President BENJAMIN HARRISON signed the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. It was designed to break up powerful business monopolies. Harrison wanted to increase competition in the U.S. economy. President Roosevelt decided to enforce the antitrust law. In 1903, his administration sued a large trust (i.e., the owners of a monopoly) for violating the Sherman Act.
In 1904, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Roosevelt administration. The case was called Northern Securities Co. v. United States. The vote was close. Five justices voted in favor of the administration's position. Four justices opposed it. But a close decision was all Roosevelt needed. The court had decided the Sherman Act was constitutional. It had also decided that the Northern Securities Company was an illegal monopoly.
After the Northern Securities Co. case was decided, Roosevelt's administration sued other trusts. The president decided to break up the Standard Oil Company and the American Tobacco Company. He was nicknamed the "trustbuster."
Before Roosevelt's term ended, the U.S. economy was in trouble. Large investors declined to invest their money. When investment slowed down, the economy slumped. The president needed to avoid a depression. He decided to encourage more investment in the economy. He met with allies of J.P. Morgan. Most of the largest U.S. corporations had ties to Morgan's company. It was the country's largest financial empire.
In 1907, the Roosevelt administration and the Morgan group reached an informal "gentlemen's agreement." It allowed U.S. Steel Corporation to buy out the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company. The buyout created the most powerful monopoly in U.S. history. As part of the deal, U.S. Steel bought nearly all the domestic steel industry. It also acquired most of the iron and coal reserves in the United States.
Roosevelt approved the deal. He did not object to private wealth. He only wanted to prevent "bad conduct" by powerful private companies. The president decided the federal government should be the "watchdog." Private companies had to consult the government before they formed monopolies. The government would tolerate monopolies that did not harm the public interest. It would not prosecute them.
Labor Unions
Before Roosevelt took office, U.S. presidents did not become involved in labor negotiations. In 1902, President Roosevelt intervened in the United Mine Workers (UMW) strike. The strike affected the coal industry. Roosevelt believed the strike created a national emergency. Coal was the country's main heating fuel.
Mine owners refused to bargain with the UMW. Roosevelt threatened to take over the mines. The mine owners finally agreed to negotiations. But they still refused to recognize the union. A panel was set up to arbitrate the dispute. Roosevelt slipped a negotiator sympathetic to the union onto the arbitration panel. The UMW won higher wages. However, the union lost its biggest fight. It failed to win the right to collective bargaining.
Immigration
In 1901, President WILLIAM MCKINLEY was assassinated by a Polish immigrant. The assassin was an anarchist. Immigrants became very unpopular in the United States. Many of them had fled political tyranny in Europe. Some of them were political radicals. The anarchists believed all governments were corrupt. Most Americans feared political radicalism. They especially feared anarchists who wanted to destroy the government.
President Roosevelt shared the American public's distaste for political radicalism. He was also suspicious of immigrants. In 1903, he signed the Immigration Act. It allowed immigrants to be deported for associating with political radicals. They could also be deported for making political statements. The act robbed immigrants of their First Amendment rights.
Conservation
President Roosevelt was known as the "Great Conservationist." In 1902, he signed the Newlands Reclamation Act. Much of the West had little water. The Reclamation Act allowed the federal government to finance irrigation projects in the West. The new water systems turned parts of California into some of the country's best farmlands.
In 1905, Congress created the U.S. Forest Service. President Roosevelt used the new agency to save millions of acres of forest lands. They were reserved for public use. (The president used executive orders to create the public forests. His opponents called them the "midnight forests.") Roosevelt also established the first wildlife reserve in the United States. It is located at Pelican Island, Florida.
The Big Stick and the New World Power
President Roosevelt was a man of large ambitions. In foreign affairs, he was an internationalist and an imperialist. He wanted to make the United States a global power. He claimed to "speak softly and carry a big stick." (In fact, he rarely spoke softly.) As president, Roosevelt expanded the U.S. role in the world. He encouraged revolution in Panama. He sent the U.S. Navy to collect duties in the Dominican Republic. He personally intervened and negotiated peace terms in the Russo-Japanese War.
