Mr. McGoldrick
U.S. History
20 April 2016
Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal
Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal was his plan for America. To better understand Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal you first must understand Theodore Roosevelt. If you understand Theodore Roosevelt better you can better understand his reasons for making the Square Deal. Theodore Roosevelt was raised very rich in New York. He was very small and not athletic as a child. When he was a teenager he underwent a huge change, and started exercising and also began to identify himself less as a rich and proper man, but a rough sportsmen. He started to sympathize with the middle class and this was a huge reason why his square deal was the way it was. Its aim was to help out the middle class. The basic ideas of his square deal were to conserve nature, control corporations, protect consumers, and foreign policy. These were the biggest problems facing America at the time in the mind of President Theodore Roosevelt. Through his square deal he created a lot of Acts and laws that helped out in these areas. He called it the Square Deal because that was how he wanted to treat the people of his country. “We must treat each man on his worth and merits as a man. We must see that each is given a square deal, because he is entitled to no more and should receive no less.”(Roosevelt 7) This was how he wanted to treat people. He believed that every person deserved to be treated completely the same. Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal was very important and to this day is one of the most important things that ever happened to the United States in its history. Without it The United States of America would be a much worse place today.
Theodore Roosevelt was very sickly as a child. He essentially was a nerd. He was very skinny and stayed at home and studied a lot. Then as a teenager he started a very intense physical regimen. He became very fit and extremely competitive before going off to Harvard. (Fehn) “The makeover began with humiliation. He was 13, travelling by stagecoach to a lake in Maine to recuperate from a bout of asthma, when he ran into a pair of bullies. Apparently finding him to puny to rough up, they merely toyed with him.” (O’Toole) This humiliation led to the huge makeover a young Teddy Roosevelt underwent. This is a huge reason why Theodore Roosevelt was such a great president and did so many great things for a country. He started off as a pampered little rich boy and transformed himself to a very masculine man. This gives the people an image of a strong courageous man who can lead them. It shows the people of the country that their leader can overcome obstacles, which is what the people would like to see. Everyone would want their leader to be good at overcoming obstacles. This is probably the main job of a president, to overcome the problems that are facing a country. This transformation from a wimp to a very masculine man was a huge part of what Theodore Roosevelt was all about as a president. In many ways masculinity would define Theodore Roosevelt’s image. We often see images of him riding horses or hunting. His masculinity made us think of him as very brave and adventurous. This is a great trait for a leader of people to have. Theodore Roosevelt was a war hero. He led the “Rough-riders” in the Spanish American War. His “Rough Riders” were well known and after the war Theodore Roosevelt wrote a best seller about them. This all led to an image of him being a fearless leader who demanded respect and this helped in America and in dealing with foreign affairs.
Theodore Roosevelt placed a major importance on conserving nature in his Square Deal. He talks about how he thought at certain times that the question of conserving our natural resources was the most important thing for the country. Out of all the other problems facing the country he thought that conserving nature was the most important. (Morris Theodore Rex 517) This shows just how much importance President Theodore Roosevelt placed on nature. At a point he considered it the most important thing and the first thing that the nation must do. In my knowledge of the history of the United States, I have never heard of any other president who placed anywhere near this much importance on conserving nature. One could only imagine if with all the things going on in the United States of America, President Obama came out and said that his priority was conserving nature. This speaks to Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency. He was such an efficient president that he took care of all the problems that usually face a country, and was then able to move onto conserving nature. This is the first reason that makes his decision to make nature a priority very interesting. The second is that most presidents would not place this much emphasis on nature, even in the best of times. This is why many people admire Theodore Roosevelt’s love of nature and respect him for it. Republicans and democrats alike have to respect how good of a job Teddy Roosevelt did and his importance that he placed on the conversation of nature. Theodore Roosevelt is known for being a really big outdoorsman. One will always see pictures of him outside. This was a huge contributing factor to Theodore Roosevelt wanting to conserve nature. He wanted to conserve it because he loved it.
