History

When Theodore Roosevelt became president , America was caught in a wave of reform known as the Progressive Movement . These reformers were known as the Progressives , and they along with Roosevelt felt that the only way reform could be successful was if it was done on a national level rather than on a local level . Therefore , when Roosevelt entered office he did so with the intention of giving Americans what he called the Square Deal

The Square Deal had three main points . The first was to gain control over the corporations . To accomplish

this , Roosevelt made sure that the various antitrust laws that had been passed were actually enforced Thus , corporations such as John D . Rockefeller 's Standard Oil were forced to break down into smaller companies . His vigilance in accomplishing this earned him the nickname Trust-Buster ' Another accomplishment during his first term of presidency was the creation of the Department of Commerce and Labor , which served as the policeman of the business world

Following his attack on the corporations , Roosevelt turned his attention to the railroads . He extended government regulatory control over the railroads , and also had several bills passed to deal with the abuses of railroad companies towards their employees . When he was re-elected in 1904 , he went further in his reform of the railroads by passing the Hepburn Act in 1906 . This law put actual power in the Interstate Commerce Commission , who now had the authority to regulate railroad rates as well as force the railroads to give up their interests in steamship lines and coal companies

The second point of Roosevelt 's plan focused on consumer protection The same year the Hepburn Act was passed , Roosevelt was able to secure the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Law , which prohibited the use of any harmful drugs , chemicals , and preservatives in food and medicine This law was followed up with another one that required that all the meat produced within the country be inspected , in to prevent tainted meat from being consumed

The final point of Roosevelt 's plan dealt with conservation . As a young man , Roosevelt had spent a good deal of time in the West , and was thus exposed to the beauty of nature in that region of the country . His plan for conservation resulted in the tripling in acreage of the national parks , the institution of reforms to prevent forest fires as well as the replanting of timber in the areas destroyed by the lumber companies

In the end , Roosevelt 's reforms set the foundation for his successors to continue what he started . One such successor was Woodrow Wilson . Like Roosevelt , Wilson had three main points with his plan for reform , which he called the New Freedom ' The first point concerned tariff reform In October of 1913 , after eight months of debate within Congress , the Underwood Act was passed . It was the first tariff legislation not influenced by special interest groups since the Civil War , and accomplished the following : enlargement of the free...