Roosevelt: The Trust Buster! | AP United States History AP United States History Roosevelt: The Trust Buster! Posted on March 9, 2008 by Laoteacher President Roosevelt did not just focus on conservationism during his presidency. He attacked the trusts guilty of monopolies and set up the necessary reforms that resulted in businesses into accepting government regulation. According to our textbook The American Pageant, Roosevelt, as a trustbuster, made headlines in 1902 when he attack the Northern Securities Company, a railroad holding company organized by financial titan J.P. Morgan and empire builder James J. Hill. Roosevelt challenged these great big giants and their attempts to monopolized the railroad industry. In response they appealed to the Supreme Court, which in 1904 upheld Roosevelt’s antitrust suit and ordered the Northern Securities Company to be dissolved. The Northern Securities decision jolted Wall Street and angered big business but greatly ehanced Roosevelt’s reputation as a trust smasher. His big stick crashed down on other ginat monopolies, as he initiated over forty legal proceedings against them.

The Supreme Court in 1905 declared the beef trust illegal, and the heavy fist of justice fell upon monopolies controlling sugar, fertilizer, harvesters, and other key products(666-667). According to Wikipedia, Trust-busting refers to government activities designed to break up trusts or monopolies . Theodore Roosevelt is the U.S. president most associated with dissolving trusts, but his chosen successor, William Howard Taft , actually began the most of the anti-trust proceedings. Trusts were large business entities that largely succeeded in controlling a market , essentially becoming a monopoly . The term became common in the late 19th century , when a system of trusts controlled much of the economy of the United States . In 1898 , President William McKinley launched the “trust-busting” era when he appointed the U.S. Industrial Commission on Trusts , which interrogated Andrew Carnegie , John D. Rockefeller , Charles M. Schwab , and other industrial titans. The report of the Industrial Commission was seized upon by Theodore Roosevelt, who became known as a “Trust Buster,” dissolving 44 trusts during his two terms as president.

However, the “Trust Buster” name is probably more suited for Roosevelt’s successor, William Howard Taft, who brought an end to 90 trusts in one term. Although Taft may have done more to control the trusts while in office, Roosevelt retains the nickname because he was the pioneer of trust-busting. Do you think Roosevelt’s trust busting practices contradicts the ideals of capitalism? Like this: The Trust Buster [ushistory.org] Teddy Roosevelt (not Ned Flanders) leading the charge against trusts in a cartoon from 1899. Teddy Roosevelt was one American who believed a revolution was coming. He believed Wall Street financiers and powerful trust titans to be acting foolishly. While they were eating off fancy china on mahogany tables in marble dining rooms, the masses were roughing it. There seemed to be no limit to greed. If docking wages would increase profits, it was done. If higher railroad rates put more gold in their coffers, it was done. How much was enough, Roosevelt wondered? The Sherman Anti-Trust Act Although he himself was a man of means, he criticized the wealthy class of Americans on two counts.

First, continued exploitation of the public could result in a violent uprising that could destroy the whole system. Second, the captains of industry were arrogant enough to believe themselves superior to the elected government. Now that he was President, Roosevelt went on the attack. The President's weapon was the Sherman Antitrust Act, passed by Congress in 1890. This law declared illegal all combinations "in restraint of trade." For the first twelve years of its existence, the Sherman Act was a paper tiger. United States courts routinely sided with business when any enforcement of the Act was attempted. For example, the American Sugar Refining Company controlled 98 percent of the sugar industry. Despite this virtual monopoly, the Supreme Court refused to dissolve the corporation in an 1895 ruling. The only time an organization was deemed in restraint of trade was when the court ruled against a labor union Roosevelt knew that no new legislation was necessary. When he sensed that he had a sympathetic Court, he sprung into action. Teddy vs. J.P. Theodore Roosevelt was not the type to initiate major changes timidly. The first trust giant to fall victim to Roosevelt's assault was none other than the most powerful industrialist in the country — J. Pierpont Morgan.

