Teddy Roosevelt’s Square Deal

Chapter 17 Section 3

D. Railroad Regulation• Interstate Commerce Act aimed to end RR

collusion– Interstate Commerce Commission had no power

to enforce this• Elkins Act= illegal for RR officials and shippers

to give or receive rebates & RR can’t change their rates w/o 1st informing public

• Hepburn Act= allowed ICC to set max rates• BOOSTED GOV’TS POWER TO REGULATE RRs

III Protecting Citizens and the Environment

• Roosevelt aimed to protect from unsafe food and protect environment– Benefited public health & environment

A. Protecting Health• Jungle by Upton Sinclair

described unsanitary conditions of slaughter houses

• Meat Inspection Act= dictated strict cleanliness requirements for meatpackers & created federal meat inspection

• SUPPORTS PROGRESSIVE PRINCIPLE OF GOV’t REGULATION

• Drawbacks of Meat Inspection Act– Gov’t paid for inspection– Co. did not have to provide labels w/ date of

processing info– Co. can appeal neg. decision in ct.

B. Pure Food and Drug Act• Pure Food and Drug Act= stopped sale of

contaminated foods and medicines & called for truth in labeling– Falsely advertised products accomplished curing

ailments (balding & cancer)– Children's medicines also contained

opium/cocaine• TRUTHFUL LABELS REFLECTED PROGRESSIVE

BELIEF THAT PPL WOULD ACT WISELEY IF GIVEN ACCURATE INFO

C. Conservation & Natural Resources• Farmers leveled forests,

cattle overgrazed, & coal dumped on land

• Roosevelt attacked these environmental problems

• Set aside acres of land for conservation

D. Gifford Pinchot• Roosevelt hired Pinchot as head of US Forest

Service– Advised pres. to conserve by keeping federal land

not for public sale• Conservation=some wilderness areas would

be preserved while others will be developed for common good

• Nat’l Reclamation Act(Newlands Act)=$$ from sale of public lands in the west funded irrigation projects such as Roosevelt Dam

• NEWLANDS ESTABLISHED PRECEDENT THAT PRECIOUS WATER RESOURCES IN THE WEST

• Care for land WAS NOT matched in area of civil rights

IV Roosevelt & Civil Rights• Roosevelt, like most other

progressives, was not supporter of civil rights

• Fired regiment of Af. Amer. soldiers accused of rioting

• Dubois advocated immediate social and econ. equality

• NAACP formed at Niagara Falls– Aimed for full equality among races– Little support within the progressive movement

which focused on middle class whites• 2 presidents followed Roosevelt who did little

for Af. American rights