Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th (1901–1909)
President of the United States. He had been the 25th
Vice President before becoming President upon the assassination of President
William McKinley. Due to his unique personality and reformist policies, called the "Square Deal" Roosevelt is considered one of the ablest presidents and an icon of the
Progressive Era.
McKinley was shot by an anarchist on
September 6,
1901, and died
September 14, putting Roosevelt into the presidency. He continued McKinley's cabinet and pledged himself to carry out McKinley's programs. One of his first notable acts as President was to deliver a 20,000-word address to the
House of Representatives on
December 3,
1901 [
1], asking Congress to curb the power of large corporations (called
trusts) "within reasonable limits." For this and subsequent actions, he has been called a "trust-buster."
Roosevelt relished the Presidency and seemed to be everywhere at once. He took Cabinet members and friends on long, fast-paced hikes,
boxed in the state rooms of the White House, romped with his children, and read voraciously. He was permanently blinded in one eye during one of his boxing bouts.
In
1904, Roosevelt ran for President in his own right and won in a landslide victory.
Building on McKinley's effective use of the press, Roosevelt made the White House the center of news every day, providing interviews and photo opportunities.
Progressivism
Determined to create what he called a "
Square Deal" between business and labor, Roosevelt pushed several pieces of progressive legislation through
Congress.
Progressivism in the United States was the most powerful political force of the day, and in the first dozen years of the century Roosevelt was its most articulate spokesman. Progressivism meant expertise, and the use of science, engineering, technology and the new social sciences to identify the nation's problems, and identify ways to eliminate waste and inefficiency and to promote modernization. Roosevelt, trained as a biologist, identified himself and his programs with the mystique of science. The other side of Progressivism was a burning hatred of corruption and a fear of powerful and dangerous forces, such as political machines, labor unions and especially the new large corporations — called "trusts" — which seemed to have emerged overnight. Roosevelt, the former deputy sheriff on the Dakota frontier, and police commissioner of New York City, knew evil when he saw it and was dedicated to destroying it. Roosevelt's moralistic determination set the tone of national politics.
Anthracite Coal Strike of 1902
A national emergency was averted in 1902 when Roosevelt found a compromise to the Anthracite coal strike that threatened the heating supplies of most homes. See
Coal Strike of 1902 |
TR teaches the childish coal barons a lesson; 1902 editorial cartoon |
Trust Busting
Trusts were increasingly the central issue in politics, with public opinion fearing that large corporations could impose monopolistic prices to cheat the consumer and squash small independent companies. By 1904, 318 trusts controlled about two-fifths of the nation's manufacturing output, not to mention powerful trusts in non-manufacturing sectors such as railroads, local transit, and banking. Roosevelt decided to do something about it. A few historians credit McKinley with starting the
trust-busting era, but most credit Roosevelt, the "
Trust Buster." Once President, Roosevelt worked to increase the regulatory power of the federal government. Regulation of railroads was strengthened by the
Elkins Act (1903) and especially the
Hepburn Act of 1906, which had the effect of favoring merchants over the railroads. Under his leadership, the Attorney General brought forty-four suits against businesses that were claimed to be monopolies, most notably
J.P. Morgan's
Northern Securities Company, a huge
railroad combination, and
J. D. Rockefeller's
Standard Oil Company. Both were successful, with Standard Oil broken into over 30 smaller companies that eventually competed with one another. To raise the visibility of labor and management issues, he established a new federal
Department of Labor and Commerce.