This 1912 cartoon shows trusts smashing consumers with the tariff hammer in hopes of raising profits. Morgan controlled a railroad company known as Northern Securities. In combination with railroad moguls James J. Hill and E. H. Harriman, Morgan controlled the bulk of railroad shipping across the northern United States. Morgan was enjoying a peaceful dinner at his New York home on February 19, 1902, when his telephone rang. He was furious to learn that Roosevelt's Attorney General was bringing suit against the Northern Securities Company. Stunned, he muttered to his equally shocked dinner guests about how rude it was to file such a suit without warning. Four days later, Morgan was at the White House with the President. Morgan bellowed that he was being treated like a common criminal. The President informed Morgan that no compromise could be reached, and the matter would be settled by the courts. Morgan inquired if his other interests were at risk, too. Roosevelt told him only the ones that had done anything wrong would be prosecuted. The Good, the Bad, and the Bully This was the core of Theodore Roosevelt's leadership. He boiled everything down to a case of right versus wrong and good versus bad.

If a trust controlled an entire industry but provided good service at reasonable rates, it was a "good" trust to be left alone. Only the "bad" trusts that jacked up rates and exploited consumers would come under attack. Who would decide the difference between right and wrong? The occupant of the White House trusted only himself to make this decision in the interests of the people. The American public cheered Roosevelt's new offensive. The Supreme Court, in a narrow 5 to 4 decision, agreed and dissolved the Northern Securities Company. Roosevelt said confidently that no man, no matter how powerful, was above the law. As he landed blows on other "bad" trusts, his popularity grew and grew. Department of Justice: Antitrust Division The Federal Department of Justice has an entire division devoted to enforcement of Federal antitrust laws. See how the government prosecutes cases by following links to documents filed in lawsuits against dozens of companies the Department of Justice says violate antitrust laws. Theodore Roosevelt | whitehouse.gov Air Force One Theodore Roosevelt With the assassination of President William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, not quite 43, became the 26th and youngest President in the Nation's history (1901-1909).

He brought new excitement and power to the office, vigorously leading Congress and the American public toward progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy. With the assassination of President McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, not quite 43, became the youngest President in the Nation's history. He brought new excitement and power to the Presidency, as he vigorously led Congress and the American public toward progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy. He took the view that the President as a "steward of the people" should take whatever action necessary for the public good unless expressly forbidden by law or the Constitution." I did not usurp power," he wrote, "but I did greatly broaden the use of executive power." Roosevelt's youth differed sharply from that of the log cabin Presidents. He was born in New York City in 1858 into a wealthy family, but he too struggled--against ill health--and in his triumph became an advocate of the strenuous life. In 1884 his first wife, Alice Lee Roosevelt, and his mother died on the same day. Roosevelt spent much of the next two years on his ranch in the Badlands of Dakota Territory.

There he mastered his sorrow as he lived in the saddle, driving cattle, hunting big game--he even captured an outlaw. On a visit to London, he married Edith Carow in December 1886. During the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt was lieutenant colonel of the Rough Rider Regiment, which he led on a charge at the battle of San Juan. He was one of the most conspicuous heroes of the war. Boss Tom Platt, needing a hero to draw attention away from scandals in New York State, accepted Roosevelt as the Republican candidate for Governor in 1898. Roosevelt won and served with distinction. As President, Roosevelt held the ideal that the Government should be the great arbiter of the conflicting economic forces in the Nation, especially between capital and labor, guaranteeing justice to each and dispensing favors to none. Roosevelt emerged spectacularly as a "trust buster" by forcing the dissolution of a great railroad combination in the Northwest. Other antitrust suits under the Sherman Act followed. Roosevelt steered the United States more actively into world politics. He liked to quote a favorite proverb, "Speak softly and carry a big stick. . . .

" Aware of the strategic need for a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific, Roosevelt ensured the construction of the Panama Canal. His corollary to the Monroe Doctrine prevented the establishment of foreign bases in the Caribbean and arrogated the sole right of intervention in Latin America to the United States. He won the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating the Russo-Japanese War, reached a Gentleman's Agreement on immigration with Japan, and sent the Great White Fleet on a goodwill tour of the world. Some of Theodore Roosevelt's most effective achievements were in conservation. He added enormously to the national forests in the West, reserved lands for public use, and fostered great irrigation projects. He crusaded endlessly on matters big and small, exciting audiences with his high-pitched voice, jutting jaw, and pounding fist. "The life of strenuous endeavor" was a must for those around him, as he romped with his five younger children and led ambassadors on hikes through Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. Leaving the Presidency in 1909, Roosevelt went on an African safari, then jumped back into politics. In 1912 he ran for President on a Progressive ticket.

