Theodore Roosevelt’s Path to the White House

Theodore Roosevelt—also known as Teddy Roosevelt or “TR”—came from a wealthy New York family. As a child, he suffered from asthma and was often sick. To build his strength, he lifted weights, ran, and boxed. He improved his physical condition and remained active his entire life.

A Life of Public Service

Roosevelt could have enjoyed a life of ease. Instead, he decided to enter politics. He was determined to end corruption and devote himself to working for the public interest.

Roosevelt’s friends mocked his decision to devote his life to public service. He later recalled that they said, “that the men I met would be rough and brutal and unpleasant to deal with.” He replied that he would not quit until he “found out whether I was really too weak to hold my own in the rough and tumble.”

By age 26, Roosevelt was serving in the New York state legislature. Then tragedy struck. In 1884, his mother and his wife died on the same day. Overcome by grief, Roosevelt quit the legislature. He went west to work on a cattle ranch. There, he noticed the damage being done to the environment and wildlife and became concerned.

After two years, Roosevelt returned to the East and to politics. He served on the Civil Service Commission. He then headed New York City’s police department and later became assistant secretary of the navy.

In 1898, the United States went to war against Spain. Roosevelt led a unit of troops in some daring exploits. He returned home to a hero’s welcome and was elected governor of New York.

Analyze Images President Roosevelt spoke forcefully in favor of Progressive reforms during his presidency (1901–1909).

Draw Conclusions In what area did Roosevelt make the greatest impact?

A Progressive Leader

Since his days in the legislature, Roosevelt had pushed for reform. As governor, he continued to work for Progressive reforms. Other lawmakers called him a “goo goo,” a mocking name for someone who wanted good government.

New York Republican bosses were relieved when Roosevelt resigned from the office of governor to become Vice President. Then, after President McKinley was shot in September 1901, Roosevelt became President. He was committed, he later wrote, to “making an old party Progressive.”

READING CHECK

Sequence What were the major events in Theodore Roosevelt’s life leading up to his presidency?

What Was the Square Deal?

Roosevelt ran for President in his own right in 1904. During the campaign, he promised Americans a Square Deal. By this he meant that everyone from farmers and consumers to workers and owners should have the same opportunity to succeed. That promise helped Roosevelt win a huge victory.

Railroads were a main target of the Square Deal. The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 had done little to end rebates and other abuses. Roosevelt therefore urged Congress to outlaw rebates. In 1906, Congress gave the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) the power to set railroad rates.

Primary Source

“I do not believe that any president ever had as thoroughly good a time as I have had, or has ever enjoyed himself as much.”

—Theodore Roosevelt, in a letter to Sir George Otto Trevelyan, British historian

Analyze Charts This chart summarizes the Square Deal.

Draw Conclusions What does the Square Deal suggest about Roosevelt’s view of the proper role of government? Explain your answer.

Pushing for Regulations

Roosevelt wanted reforms to protect consumers. He had been shocked by Upton Sinclair’s novel The Jungle. In response, he sent more government inspectors to meatpacking houses. The owners refused to let them in.

Roosevelt then gave the newspapers copies of a government report that exposed conditions in meatpacking plants. The public was outraged. This forced Congress to pass a law in 1906 allowing more inspectors to enter meatpacking houses.

Muckrakers had exposed drug companies for making false claims about medicines. They also showed how food companies added harmful chemicals to canned foods. In 1906, Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act, which required food and drug makers to list ingredients on packages. It also tried to end false advertising and the use of impure ingredients.

Protecting Natural Resources

Roosevelt also took action to protect the nation’s wilderness areas. To fuel industrial growth, lumber companies were cutting down whole forests. Miners were taking iron and coal from the earth at a frantic pace and leaving gaping holes.

Roosevelt loved the outdoors and worried about the destruction of the wilderness. He pressed for conservation, the protection of natural resources. “The rights of the public to natural resources outweigh private rights,” he said.

Roosevelt wanted some forest areas left as wilderness. Others could supply needed resources. He wanted lumber companies to plant new trees in the forests they were clearing. Mining, too, should be controlled. In 1905, with the support of Congress, Roosevelt created the National Forest Service.

Under Roosevelt, the government also set aside about 194,000 acres for national parks. A national park is an area set aside to preserve the natural or historic treasures of the country.

Analyze Images Theodore Roosevelt, left, found a kindred spirit in Scotsman John Muir, who urged him to protect the wilderness.

Identify Cause and Effect Was Muir the main influence on Roosevelt’s actions to protect the environment? Why or why not?

READING CHECK

Summarize What was Roosevelt’s stance on the environment?

Wilson Wins the Presidency

When Roosevelt returned from overseas, he found Taft under attack by reformers. In 1912, Roosevelt decided to run against Taft for the Republican nomination. Although Roosevelt had a great deal of public support, Taft controlled the Republican party leadership. At its convention, the party nominated Taft.

A Republican Split

Progressive Republicans stormed out of the convention. They set up a new Progressive Party and chose Roosevelt as their candidate. He accepted saying, “I feel as strong as a bull moose.” Roosevelt’s supporters became known as the Bull Moose Party.

The Democratic Nominee

Democrats chose Woodrow Wilson, a Progressive, as their candidate. As a boy, Wilson made up his mind always to fight for what he thought was right. Wilson served as president of Princeton University and as governor of New Jersey. He was known as a brilliant scholar and a cautious reformer.

Together, Taft and Roosevelt won more votes than Wilson. However, they split the Republican vote. Their quarrel helped Wilson win the election of 1912 by beating Taft and Roosevelt in many states.

Analyze Graphs These circle graphs show the results for the 1912 Presidential election.

Use Visual Information Was the 1912 election a close race or an easy victory? Explain your answer.

Increasing the Government’s Role in the Economy

At first, Wilson tried to break up trusts into smaller companies. By doing so, he hoped to increase competition in the American economy. “If America is not to have free enterprise, then she can have freedom of no sort whatever,” he said. Wilson called his program the New Freedom.

To spur competition, Wilson asked Congress to lower tariffs on goods. A lower tariff would force U.S. producers to face foreign competition. After a struggle, Congress did lower tariffs. To make up for lost revenues, it then passed a graduated income tax.

To regulate banking, Congress passed the Federal Reserve Act in 1913. It set up the Federal Reserve System, an organization that would control the supply of money to the U.S. financial system. The Federal Reserve would also have the power to raise or lower interest rates.

Analyze Images “I will not fail them,” Wilson said of the American people at his presidential inauguration.

Cite Evidence Do you think Wilson was as progressive as Roosevelt? Why or why not?

Protecting Competition

To ensure fair competition, President Wilson set up the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 1914. The FTC could investigate companies and order them to stop using unfair practices to destroy competitors.

Wilson signed the Clayton Antitrust Act in 1914. He had wanted a much stronger law, but the new law did ban some business practices that limited free enterprise. In addition, it stopped antitrust laws from being used against unions, a major victory for labor.

Despite Wilson’s successes, the Progressive movement slowed after 1914. By then, Progressives had achieved many of their goals. Also, the outbreak of war in Europe in 1914 drew Americans’ attention. They worried that the war might soon affect them.

READING CHECK

Identify Main Ideas What was Wilson’s New Freedom?