2. An asthma sufferer, Teddy drove himself to accomplish demanding physical feats. As a teenager, he mastered marksmanship and horseback riding. Unlike previous Presidents, Roosevelt enjoyed boxing, although one of his opponents blinded him in the left eye. On another day, he galloped 100 miles on horseback, merely to prove that it was possible to do so. Teddy Roosevelt enjoyed a very active lifestyle, which often crept into his political beliefs (especially about conserving the land). When the President spared a bear cub on a hunting expedition, a toymaker marketed a popular new product, the teddy bear.

3. 1.Life Before President -rose steadily through gov’t ranks -Spanish American War Led Rough Riders at San Juan Hill -Governor of NY reform governor Political machines want him out of NY because he is cleaning gov’t -Vice President of William McKinley -Became President with McKinley’s assassination Youngest President (42) Federal responsibility to help the citizens when the states cannot Teddy Roosevelt was born into a wealthy New York family in 1858. At an early age, the ambitious Roosevelt became a leader in New York politics. After serving 3 terms in the NY State Assembly, he became New York’s police commissioner and then assistant secretary of the U.S. Navy. The aspiring politician grabbed national attention, advocating war against Spain in 1898, as his cavalry brigade won public acclaim for its role in San Juan Hill. Roosevelt returned a hero and was soon elected governor of NY, then later won the Vice Presidency. “In life, as in a football game, the principle to follow is: Hit the line hard.” ~Theodore Roosevelt

4. 2.Square Deal -”hit the line hard” -Presidency as the “bully pulpit” Use media to shape legislation he serves as the protector of the people -Square Deal was his program to fix the evils of society Modern America requires a strong federal government -”politics is the art of the possible” -”speak softly and carry a big stick” Foreign and domestic policy “It is the duty of the President to act upon the theory that he is the steward of the people, and…to assume that he has the legal right to do whatever the needs of the people demand, unless the Constitution or the laws explicitly forbid him to do it.” ~Teddy Roosevelt

5. 3.Gov’t Involvement -1902 coal strike mine owners refused to bargain -strike threatens fuel needs of the nation Roosevelt threatens to take over mines unless issue is resolved -Roosevelt had both groups to meet and go to arbitration Showed disputes could be settled orderly with experts -this set an example of Presidents mediating conflicts! Federal government expected to intervene in large strikes The Coal Strike of 1902 was a strike by the United Mine Workers of America in Pennsylvania. The strike threatened to shut down the winter fuel supply to all major cities. President Roosevelt became involved and set up a commission that suspended the strike. The strike never resumed, as the miners received more pay for fewer hours; the owners got a higher price for coal. It was the first labor episode in which the federal government intervened as a neutral arbitrator.

6. 4.Trustbusting -trusts controlled 4/5 of industry This limits competition and hurts the consumer -Roosevelt believed in good and bad trusts He wanted to stop those that harmed public interest -several trusts were broken and real gov’t regulation began 44 suits filed, most won -RR regulation Northern Securities v. US Had a monopoly over northwestern railroads; Supreme Court dissolved company President Roosevelt took a stand against the large trusts of the nation.

7. As part of his Square Deal, President Roosevelt aggressively used the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 to attack big businesses engaging in unfair practices. His victory over his first target, the Northern Securities Company, earned him a reputation as a hard-hitting trustbuster committed to protecting the public interest. The cartoonist shows Roosevelt trying to tame the wild lions that symbolize the great and powerful companies of 1904.

8. President Roosevelt took a stand against the large trusts of the nation, filing 44 suits against large trusts, and winning most of his claims.

9. 5.The Jungle -written by Upton Sinclair -muckraking novel Journalists who exposed society’s problems -meant to expose the conditions of immigrants -novel effectively described the unsanitary conditions present in the manufacturing plants of the meatpacking industry Disgusted President Roosevelt “There would be meat that had tumbled out on the floor, in the dirt and sawdust, where the workers had tramped and spit uncounted billions of tuberculosis germs. There would be meat stored in great piles in rooms…and thousands of rats would race about on it…A man could run his hand over these piles of meat and sweep off handfuls of the dried dung of rats. These rats were nuisances, and the packers would put poisoned bread out for them; they would die, and then rats, bread, and meat would go in the hopper together.” ~Upton Sinclair, The Jungle

10. 6.Gov’t Response -investigated Sinclair’s claims -passed Meat Inspection Act (1906) Strict requirements for meat packers and meat inspection Used until the 1990s -later passage of Pure Food and Drug Act Halted sale of contaminated foods and medicines Must be truthful in labeling of foods/medicines -FDA Food and Drug Administration Before any federal regulations were established for advertising food and drugs, manufacturers had claimed that their products accomplished everything from curing cancer to growing hair. In addition, popular children’s medicines often contained opium, cocaine, or alcohol.

11. 7.Conservation -industry was consuming large portions of natural resources -pollution was destroying waterways Coal mining and lumbering ruining the nation’s natural resources Roosevelt wants to protect the land and resources -Roosevelt establishes several national parks National Reclamation Act, 1902 -set aside large portions of forestlands (reserves) – kept land from private sale -Gifford Pinchot -development of land for the common good Some land set aside for the common good These temple destroyers, devotees of ravaging commercialism seem to have a perfect contempt for Nature, and instead of lifting their eyes to the God of the Mountains, lift them to the Almighty Dollar. ~John Muir (1912)

12. “Thousands of…over civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home.” ~John Muir

13. 8.Civil Rights -Progressive era as a whole ignored the needs of minorities Roosevelt did not advocate for civil rights, only gave power to some -Booker T. Washington Respected by rich, powerful whites Invited to the White House by Roosevelt -W.E.B. DuBois Pushed for full equality now NAACP Used the court system to push for full equality Teddy Roosevelt and Booker T. Washington at a parade together in Washington, D.C.