To reporters he once remarked that he felt as fit as a bull moose, the name of his new party. While campaigning in Milwaukee, he was shot in the chest by a fanatic. Roosevelt soon recovered, but his words at that time would have been applicable at the time of his death in 1919: "No man has had a happier life than I have led; a happier life in every way." The Presidential biographies on WhiteHouse.gov are from “The Presidents of the United States of America,” by Frank Freidel and Hugh Sidey. Copyright 2006 by the White House Historical Association. Biography of President Theodore Roosevelt for Kids Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States.

Served as President: 1901-1909 Vice President: Charles Warren Fairbanks Party: Republican Born: October 27, 1858 in New York, New York Died: January 6, 1919 in Oyster Bay, New York Married: Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt Children: Alice, Theodore, Ethel, Kermit, Archibald, Quentin Nickname: Teddy, TR, The Trust Buster, Colonel Biography: What is Theodore Roosevelt most known for? Prior to becoming president, Roosevelt was famous for leading the Rough Riders in a battle at San Juan Hill in Cuba. While he was president he gained the nickname The Trust Buster for breaking up large companies called monopolies. His most famous quote is "Speak softly and carry a big stick". Young Theodore Roosevelt. Photo by Unknown Growing Up Theodore Roosevelt grew up in a wealthy family in New York . He was a sickly, asthmatic child. His father suggested that he exercise and stay active in order to improve his health. This worked and Teddy became a strong young man who liked the outdoors and staying active. Theodore went to Harvard University and then studied law at Columbia.

He soon went into politics and won a seat on the New York state legislature. However, tragedy struck when his first wife and his mother passed away. Theodore was devastated and went to the American west to work on a ranch as a cowboy . Before He Became President Roosevelt returned to New York in 1886 and got married soon after. He began to work for the government again and held a variety of jobs over the next several years including the U.S. Civil Service Commission under President Benjamin Harrison, New York City Police Commissioner, and Assistant Secretary of the Navy. In 1898 the Spanish-American War broke out. Roosevelt gathered a bunch of volunteers and formed a volunteer cavalry regiment that became known as the "Rough Riders". Roosevelt and the Rough Riders became famous war heroes for their charge up San Juan Hill in Cuba. After the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt was elected governor of New York. He became known as a fierce fighter of corruption within the government. In 1900 he became Vice-President as running mate to President William McKinley . Theodore Roosevelt's Presidency In September of 1901, President McKinley was assassinated and Roosevelt became president.

As president, Roosevelt worked hard to improve the quality of life for the average American. He took on large corporations that had formed monopolies or trusts. These trusts enabled companies to keep wages low and prices high. Roosevelt broke up many of these trusts and earned the nickname "the trustbuster". Other major accomplishments: He won the 1905 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in negotiating peace between Russia and Japan. He established the U.S. as the "police power" for the Western Hemisphere stating that the U.S. would protect threatened countries in North and South America. This was called his "Big Stick Diplomacy". He helped to increase the government regulation and safety standards of food and medicine with the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act. He worked on conservation by setting aside large areas of land out west for national forests and public use. He saw to it that the Panama Canal was built, creating a short cut between the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. How did he die? Roosevelt died in 1919 when his health failed. His health was never quite the same after his youngest son, Quentin, died in World War I a year earlier.

Theodore Roosevelt by John Singer Sargent Fun Facts about Theodore Roosevelt At 42 years, 10 months, 18 days old he was the youngest man to hold the office of president. After sitting out a term, he ran for president again in 1912 for the Bull Moose Party. He made a strong showing, but did not win. He didn't like the nickname Teddy, but preferred TR or Colonel. When he traveled to visit the Panama Canal in 1906 he became the first U.S. president to leave the country while in office. He was blind in his left eye due to an injury in a boxing match. He was shot in 1912 while campaigning for president for the Bull Moose Party. He continued with his speech stating that "it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose".

