The Square Deal

1. The Square Deal • Roosevelt’s agenda for the country – “a Square Deal for all” involved progressive legislation:control corporationsconsumer protectionconservation of natural resources • In 1902 Roosevelt ordered the break up of the massive Northern Securities Company and in 1904 he was supported by the Supreme Court which ordered the company dissolved • When coal miners in Pennsylvania went on strike in 1902 Roosevelt called both sides to a conference at the White House

2. Roosevelt was not going to let the coal shortage affect the country • The mine owners refused to talk to the unions – a move which only angered the president • Nothing was decided at the meeting so Roosevelt threatened to take over the mines and run them with the army • It is questionable if Roosevelt had the authority to use the army, but the threat was more than enough to break the impasse • The strike ended later that year

3. Muckrakers • Exposing social problems became a common practice after the turn of the century especially in magazines like Collier’s and Cosmopolitan • These writers were dubbed muckrakers • Despite criticism from the White House the sale of books and magazines that exposed filth, crime, and corruption boomed • In 1902 a reporter, Lincoln Steffens wrote in McClure’s about the seedy connections between big business and local government in “The Shame of the Cities”

4. The majority of Progressive were middle-class people who felt stuck between the rich and the poor • They represented all political affiliations and all regions of the country • One of their first moves was to take the political power away from the party bosses • They demanded voter referendums so legislation could be passed without input from the often-corrupt legislatures • The Seventeenth Amendment (1913) established direct elections for the Senate to eliminate the influence of big business

5. Robert La Follette • A leading figure in the Progressive movement was Robert La Follette of Wisconsin • As governor La Follette had made the state a ‘laboratory of reform” • He took on the lumber and railroad companies and created the “Wisconsin Idea” • His main aim was to create a government of experts who would then run the state based on progressive principles

6. Regulating Industry • The Interstate Commerce Commission (1887) had proved inadequate to regulate the railroads • Equally the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890) did little to stop the power of the major industries • Roosevelt created the Department of Commerce in 1903, which was authorized to investigate businesses which involved interstate commerce • In 1903 the Elkins Act imposed fines on railroads that gave and offered rebates and special deals • The Hepburn Act of 1906 removed the free passes

7. Conservation • In 1881 Congress created the Division of Forestry as part of the Department of agriculture • Roosevelt appointed Gifford Pinchot as forestry chief • To help protect the environment and maintain the forests Roosevelt added fifty wildlife refuges and five national parks • Roosevelt vehemently opposed industrialists who wanted to strip the country of natural resources

8. Upton Sinclair • In 1906 Upton Sinclair published The Jungle which exposed the atrocious problems faced by the workers and the unsanitary conditions in the plants • When Roosevelt read the book he was sickened and appointed a special commission to investigate the meatpacking plants • In 1906 he passed the Meat Inspection Act, which required meat that was shipped over state line to be inspected before shipping • The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 was to prevent mislabeling of foods and drugs

9. Panic of 1907 • As Roosevelt called for more legislation against big business so he became less desirable as a presidential candidate for the Republicans • In 1907 an economic crisis hit Wall Street as banks closed and people defaulted on their loans • The crisis was blamed on Roosevelt who had interfered with the workings of Wall Street • In return Roosevelt blamed wealthy individuals who, he said, had manipulated the situation • Thankfully the crisis was short but it did allow some fiscal reform

10. The crisis made everyone aware that money needed to be available to prevent future panics • In 1908 Congress passed the Aldrich-Vreeland Act, which gave the national banks the power to issue emergency currency

11. The Election of 1908 • Roosevelt probably would have won in 1908 if he had chosen to run, but he had promised in 1904 to step aside • Roosevelt selected William Howard Taft as his successor, confident in the fact that Taft would simply continue his agenda • The Democrats nominated the twice-beaten William Jennings Bryan • Both men tried to persuade the public that they were progressives • The Socialist picked Eugene V. Debs who came third but gained nearly half a million votes

12. Young Teddy • Childhood struggles • Teddy’s illnesses

13. Works hard in his father’s home gym Overcomes illnesses through the strength of his will Teenager Teddy

14. Harvard years Sculling and boxing TR: The Athlete

15. Roosevelt’s “classroom” education Roosevelt at Harvard

16. Early Adult Years • 1881 – Climbing the Matterhorn • Death of mother and wife • Retreat to the Badlands

17. Life in the Badlands • Learned lessons in the Badlands • “Took the snob out of me” • Love of the open land • Shaped future policies

18. TR’s Life with Edith • Marriage to Edith • Tales of Teddy Roosevelt and his six children (only five in this picture because Quentin is not yet born)

19. Early Career • President of the NYC Board of Police Commissioners • Already a “mover and a shaker” and a friend of the common man

20. Roosevelt as part of this volunteer regiment Victory at San Juan Hill Medal of Honor Rough Riders

21. Roosevelt’s progressive campaign style Powerful speeches McKinley/Roosevelt Ticket

22. Assassination of McKinley A “visible president” Roosevelt Becomes President

23. Origin of “Teddy Bear” • The famous bear hunt in 1902 • Berryman’s political cartoon

24. Family picture at Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay on Long Island, New York Stories of Roosevelt’s enjoyment of his children Early Presidential Years

25. 1903 President Roosevelt in the White House

26. How things “ought to be” A bully pulpit speech in Evanston, Illinois The Bully Pulpit

27. National Parks, National Forests, game and bird preserves, and other federal reservations 230,000,000 acres President Theodore Roosevelt at Yosemite in 1903. Roosevelt as Conservationist

28. "Leave it as it is. You can not improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it." Roosevelt and National Parks

29. Here TR inspects the canal construction in Panama in 1906. Panama Canal: Roosevelt’s Most Famous Foreign Policy Initiative

30. The Square Deal • A fair shake for all • Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 • Meat Inspection Act of 1906

31. Attack on Laissez Faire • Work to curb the power of trusts "within reasonable limits" • Roosevelt the “Trust Buster”

32. Big Stick Diplomacy • A favorite proverb, "Speak softly and carry a big stick. . . . " • What do you think this means?

33. TR Saves Football • Meeting of the Big Three • American Football Rules Committee was formed • Rules to make the game less dangerous

34. Presidential Firsts • First to invite an African American to a White House dinner • First to have Secret Service protection • First to win Nobel Peace Prize for his work towards ending the Russo-Japanese War • First to take trip outside the United States

35. More Presidential Firsts • First to give an open invitation to the press • First to be submerged in a submarine, to own a car, to have a telephone in his home, and to be allowed to operate the light switches in the White House

36. Theodore Roosevelt with incoming President William Howard Taft on Taft's inauguration day in 1909 Roosevelt Hand Picks Taft

37. The “Progressive Bull Moose” loses in 1912 Life goes on Theodore Roosevelt at the wedding of his daughter Ethel to Richard Derby. Roosevelt Loses to Wilson

38. Agony over the death of Quentin in World War I "Grandfather" Roosevelt hugs baby granddaughter Edith Roosevelt Derby, 1918. An Older Theodore Roosevelt

40. most of these cartoons showed Teddy attacking some foe with this physical ability