Teddy Roosevelt’s Square Deal

1. Teddy Roosevelt’s Square Deal S ome "bad" trusts had to be curbed, and "good" ones encouraged. - Teddy Roosevelt

2. Upton Sinclair: Muckraking journalist that began research for a novel in 1904 He focused his research on the human conditions in the stockyards of Chicago Sinclair wrote the novel The Jungle , to reveal “the breaking of human hearts by a system that exploited the labor of men and women for profit” What most shocked readers in Sinclair’s book was the sickening conditions of the meatpacking industry

3. President Theodore Roosevelt: In 1900, the young governor from New York ran as McKinley’s vice president President McKinley had barely served six months into his second term when he was assassinated Theodore Roosevelt assumed the presidency in 1901 and became the youngest (42) president in U.S. history

4. Roosevelt’s Politics In politics, Roosevelt acted boldly, using his personality and popularity to advance his programs His leadership and publicity campaigns helped create the modern presidency, making him a model by which all future presidents would be measured Roosevelt saw the presidency as a “bully pulpit”, from which he could influence the news media and shape legislation

5. Square Deal If big business could victimize workers, then President Roosevelt would see to it that the common people received what he called a Square Deal ( term used to describe the various progressive reforms sponsored by the Roosevelt administration)

6. Using Federal Power: By 1900, trusts-legal bodies created to hold stock in many companies-controlled about four-fifths of the industries in the United States Some trusts, like Standard Oil, had earned poor reputations with the public by the use of unfair business practices Many trusts lowered their prices to drive out competition in the market and then took advantage of the lack of competition to raise prices up even higher

7. Using Federal Power: Although Congress had passed the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890, the act’s vague language made enforcement difficult In 1902, Roosevelt made headlines as a trustbuster when he spearheaded a movement that would eventually breakup the Northern Securities Company (Monopoly on Railroads in the Northwest)

8. Using Federal Power: Although Roosevelt’s administration filed 44 antitrust suits, winning a number of them and breaking up some of the trusts, it was unable to slow the merger movement in business President Roosevelt’s actions during the 1902 Coal strike, in which miners stopped production of coal due to a demand of a 20% pay raise, 9 hour workday, and the right to organize, began a new era in which the president would solve disputes in the name of public welfare

9. Using Federal Power: Roosevelt continued his crusade and began placing limits on the Railroads with the adoption of: - Elkins Act in 1903, which made it illegal for railroad officials to give, and shipper to receive, rebates for using particular railroads - Hepburn Act of 1906 strictly limited the distribution of free railroad passes, a common form of bribery