J. Jill, and J.P. Morgan

• Pres. Roosevelt thought this trust was unconstitutional and took them to court

• 1904: Northern Securities v. the U.S. said Roosevelt was correct and the trust violated the Sherman Antitrust Act

• Roosevelt became known as a “trustbuster”

Coal Strike of 1902• United Mine Workers of coal went on strike in Pennsylvania• Roosevelt feared factories closing, no jobs, and a

rise in the homeless population if no coal was mined

• President suggested arbitration talks b/t the groups– Workers agreed, but the owners did not– President threatened the use of the army to run the

mines forcing the owners into arbitration• Federal gov’t became a tool for resolving conflicts

Dept. of Commerce and Labor

• Created by Congress in 1903• Had a division, Bureau of Corporations, who

investigated businesses and their activities– Worried Big Business men like Carnegie and

Rockefeller• Trusts made deals with Roosevelt that if they

were breaking the law, they would fix the problem if it was not make public

Hepburn Act

• Gave the ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission) the authority to regulate RR prices

• Promoted fair competition• Old RR companies used it

to limit new competition• Raised profits for RR over

time

Problem with medicine• Were not regulated by anyone• Medicines could be fake– Nothing but alcohol and sugar water

• Many were full of caffeine, cocaine, opium, and other drugs

• Very addictive and dangerous

Problems with food were exposed!

• Meat was not safe to eat-full of preservatives• Dr. Wiley (Dept. of Ag) called it “embalmed

meat”• Upton Sinclair wrote “The Jungle” exposing

the slaughter houses of Chicago

Results of “The Jungle”• Meat Inspection Act required meat to be

inspected before being sold• Factories had cleaning standards• Pure Food and Drug Act said only food with

correct labels could be sold

Land Conservation• Roosevelt started making national parks• Limited lumber companies to how many trees

could be cut down for a profit• Newlands Reclamation Act-gave money to

Western farmers to build irrigation ditches