Theodore Roosevelt
Born in New York City on October 27, 1858, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was governor
of New York before becoming U.S. vice president. At age 42, Teddy Roosevelt became the
youngest man to assume the U.S. presidency; He became commander-in-chief after President
William McKinley was assassinated in 1901, and won a second term in 1904.
Roosevelt didn't stay long at law school, opting instead to join the New York State
Assembly as a representative from New York City—becoming the youngest to serve in that
position. Not long after, Roosevelt was speeding through various public service positions,
including captain of the National Guard and minority leader of the New York Assembly.
However, the tragic deaths of his mother and his wife, which occurred on the same day
(February 14, 1884), propelled Roosevelt to leave for the Dakota Territory for two years. There,
he lived as a cowboy and cattle rancher, leaving his infant daughter in the care of his elder sister.
Taking a keen interest in the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt left his government post
to organize a volunteer cavalry known as the Rough Riders, which he led in a bold charge up San
Juan Hill in the Battle of San Juan Heights, in 1898. A war hero, and nominated for the
Congressional Medal of Honor, Roosevelt was elected governor of New York in 1898.
Theodore Roosevelt – the first progressive president – provided the strength and
leadership that America needed. He brought his boundless energy to the White House. He never
drank alcohol, but it is believe he drank almost a gallon of coffee a day. The president often
joined his six children in playing in the White House. Americans admired Roosevelt’s zest for
living. He gained the public’s support for reform.
1.
2.
3.
4.
How was Theodore Roosevelt a unique president?
What tragedy greatly devastated T.R. for two years?
How did T.R. gain national fame to be elected N.Y. governor?
As a progressive, what reforms (changes) do you think T.R. is going to try to do?
Northern Securities Company v. U.S.
Two giants of American railroading and finance were involved in this process of railroad
consolidation.
One, J.P. Morgan was by this time Wall Street's most powerful investment banker. Among
Morgan's many interests were holdings in the Northern Pacific Railroad, whose tracks ran from
Lake Superior in Minnesota west to the Pacific Coast in Oregon and Washington.
The second, James J. Hill, was the St. Paul based "empire builder" whose Great Northern
Railroad crossed the same states as the Northern Pacific lines.
Hill was one of the nation's greatest railroad magnates, Morgan its greatest Wall Street financier.
Both Hill and Morgan saw an advantage in controlling the Burlington Railroad, which connected
the Twin Cities of Minnesota with Chicago, and whose lines extended deep into the grain belt of
the upper Midwest.
Hill and Morgan arranged a new corporation, which they jointly controlled, the Northern
Securities Company, to own the stock of both the Northern Pacific and the Burlington railroads.
This arrangement would end competition between those two great "transcontinental" carriers and
provide shippers with improved long-haul service.
Neither Hill nor Morgan figured on Theodore Roosevelt and the power he was bringing to the
presidency. Roosevelt's Department of Justice prosecuted the Northern Securities Company for
violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. In 1904, the Supreme Court agreed with the
administration's position, and ordered the Northern Securities Company dissolved.
For Roosevelt, this proved a great victory. Not only did the victory earn him the politically
popular title of "trust buster." The victory asserted the power of the presidency and
demonstrated that the executive branch was even more powerful than the nation's most powerful
business institutions. In the seven years he served as President, Roosevelt brought suit against
43 other trusts.
1. How were Morgan and Hill powerful?
2. Why was the Northern Securities Company dissolved?
3. What did this case prove about government and the Roosevelt as president?
The Jungle By: Upton Sinclair
This long description from Chapter 14 is among the most famous and influential passages in the
novel and helps to explain why the book caused so much public furor upon its publication.
Sinclair intended the book to raise public consciousness about the plight of the working poor, but
he relied on a technique that emphasized the physically revolting filth and gore of the stockyards
where food was being processed.