Pure Food and Drugs
In response to public clamor, Roosevelt pushed Congress to pass the
Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, as well as the
Meat Inspection Act of 1906. These laws provided for labeling of foods and drugs, inspection of livestock and mandated sanitary conditions at meatpacking plants. Congress replaced Roosevelt's proposals with a version supported by the major meatpackers who worried about the overseas markets, and did not want small unsanitary plants undercutting their domestic market. [Blum 1980 pp 43-44]
Railroad Regulation
Roosevelt firmly believed, "The Government must in increasing degree supervise and regulate the workings of the railways engaged in interstate commerce." Inaction was a danger, he argued, "Such increased supervision is the only alternative to an increase of the present evils on the one hand or a still more radical policy on the other." (Annual Message Dec 1904) The
Elkins Act of 1902 was the Administration's first effort at the regulation of railroad rates; it proved ineffective in practice. Roosevelt agreed with the shipping interests who wanted lower rates and a stronger
Interstate Commerce Commission to enforce them. As Roosevelt told Congress, "Above all else, we must strive to keep the highways of commerce open to all on equal terms; and to do this it is necessary to put a complete stop to all rebates." Politically this would be called action on behalf od consumers; it was assumed that the railroads would always be powerful and no amount of regulation would seriously weaken them. (No one dreamed of a vast highway system carrying millions of trucks and automobiles.) Roosevelt encountered opposition in his party, led in the Senate by
Nelson Aldrich of Rhode Island, the party leader;
Joseph B. Foraker of Ohio;
Chauncey Depew of New York (the president of the
New York Central railroad),
Stephen Elkins of West Virginia,
Philander Knox of Pennsylvania (formerly Roosevelt's Attorney General), and one of his closest personal friends
Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts. Roosevelt therefore planned to rely on a group of Midwestern Republicans, especially
William Allison of Iowa. He wanted to avoid having to collaborate with
Ben Tillman of South Carolina, whom he considered "one of the foulest and rottenest demagogs in the whole country." In the end Roosevelt convinced the conservatives that the courts would protect the railroads' interests, and he carried the bill without Tillman.
[Brands, 545-8; Harbaugh ch 14 ] The
Hepburn Act of 1906 gave the
Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) the power to set maximum railroad rates and stopped free passes given to friends of the railroad. In addition, the ICC could view the railroads' financial records, a task simplified by standardized booking systems. For any railroad that resisted, the ICC's conditions would be in effect until the outcome of litigation said otherwise. By the Hepburn Act, the ICC's authority was extended to cover bridges, terminals, ferries, sleeping cars, express companies and oil pipelines. Along with the Elkins Act of 1903, the Hepburn Act accomplished one of Roosevelt's major goals, railroad regulation.
Conservation
Roosevelt was a prominent
conservationist, putting the issue high on the national agenda. He worked with all the major figures of the movement, especially his chief advisor on the matter,
Gifford Pinchot. Roosevelt was deeply committed to conserving natural resources, and is considered to be the nation's first
conservation President. He encouraged the
Newlands Reclamation Act of 1902 to promote federal construction of
dams to irrigate small farms and placed 230 million acres (360,000 mi² or 930,000 km²) under federal protection. Roosevelt set aside more Federal land for
national parks and
nature preserves than all of his predecessors combined.
|
TR's conservation policies |
Roosevelt established the
United States Forest Service, signed into law the creation of five
National Parks, and signed the 1906
Antiquities Act, under which he proclaimed 18 new
U.S. National Monuments. He also established the first 51
Bird Reserves, four
Game Preserves, and 150
National Forests, including
Shoshone National Forest, the nation's first. The area of the United States that he placed under public protection totals approximately 230,000,000 acres.
Gifford Pinchot had been appointed by McKinley as chief of Division of Forestry in the Department of Agriculture. In 1905, his department gained control of the national forest reserves. Pinchot promoted private use (for a fee) under federal supervision. In 1907, Roosevelt designated 16 million acres (65,000 km²) of new national forests just minutes before a deadline.
In May 1908, Roosevelt sponsored the
Conference of Governors held in the White House, with a focus on natural resources and their most efficient use. Roosevelt delivered the opening address: "Conservation as a National Duty."