Activities Theodore Roosevelt - Biography - IMDb Theodore Roosevelt Biography Showing all 100 items Jump to: Overview (5) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (2) | Trade Mark (3) | Trivia (66) | Personal Quotes (23) Overview (5) The Hero of San Juan Hill The Man on Horseback 5' 10" (1.78 m) Mini Bio (1) Theodore Roosevelt was born on October 27, 1858 in New York City, New York, USA as Theodore Roosevelt Jr. He was a writer and producer, known for Theodore Roosevelt (1898), Colonel Theodore Roosevelt's Expedition Into the Wilds (1918) and Governor Roosevelt and Staff (1899). He was married to Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt and Alice Hathaway Lee. He died on January 6, 1919 in Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York.

Spouse (2) ( 2 December 1886 - 6 January 1919) (his death) (5 children) Alice Hathaway Lee ( 27 October 1880 - 14 February 1884) (her death) (1 child) Trade Mark (3) Known for His love of Physical Activities and His active Lifestyle Trivia (66) His first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt, and his mother, Martha Stewart "Mittie" Bulloch Roosevelt, both died on the same day, February 14, 1884, eleven hours apart. Alice died two days after giving birth to their first child, Alice Lee Roosevelt, of a combination of child birth and kidney disease, and Mittie died due to Typhoid Fever. In his personal diary, on that day, he wrote a large X, and one sentence, "The light has gone out of my life". Born at 3am-LMT Twenty-sixth president of the United States of America. Called the Father of the Teddy Bear. Youngest President of the United States, being sworn in at age 42 years, 322 days.

Second youngest was John F. Kennedy , who was sworn in at age 43 years, 236 days. Pictured on a 3¢ US postage stamp with General George W. Goethals, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Panama Canal, issued 15 August 1939. Pictured on the 30¢ US postage stamp in the Presidential Series, issued 8 December 1938. Pictured on a US 5¢ regular-issue postage stamp, issued 22 October 1922. Pictured on the 6¢ US postage stamp in the Liberty series, issued 18 November 1955. Honored on one of fifteen 32¢ US commemorative postage stamps in the "Celebrate the Century" series, issued 3 February 1998, celebrating the 1900s. Had Christmas trees banned from the White House because of concern about the overcutting of forests. Once delivered a one-hour speech in spite of being shot moments before by a would-be assassin. Once kept a hyena as a pet.

Responsible for the Maxwell House coffee slogan "Good to the Last Drop." Six children: Alice Roosevelt Longworth (1884-1980); Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (1887-1944); Kermit Roosevelt (1889-1943); Ethel Roosevelt Derby (1891-1977); Archibald Roosevelt (1894-1979); Quentin Roosevelt (1897-1918). Ran unsuccessfully for mayor of New York City. Was the only US President to be born in New York City. Assistant Secretary of the Navy (1897-1898). Charter member of the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1955. Governor of New York (1899-1900). There is a picture of a young Teddy watching Abraham Lincoln 's funeral cortège passing by from an upstairs window of his grandfather's house on Union Square, New York City. Uncle of Eleanor Roosevelt His second wife, Edith, was his childhood sweetheart Severe asthma made him a sickly infant and virtually homebound child.

His parents tried all available remedies and traveled worldwide to find him a salutary climate. But it was vigorous exercise that helped turn him into a healthy, productive adult. His association with the "teddy bear" toy dates back to a hunting trip. After no game could be found, someone captured a stray bear cub and offered Roosevelt the opportunity to shoot it. He refused, saying it was "unsportsmanlike". News of the incident spread, including a cartoon drawing of Roosevelt refusing to shoot the cub, tied with a rope. A few weeks later, a state function was held at the White House, and someone, reportedly Roosevelt's wife, had small dolls in the likeness of bears made as card holders for the place settings. The bears were taken home as souvenirs, and the "teddy bear" phenomenon had begun. He disliked the nickname "Teddy". None of his friends and family dared to address him by it. Had photographic memory. He could recite pages from a newspaper he had just read as if he were reading from it. He was also a speed reader and would read two to three books a day. While serving as Vice president, he enrolled in courses at law school to alleviate his boredom.

