TR's Square Deal

1. How did Roosevelt create the modern presidency?

As the youngest man ever to become President at the time, Roosevelt was certainly a new kind of president. He put himself into the public eye, letting tales of his athletic exploits reach and impress the public. He used the esteem that the population gave him to push new, forward thinking ideas, such as his policy that the government should step in whenever a state could not solve a problem on its own. Roosevelt saw the presidency as an opportunity to shape and influence the media, and he certainly made us of this opportunity.

2. How did Roosevelt's intervention in a coal strike set a precedent for federal arbitration?

Roosevelt's tactic of mediating a discussion between both sides of the coal strike was so successful that it quickly became

the standard for strike breaking. After Roosevelt's success here, any strike that interfered with the welfare of the public was to be

dealt with by the federal government.
3. What did Roosevelt do to the trusts and railroads?

Roosevelt took a passionate approach to reforming the trusts and railroads. Roosevelt strongly disliked any trust that he felt would hurt the public interest. In order to break up these trusts, he began filing suit after suit against them, in ordinance with the Sherman Anti-Act. Although not all of these suits were successful, Roosevelt managed to make a very clear statement.

Roosevelt took a similar approach to the railroad business, passing acts that made the railroad enterprise a more fair business for both the big leaders and the everyday workers. The Elkins Act of 1903 made it impossible for certain shippers or receivers to earn money simply by using specific railroads, and prevented railroad companies from raising their rates without alerting the public. the Hepburn Act of 1906 prohibiting the granting of free railroad passes. All of Roosevelt's efforts helped the federal government gain more control of the railroad business.
4. What legislation passed during Roosevelt's presidency protected citizens?

There were many legislations passed during Roosevelt's presidency that protected citizens - the Meat Inspection Act, which regulated conditions in meat packing plants and mandated government inspection of meat, and the Pure Food and Drug Act, which stopped the sale of any contaminated food or medicine and required all products to be truthfully labeled, were the two major public health legislations of the period.
5. What did Roosevelt do to protect the environment?

To protect the environment, Roosevelt started a huge conservation movement. He set up many national parks and wildlife reserves, and millions of acres of land for government water-power sites and geological exploration. The Newlands Reclamation Act of 1902 gave money from land sales in the West to funding for large-scale irrigation projects.

Urbanization

1. What is Urbanization?

Urbanization refers to the massive growth of cities during the late 19th century, due to the huge amounts of country workers and immigrants who fled to the cities in hopes of finding work.

2. For what reasons did a number of Americans move from the country to the cities?

American poured into the cities from the country for a variety of reasons. Cities offered cheap living arrangements and a multitude of business opportunities. Also, as more and more technology was being used on country farms, more and more workers were put out of their jobs. These workers flocked to the cities in hopes of finding a job.

3. What were the housing problems that many poor city dwellers faced?

Housing conditions for the poor in cities were absolutely terrible. If they were lucky, one family could live in a single-family house, packed in tightly next door to another family. As the rate of immigrants raised, and the overall city population increased, it became increasingly common for two or even three families to share what had once been single-family homes. These buildings, called tenements, were quickly packed to the gills with people. Sanitation in them was awful, and disease and stench spread quickly. Air shaft and window regulations helped a little bit, but these were often simply used as another way to dispose of garbage. In order to fend off the smell, many families would board their windows shut. Although the tenements had been built to offer help to the poor, they ended up being a horrific place for anyone to live.