Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt

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“When father goes to a wedding, he wants to be the bride; when he goes to a funeral, he wants to be the corpse.” - Alice Roosevelt.

THE MODERN PRESIDENT

•When Roosevelt was thrust into the presidency in 1901, he became the youngest president ever at age 42

•He quickly established himself as a modern president who could influence the media and shape legislation

•Roosevelt was a “visible president”

The Bully Pulpit

nHow things “ought to be”nTR devoted much of his domestic efforts to breaking up the trusts and monopolies that dominated politics at the turn of the century

nCampaigned in 1904 on the promise of a Square Deal or “fair shake for all”

The Square Deal

“A fair shake for all”

1.Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906

2. Meat Inspection Act of 1906

3. Trustbusting

1902 COAL STRIKE - First federal action on behalf of labor

•In 1902, 140,000 coal miners in Pennsylvania went on strike for increased wages (10-20%), an 8-hour work day, and the right to unionize/recognition as a union

•Mine owners refused to negotiate.

•Roosevelt threatened military force to settle dispute.

•Workers received 10% raise and shorter work day - mines were allowed to raise coal prices 10%

ROOSEVELT THE CONSERVATIONIST•Appointed Gifford Pinchot head

of Forest Service under the Department of Agriculture

•Roosevelt made conservation a primary concern of his administration

•230 million acres of land (85m in AK)

•National Monuments Act - establishing national monuments including Devils Tower and Redwood Forest in 1906

ROOSEVELT’S ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

•Roosevelt set aside 148 million acres of forest reserves

•He also set aside 1.5 million acres of water-power sites and he established 50 wildlife sanctuaries and several national parks

•Added Oklahoma as 46th state, 1907

•"Leave it as it is. You can not improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it."

Roosevelt Corollary•1902 - Venezuela -- the US intervened in

a dispute involving Britain, Germany and Italy, which established a precedent for US actions regarding Latin America.

•Clarified the Monroe Doctrine

•1903 Dom.Rep defaulted on loans from several European countries and many nations in Europe threatened to intervene to force repayment.

•TR believed in using military power as a method to maintain a stable world environment

Roosevelt Corollary

•“Chronic wrongdoing… may in America, as elsewhere, ultimately require intervention by some civilized nation, and in the Western Hemisphere the adherence of the United States to the Monroe Doctrine may force the United States, however reluctantly, in flagrant cases of such wrongdoing or impotence, to the exercise of an international police power .”

Roosevelt in Panama

•US imperialism in the Pacific mandated a faster route from the Atlantic to Pacific.

•Clayton-Bulwer Treaty (1850) - provided for joint building operations (US+Brit). Later US gains exclusive rights, 1901

•Panama was chosen as a better build site than Nicaragua

•Area claimed by Columbia. TR sends navy to help Panamanian rebels

Roosevelt in Panama•Aug. 1903 Colombia’s Senate fails

to ratify treaty with US for exclusive rights to Panama

•Panamanian Revolution begins Nov. 4, 1903 a day after negotiations between US and Colombia break down.

•Nov. 6, America recognizes the new independent republic of Panama and sends the Navy to protect the country from the Colombian army.

•US becomes protectorate in 1904

Roosevelt in Panama

•Hay-Buneau-Varilla Treaty gave US similar terms as it had sought from Columbia

•1906 - Roosevelt, first sitting President to go outside the US, visited Panama.

•Spring 1906 - Aug 1914 - Panama Canal was built at a cost of $366 million

•1921 -- treaty with Colombia gave them $25 million for the loss of Panama + duty-free use of canal in exchange for their recognition of Panama's independence. “I took the canal, let Congress debate it”

Presidential FirstsnFirst to invite an African American to

a White House dinner•However, not in favor of racial

equality. • Supported the book Passing of

the Great Race by Madison GrantnFirst to have Secret Service protectionnFirst to win Nobel Peace Prize for his

work towards ending the Russo-Japanese War

nFirst to take trip outside the United States

More Presidential FirstsnFirst to give an open invitation to the press

nFirst to be submerged in a submarine, to own a car, to have a telephone in his home, and to be allowed to operate the light switches in the White House

n“Teddy Bears” named after his unwillingness to kill bear cub while hunting (1902)

Great White Fleet - Dec.1907-Feb 1909• The US sent 16 battleships on a practice cruise to the American West coast.

• This goodwill tour made stops in South America, Australia and Japan, where it was received as a friendly gesture but in reality it underscored the US image as a major power

• It enforced Roosevelt's Big Stick Diplomacy --"Speak softly and carry a big stick."

Big Stick Diplomacy

William “Big Bill” Howard Taft

• Election of 1908 won easily due to the support of then outgoing president T. Roosevelt.

• Taft continued an effort domestically to limit the influence of “bad” trusts

• Also adds NM and AZ 1912

• However, policy disagreements led to a fallout between the former friends.

• Payne-Aldrich Tariff - “the best bill the Republicans ever passed”

• Ballinger-Pinchot controversy - Taft fires Pinchot for insubordination after he leaks story to press

William “Big Bill” Howard Taft

• Dollar Diplomacy - fully developed under Taft, it was the policy of using American economic power (through the issuing of loans) to Latin American and Pacific Rim nations.

• The idea was to maintain or create economic stability in a country by favoring American interests and encouraging American companies to “invest” abroad.

• Ex: Honduras, 1909; Nicaragua, 1912, Haiti, 1915

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