Chart
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Strong personality
Range of interests: hunting,
explorer, soldier, author,
naturalist
“Cowboy” persona
Very masculine portrayal
McKinley assassinated
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1901: Youngest President
(42)
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Presidential term: 1901-1909
Accomplishments:
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National Reclamation Act (1902)—irrigation
United States Forest Service (1905)—land and water use
Pure Food and
Drug Act and
Meat Inspection Act
(1906)—public health
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Presidential term: 1909-1913
Won easily
Bad start
Conflict over tariffs  ran on platform
to lower tariffs
 Progressives mad at Taft
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Progressive record
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Reserved more public lands
Brought more antitrust suits in than TR
Supported Children’s Bureau
16th & 17th Amendments
Supported Mann-Elkins Act (1910)—ICC
regulations
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Roosevelt
decides to run
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Didn’t win
Republican ticket
Creates new
party--“I feel fit
as a bull moose”
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Progressive Platform
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Tariff reduction
Women’s suffrage
More regulation of business
Child labor ban
Eight-hour workday
Federal workers’ compensation system
Direct election of senators
Four-Way Election
 Taft, Roosevelt, Wilson, and
Eugene Debs
 Republican vote split; Wilson
takes most electoral votes
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Criticized big
business and
gov’t
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Enforce antitrust
laws, but keep
competition
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Lower tariffs and taxes
Attacking the Trusts
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Clayton Antitrust Act (1914)—limited
businesses
Set up Federal Trade Commission
(FTC)—Monitored unfair practices
The Federal Reserve System (1913)
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Focused on city level issues
Did little for farmers and
nonunionized workers
Favored immigration limits
Social Justice
Wilson—allowed Jim Crow Laws in gov’t
 TR refused to seat black delegates
 GOOD: 1909  NAACP formed
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