Teddy Roosevelt’s
Square Deal
“In life, as in a football game, the
principle…is: Hit the line hard.” –Roosevelt
Chapter 9, Section 3
Theodore Roosevelt
Teddy Roosevelt
 Became President when
McKinley assassinated
 Helped create the modern
presidency with his bold
and aggressive programs.
 Square Deal –
progressive reforms
sponsored by Roosevelt
Trust Busting
 4/5 of Industry were controlled by trusts in 1900.
 Ordered the Justice Department to file 44 anti-
trust suits under the Sherman Antitrust Act.
 Was successful in breaking up some trusts.
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Coal Strike of 1902
 140,000 coal miners in PN went on strike,
demanding 20% raise and 9 hour workday.
 Roosevelt threatened to take over the mines
when coal reserves ran low.
 A compromise was reached.
 Precedent: government was expected to
intervene when a strike threatened public
welfare.
Railroad Regulation
 Roosevelt wanted federal regulation.
 Elkins Act, 1903


Made it illegal for railroads to give rebates for
using particular railroads.
Illegal to change set rates without notifying
public.
 Hepburn Act, 1906


Limited the distribution of free railroad passes
ICC could set max. railroad rates.
Regulating Foods and Drugs
 The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Exposed the horrors of the meatpacking
industry.
 Roosevelt appointed a commission that
echoed Sinclair’s claims.
 Meat Inspection Act, 1906


Dictated cleanliness requirements for
meatpackers
Program for federal meat inspecting
Regulating Foods and Drugs
 Manufacturers claimed
products were miracle
cures.
 Pure Food and Drug Act,
1906


Halted sale of
contaminated foods and
medicines
Truth in labeling policy
Conservation and Natural Resources
 Natural Resources were being used
irresponsibly and pollution was rampant.



Set aside areas for government study
50 wildlife sanctuaries
7 national parks
 National Reclamation Act, 1902

Money from selling public land funded
irrigation projects.
Civil Rights
 Roosevelt did very little to support civil rights
for African Americans.
Progressivism Under Taft
Chapter 9, Section 4
William Taft
Taft becomes President
 Taft and the Republicans easily
win in 1908.
 Taft does not use presidency as
“bully pulpit” like Roosevelt.
 Taft Stumbles

Tariffs and Conservation
The Payne-Aldrich Tariff
 Taft campaigned to lower tariffs
 House – Payne Bill – lowering tariffs
 Senate – Aldrich Bill – increased tariffs
 Taft signed Payne-Aldrich Tariff
 Compromise
moderated high rates.
 Progressives in the party felt betrayed.
Disputing Public Lands
 Richard Ballinger, Secretary of the Interior

Removed 1 million acres of land from the
reserve list.
 Taft fires Gifford Pinochet
(Head of US Forest Service)
for speaking out against Ballinger.
Republican Party Splits
 Progressives did not trust Taft.


Blamed cost-of-living on the Payne-Aldrich Bill
Didn’t believe Taft would support conservation
 Conservatives stuck with Taft

Saw him as a moderate who would not make
too many drastic changes.
Bull Moose Party
 Roosevelt entered Presidential race under a
Progressive Third Party called “Bull Moose Party”







Direct election of senators
Women’s Suffrage
Workmen’s compensation
Eight-hour workday
Minimum wage for women
Outlawing child labor
Federal regulation of business
Election of 1912
 Woodrow Wilson (D) – “New Freedom”
 William Taft (R) – “Conservatism”
 Theodore Roosevelt (P) – “Progressivism”
 Eugene Debs (S) – “Socialism”
 Fighting in the Republican Party
Taft – “Roosevelt dangerous egotist”
Roosevelt – “Taft fathead with brain of a guinea pig.”
Wilson’s New Freedom
Chapter 9, Section 5
Woodrow Wilson
Clayton Antitrust Act, 1914
 Strengthened the Sherman Antitrust Act,
1890
 Prohibited corporations from acquiring stock
of another if it created a monopoly

Monopoly – when there is only one business
that offers a service (no competition)
 Labor Unions had the right to exist

Strikes, picketing, boycotts became legal
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
 Federal Trade Commission Act, 1914
 Set up the FTC
 Watchdog agency


Power to investigate violations
Required reports from corporations
New Tax System
 Underwood Tariff, 1913

Reduced tariff rates
 16th Amendment

Federal Income Tax to replace income from
reduced tariffs
 Federal Reserve Act, 1913


Set up Federal Reserve System
Regional central banks in 12 districts of the
country.
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Women’s Suffrage
 Women win the right to vote after years of
campaigning across the country.
 19th Amendment
 Nationalizes Women’s right to vote.
Wilson on Civil Rights
 Retreats from Civil Rights
 Puts White Southerners in his cabinet
 Re-segregates federal buildings in
Washington, DC
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