february 28, 2008 how did roosevelt use his presidency for reform? –what makes a good president?...
TRANSCRIPT
February 28, 2008•How did Roosevelt use his
presidency for reform?–What makes a good President?–His Life and Career (Video)–Trusts, Coal, and Railroads
•Homework: Finish Section 3 Notes
Problem: McKinley was assassinated
• LEON CZOLGOSZ killed McKinley to bring attention to his anarchist group
Roosevelt Is President• Believed the government was
responsible for the the national welfare, incapable of dealing with problems
•“Square Deal” describes the various progressive ideals of Roosevelt.
Trust-Busting
• Trusts – legal bodies created to hold stock in many companies
• controlled 4/5’s of industries
Trusts and Bad Reputations:
•unfair business practices•lowered their prices to drive
competitors out and took advantage of the lack of competition to jack up prices even higher
Roosevelt Known as a Trustbuster•he ordered the Justice
Department to sue Northern Securities Company, which had monopoly over northwestern railroads
•Supreme Court dissolved the company
1902 Coal Strike
•Pennsylvania went on strike for 20% raise, 9 hour day, and right to organize a union
•Five months on strike, coal reserves ran low
Roosevelt the Mediator:
• Roosevelt called both sides to White House to settle the strike
• Angered by the bad temper of the miners
• He threatened to take over the mines, the mine operators finally agreed to negotiate
1903 – Coal Miners’ Agreement
•10% pay raise & 9 hour workday
•they gave up their demand for a closed shop (all workers must belong to a union and must give up right to strike for 3 years)
Railroad Regulation
•1887 – Congress passed Interstate Commerce Act–prohibited wealthy railroad owners setting high prices by dividing the business in a given area
Elkins Act 1903•No more rebates for
companies using certain railroads
•No more changing rates without notifying the public
The Hepburn Act 1906•Limit the number of free
passes (being used as bribery)
•ICC can set maximum rates
Protecting Citizens and the Environment
• Protecting Health• Pure Food and Drug Act• Conservation and Natural
Resources• Gifford Pinchot
Problems:•government paying for the
inspections •did not require companies to
label their canned goods with date of processing information
•Granted meat packers the right to appeal negative decisions in court
Pure Food and Drug Act
• Companies can claim anything about their product
• Popular children’s medicines often contained opium, cocaine, or alcohol
1906 Pure Food & Drug Act•halted sale of contaminated
foods & medicines •called for truth in labeling•required for truthful labels
Lack of Conservation before Roosevelt (Examples: DO NOT COPY)
• Pioneer farmers leveled the forest and plowed up the prairies
• Ranchers allowed cattle to overgraze the plains
• Coal companies cluttered the land with refuse from mines
Conservation Measures• Roosevelt condemned view
that America’s resources were endless and conservation primary concern
Roosevelt also:
•set aside 1.5 million acres of water-power sites
•80 million acres for US Geological Survey to explore for mineral and water resources
•Established more than 50 wildlife sanctuaries & several national parks
Gifford Pinchot as Head of US Forest Service (1905)
•Advised Roosevelt to conserve forest & grazing lands
Roosevelt’s Idea of Conservation:•Conservation meant that
some wilderness areas would be preserved while others would be developed for the common good
•Federal water projects turned dry wilderness areas into farm areas
National Reclamation Act 1902
•established precedent that federal government would manage the precious water resources of the West
Roosevelt and Civil Rights
•Roosevelt failed to support civil rights for African Americans (like most progressives)
•He did support individual African Americans
Examples of his support: (DO NOT COPY)
• Roosevelt appointed an AA as head of the Charleston, South Carolina customhouse
• When some whites in MI refused to accept the black postmistress he had appointed, he chose to close the station rather than give in
Example: DO NOT COPY
• Roosevelt angered the African Americans when he dismissed an entire regiment of AA soldiers accused of conspiracy in protecting others charged with murder in Brownsville Texas
• As symbolic gesture, Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washington to dinner at White House
Booker T. Washington
•head of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, an all black training skill
•most respected African Americans by powerful whites
•faced opposition from other African Americans
W.E.B. Dubois
• Du Bois renewed his demands for immediate social and economic equality for African Americans.
• He wrote of his opposition to Washington’s position
• Du Bois and others upset by the progressive indifference to racial injustice