The Panama Canal
When RUTHERFORD HAYES was president, Colombia gave a French company the right to build a canal across Panama. (At the time, Panama was part of Colombia.) The French company went bankrupt. Colombia asked the United States to complete the canal.
President Roosevelt began negotiating with Colombia. He offered more than $50 million to build the canal. The United States wanted a 99-year lease. It also wanted the property rights of the bankrupt Panama Canal Company. At first, the Colombian government approved the deal. But then the Colombian Senate decided to stall for more money. Roosevelt grew impatient. In 1903, he supported a rebellion in Panama. Panama won its independence.
The new Panamanian government signed a treaty with the United States. It gave the United States a 99-year lease. In effect, the United States owned the Panama Canal and the zone around it. The U.S. government invested in controlling yellow fever and malaria in the area. Construction of the canal was supervised by the U.S. Corps of Engineers. More than 43,000 workers labored on the project. The Panama Canal cost $380 million. It opened in 1915.
The Monroe Doctrine
In 1832, President JAMES MONROE announced the Monroe Doctrine. He warned European governments not to intervene in the Americas. When Roosevelt became president, some Caribbean countries were deeply in debt to Europeans. He feared the Europeans would try to collect the debts.
President Roosevelt decided to extend the Monroe Doctrine. He committed the United States to collect government debts owed to Europeans by American countries. In 1907, he ordered the U.S. Navy to seize the customhouse in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The navy collected Dominican import duties. The duties were used to repay Dominican debts to Europeans.
Russo-Japanese War
When Roosevelt became president, Russia was claiming the right to control Korea and Manchuria. Japan disputed Russia's claims. In 1904, Japan attacked Russia to gain control of Korea and Manchuria. President Roosevelt admired Japan's toughness. He liked the Japanese government's willingness to use force. But he moved quickly to protect U.S. interests in the Far East.
In 1905, Roosevelt hosted peace talks between Russia and Japan. The talks were held in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Japan was allowed to annex Korea. The United States agreed to recognize Japanese interests in Manchuria. In exchange, Japan recognized U.S. interests in the Philippines. In 1906, Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in negotiating an end to the Russo-Japanese War.
The Brownsville Incident
When Roosevelt took office, some African-American soldiers were stationed at southern bases. Most of them resented the harsh segregation in the South. In August 1906, black soldiers rioted in Brownsville, Texas. They were never identified, indicted, or convicted.
President Roosevelt approved dishonorable discharges for more than 160 black soldiers stationed in Brownsville. They were accused of rioting, but their guilt was never proved. Some of them were decorated veterans. They had won the Congressional Medal of Honor. All of them were deprived of their pensions and other Army benefits.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT AND HIS TIMES
(Theodore) Roosevelt's Inaugurations
After President WILLIAM MCKINLEY died, Roosevelt was sworn-in on September 14, 1901. He took the oath in an informal ceremony in a private home in Buffalo, New York. It was administered by U.S. District Judge John R. Hazel. No other inaugural events were held.
Roosevelt's second inaugural was held on March 4, 1905. It was one of the largest inaugurations in U.S. history. The parade featured military bands, drill units, Rough Riders, cowboys, and Indians. Roosevelt watched the parade from a reviewing stand. He was so elated that he cheered and called out to the marchers passing by. The parade was followed by a very large inaugural ball. Thousands attended. It was held at the Pension Building in Washington, D.C.
(Theodore) Roosevelt the Youngest President
Roosevelt became president at 42 years old. He was the youngest person ever to take the presidential oath. (JOHN KENNEDY was the youngest person ever elected U.S. president. He was 43 years old.)
(Theodore) Roosevelt the First "Modern" President
Roosevelt's presidency represented a clear break with the past. He was the first president to ride in an automobile. He made the first presidential visit to a foreign country (Panama). And he invited the first African-American (Booker T. Washington) to dine at the White House.
