TR facts to think about The VP said this when he died “Death had to take him sleeping, for if Roosevelt had been awake there would have been a fight.” He once killed a cougar…. with a knife. Remember that time someone tried to assassinate you, but you just laughed and proceeded to give a 90-minute long speech with the bullet lodged in your lung, where it remained for the rest of your life? Well TR can.

Teddy Roosevelt and the Square Deal

Teddy “TR” Roosevelt becomes President after McKinley is assassinated in 1901(youngest ever) TR made a name for himself as a soldier and politician in the late 1800s TR believed in a strong federal govt. and a strong leader; this belief will redefine the role of the President (TR is 1st modern President)

He saw his office as his “bully pulpit” from which he was going to influence media and lawmakers He promised all Americans a Square Deal TR “assumed” many powers as President

The Square Deal in Action 1902 Coal Miner’s Strike

The Trustbuster Northern Securities v. U.S.

Protecting the People and the Land After his experiences in the Spanish-American War and reading The Jungle, TR pushes for the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act

TR becomes one of the first President to address the environment TR supported conservation, which meant use the land, but do not abuse the land During his terms, TR will create 3 new national parks, dozens of wildlife sanctuaries, and set aside over 225 million of acres of land for reserves He appoints Gifford “the Giffmeister” Pinchot as head of the US Forest Service. He will clash with John “Papa Bear” Muir who was a preservationist. This clash will help cause a split in the Republican Party in the 1912 election which will cost them.

TR does little to help civil rights in general, however he does champion individual causes for some W.E.B. Du Bois helps establish the NAACP in Very little will be done during the Progressive Era to advance civil rights. Any civil rights bill that was proposed was squashed by southerners.