#5 US History Study Guide: The New Nationalism and New Freedom -- Theodore Rosevelt speech, Adams, Sinclair ETC

What were some flaws that Theodore Roosevelt called out occurring in the twentieth century from his New Nationalism speech?

Special privilege, special interest, and unequal treatment of unskilled laborers

What were Theodore Roosevelt’s views on special privilege?

Roosevelt claimed that “No man who cares the burden of the special privates of another can give to the commonwealth that serve which it is fairly entitled. Roosevelt has issues with there being no state and national restraint of special privilege, which is the fault of being born into wealth (inheritance), when it was not earned. By saying that special privilege is something a man carries a burned off, this gives the audience a picture of the way these people are unfair to the lower and working class since they do no have to contribute to their community to earn or utilize their wealth for the benefit of others.

What were Theodore Roosevelt’s views on special interest?

Roosevelt has an issue with the effects of big corporations on the government, as their money contributions to the government can be used to defeat the common majority of citizens in voting events such as an election. By doing this, it creates a power struggle of a free government, where the contributions of the corporations are “corrupting the men and methods of government for their own profit.” This is wrong according to Roosevelt because it goes against the constitution’s granted equal protection and voices of the citizens

What is special interest?

Big corporations donating money to the government in order to benefit from their donations (ex certain election impacts)

What does Roosevelt say about the unequal treatment of unskilled laborers of the working class.

“No man can be a good citizen unless he has a wage more than suffiecnt to cover the bare cost of living, and hours of labor short enough so that after his day’s work is done, he will have time and energy to bear his share in the management of the community, to help in carrying the general load. We keep countless men from being good citizens by the conditions of life with which we surround them”

What are some solutions Roosevelt offers to solve the twentieth century’s problems?

Ban and get rid of special interest, publicity of corporate affairs, government valuation of property to prevent corporations from controlling industries such as the railway, believes in a graduated income tax and a graduated inheritance tax, wants workmen condensation acts, wants people to regulate the terms and contains of their labor, and that natural resources should not be monopolized

How did Roosevelt see this issue of special interest getting solved?

In Roosevelt’s opinion, “it is necessary that laws should be passed to prohibit the use of corporate funds directly or indirectly for political purposes” One other suggestion that Roosevelt makes in ensuring that special interests do not interfere with the government is that he wants “publicity of corporate affairs,” as he believes it should be a right of the citizens to know if corporations are following the laws of staying out of politics.

What are Roosevelt’s view on solving capitalism and corporate ownership?

In his belief, Roosevelt stands for not only preventing ownership of the railways, but also regulating them with a “valuation of property” This is due to the fact that there is a lot of monopolization going on at this time, and if one big corporation bought the railways, it would give them too much power on pricing, affecting the cost of trade and transportation without completion. In order to prevent this, Roosevelt asks for government supervision, as he believes this and interstate business should be under proper provision to protect the idea of a free market within the United States.

What are Roosevelt’s views on solving special privilege.

Roosevelt calls the inheritance “unfair money getting,” and instead suggests a “graduated income tax on big fortunes” in addition to a “graduated inheritance tax (on big fortunes)” Essentially, he want to take away from those who have not really earned but instead inherited wealth. Roosevelt also acknowledges that this money should go to those who are hardly working without sufficient pay, and that those who are too lazy should not be given the money out of solve forgiveness for their poorness

Why did some people oppose Roosevelt actions from his New Nationalism Speech

Many criticisms were derived from his socialist driven views, even though he claimed this wasn’t the policateal position he see proclaimed. For example, an article by the New York Sun criticized his goal to take war the power of corporations, as the article said that “his attack on corporations [will make] the federal power to compel practically litmlitess” In addition to this, another article claimed that Roosevelt was trying to start “extreme forms of centralization, known as socialism. People were attacking Roosevelt’s ideas on the government taking back power from the corporations because it made them feel like he wanted the government too control too much, which would make it much harder for corporation owners to make profit if the government limited them. Lastly, a letter from a mine owner spokesman in 1902 claimed that the mine owners were given their power by God, and a worker has “ no right to control a business.” This was pushback on the claim from Roosevelt that workers should be able to determine their own terms and conditions, which again would severely hurt the corporation owners from profit. Overall, these criticisms came from exactly those who Roosevelt was targeting - those who were profiting from laborers.