In 1903 Roosevelt toured the Yosemite Valley with
John Muir, who had a very different view of conservation, and tried to minimize commercial use of water resources and forests. Working through the
Sierra Club he founded, Muir succeeded in 1905 in having Congress transfer the
Mariposa Grove and Yosemite Valley to the
National Park Service. While Muir wanted nature preserved for the sake of pure beauty, Roosevelt subscribed to Pinchot's formulation, "to make the forest produce the largest amount of whatever crop or service will be most useful, and keep on producing it for generation after generation of men and trees."
[Pinchot, Gifford (1947). Breaking New Ground, p. 32. Island Press. ISBN 1-55963-670-X.]Race
Although Roosevelt did some work improving
race relations, he, like most leaders of the
Progressive Era, lacked initiative on most racial issues.
Booker T. Washington, the most important black leader of the day, was the first
African American to be invited to dinner, on
October 16,
1901, at the White House, where he discussed politics and
racism with Roosevelt. News of the dinner reached the press two days later. The white public outcry following the dinner was so strong, especially from the Southern states, that Roosevelt never repeated the experiment.
Publicly, Roosevelt spoke out against racism and
discrimination, and appointed many blacks to lower-level Federal offices, and wrote fondly of the "
Buffalo Soldiers," led by "Black Jack"
Pershing, who had fought beside his
Rough Riders at the
Battle of San Juan Hill in
Cuba in July 1898. Roosevelt opposed school
segregation, having ended the practice as Governor of New York. T.R. also did not subscribe to
anti-Semitism—he was the first to appoint a
Jew,
Oscar S. Straus, to the
Presidential Cabinet.
Like most intellectuals of the era, Roosevelt believed in evolution. He saw the different races as having reached different levels of civilization (with whites at the top and blacks at the bottom). Every race, and every individual, was capable of unlimited improvement, Roosevelt felt. Furthermore, a new "race" (in the cultural sense, not biological) had emerged on the American frontier, the "American race," and it was quite distinct from other ethnic groups, such as the Anglo-Saxons. Roosevelt thought himself as Dutch, not Anglo-Saxon. After criticism of Washington's invitation to the White House, Roosevelt seemed to wilt publicly on the cause of racial equality. In 1906, he approved the dishonorable discharges of three companies of black soldiers who refused his order to testify regarding a riot in
Brownsville, Texas, known as the
Brownsville Raid.
Radical shift, 1907-1908
By 1907-08, his last two years in office, Roosevelt was increasingly distrustful of big business, despite its close ties to the Republican party in every large state. Public opinion had been shifting to the left after a series of scandals, and big business was in bad odor. Abandoning his earlier caution and conservatism, Roosevelt freely lambasted his conservative critics and called on Congress to enact a series of radical new laws — the Square Deal — that would regulate the economy. He wanted a national incorporation law (all corporations had state charters, which varied greatly state by state), a federal income tax and inheritance tax (both targeted on the rich), limits on the use of court injunctions against labor unions during strikes (injunctions were a powerful weapon that mostly helped business), an employee liability law for industrial injuries (pre-empting state laws), an eight-hour law for federal employees, a postal savings system (to provide competition for local banks), and, finally, campaign reform laws.
|
TR Farewell speeches sought Progressive goals but did now pass Congress |
None of his agenda was enacted, and Roosevelt carried over the ideas into the 1912 campaign. Roosevelt's increasingly radical stance proved popular in the Midwest and Pacific Coast, and among farmers, teachers, clergymen, clerical workers and some proprietors, but appeared as divisive and unnecessary to eastern Republicans, corporate executives, lawyers, party workers, and Congressmen.