The White House
When Roosevelt was president, the Executive Mansion officially became the White House. Congress renamed the mansion in 1901. In 1902, it underwent extensive renovation. Most of the main floor was rebuilt and refurnished. The West Wing was added to the mansion. An outdoor office building was constructed on the property. The White House has 132 rooms.
The Oval Office
In 1902, the White House was renovated for the first time since the War of 1812. The Oval Office was added to the mansion. It became the president's office. It was part of the new West Wing. Most of the president's staff is also housed in the West Wing.
(Theodore) Roosevelt the Father of the National Parks
Roosevelt took a great interest in conservation. As president, he used executive powers to protect forests and other natural environments. In 1906, he established the first national monument at Devils Tower, Wyoming. (Yellowstone was the first national park. It had been established in 1872.) National parks, monuments, historic sites, and presidential libraries are administered by the National Park Service. It was created in 1916. The National Park Service is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The Audubon Society
Roosevelt was a charter member of the (National) Audubon Society. It is the largest custodian of privately owned wildlife sanctuaries in the United States. The society was established in 1905. It is named for the 18th-century American naturalist John James Audubon. Roosevelt developed a lifelong friendship with John Muir, another founding member of the Audubon Society. Muir was a natural historian. He discovered the famous Muir Glacier. It is part of the Glacier Bay National Monument located near Juneau, Alaska.
The Teddy Bear
The Teddy Bear toy is named after Theodore Roosevelt. The phrase was coined by a newspaper cartoonist. He published a cartoon showing Roosevelt on a hunting trip. The sympathetic president was sparing the life of a baby cub. A toy manufacturer picked up the idea. The Teddy Bear quickly became the most popular toy in the United States.
The Socialist Party
The first Socialist party was founded in Germany in 1863. It was called the German Social Democratic Party. In 1874, the Workingmen's Party was founded in United States. It renamed itself the Socialist Labor Party around 1876. In 1904, the Socialists nominated their first presidential candidate. His name was Eugene Debs. After 1916, Socialist candidates were not a major factor in U.S. presidential elections.
Eugene V. Debs
In 1904, Eugene Debs challenged Roosevelt for the presidency. Debs was the candidate of the Socialist Labor Party. He was an official of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen union. He had been president of the American Railway Union. After 1904, Debs would run for president four times.
Oliver Wendell Holmes
In 1902, Roosevelt appointed Oliver Wendell Holmes to the Supreme Court. Holmes became one of the country's greatest justices. Born in Boston in 1841, Holmes graduated from Harvard in 1861. Before joining the court, he was an attorney, teacher, and state judge. Holmes resigned from the Supreme Court in 1932. He died in 1935.
The (Theodore) Roosevelt Birthplace and Inaugural National Historic Sites
Roosevelt was born in New York City. The original house is no longer standing. Roosevelt's birthplace is a reconstructed version of the original townhouse. In 1901, he was sworn-in as president in the Ansley Wilcox House in Buffalo, New York. The house belonged to Ansley Wilcox, a Buffalo lawyer. He and Roosevelt were close friends.
Both houses are now museums. They contain objects used by Roosevelt during his life. They are administered by the U.S. National Park Service. Both houses are open to the public.
Sagamore Hill
Sagamore Hill was Roosevelt's estate. It is located in Oyster Bay, New York. When Roosevelt was president, the estate served as the "summer White House." He purchased the property in 1880. The main house was completed in 1885. In 1905, Roosevelt added the famous Trophy Room. He used the room to entertain his guests.
Mount Rushmore
The Mount Rushmore National Memorial is located in the Black Hills of southwestern South Dakota. The faces of four presidents are carved into the granite hillside. The presidents are GEORGE WASHINGTON, THOMAS JEFFERSON, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, and THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
Most of the carving was done by the sculptor Gutzon Borglum. Each sculpture is 465 feet high. The sculptures were begun in 1927. The faces were unveiled between 1930 and 1939. The total cost of the project exceeded $1.5 million.