At the time, the only official duty the Vice President had was to preside over the Senate. Consequently, he claimed that the Vice Presidency was no place for a young man. Nephew of Congressman Robert B. Roosevelt. Fifth cousin of Franklin D. Roosevelt . Both were U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Navy (TR April 19, 1897 - May 10, 1898, and FDR March 17, 1913 - August 26, 1920), both were Governor of New York (TR January 1, 1899 - December 31, 1900, and FDR January 1, 1929 - December 31, 1932), and both were President of the United States (TR was 26th, and FDR was 32nd). Even though they admired each other greatly, they were of different political parties, TR was a Republican, and FDR was a Democrat. He was both granduncle and fifth cousin (once removed) of Congressman James Roosevelt and Congressman Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr. .

After the assassination of President William McKinley , he was sworn in as the 26th President of the United States on September 14, 1901, in Buffalo, New York, USA. Known for his "Square Deal" program and his speeches urging honesty in business. As an admirer of his cousin Theodore, Franklin had his own deal, the New Deal. Championed the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act (which led to the founding of the Food and Drug Administration) after reading Upton Sinclair 's novel "The Jungle". Known as the "Trust Buster" for his efforts to break up the intricate webs of monopolies and trusts set up by wealthy industrialists, which Roosevelt believed were strangling the economy, hurting workers and had no place in a free-market economy. Roosevelt always said that his only regret, as President, was that he did not have a war to fight. But during his term he built up the largest Navy the country had ever seen, the Great White Fleet, which he sent on an around the world voyage, making the United States the modern world's first true superpower. Only person to receive a Nobel Peace Prize and a (USA) Medal of Honor.

He received the Nobel Prize during his lifetime, while the Medal of Honor was not awarded until 2001, approximately 82 years after his death. In 1906 became the first American to win a Nobel prize. He was awarded the Peace Prize for his efforts in concluding the peace treaty that ended the Russo-Japanese war. The medal he received is on permanent display in the Roosevelt Room in the West Wing of the White House. In 2001 he became the first US president to be awarded the Medal of Honor. He received it posthumously for his actions at San Juan Hill in Cuba, where he led the charge of the Rough Riders. Cousin of Andre Roosevelt . In his last will and testament, executed in 1912, he left the bulk of his estate, valued at $500,000, to his wife Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt. A further $60,000 trust fund was to be divided among his five surviving children, Alice Lee Roosevelt (Longworth), Theodore Roosevelt III, Kermit Roosevelt, Ethel Carow Roosevelt (Derby), and Archibald Bulloch Roosevelt.

His sixth and youngest child, Quentin Roosevelt, died in 1918, while fighting World War I in France. Had 6 children. His eldest child (a girl) died last, at age 96 of emphysema and pneumonia, and his youngest child (a boy) died first, fighting in World War I, age 20. There is a photograph of President Abraham Lincoln 's funeral procession passing in front of an apartment building on Broadway at 14th Street (Union Square) in Manhattan, New York City. In it, two young boys can be seen looking out the window. One is Theodore Roosevelt himself and the other is his brother, Elliot. At the time of his first election to the New York State Assembly in 1882, he was the youngest person, up until that time, at age 23, ever elected to the New York State legislature. Although a Republican, he was a closet supporter of Grover Cleveland , a Democrat (the 22nd and 24th President of the United States), in the Presidential Election of 1888.

Although, as a Lieutenant-Colonel, he was second-in-command to his friend, Colonel Leonard Wood , for his army unit in the invasion of Cuba in 1898, the unit was known as Roosevelt's Rough Riders. He married his second wife, Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt, in semi-secret, at St. George's Church, Hanover Square, London, England, UK, on December 2, 1886. She outlived him by more than 29 years. After his wife Alice's death and funeral in 1884, he returned to work in the New York State legislature, in grief, and never spoke his deceased wife's name, or talked about her, for the rest of his life. He suffered from depression for all of his adult life. While a child, he was known as Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., but never used the "Jr." when he was an adult, mostly due to the early death of his father, Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. in 1878, age 46, when TR was 19 years old.

