Lesson 4: The Progressive Presidents

Key Idea

When Theodore Roosevelt became president, many Americans feared the power of giant business trusts. Roosevelt agreed that some trusts had too much control and hurt the public. However, he did not believe all large companies were harmful. He thought the government's job was to act as a referee between business and the people.

Roosevelt earned the nickname "trustbuster" by using the government's power to break up trusts that acted unfairly. He targeted these "bad" trusts for crushing competition or cheating consumers. He allowed "good" trusts that operated fairly to continue, believing regulation was better than destruction.

Key Idea

When Theodore Roosevelt became president, he promised a "Square Deal" for all Americans. This meant using the power of the federal government to ensure fairness for workers, consumers, and business owners. He believed that powerful corporations should not have an unfair advantage over ordinary citizens.

Roosevelt took bold action to fulfill his promise. He earned the nickname "trust buster" by breaking up monopolies that crushed competition. He also intervened in a major coal strike to protect the public and set aside vast areas of land for conservation, preserving America's natural beauty for the future.

Key Idea

Theodore Roosevelt chose William Howard Taft to be his successor. Taft continued some Progressive policies and actually broke up more trusts than Roosevelt did.

However, Taft angered many Progressives. He signed a bill that raised the tariff, a tax on imported goods, which many felt hurt consumers. He also made decisions that seemed to weaken conservation efforts. These actions made many people, including Roosevelt, feel that Taft was betraying Progressive goals.