Rose Piscitelli, Shannon Bissel, Taylor Stickles, and Mary Verneris

 Became president in 1901 when he was 43 years old  Embraced Progressive ideals  Reputation for being smart, energetic, and opinionated  He was a sickly child  Graduated with honors from Harvard  President of New York City’s Board of Police Commissioners ◦ Gained fame by fighting corruption

 Named Assistant Secretary of the Navy  When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, Roosevelt resigned the post to form the Rough Riders, a volunteer cavalry unit that became famous during the war  After war he was elected governor of New York  Was McKinley’s running mate in the election ◦ McKinley was assassinated and Roosevelt became president  Roosevelt greatly expanded the power of the President

 Square Deal: President Theodore Roosevelt’s program of reforms to keep the wealthy and powerful from taking advantage of small business owners ◦ It is compared to a hand of cards  The president and his administration earned the reputation as “trustbusters”  Broke up trusts that he thought were bad ◦ Trust: group of separate companies that are placed under the control of a single managing board in order to form a monopoly. ◦ He saw a difference between “good” and “bad trusts”

 Hepburn Act ◦ 1906 ◦ gave the government the authority to set railroad rates and maximum prices for ferries, bridge tolls, and oil pipelines  Sherman Antitrust Act ◦ 1890 ◦ law banning any trust that restrained interstate trade or commerce ◦ wasn’t enforced until Roosevelt came into office

 1906  Upton Sinclair  Wrote about the unhealthy, filthy conditions in meat packaging plants ◦ Revolted the public ◦ Infuriated the President  Roosevelt encouraged Congress to pass the Meat inspection act ◦ Allowed the federal government to inspect meat sold across state lines ◦ Required federal inspection of meat processing plants ◦ Government can force mat packer to pull off of shelves before many people become sick  Lasting result of Progressives’ insistence that the government take responsibility for food safety

 1906  Allowed federal inspection of food and medicine  Banned the interstate shipment and sale of impure food and the mislabeling of food and drugs  FDA still enforces this law ◦ Before sale, a drug must be tested and approved by the FDA  Makes sure people are not hurt by dangerous substances or dishonest labels

 Naturalist John Muir led Congress to Create Yosemite National Park (1890) ◦ Said all wild areas should be preserved ◦ Roosevelt disagreed  Some held valuable resources that should be used  Congress gave the President the power to protect Timberlands by setting aside lands as national forests  Roosevelt closed over 100 acres of forest land  Drew up lands for both using and conserving forests  Used ideas of Griffon Pinchot ◦ Forests should be preserved for public use  Trees should be protected to have time to mature into good lumber  Then logged for wood to build houses and new areas under protection  Dominated American policies towards natural resources

 Bitter fights over water rights  1902  Gave the federal government the power to decide where and how water would be distributed  build and manage dams that would create reservoirs, generate power, and direct water flow  Made water in one state available to farmers in other states  Created huge lakes where there were dry canyons  Hoover Dam on the Colorado River

 Roosevelt left the presidency after two terms  Helped secretary of War William Howard Taft win the presidency in 1908  Expected Taft to continue his programs but Taft had an agenda of his own ◦ Did not lower tariffs ◦ Encouraged an income tax ◦ Dropped Roosevelt's distinction between good trusts and bad trusts ◦ Supported "rule of reason“ (allowing of big monopolies) ◦ Fired Gifford Pinchot

 Roosevelt began traveling the country speaking about "New Nationalism"  New Nationalism- a program to restore the governments trust-busting power.  Vowed to tackle the trusts in a third presidential term  Taft-Roosevelt battle split the Republican Party  Progressives from the Republican Party set up the Progressive Party for the 1912 election  Progressive Party= Roosevelt  Republican Party= Taft

 Split in the Republican Party created opportunity for the Democrats  Woodrow Wilson=-governor of New Jersey  Democratic Candidate for the 1912 election  Wilson shaped his ideas into a new program he called “New Freedom”  New Freedom- ◦ Similar to Roosevelt's New Nationalism ◦ Strict government controls on corporations ◦ Provide more opportunities and more freedom for small businesses

 Attacked the “Triple Wall of Privilege”- tariffs, banks, and trusts  Passed the Sixteenth Amendment- gave congress the authority to levy an income tax  Congress lowers tariffs on goods imported from foreign countries  Passed the Underwood Tariff Bill which cut taxes  The Underwood Tariff Act of created a graduated income tax (wealthy people pay a higher percentage of their income than the poor do)

 1913  Law that placed national banks under the control of a Federal Reserve board which set up regional banks to hold the reserve funds from commercial banks  Helps protect the American economy from having too much money end up in the hands of one person, region, or bank  Sets the interest rate that banks pay to borrow money from other banks  Supervises banks to make sure they’re well run  Most important piece of economic legislation before the 1930s

 1914  Federal Trade Commission ◦ Wilson persuaded Congress to make it ◦ Group named by the President to monitor business practices that might lead to monopoly ◦ Watched out for false advertising and dishonest labeling  Clayton Antitrust Act ◦ Strengthened earlier antitrust laws by regulating the activities businesses could engage in ◦ Protect businesses and consumers from abusive business practices ◦ Still in effect today ◦ Regulates buying on the Internet

 Fall 1913  Coal miners in Ludlow, CA demanded the right to form a union, safer conditions, and higher pay  The coal company refused, so they walked off the job  Had to live in tents near the mines  April 20, 1914 Colorado National Guard opened fire and set the tents on fire ◦ About 26 people killed  Wilson set federal troops to restore order and break up the strike

 Paved the way for future trends in the American political system  Federal government grew to offer more protection to Americans’ private lives while gaining more control over other peoples’ lives  Current economy showcases strength of the Progressives’ legacy  Expanded government’s role in managing natural resources