Roosevelt's move left allowed Senator
Nelson Aldrich to tighten his control of Congress. In 1908, Aldrich introduced the
constitutional amendment to establish an income tax. The same year he wrote the
Aldrich-Vreeland Act which created the
National Monetary Commission, which he directed. It made an in-depth study of central banking in Europe--which was far more effective than America in that regard. Aldrish's dramatic proposals for comprehensive reform became the
Federal Reserve in 1913.
 |
A political cartoonists' commentary on Roosevelt's "big stick" policy |
Roosevelt urged the United States to build a strong navy. He believed in an imperial mission for the United States, and that the U.S. could eventually be pulled into war in the
Pacific Ocean with the
Japanese people. Roosevelt ordered what came to be called the
Great White Fleet (due to its gleaming white paint) on an around-the-world cruise, including a prominent stop in Japan. Roosevelt hoped to ease Japanese-American tensions and to show the Japanese leadership, as well as the rest of the world, the global reach of the United States' military might. The Great White Fleet returned to the U.S. in 1909, and Roosevelt had the pleasure of reviewing the Fleet just before leaving office. As a tribute to him, several Navy warships have been named after Roosevelt over the years, including a
Nimitz class supercarrier. Roosevelt helped to expand the Navy greatly. By 1904, the United States had the fifth largest Navy in the world; by 1907, it had the third largest.
Roosevelt Corollary
Roosevelt also added a
corollary to the
Monroe Doctrine. His
Roosevelt Corollary stated that the
United States had a right to intervene in
Latin American affairs when necessary, especially to guarantee debt payment and to promote peace. However, his corollary extended the Monroe Doctrine by still stating that
European nations should not interfere in
Western Hemisphere matters.
Panama Canal
|
Roosevelt regarded the Panama Canal as one of his greatest achievements |
In 1903, Roosevelt encouraged the local political class in
Panama to form a nation independent from
Colombia, after that nation refused the American terms for the building of a
canal across the
isthmus. Roosevelt dispatched navy vessels to the area to apply political pressure on the Colombian government, allowing the Panamanian rebels to secede without much opposition. The new nation of Panama sold a
canal zone to the United States for 10 million
U.S. dollars and a steadily increasing yearly sum. Roosevelt felt that a passage through the
Isthmus of Panama was vital to protect American interests and to create a strong and cohesive
United States Navy. The resulting
Panama Canal was completed in 1914 and revolutionized world travel and commerce.
Roosevelt appointed three Justices to the
Supreme Court of the United States:
*
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. - 1902
*
William Rufus Day - 1903
*
William Henry Moody - 1906
Although Moody was a close associate of Roosevelt, Holmes, who would become the longest-serving Justice in the Supreme Court, gained his appointment by virtue of sharing a mutual acquaintance with Roosevelt,
Henry Cabot Lodge.
Lodge, who served as a member of the
United States Senate for the state of
Massachusetts, convinced Roosevelt that Holmes would be a "safe" appointment and would not oppose Roosevelt's policies. Holmes himself may have campaigned for his appointment, as he paid a visit to the home of Roosevelt's children to tell them stories of his service in the
American Civil War. Roosevelt, who knew little of Holmes' judicial writings, already had obtained a favorable impression of Holmes due to the latter's speech entitled "The Soldier's Faith."
On
August 11,
1902, while the Senate was in recess, Roosevelt appointed Holmes to the Supreme Court. However, Holmes's
recess appointment would not be binding until the Senate agreed to confirm him, which it did on
December 4. However, Lodge's assurance that Holmes would be "safe" turned out to be mistaken, and Roosevelt later regretted appointing Holmes to the Supreme Court for the latter's striking down of several reforms Roosevelt supported.
William Rufus Day, former Secretary of State for McKinley, had been appointed by the latter to the
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for four years after leaving his post in the cabinet. Roosevelt appointed him to the Supreme Court on
January 29 1903. If the President had expected a Justice who would toe the line on his progressive policies, Roosevelt was not initially disappointed; however, Day would later oppose the President on a number of issues, such as the regulation of hours and wages of labor.
Moody, Roosevelt's Secretary of the Navy and then as Attorney General, was appointed to the Court on
December 12 1906, but he only stayed on the court for less than four years. Illness forced him to resign in 1910.
During Roosevelt's Presidency, one state,
Oklahoma, was admitted to the Union. This new state included the former
Indian Territory, which had attempted to gain admission on its own into the Union as the
State of Sequoyah. Formerly, the state of Oklahoma had been divided into the Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory.