His second child, and first son, was named Theodore Roosevelt, III, but was generally known as Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., and who also served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, like his father, and his fifth cousin (once removed), Franklin D. Roosevelt . He was known to have a relatively high pitched voice, sometimes even squeaky. A few recordings of his voice still exist. During his childhood, he was mostly home schooled by his parents and private tutors, before gaining entrance into Harvard College. He earned his Bachelor of Arts (then referred to as "A.B." rather than the modern "B.A.") degree, graduating Phi Beta Kappa (22nd in a class of 177) and magna cum laude from Harvard College on June 30, 1880. When he was first nominated for Vice-President in 1900 at the Republican National Convention, he was nominated unanimously, except for one vote, his own. The voice of Theodore Roosevelt was portrayed by Paul Giamatti in The Roosevelts: An Intimate History (2014). Historian David McCullough described him as "A one man gas bag," and McCullogh meant it as a compliment.

Both Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt were victims of assassination attempts, in the case of TR, the assassin's bullet found its target, striking TR in he chest, but not killing him (TR continued his one hour speech before seeking medical care). In the case of FDR, the assassin missed his target of FDR, striking the Mayor of Chicago, Anton J. Cermak instead, killing him. Was best friends with his successor, William Howard Taft . Was a voracious reader and often tried to read a book every day before breakfast and could often fit in another two or three before bed. Was blind in one eye from an injury sustained in a boxing match. Consumed copious amounts of Coffee, often drinking at least a gallon a day, as a way of self-medicating his Asthma. Had a black belt in Jujitsu. Inducted into the International Mustache Hall of Fame in 2015 (inaugural class) in the category Politics & Leadership. Once on a hunting trip, he lost his spectacles when a tree branch brushed the side of his face.

He never found that pair again, and to be prepared, he developed a habit of always keeping a spare set of steel-framed glasses in his breast pocket. He was carrying just such a set during his attempted assassination. The glasses were destroyed, but also probably saved his life. James Garfield, Jr., son of James A. Garfield , served as Roosevelt's Secretary of the Interior. Depicted with naturalist John Muir on the obverse of a USA $5 commemorative gold coin, dated 2016, celebrating the centennial of the U.S. National Park Service. Friend of author Owen Wister . Personal Quotes (23) President Theodore Roosevelt - Fast Facts By Martin Kelly Updated June 22, 2016. Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) served as America's twenty-sixth president. Known as the "Trust Buster," Roosevelt was a larger than life president. He is remembered as not only president but also as an author, soldier, naturalist, and reformer. Here is a quick list of fast facts for Theodore Roosevelt. For more in depth information, you can also read the Theodore Roosevelt Biography .

Birth: William Taft: Domestic Affairs—Miller Center About the Administration William Howard Taft entered the White House determined to implement and continue Roosevelt's program. His central ambition regarding reform was to create an orderly framework for administering a reform agenda. His conception of executive leadership was primarily focused on administration rather than legislative agenda-setting. He felt most comfortable in executing the law, regardless of his personal feelings for the particular piece of legislation. However, during his presidency, Congress produced significant reform legislation. In one of his first acts in office, Taft called for a special session of Congress to reform tariff law through reduced rates. Among the significant pieces of legislation passed by Congress during Taft's presidency was the Mann-Elkins Act of 1910, empowering the Interstate Commerce Commission to suspend railroad rate hikes and to set rates. The act also expanded the ICC's jurisdiction to cover telephones, telegraphs, and radio. Taft also placed 35,000 postmasters and 20,000 skilled workers in the Navy under civil service protection. In addition, the Department of Commerce and Labor was divided into two cabinet departments with Taft's approval.

