Teddy Roosevelt
Personal Background
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Born 1858 – NYC – wealthy merchant family
Harvard Grad – Brilliant
Very energetic
He was sickly as a child
– Challenged himself
– Strict physical exercise program as a young man.
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Married out of college
Gets involved in NYC politics
His mother and wife (during childbirth) die on the same day.
He decided to travel after this
– Moved to Dakotas for a few years
– Became a cowboy
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respected Westerners
I Wanna be a Cowboy
Political Career
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Became a police commissioner - 1894
– Eliminate police corruption
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Assistant Secretary of the Navy - 1897
– Issued order to Admiral Dewey to sink the Spanish fleet in
Philippines
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Fought in Span-Am War - hero
Returned to NY - elected governor (very popular)
– Begins to challenge the status quo
– 1900 - President McKinley made him VP
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Keep him out of trouble in NY
Sept 1901 – McKinley is assassinated.
– Roosevelt is now President
T.R. – Rough Rider
Intellectual Abilities
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Really smart
– Speed reader
– He would read a book a day as President
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Wrote history books while in the White
House
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Two biographies
Four volume history of the winning of the west
Two volume naval history of the War of 1812.
These books are well respected history.
Political Philosophy and View
of the Presidency
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Moderate, Pragmatic Progressive Views
– Some progressives grew impatient with him
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He accepted American society, democracy and
capitalism as it was.
View of President as a Leader and an Activist
– Proactively approach - provide leadership and vision for
the country
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Sense of Political Morality
– Capitalism lends itself to greed – that’s its flaw
– Creates an imbalance - excesses of wealth and poverty
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He was fair-minded
Challenges and Obstacles TR
Faced in 1901
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Challenges
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Youngest President
Did not take the traditional path to the Presidency
A moderate republican in a traditionally conservative party
Congress and the courts were very conservative. How
would he get things done?
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Cautious at first
Doesn’t get a lot of legislation through Congress
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Finds existing legislation to enact policy
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Big Business and the
Trusts
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Many folks thought Trusts should be destroyed
– Roosevelt thought that action would set back progress
– He felt trusts should be regulated – comply with public interest
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He picks a couple of trusts to go after and sues them for
violating free competition.
– Northern Securities Company – huge RR holding company
– Uses Sherman Anti-Trust
– Northern Securities Co v. US – 5 to 4 ruling that dissolved the
company
Trust/Monopoly Regulation
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Created the Department of Labor and
Commerce 1903 – oversaw interstate commerce
and labor relations
– Bureau of Corporations – Investigate violations under
the existing antitrust legislation. Investigated steel, oil,
meatpacking
T.R Taking it to the Trusts
Labor – October 1902 – Coal
Strike
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Workers wanted
– a wage increase
– Better working conditions
– Better hours
Coal Mine operators refused to negotiate w/ Union
Walked out in May
Stores of coal for winter are running low, so Roosevelt threatens to
send in federal troops to work the mines. (this would hurt workers
and mine operators)
He invites both sides to the White House and tells them to reach a
settlement. – October 1902
Mine workers got a 10% wage increase and reduced hours
T.R is looked at positively by the people for taking action
Miner Strikes Mine Owner
Election of 1904
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Roosevelt was very popular
He traveled, enjoyed meeting people
Was a war hero
He is easily reelected
Now he begins to push for more
aggressive legislation
Domestic Policies of the
second term
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Wanted Child labor laws, factory inspection
laws, slum clearance
– Congress does not go along and none of this
passes
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Hepburn Act – (1906)
Passed a Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)
and a Meat Inspection Act in (1906)
– Influenced by The Jungle
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The “Bully Pulpit”
– Roosevelt chooses Conservation
The Bully Pulpit
Conservation
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The West is being developed and this concerned Roosevelt.
– Congress wasn’t concerned
– Roosevelt would not get legislation through
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Roosevelt has his lawyers find laws that finally allow him to do
something by Presidential decree
Action – Federal Protection of Land
– 150 million acres of national forest land
– 80 million acres of mineral lands that were slated for
development
– 1.5 million acres or water power sites
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The father of National Park Systems
The First President to have a White House Press Conference
(on Conservation). This brings national attention to this issue.
Foreign Policy and “Big Stick
Diplomacy”
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US was now a major power
Believed US needed to get more involved in Asia
Therefore US needs a strong navy to assert force
Dec 1907 – Sends the American Fleet (Great White
Fleet) around the world. Shows the world the US is
a world power
Russo-Japanese War
Roosevelt Corollary
Panama Canal – we’ll discuss in imperialism section
Russo-Japanese War in
1904
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Japan defeats Russians in naval & ground battle.
Russians are beaten but won’t capitulate
Japan is not big enough to force them to capitulate
Roosevelt steps in to mediate this dispute
Invites them both to Portsmouth, NH.
Works out a peace treaty. US had an interest in the
North Pacific parts of Asia. Roosevelt didn’t want
any one country controlling this area. He created a
balance of power there.
– Roosevelt was the 1st President who won the Nobel Peace
Prize for this
Background - The Roosevelt
Corollary
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1823 – James Monroe created the Monroe Doctrine
By 1900 – we had a strong navy and could easily
influence Latin America
Some nations in Latin America and the Caribbean
got into tremendous debt with European powers
When they were unable to pay these debts, the
European powers were pressed to intervene in the
affairs of those indebted nations.
– They would send troops to take over the revenue service
or custom houses of the debtor government and control
the revenue
In 1904 – Roosevelt
Corollary
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US would send our forces into those countries and take control of
revenue system or sometimes the government.
We’ll maintain the political structure. We’ll manage the debts until
they are paid off. Then we’ll leave.
This was a turning point in American history because this was the
first time American forces intervened in a government without
invitation as a matter of policy.
This would be done several times since then as we became more of
a world power
Why?
– This was a security issue – US did not want a European military presence
in the Americas. – Panama Canal
– Economic gain as well – American business interests
Conclusion and Assessment
of Roosevelt
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Popularity and Charisma
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Generally considered a near-great President
Popular President – Constantly drawing attention to
himself.
Redefines the office, gets a lot done
He’s a hawk, but able to negotiate himself out of
problems.
History’s Judgment - Generally Positive
Missed Opportunities
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Too Young - Only 50 When He Left Office
Not Confronted by a Major Domestic or Foreign
Crisis