Theodore Roosevelt was hugely involved in protecting Yellowstone National Park. Although he was a lover of hunting for sport he wanted to conserve the animals and nature as well. “As a founder of the Boone & Crockett Club, he had worked to save it from vandalism and exploitation, and he took pride in having been a motive force behind the National Park Protective Act of 1894.” (Morris Theodore Rex 220) The Boone and Crockett Club was a club cofounded by Theodore Roosevelt. It was for young sportsmen who shared the views of Theodore Roosevelt. Membership to the Boone and Crockett Club was very limited. It was limited to 100 members. They all agreed that the animals of North America were endangered due to the overhunting going on. As Theodore Roosevelt got more and more popular his influence got even bigger. This made the Boone and Crockett Club have a much bigger influence. (Wm. Bridge Cooke) This club had a huge effect on the history of North America. They were one of the first groups of people to congregate to conserve nature. Not only were they one of the first, but they also carried a lot of influence having a man as credible as Theodore Roosevelt as a cofounder.
Theodore Roosevelt and Yellowstone National Park have a very extensive history. In the days of the Boone and Crockett Club Yellowstone’s boundaries were in danger of being shrunk and railroads were threatening to tear through it. As a group of influential people who wanted to conserve nature they did a lot to protect Yellowstone. The United States was growing at an alarming pace and this meant urbanization was happening everywhere. Theodore Roosevelt was adamant that this urbanization did not hit Yellowstone. The Northern Pacific Railroad surveyed parts of Yellowstone. They wanted to build tracks through Yellowstone that would allow passengers to visit some of the most popular attractions by train. Theodore Roosevelt and his Boone and Crockett Club did everything they could to prevent this from happening. They also did a lot to prevent poachers. Although killing certain animals such as bison was illegal the punishment for it was so small that they were not really worried. The Boone and Crockett Club were very concerned with the protection of bison. Poachers were quickly making them endangered. A member of the Boone and Crockett Club paid for an investigation from his own pocket on one poacher who killed multiple bison. Theodore Roosevelt then had the Boone and Crockett Club recompense him for it. (Schullery) Theodore Roosevelt and Yellowstone had a very long history. Because of his love for nature he would not stop at anything to make sure he conserved it. Theodore Roosevelt even hired a committee to enlarge Yellowstone and make sure it was well governed. (Morris The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt 389) President Theodore Roosevelt’s square deal was his deal to the people and he believed that wildlife and nature were vital to humans.
Theodore Roosevelt took a strong stance against corporate America too. He used mainly metaphors and taking up a role as a moral leader as his stance to try to help middle class Americans from being abused by big businesses. In these days major businesses were gaining strength and were running small businesses completely out of business. Theodore Roosevelt knew this and tried to solve the problem. These businesses were not only creating monopolies, but they also were using dirty tactics. (Dorsey) There was also “muck-rakers” who were journalists who essentially stirred the pot and got the public to hate these big businesses even more. “ Roosevelt viewed the anti-business fervor fueled by journalistic “muck-rakers” as just as dangerous as the excessive greed of corporate officers.” (Dorsey) Roosevelt is right here. The big corporate businesses are very dangerous and greedy which is not good, but people who are making the public hate businesses in general are even worse. Businesses are very important to a country.
To combat big businesses Theodore Roosevelt also took on the role as a moral leader. He was getting ethical with the big corporate businesses and trying to show them that their questionable and sketchy strategies were not as much illegal as they are morally wrong. He was telling them that their conscience should be telling them not to be doing what they were doing. By taking on a role as a conscience almost, he made a lot of people who were running these big businesses feel bad. “This time he portrayed the railroad trusts as “predators” that the government could restrain but not control. Perhaps more importantly, he addressed the people behind the trusts, calling for them to adhere to a moral standard not only for the public welfare but for their own individual character s well.” (Dorsey) By doing this Theodore Roosevelt makes the people behind the trusts feel bad. He not only says to help out the people who they were taking advantage of, but that they were essentially bad people if they keep on taking advantage of the these people. This proved to be a very effective method of restraining the trusts.
Theodore Roosevelt also had enforced a lot of acts to help the people of the country in general. These did not include big corporations or money, but for example the Meat Inspection Act. This act created a sanitary patrol for slaughterhouses. (O’Toole) This law is an example of something that was created for the general welfare of the people. Prior to this slaughterhouses were very unsanitary and not well kept. This Act required them to inspect meat that was coming from the slaughterhouses. This was essential in these days. In these times meat was poorly inspected and could have diseases.
