During the period of 1900-1910 in America, Theodore Roosevelt served as president from 1901-1909, pursuing progressive policies like trust busting and conservation. The progressive movement sought social and political reforms through government action. Muckraking journalists exposed problems in society. Women fought for suffrage rights. The economy grew industrialized as companies like Ford and Sears expanded. In foreign policy, the U.S. gained the Panama Canal and pursued an Open Door Policy in China.

1. America During
1900-1910
By Ali VanRemortel and Abby Burgess

2. • William McKinley: 1897-1901
• Theodore Roosevelt: 1901- 1908
• William Howard Taft: 1908-1913
Presidents in 1900-1910

3. Theodore Roosevelt
• Took office after McKinley was shot.
• Young and robust
• Experience in politics
• Assistant Sec. of the Navy
• Spanish American War Rough Rider
• V.P for McKinley
• Officially a Republican but held many Progressive views and acted on them.
• Battling large businesses, believing in the “common man,” and confronting the struggle
between management and labor.

4. The Election of 1094
• TR wins with his “Square Deal”
• Control of corporation
• “Trust Buster” filled suits against 44 trusts
• Consumer protection
• Conservation of natural resources
• Set aside over 200 million acres for national forests, reserves, and for
wildlife.

5. William Howard Taft
• Hand picked by TR
• Was less enthusiastic and more cautious
• Reduced much of TR’s conservation efforts
• Prosecuted more trusts than Roosevelt.

6. Leaders and Legislation
• Elkins act 1903- RR couldn’t change rates without giving the public
advanced notice.
• Hepburn Act 1906- ICC set max. rates, uniform accounting method
requirements, & declared no free passes for congressmen.
• Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act.
• Payne-Aldrich Bill- lowered tariffs
• Joe Cannon- Speaker of the House, supported old machine style politics.

7. The Progressive Movement
• Improve the economy/government by making the government aware of the
issues.
• Muckrakers- journalists who pointed out problems with society hoping the
make people uneasy.
• Upton Sinclair, Ida Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens, Jacob Riis
• The suffrage movement gained momentum.

8. Court Cases 1900-1910
• Northern Securities Co. V. United States 1903
• Ruled the Great Northern & Northern Pacific companies dissolve their monopoly, Northern Securities
Co.
• Swift & Co. V. United States 1905
• Government has a right to regulate monopolies if it has a direct effect on commerce.
• Adair V. United States 1908
• Upheld “yellow- dog” contracts
• Muller V. Oregon 1908
• Justified gender discrimination and usage of labor laws to restrict working hours for women to
protect their health.

9. Authors and Literature
• Newspaper Idols- Hearst and Pulitzer increased sales by including sports, scandals,
and cartoon strips.
• Susan B. Anthony- History of Woman Suffrage
• Theodor Dreiser- Sister Carrie
• W.E.B. Du Bois-The Souls of Black Folk
• Lincoln Steffens- The Shame of the Cities
• Ida Tarbell- The History of the Standard Oil Company
• Upton Sinclair- The Jungle

10. Fashion Trends and Fads
• Fashion was formal and romantic
• Men wore slimming trousers
• Women wore bobbed hair and large hats, skirts also began to shorten
• Fads were ping pong and speeding

11. Influences of the Media
• Radios brought music into the house.

12. Social Issues and Reform
• Muckrakers cleaned up society such as the meat packing industry.
• Some believed moral values began breaking down.
• Women’s Rights was in the spotlight
• Religious reform brought the YMCA and YWCA

13. Foreign Policy of the U.S.
• Trans-Siberian Railroad- This railroad was completed and opened in () in
Russia, and it opened up large scale access and shipping.
• Panama Canal- The canal was built for shipping and war purposes. After a
conflict with purchasing the land from Colombia, the United States backed
up a Panamanian revolution against Colombia. The United States got the
land for $10 million and construction began in 1904.

15. Continued
• Roosevelt Corollary- Revision on Monroe Doctrine stated that the U.S.
would only intervene in foreign countries if they collapsed or were damaging
the U.S. economy.
• Roosevelt Settles dispute in Asia- Russia and Japan were at war, and
Roosevelt came up with a treaty to satisfy them both. He succeeded in
keeping open trade in China.

16. Economics
• Progressives-favored the government regulation of business to ensure
competition and free enterprise
• Muckrakers- journalists who encouraged readers to demand more regulation
of business
• The Jungle- Upton Sinclair showed America the horrors of the Chicago
Union Stock Yards

18. Continued
• December 15, 1907 Great White Fleet- Roosevelt sent Navy on a tour
around the world to show U.S. Superiority

20. Continued
• Boxer Rebellion- Chinese organization killed foreigners and Chinese
Christians. U.S. troops were sent into stop the uprising.
• Open Door Policy- Allowed multiple imperial powers access to China
• Hay-Pauncefote Treaty- Between the U.S. and Britain about the creation of
the Panama Canal

22. Continued
• Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907- U.S. would not impose restrictions on
Japanese immigration, but Japan would stop emigration to the U.S.
• 1908 Root Takahira Agreement- Recognized the territory of China
• 1909 Taft Introduced Dollar Diplomacy- control Latin America and East
Asia through its economic power by guaranteeing loans made to foreign
countries.

23. Other
• The Industrial Age was in full swing
• Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward were both very popular stores
• Safety in food processing and the environment became issues
• Wright Brothers made their first flight

25. Other
• Cadilac was founded and Henry Ford provided the first affordable car ($700-
$900)
• The Sunday Drive became a national pastime

27. Thank You!