Teddy Roosevelt
Transcript of Teddy Roosevelt
TEDDY ROOSEVELT
United States Studies
"...the man who really counts in the world is the doer, not the mere critic-the man who actually does the work…not the man who only talks or writes about how it ought to be done." (1891)
Invented Modern Presidency
First to hold regular press conferences
Used a theme (Square Deal)
Strong personality & influence (teddy bear)
Strong federal power when necessary (Coal Strike
1902 Strike Pennsylvania—140,000
striking workers Wanted 20% raise, 9-
hr. day, & form a union Management refused
to meet Roosevelt: Settlement
at the White House 10% raise, 9-hr. day,
no closed shop
TR and Business
Trust buster (used Sherman Act)
44 suits filed Ended railroad
rebates & unannounced rates
ICC finally regulated railroad rates
1906—after reading The Jungle (next slide)
Meat Inspection Act
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1906
Pure Food and Drug Act
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Set aside public lands for conservation
Conservationist
TR did not believe in equality (most Progressives)Invited Booker T. Washington to White House
Civil Rights
ONE OF THE GREATEST
WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT
Taft Becomes President
TR’s Secretary of War
Hand-picked Far less popular More cautious Wanted to
continue TR’s Progressivism
Difficulty with Conservatives
Taft’s Record 90 Anti-Trust cases (more
than TR!) Standard Oil busted Set aside more public lands
than TR Income Tax But…supported higher
tariffs (Payne-Aldrich tariff)—alienated progressives
And…fired US Forest service head after he criticized Sec. of Interior