Theodore Roosevelt again showed us his power with how he dealt with the coal strike in 1902. The strike kept on going on and the coal supplies of the nation got very low. Teddy Roosevelt was worried that as supplies got lower and prices got higher the poor could not afford to heat their homes and would freeze to death. He knew that he couldn’t legally force the unions and the mines to strike a deal, but instead he niggled them and annoyed them until they did come to terms with a deal. (O’Toole) This showed the nation his power. He went over his technical power that he had and got what was right for the nation once again. As president he technically could not do anything to get the mines and the Unions to come to an agreement, but he did. He went over his power by just acting as a moral leader. He made it known that by them being selfish and not reaching an agreement they were causing many people to freeze. He showed the people of the country that the federal government could control the big rich bullies of the country.
A huge part of Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal was his foreign policy. He went by the policy, “Walk softly and carry a big stick.” This policy was saying that be nice, but be ready because you don’t want anyone to take advantage of you. Roosevelt made America work like a global police. Roosevelt used the term “police” to describe handling foreign affairs. (Kohn) This was how he wanted to handle them. He did not want to handle foreign affairs the way America previously had. He wanted to keep foreign nations in check by enforcing laws to them.
Theodore Roosevelt also believed that the Monroe Doctrine was very important to our foreign policy. “The Monroe Doctrine should be the cardinal feature of all the nations of the two Americas, as it is in the United States.” (Roosevelt 181) The Monroe Doctrine was when president Monroe said that we should not let any foreign country colonize anywhere in the Americas. Theodore Roosevelt was a big believer in this. He believed that if European countries had colonies in the Americas it could upset the peace. He believed that to maintain the peace American countries had to be in control of themselves. (Roosevelt 181) This is a statement that makes a lot of sense. If a European country that might want to go to war with America had a colony in the Americas it would be a lot easier for them to fight. Also there is a lot less of a chance of conflict if the country is thousands of miles away.
Theodore Roosevelt also had a very distinct way of dealing with the Press. On his first day in office he set the rules straight. There were three writers who he would give information to if they remained loyal. These were Charles Boynton, David Barry, and Ed Keen. He was close friends with Boynton and Barry, but he needed proof that Ed Keen would remain loyal. Barry and Boynton vouched for him, but Roosevelt still wanted proof for Keen. He tested him, and when Keen passed this test he gained Roosevelt’s trust. Through the years Teddy Roosevelt made it clear that he had zero tolerance for a writer who didn’t remain loyal. He said if a reporter exposed him he would come out against that paper and try his best to get that paper shut down. This shows that Theodore Roosevelt was a very honest man, and that he placed a lot of value on honesty.
Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal was his plan for America as a president. He wanted to deal with every American “squarely”. This meant to deal with every American completely fairly. He was not going to treat anyone better than anyone else. This meant that he was not going to treat the poor any different to the rich or any different to the middle class. There are some presidents who are more beneficial to the rich and others who are more beneficial to the poor, but Theodore Roosevelt was going to be a president who helped everyone. The main parts of his square deal were conserving nature, controlling corporate powers, protecting consumers, and foreign policy. Theodore Roosevelt placed a huge importance on these things and they were the first things he would take care of in office. He was a very big lover of nature. This was a hug reason for his conserving nature part. He wanted to conserve nature because he loved it so much. He also wanted to protect the people who were harmed by the very large corporate powers. In these days big corporations created monopolies that took advantage of the less rich people. These “bullies” were symbolic of the bullies who abused Roosevelt as a child and led to him making the major lifestyle change of becoming a fit and athletic young man. This shows us how throughout his life Theodore Roosevelt stood up to bullies and overcame them. He also placed a lot of emphasis on protecting consumers. This was another way of treating everyone fairly. With things like the Meat Inspection Act he ensured that consumers were getting quality food that wouldn’t make them sick. Prior to this slaughterhouses were very dirty and poorly kept. He wanted to be fair to everyone. This was protecting the consumer who previously would have just had to buy contaminated meat or dirty meat without knowing any better. The last main thing in his square deal was his foreign policy. He used the term “walk softly and carry a big stick” to describe it. This meant that you be nice and calm but have a weapon that intimidates others or shows them not to mess with you. This was how he wanted to deal with foreign countries. He would try to negotiate first of all, but he had a strong army behind him that would keep other countries from taking advantage of America. He also believed that foreign countries should not be allowed to have colonies in the Americas. He believed that keeping foreign countries further away from America would be an easy way to keep peace. The Square Deal was a very important thing for the history of America. It shaped the way America is today. It was a momentous time in the history of the United States because it helped change politics to the way they are now.