Chapter 14
"[T]he meat would be shoveled into carts, and the man who did the shoveling would not trouble
to lift out a rat even when he saw one—there were things that went into the sausage in
comparison with which a poisoned rat was a tidbit. There was no place for the men to wash their
hands before they ate their dinner, and so they made a practice of washing them in the water that
was to be ladled into the sausage. There were the butt-ends of smoked meat, and the scraps of
corned beef, and all the odds and ends of the waste of the plants, that would be dumped into old
barrels in the cellar and left there. Under the system of rigid economy (not wasting anything)
which the packers enforced, there were some jobs that it only paid to do once in a long time, and
among these was the cleaning out of the waste barrels. Every spring they did it; and in the
barrels would be dirt and rust and old nails and stale water—and cartload after cartload of it
would be taken up and dumped into the hoppers with fresh meat, and sent out to the public’s
breakfast."
As a result, the novel caused outrage about the unsanitary quality of the meat that was sold in
stores rather than the oppression of the poor. The public pressed less for the socialist reforms that
Sinclair backed than the public reform to food laws. The image of all kinds of waste being
dumped in with the consumer’s product is surely revolting; that it is dumped in without any
regard for the consumer by greedy capitalists is infuriating. Sinclair himself stated: “I aimed at
the public’s heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach.”
Roosevelt would react quickly against the catastrophes of the Food industry. The Food and
Inspection Act would be passed by Congress at the urging or Roosevelt. This new law would
provide food companies to be inspected to ensure sanitary conditions.
1. Use the quote from Chapter 14. Write down at least 3 reasons why people would be outraged
about how food was being processed.
2. What would need to be done by the government to make sure there were sanitary conditions
where food was processed?
3. How did Roosevelt fix the problem in the food industry?
The Panama Canal
A canal was inevitable. A trip by boat from New York to San Francisco forced a luckless crew to
sail around the tip of South America — a journey amounting to some 12,000 miles. The new
empire might require a fast move from the Atlantic to the Pacific by its naval ships during war.
Teddy Roosevelt decided that the time for action was at hand. The canal would be his legacy,
and he would stop at nothing to get it. Because of the Panama Canal, travel time of the navy and
goods would greatly decrease. The Navy and merchants would no longer need to travel all the
way around the southern tip of South America.
Selecting Panama
The next question was where to build. Ferdinand de Lessups, the same engineer who designed
the Suez Canal had organized a French attempt in Panama in the 1870s. Disease and financial
problems left a partially built canal behind. While it made sense that the United States should
buy the rights to complete the effort, Panama posed other problems. Despite being the narrowest
nation in the region, Panama was very mountainous, and a complex series of locks was necessary
to move ships across the isthmus. Nicaragua was another possibility. The canal would be situated
closer to the United States. The terrain was flatter, and despite Nicaragua's width, there were
numerous lakes that could be connected. Volcanic activity in Nicaragua prompted the United
States to try to buy the territory in the Panama region.
But Panama was not an independent state. To obtain the rights to the territory, the United States
had to negotiate with Colombia. Colombia owned Panama. The 1903 Hay-Herran Treaty
permitted the United States to lease a six-mile wide strip of land at an annual fee. The treaty
moved through the United States Senate, but the Colombian Senate held out for more money.
Roosevelt was furious. Determined to build his canal, Roosevelt sent a U.S. gunboat to the
shores of Colombia. At the same time, a group of "revolutionaries" declared independence in
Panama. The Colombians were powerless to stop the uprising, with the help from the American
soldiers. The United States became the first nation in the world to recognize the new government
of Panama. Within weeks, a treaty awarded a 10-mile strip of land to the United States, and the
last hurdle was cleared.
Constructing the Canal
Construction on the canal was extremely difficult. The world had never known such a feat of
engineering. Beginning in 1907, American civilians blasted through tons of mountain stone.
Thanks to the work of Walter Reed and William Gorgas, the threats of yellow fever and malaria
were greatly diminished. When Theodore Roosevelt visited the blast area, he became the first
sitting American President to travel outside the country. Finally, the deed was done. In 1914, at
the cost of $345 million, the Panama Canal was open for business.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Why was building a canal essential for the United States?
Why were the French unsuccessful in building a canal?
How did the U.S. gain the land to build the canal?
What is a unique attribute of Theodore Roosevelt?
5. How was the canal built?
6. Why would the Panama Canal transform transportation and trade?