He also vetoed the admissions of Arizona and New Mexico to statehood because of their constitutional provision for the recall of judges. When the recall clauses were removed, Taft supported statehood. And while he pushed the passage of the Sixteenth Amendment (income tax), he only reluctantly advocated the Seventeenth Amendment (direct election of senators). Among his most controversial actions, Taft promoted an administrative innovation whereby the President, rather than the disparate agencies of government, would submit a budget to Congress. Congress prohibited that action, but Taft's effort foreshadowed the creation of the executive budget in the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, which gave the President new capacities for efficiency and control in the executive branch. Trust-Busting Taft's intent to provide more efficient administration for existing reform policies was perfectly suited for the prosecution of antitrust violations. More trust prosecutions (99, in all) occurred under Taft than under Roosevelt, who was known as the "Great Trust-Buster." The two most famous antitrust cases under the Taft Administration, Standard Oil Company of New Jersey and the American Tobacco Company, were actually begun during the Roosevelt years.

He also won a lawsuit against the American Sugar Refining Company to break up the "sugar trust" that rigged prices. And when Taft moved to break up U.S. Steel, Roosevelt accused him of a lack of insight—unable to distinguish between "good" and "bad" trusts. By 1911, however, Taft began to back away from his antitrust efforts, stung by the criticism of his conservative business supporters and unsure about the long-range effect of trust-busting on the national economy. Most importantly, Taft had surrounded himself with conservative businessmen who shared his love for golf and recreation at fine resorts. His new business cronies isolated Taft from the progressive followers of Roosevelt who had supported his election. Presidential Missteps Taft stumbled dramatically on two important occasions as President. The first misstep occurred with his special congressional session to revise the tariff downward. This move activated a concerted effort by the protectionist majority in the Republican Party to persuade Taft to back off on tariff reform. In the struggle over the tariff, Senator Nelson Aldrich of Rhode Island and Representative Sereno E.

Payne of New York, representing big business, succeeded in pushing through a tariff (the Payne-Aldrich Tariff) that affected only modest reductions. Although during the course of congressional action Taft had threatened to veto a tariff bill with insufficient reductions, when the Payne-Aldrich bill came to his desk he signed it, later claiming it was the best tariff bill ever passed by Congress. Taft's reversal on tariff reform immediately alienated progressives who saw high tariffs as the "mother of trusts."The second misstep involved his dismissal of Roosevelt's friend, the chief forester of the United States, Gifford Pinchot. The affair stemmed from Taft's appointment of Washington-state businessman Richard Ballinger as head of the Department of the Interior. Ballinger held that Roosevelt had improperly closed large sections of federal public-domain lands to economic development, re-opened some tracts, including rich coal lands in Alaska that Roosevelt had previously designated not for sale. Consequently, Pinchot launched a public attack on Ballinger, and indirectly on Taft, leaving the President with no alternative but to dismiss Pinchot. The resulting explosion tore the Republican Party apart and drove an inseparable wedge between Taft and his once-beloved friend and mentor, Theodore Roosevelt.

William Taft Essays SparkNotes: SAT Subject Test: U.S. History: Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal Theodore Roosevelt became president in September 1901 after the assassination of William McKinley. Although he had been vice president under McKinley, Roosevelt did not share McKinley’s conservative, pro-business policies. Instead, as president, Roosevelt advanced aggressive political reforms, including the heavy regulation of business. Known as the “trust-buster,” Roosevelt was the first president to successfully invoke the Sherman Antitrust Act against monopolies and continued to restrict businesses throughout his presidency. His reforms greatly influenced economic, environmental, and international affairs as well. Roosevelt’s platform became known as the “Square Deal” because he vowed not to favor any group of Americans but to be fair to all. Relations with Labor and Corporations Roosevelt was committed to addressing the problems of labor and corporate activity. Unlike his predecessors, Roosevelt defended the right of labor to organize, and eschewed the use of federal troops to put down strikes. In 1902, he intervened in a United Mine Workers Strike and helped labor get management to agree to binding arbitration. The arbitrators awarded the miners a wage increase and a shortened workday.

Roosevelt also worked to restrict the power of big business by breaking up a monopoly. In his administration’s first trust-busting case, his attorney general filed suit against the Northern Securities Company, a railroad holding company, for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act, which had not been successfully used against monopolies since its passage in 1890. After this case, though, the Act became an extremely important tool for government regulation of corporations. In 1904, the Supreme Court ordered that the Northern Securities Company be dissolved, a decision that launched a series of antitrust suits. In all, the Roosevelt administration filed forty-three trust-busting suits. After winning reelection in 1904, Roosevelt traded sporadic bursts of trust-busting for more permanent regulation. He successfully negotiated the passage of the Hepburn Act in 1906, which empowered the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), a previously weak agency, to set maximum railroad rates and inspect railroad companies’ financial records. Roosevelt, unlike his Republican predecessors in office, was not pro-business.

