Chapter 18 The Progressive Movement

1. Chapter 18The Progressive Movement Section 2 Roosevelt in Office

2. Roosevelt Revives the Presidency • During Roosevelt’s 2nd term his reform program became known as the Square Deal. • He was a progressive and Social Darwinist. • Felt gov’t should try to balance the needs of all the groups in society. • Believed the U.S. needed progressive reforms to remain efficient and successful.

3. Roosevelt Takes on the Treaty • Fight for control over Burlington RR erupted. • E.H. Harriman (Union Pacific), James J. Hill (Great Northern), & J.P. Morgan (Northern Pacific) argued over stocks. • Decided to create a holding company called Northern Securities.

4. Roosevelt Takes on the Trusts • Roosevelt felt that N. Sec. violated the Sherman Antitrust Act, and he ordered a lawsuit. • 1904 – Supreme Court ruled that N. Sec. did violate the Act.

5. Coal Strike of 1902 • The United Mine Workers (UMW) union called a strike of the miners who dug coal. • 150,000 workers demanded a pay raise, reduction in hours, and recognition for their union. • Strike went for months and threatened a coal shortage.

8. The Coal Strike of 1902 • Roosevelt urged the union and owners to accept arbitration. • Union agreed, but the owners did not. • Owners finally agreed after Roosevelt threatened to have the army run the mines.

9. The Bureau of Corporations • 1903 – Congress created the Department of Commerce and Labor. • Within the department was the Bureau of Corporations that had the authority to investigate corporations and issue reports on their activities.

10. The Bureau of Corporations • The following year the Bureau investigated U.S. Steel. • Company met with Roosevelt and offered a gentlemen's agreement. • They would open their books, in exchange if anything was found wrong, the company would be advised privately.

11. Congress Follows • 1906 – Hepburn Act was intended to strengthen the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) by giving it the power to set RR rates. • Over time, the RR realized they could work with the ICC to set rates and regulations that limited competition & prevent new competitors from entering the industry.

12. Social Welfare Action • 1905 – consumer protection became an issue. • Patent medicines and food consumption became serious threats to Americans. • 1906 Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle described his observations of Chicago slaughter-houses.

13. The Jungle • “There would come all the way back from Europe old sausage that had been rejected, and that was moldy and white – it would be dosed with borax and glycerine, and dumped into the hoppers, and made over again for home consumption…There would be meat stored in great piles in rooms; and the water from leaky roofs would drip over it, and thousands of rats would race about upon it.”

14. Social Welfare Action • As a result, the Meat Inspection Act required federal inspection of meat sold and set standards of cleanliness in meatpacking plants. • Pure Food and Drug Act – prohibited the manufacture, sale, or shipment of impure or falsely labeled food and drugs.

15. Conservation • Roosevelt urged Americans to conserve natural resources. • 1902 – Newlands Reclamation Act – authorized the use of federal funds from public land sales to pay for irrigation and land development.

16. Head of the U.S. Forest Service to manage the timber resources in the West Created regulations on lumbering on federal lands. Gifford Pinchot

17. Roosevelt’s Legacy • His actions during his presidency caused Americans to increasingly look to the fed. gov’t to solve the nation’s economic and social problems. • The executive branch of gov’t greatly increased in power.

18. End of Section 2 Next: Section 3 The Taft Administration