Theodore Roosevelt’s
Square Deal
Theodore Roosevelt used
the power of the presidency
to push for progressive
reforms in business and
environmental policy
I. Roosevelt’s view of the presidency
A. Taking office
1. President William McKinley fatally shot by an
anarchist in Buffalo, NY
2. Theodore Roosevelt now holds the highest office in
the land
a. 42 years old
b. Bully Pulpit – a power platform to publicize
important issues and seek support for his policies
B. The coal strike of 1902
1. Pennsylvania Coal Miners Strike
a. 150,000 miners struck for high wages, shorter hours,
and recognition of their union
b. Gave Roosevelt an opportunity to define his view of the
presidency
c. Urged the mine owners and striking workers to accept
arbitration
i. Workers accepted
ii. Owners did not
iii. Roosevelt threatened to take over the mines
d. 3 month investigation, the arbitrators announce their
decision
i. Workers get a shorter work day
ii. Higher pay
iii. Did not require companies to recognize the union
C. The Square Deal
1. Became Roosevelt’s 1904 campaign slogan and the
framework for his entire presidency
a. He promoted to “see that each [person] is given a
square deal, because he is entitled to no more
and should receive no less.”
b. Revealed his belief that the needs of workers,
business, and consumers should be balanced
c. Called for limiting the power of trusts, promoting
public health, safety, and improving working
conditions
2. Cruised to victory in the election
Daily Assignment
1. Define:
a. Theodore Roosevelt
b. Bully Pulpit
c. Square Deal
2. What was the reason for the 1902 coal strike?
3. Describe Roosevelt’s strategy to settle the coal strike.
4. In what way did the coal strike agreement represent a
square deal?
5. What was the square deal?
6. What was Theodore Roosevelt’s view of the role of the
president?
II. Regulating Big Business
A. Trust-busting
1. 1901 tycoons J.P. Morgan, James J. Hill, and E. H.
Harriman joined their railroads together to eliminate
competition
a. Created Northern Securities Company
b. Dominated railroad shipping from Chicago to the
Northwest
2. President Roosevelt orders the U.S. Attorney
General to sue the company
a. Violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act
b. Supreme court ruled that it was a monopoly
c. Ordered to dissolve the company
3. Ruling was a watershed
a. Encouraged Roosevelt’s administration to launch a
vigorous trust-busting campaign
b. Filed dozens of lawsuits against monopolies and
trusts that were not in the public’s interests
c. The Roosevelt administration went after the bad
trusts: the ones that sold inferior products, competed
unfairly, or corrupted public officials
B. Regulating the railroads
1. Railroads commonly granted rebates to their best
customers
2. This meant that huge corporations paid significantly less to
ship their products than small farmers or small business
3. 1903 Congress passed the Elkins Act
a. Prohibited railroads from accepting rebates
b. Ensured that all customers paid the same rates for
shipping their products
4. Hepburn Act of 1906
a. Strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission
(ICC)
b. Gave it the power to set maximum railroad rates
c. Regulate other companies that were engaged in
interstate commerce
C. Protecting customers
1. Food producers
a. Egg producers
2. Drug companies
a. Dr. James Soothing Syrup
b. Gowan’s Pneumonia Cure
3. Meatpacking business
a. Upton Sinclair, The Jungle
b. James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture
i.
Ordered to investigate the conditions of packing houses
ii. Final report made for some gruesome reading
4. Meat Inspection Act
a. Required federal inspection of meat shipped across state lines
5. Pure Food and Drug Act
a. Forbade the manufacture, sale, or transportation of food and
patent medicine containing harmful ingredients.
b. The law also required food and medicine containers to carry
accurate ingredient labels
Daily Assignment
1. Which two acts regulated shipping rates within the railroad
industry?
2. What caused improvements within the meat-packing and
drug industries?
3. Why do you think it took so long for reforms to occur within
the food and drug industries?
4. What measures did the Roosevelt administration take to
regulate business and protect consumers?
5. What is the impact today of The Pure Food and Drug Act?
6. Create a chart summarizing the record of major legislation
regulating business during Roosevelt’s presidency.
HOMEWORK: Due on Monday, May 2nd
As a consumer in 1906, write a letter to Congress supporting the
Pure Food and Drug bill.