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TR the Rough Rider at San Juan Hill
the Battle of San Juan Heights, the most significant U.S. land victory, and one of the final battles, of the Spanish-American War. After the Battle of Las Guasimas in Cuba, Major General William Shafter planned to take Santiago de Cuba, the island’s second largest city. Reports of Spanish reinforcements on route to the city caused him to accelerate his plans. He ordered head-on assaults against three hilltop fortified positions that made up the city’s outer defenses. -
Theodore Roosevelt 1st Presidency
With the assassination of President McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, not quite 43, became the youngest President in the Nation’s history. He brought new excitement and power to the Presidency, as he vigorously led Congress and the American public toward progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy. -
National Reclamation Act
Congress passed the Reclamation Act of June17, 1902. The Act required that water users repay construction costs from which they received benefits. In the jargon of that day, irrigation projects were known as "reclamation"projects. The concept was that irrigation would "reclaim" arid lands for human use. -
The Coal Strike
On Friday, October 3, 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt called a precedent-shattering meeting at the temporary White House at 22 Lafayette Place, Washington, D.C. A great strike in the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania threatened a coal famine. -
Elkins Act
The Elkins Act gave federal courts the power to end rate discrimination. Widely supported by larger railroad companies, the Elkins Act upheld the rates published by the Interstate Commerce Commission. The Act outlawed rebates and made the railroad company itself liable for punishment along with the entity receiving the refund. Railroad directors informed President Theodore Roosevelt of their desire to cease the practice of rebates and he supported the bill in private correspondence. -
TR and the Northern Securities Case
The Northern Securities Case, which established President Theodore Roosevelt’s reputation as a “trust buster,” reached the Supreme Court in 1904. It was the first example of Roosevelt’s use of anti-trust legislation to dismantle a monopoly, in this case a holding company controlling the principal railroad lines from Chicago to the Pacific Northwest. -
Wins first full term as President
Roosevelt realized that although he did not always agree with conservative Republicans in Congress, he needed their support in order to win the nomination in 1904. To that end, he worked out an understanding with legislators, especially Senator Nelson W. Aldrich of Rhode Island, which gave him a free hand in foreign affairs in return for holding back the more progressive items of his domestic agenda. -
Yosemite under Federal Control
After visiting Yosemite and spending time with famed naturalist John Muir, President Theodore Roosevelt pledged to make Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove a part of Yosemite National Park. The State of California receded Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove to the federal government June 11, 1906. -
The Meat Inspection Act
The Meat Inspection Act of 1906, U.S. legislation, signed by Pres. Theodore Roosevelt on June 30, 1906, that prohibited the sale of adulterated or misbranded livestock and derived products as food and ensured that livestock were slaughtered and processed under sanitary conditions. -
The Pure Food and Drug Act
This prohibited the sale of misbranded or adulterated food and drugs in interstate commerce and laid a foundation for the nation's first consumer protection agency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). -
Africa Expedition
Theodore Roosevelt lead the Expedition to Eastern Africa with his son, Kermit, serving as Expedition Photographer. The Smithsonian, through anonymous private donations, funded the three naturalists who worked on the Expedition in return for the receipt of live and preserved specimens. Edgar Alexander Mearns was selected as head naturalist and bird-collector, Edmund Heller was to care for the large mammals, and John Alden Loring was to have charge of the small mammal collecting. -
TR Runs for presidency in Bull-Moose Party
Republican Theodore Roosevelt decided to re-enter the race for the presidency in 1912 to challenge his successor, William Taft. When he failed to secure the Republican nomination, Roosevelt formed the Progressive or “Bull Moose” Party and ran for president on its ticket. The Progressive Party advocated a broad reform platform, including farm relief, social insurance, limits on campaign contributions, and an eight-hour workday.