Lecture #7: The Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt: Domestic and Foreign Policy

The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt and the Election of 1900

• The Political Context: In 1900, the Republican Party dominated national politics, controlling the White House and the Senate. President William McKinley, having led the nation through the Spanish-American War and oversaw the acquisition of a colonial empire, was a certain candidate for reelection.

• The Selection of the Vice President: In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Vice Presidents were often considered electorally expendable and inconsequential. They were chosen to "balance the ticket" based on geography, age, or specific voter appeal.

• The Choice of Theodore Roosevelt: The Republicans chose Theodore Roosevelt, then the Governor of New York, as the Vice Presidential candidate for several reasons:

  • War Heroism: As a leader of the Rough Riders during the Battle of San Juan Hill, he reminded voters of the "splendid little war" of 1898.

  • Electoral Power: New York was a critical swing state with many electoral votes.

  • Political Management: Roosevelt was brash, opinionated, and often defied party orthodoxy. Party elders, finding him a "pain in their neck," hoped that his appointment to the Vice Presidency would effectively end his political career and move him into "political obscurity."

• The 1900 Election Result: McKinley and Roosevelt won easily in November $1900$. McKinley was inaugurated in March $1901$.

The Assassination of William McKinley

• The Event: In September $1901$, President McKinley attended the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. McKinley was known for his "common touch," often mingling with citizens and shaking hands without pretension.

• The Assassin: Leon Czolgosz, an unemployed laborer and anarchist, shot McKinley in the back while the President was greeting well-wishers.

• Motivations: Czolgosz had no personal grievance or political beef with McKinley's specific policies; he acted on an ideological belief that government should not exist.

• Medical Complications and Death:

  • The bullet lodged in the small of McKinley's back.

  • Doctors opted not to transport him to a hospital with a new X-ray machine due to fear of the bumpy, unpaved roads. Instead, they performed surgery in a gynecologist's office.

  • In an era before antiseptics and the modern understanding of germs, doctors used long, thin metal probes and their fingers to search for the bullet.

  • Though the bullet was extracted, the lack of sterile conditions introduced a lethal infection.

  • William McKinley died eight days later, making Theodore Roosevelt the youngest man to ever hold the office of the President (a record he still holds).

The Personality and Leadership of Theodore Roosevelt

• Character Traits: Roosevelt was characterized by youth, energy, vigor, and self-confidence. He was highly educated, having written $43$ books in his lifetime. Unlike many successors, he did not use speechwriters; all his rhetoric was his own.

• The "Accidental President": Initially, party leaders expected to control Roosevelt as a figurehead. However, he quickly proved to be his own man, promising to carry on McKinley's agenda but doing so with a level of energy and determination that changed the nature of the office.

• Popularity: Roosevelt was arguably the most popular President between Andrew Jackson in the 1830s and his distant cousin, Franklin Roosevelt, in the 1930s. He embodied the self-confident and idealistic spirit of the new 20th-century America.

• The Cabinet: Roosevelt had an "eye for talent" and assembled a highly competent team, including:

  • Elihu Root: Secretary of War and later Secretary of State.

  • William Howard Taft: Head of the colonial government in the Philippines and later Secretary of War.

  • Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.: Appointed to the Supreme Court.

The Trust Buster and Domestic Policy

• Philosophy on Trusts: Roosevelt did not believe trusts were inherently bad. He saw them as a natural result of the Second Industrial Revolution, necessary for mass-producing steel, oil, and maintaining railroads. However, he opposed the "abuse of power" by these corporations.

• The 1901 Address to Congress: Roosevelt stated there was a "widespread conviction" that trusts were "in certain of their features and tendencies hurtful to the general welfare." While the language was moderate, the fact that a President was criticizing trusts at all was unprecedented.

• Good Trusts vs. Bad Trusts:

  • Good Trusts: Corporations that played by the rules and treated consumers fairly were supported by the government.

  • Bad Trusts: Those that smashed free enterprise and abused power were targeted for regulation.

• The Bureau of Corporations: In $1903$, Roosevelt requested the creation of the Department of Commerce and Labor. When Congress hesitated, Roosevelt used the press to claim that John D. Rockefeller was bribing Congress to block the bill. The resulting public outcry forced Congress to pass the legislation.

• The Northern Securities Case: In $1902$, the Justice Department sued the Northern Securities Company, a railroad trust controlled by J.P. Morgan, for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act.

  • Morgan personally visited the White House to resolve the issue "as a gentleman."

  • Roosevelt refused to back down, stating he was the representative of the people.

  • In $1904$, the Supreme Court ordered the trust to be dissolved.

• Extent of Trust Busting: Roosevelt initiated $25$ antitrust suits during his presidency, including actions against Standard Oil, the American Tobacco Company, DuPont, and the "Beef Trust."