Initially in
1892, residents of the Oklahoma Territory had presented a statehood bill to congress, after the holding of a statehood convention in
Oklahoma City in late
1891. When the bill dropped without any action, another was submitted in
1893. Both bills would result in a new state of Oklahoma including both the Oklahoma and Indian Territories. However, the chiefs of the
Five Civilized Tribes that made up the Indian Territory vehemently protested this move. Eventually the Oklahoma Territory tired of waiting and insisted on admission to the Union; a bill was passed in the House of Representatives in
1902 that secured such an admission. However, the Senate let the matter pass, and a further attempt in the next Congress to secure passage of a similar bill also failed.
In
1905, the Indian Territory held its own statehood convention, and drew up a constitution for what would be called the state of Sequoyah. When submitted to Congress, however, the constitution did not pass, and the state of Sequoyah never came to be. Eventually in
1906, a bill named the "Hamilton Bill" after its author was introduced to Congress. It provided for the admission of the Oklahoma and Indian Territories as one state, and
Arizona and
New Mexico as another state. Although it passed on
June 14 and was signed into law by Roosevelt, the people of Arizona and New Mexico rejected the offer of statehood. Nevertheless, after almost 15 tumultuous years of struggle, Oklahoma was finally a state of the Union.
Primary sources
*Brands, H.W. ed.
The Selected Letters of Theodore Roosevelt. (2001)
*Harbaugh, William ed.
The Writings Of Theodore Roosevelt (1967). A one-volume selection of Roosevelt's speeches and essays.
*Hart, Albert Bushnell and Herbert Ronald Ferleger, eds.
Theodore Roosevelt Cyclopedia (1941), Roosevelt's opinions on many issues.
*Morison, Elting E., John Morton Blum, and Alfred D. Chandler, Jr., eds.,
The Letters of Theodore Roosevelt, 8 vols. (1951-1954). Very large, annotated edition of letters from TR.
*Roosevelt, Theodore (1999).
Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography. online at Bartleby.com.
*Roosevelt, Theodore.
The Works of Theodore Roosevelt (National edition, 20 vol. 1926); 18,000 pages containing most of TR's speeches, books and essays, but not his letters; a CD-ROM edition is available; some of TR's books are available online through
Project BartlebySecondary Sources
*Beale Howard K.
Theodore Roosevelt and the Rise of America to World Power. (1956).
*Blum, John Morton
The Republican Roosevelt. (1954). Series of essays that examine how TR did politics
*Blum, John Morton.
The Progressive Presidents: Roosevelt, Wilson, Roosevelt, Johnson (1980)
*Brands, H.W.
Theodore Roosevelt (2001)
*Cooper, John Milton
The Warrior and the Priest: Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt. (1983) a dual biography
*Gould, Lewis L.
The Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. (1991), the major scholarly study
*Harbaugh, William Henry.
The Life and Times of Theodore Roosevelt. (1963)
* Harrison, Robert.
Congress, Progressive Reform, and the New American State (2004)
*Keller, Morton, ed.,
Theodore Roosevelt: A Profile (1967) excerpts from TR and from historians.
*
Morris, Edmund Theodore Rex. (2001), biography covers 1901-1909
*Mowry, George.
The Era of Theodore Roosevelt and the Birth of Modern America, 1900-1912. (1954)
*Pringle, Henry F.
Theodore Roosevelt (1932; 2nd ed. 1956)
*Rhodes, James Ford Rhodes.
The McKinley and Roosevelt Administrations, 1897-1909 (1922)
* Sanders, Elizabeth.
Roots of Reform: Farmers, Workers and the American State, 1877-1917 (1999)
*Wiebe, Robert H.
Businessmen and Reform: A Study of the Progressive Movement (1968)
Notes
See also
*
Roosevelt Corollary*
Theodore Roosevelt
