The Accidental President
Election of 1900
Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of
William McKinley
- Governor of NY
- Reputation as a “wild sought reelection ever do so at 42 years of age
- Named VP running mate

TR Business Beliefs
TR was not anti-business; however, he was antiabusive trust
TR saw the government should be the mediator of business for the public good
Businesses should publish their business practices  public opinion would do the rest

Whose that stepping into the ring? Oh it’s
Northern Securities
Company
Applied the Sherman
Antitrust Act and the company was forced to dissolve

TR and Labor
In the late 1800s, what was the governments position on labor disputes?
TR positioned the government to hear labor’s side of the disagreement 
Government as a regulator
United Mine Workers vs. mine owners
 TR “asked” both sides to accept arbitration
Is this acceptable for the government to do?

“The Square Deal”
TR easily won the election of 1904 by playing to all sides and gaining support  he offered a “square deal” to the American people, which became the
“
Railroad Regulation
Consumer Safety
Hepburn Act & the Elkins Act
Pure Food and Drug Act &
Meat Inspection Act
The measures of the square deal began to distance TR from conservatives

Roosevelt and Conservation
He romanticized the West & the wilderness
He was the first president to take an active role in the
American conservation movement
National Reclamation Act
(Newlands Act)  federal funds for construction of dams, reservoirs, and canals in the West
Significantly added to the
National Park System