Labor Relations: The 1902 Coal Strike

• Background: The United Mine Workers (UMW), led by John Mitchell, went on strike in Pennsylvania. They demanded higher wages, an 8-hour day, and union recognition.

• Modern Tactics: Seeking to keep public sympathy, the union avoided the violence typical of 19th-century strikes. As the strike lasted into winter, coal prices spiked, threatening a national heating crisis.

• The Arrogance of Management: Coal owner George Barr famously stated that the interests of labor were protected not by "agitators" but by the "Christian gentlemen" to whom God had given control of property.

• TR's Intervention: Furious at the owners' refusal to negotiate, Roosevelt threatened to send the Army to seize the mines and turn them over to the workers—siding with labor for the first time in history.

• The "Square Deal": Roosevelt acted as an "honest broker." A federal commission awarded the miners a $10\%$ pay raise and a shorter workday, though the owners did not have to formally recognize the union.

Protecting the Consumer: The Jungle and the FDA

• Muckraking: Roosevelt utilized and responded to the work of investigative journalists who exposed corporate corruption.

• The Jungle (1906): Written by Upton Sinclair, a socialist, the book aimed to highlight labor abuses but instead horrified the public with its descriptions of unsanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry.

  • Graphic Content: Sinclair described rats, rat poison, and rat dung being ground into meat products.

  • Federal Action: Roosevelt ordered an investigation which confirmed Sinclair’s claims. He threatened to release the full report to the press unless the industry accepted regulation.

• Meat Inspection Act (1906): Required federal inspectors to examine meat crossing state lines to guarantee it was safe for consumption.

• Pure Food and Drug Act (1906):

  • Targeted the "Patent Medicine" industry, which often sold colored water, liquor, or dangerous substances (cyanide, mercury, lead) as medicine.

  • Required manufacturers to list ingredients on labels, allowing the government to monitor drug safety.

Conservation and the Environment

• Conservationist Philosophy: Roosevelt believed the frontier was essential to the American spirit and sought to protect the wilderness from unregulated exploitation.

• Gifford Pinchot: Appointed as Chief of the Forestry Service.

• Policy Impact: Roosevelt established the Federal Reclamation Service, creating national forest preserves and monuments.

• Land Preservation Statistics: During his presidency, protected government land increased from $45,000,000$ acres to $195,000,000$ acres.

Foreign Policy: The Big Stick and the Panama Canal

• Motto: "Speak softly and carry a big stick."

• Gunboat Diplomacy: A foreign policy characterized by the threat of military force to achieve national objectives. Because nations knew Roosevelt would use force, he rarely actually had to use it.

• Military Modernization: Secretary of War Elihu Root created the Army War College and the General Staff for strategic planning. The Navy doubled in size.

• The Panama Canal:

  • Motivation: The USS Oregon took $71$ days to sail around South America during the Spanish-American War, highlighting the need for a shortcut.

  • Acquisition: Colombia rejected the Hay-Herran Convention. Roosevelt encouraged a Panamanian rebellion against Colombia. He recognized Panama's independence and immediately signed a treaty for the Canal Zone.

  • Terms: A $10$-mile wide zone; $10,000,000$ paid upfront and $250,000$ annual rent.

  • Completion: The canal cost $375,000,000$ and opened in August $1914$, conquering landslides and yellow fever.

• The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (1904): Warned Latin American nations to keep their affairs in order. If they defaulted on debts, the US would intervene to prevent European powers from establishing "spheres of influence."

The Far East and the Nobel Peace Prize

• Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905): Japan decisively defeated Russia but was running out of resources. Roosevelt intervened as an honest broker.

• Portsmouth Peace Conference (1905): Roosevelt successfully negotiated the end of the war in New Hampshire. For this, he became the first person (and first President) to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

• The Great White Fleet (1908): Roosevelt sent the US battle fleet on a world tour to display American naval power, specifically to signal strength to Japan while visiting Tokyo.

Transition of Power

• The 1904 Election: Roosevelt won a landslide with $57\%$ of the popular vote (over $2,500,000$ more votes than Alton Parker).

• Retirement: Despite his popularity, Roosevelt chose to follow George Washington's two-term precedent. In $1908$, he stepped down to make way for his handpicked successor, William Howard Taft.

Questions & Discussion

• Question 6: What was the name given to Roosevelt's foreign policy? Answer: Gunboat Diplomacy (or "Speak softly and carry a big stick").

• Question 7: What is the name of the author who wrote The Jungle? Answer: Upton Sinclair.

• Question 8: Roosevelt acted as an honest broker in the coal strike by siding with which union? Answer: The United Mine Workers (UMW).

• Question 9: What is the name of the law used by Roosevelt to break up bad trusts? Answer: The Sherman Antitrust Act.

• Question 10: The assassination of which president made Theodore Roosevelt the President? Answer: William McKinley.