1. Roosevelt & Taft
Chapter 6 Lesson 2

2. Theodore Roosevelt President at age 42
International affairs – Social Darwinism
Nations were in competition and only the strongest would survive
Domestically – Progressive
Gov. should balance the needs of competing groups

3. Appling U.S. Constitution
Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution states that “The Congress shall have Power To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States ”

4. U.S. v. E.C. Knight (1894) Knight owned 98% of sugar industry
Sherman Anti-Trust Act could not be applied because the sugar was manufactured within a state

5. Northern Securities v. United States
J.P. Morgan’s railroad holding company
Northern Securities
1902 Roosevelt sued under the Sherman Antitrust Act
Restraint of Trade
5-4 decision
Roosevelt won – hailed as “Trustbuster”

7. Coal Strike of 1902
1902 – Mine Owners vs. 150,000 members of the United Mine Workers (UMW)
Wanted increased pay, reduced hours, union recognition
Arbitration – a settlement negotiated by an outside party
Mine owners refused until Roosevelt threatened to order the army to run the mines

8. Department of Commerce and Labor (1903)
Roosevelt was not completely against all Trusts
Best way to keep trusts in line was to keep the public informed
1904 – Investigating U.S. Steel
“Gentlemen’s agreement”
Open files for the DCL to look at
DCL would privately tell them the issues to fix them
Roosevelt will make this deal with other companies

9. Hepburn Act - 1906 Gave ICC power to set railroad rates
1920’s ICC begun setting rates at levels intended to ensure the industry’s profits

10. Samuel Hopkins Adams Writer who exposed medicine business
Cure many ills
Alcohol, colored water, sugar
Caffeine, opium, cocaine, etc.
Dr. W. H. Wiley – Dept. of Ag.
Dangerous preservatives – formaldehyde and borax
Meat Inspection Act (1906) Today the USDA
Set standards of cleanliness in meatpacking plants
Pure Food and Drug Act (1906) Today the FDA
Prohibited the manufacture, sale or shipment of impure or falsely labeled food and drugs

11. Roosevelt’s Conservation Acts
Newlands Reclamation Act (1902)
Dry Western States
Federal funs from public land sales to pay for irrigation and land development projects
US Forest Service
Regulate timber
5 new National Parks and 51 fed. Wildlife reserves

12. William Howard Taft Roosevelt’s Secretary of War
Beat William Jennings Bryan (3rd straight loss)
Lower Tariff rates
Divided Republican party
Progressives – favored tariff reduction
Conservative – maintain high tariffs
Payne-Aldrich Tariff – hardly cut tariffs and raised them on certain goods

13. Taft
1909 – Replaced Secretary of the Interior (James R. Garfield) with Richard A. Ballinger
Garfield was aggressive conservationists
Ballinger was a conservative corporate lawyer
Ballinger tried to open a million acres of public land to private development
Gifford Pinchot (US Forrest Service) accused Ballinger of planning to give lands in Alaska for his own profit
Fired in 1910 for insubordination

14. Taft
In 1910 Taft:
Set up the Bureau of Mines to monitor the activities of mining companies
Expanded national forests
Protect waterpower sites from private development

15. Roosevelt vs. Taft
In 1907 Roosevelt approved the purchase of the Tennessee Coals and Iron Company by US. Steel
1911 Taft declared that deal violated the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Roosevelt decided to run against Taft for Republican nominee in the 1912 elections