Theodore Roosevelt's Greatest Achievements

The first of the Progressive presidents was Theodore Roosevelt. He was first elected in 1900 as Vice President to William McKinley and the elected president in 1904, as the youngest man to attain the presidency, at 42 years of age. During his time in office, Roosevelt passed the Hepburn Act, which allowed the commission to make freight rates standard. The Mann-Elkins Act regulated telephone communications, the Pure Food and Drug Act made it a crime to pack or ship fraudulently labeled food or drugs. One of his biggest achievements was the Square Deal, which gave coal miners a 10 percent increase in pay and a maximum of nine-hour work day. Roosevelt also had a hand in conservation of land, water and forests. He expanded national forests and declared

He put the first tax on corporations, issued amendments for direct election of state senators, and increased antitrust enforcement. He relied heavily on the Roosevelt Corollary, and tried to have “dollar diplomacy” replace military action in foreign engagements, but this usually led to revolt. He was not reelected in the 1912 election. The third and final progressive president was Woodrow Wilson. He was first elected in 1912, and then reelected in 1916. His biggest achievement was the New Freedom, which lower tariffs, increased competition, and enforced antitrust. The New Freedom was made of four bills. The Underwood-Simmons Tariff lowered tariffs, therefore lowering prices and increasing competition. The Tariff Commission in 1916 led many foreign empires to open their markets to American goods. Next, the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 created twelve national reserve banks across the nation. Finally, the Clayton Antitrust Act prohibited price fixing, outlawed interlocking directorates and made it illegal for a company to own the stock of competitors. In 1916, Wilson also created a series of child labor laws and workers’ compensation