He aggressively enforced the Sherman Antitrust Act and empowered the Interstate Commerce Commission, both key elements in his “Square Deal.” Protecting Consumers and Conserving the Environment Responding to the muckrakers’ exposés on the unsanitary conditions in food plants and the dangerous ingredients in foods and medicines, Roosevelt endorsed the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act, both passed in 1906. The first act prohibited the sale of adulterated or inaccurately labeled foods and medicines, and the second established federal regulations for meatpackers and a system of inspection. The early twentieth century also saw a rise in concern for the environment. Those who supported conservation and protection of wilderness sites were called preservationists. Preservationists were often in conflict with business interests who saw the wilderness in terms of resources and space for commercial and residential development. Roosevelt was at heart a preservationist, but understood the need for compromise. He achieved this compromise through his conservation program, which provided for the regulated use of the nation’s wilderness. Roosevelt designated 200 million acres as national forests, mineral reserves, and potential waterpower sites, and added five national parks and eighteen national monuments to the list of protected lands.

In 1908 Roosevelt created the National Conservation Commission to inventory the nation’s resources and manage their use more efficiently. Conservationism was a hallmark of Roosevelt’s presidency. He protected land through the creation of national parks and monuments, and advocated the responsible use of the nation’s resources by establishing the National Conservation Commission. Aggressive Foreign Policy: “Big Stick” Diplomacy Roosevelt summed up his approach to foreign policy in a single sentence: “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” Having become president shortly after the American victory in the Spanish-American War, Roosevelt was confident in America’s status as a major international power. His goal to maintain that status through aggressive tactics was dubbed “big stick” diplomacy. Roosevelt’s most notable achievement in foreign policy was the building of the Panama Canal, an artificial waterway stretching through the isthmus of Panama, which was then part of Colombia. Since the canal connected the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and vastly shortened shipping routes, Roosevelt saw its creation as vitally important to American economic and maritime interests. When the Colombian government first rejected America’s offer to lease the land and build the canal for over $10 million, Roosevelt helped engineer a revolution on the isthmus.

The revolution erupted in 1903, and the new Panamanian government that took power proved to be much more cooperative with the United States. The new government granted the U.S. permanent possession of the ten-mile-wide strip of land across Panama on the same financial terms rejected earlier by Colombia. Construction on the canal began in 1906, and it opened in 1914. Roosevelt’s intervention in Panama was indicative of his entire attitude toward Latin America, where he asserted the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. In 1904, with several European nations poised to invade the Dominican Republic, Roosevelt declared that the United States, not Europe, should dominate Latin America, and that although the U.S. had no expansionist intentions, any “chronic wrongdoing” by a Latin American nation would justify U.S. intervention as a global policeman. (Remember that the Monroe Doctrine had warned Europeans not to intervene in Latin America; the Roosevelt Corollary maintained this warning, and asserted that the U.S. alone could intervene.) During Roosevelt’s presidency, the U.S.

invoked the Roosevelt Corollary repeatedly as justification for its involvement in the affairs of the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba. The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine asserted the right of the U.S. government to intervene in the affairs of Latin American countries while maintaining that European powers should stay out of Latin America. Roosevelt also involved himself in the affairs of Asia after the Russo-Japanese War broke out in 1904. Concerned about maintaining the balance of power between nations, Roosevelt invited delegates from Russia and Japan to the U.S. for a peace conference in 1905 that resulted in the signing of a treaty. Roosevelt received the Nobel Peace Prize for his actions. In an effort to discourage further trouble in Asia, Roosevelt sent sixteen new, gleaming white battleships, dubbed “the Great White Fleet,” to Asian ports and elsewhere around the world.

Question: Which US President was given the nickname ‘The Trust Buster’?
Answer: Theodore Roosevelt