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Theodore Roosevelt Serves as a Rough Rider
During the battle at San Juan Hill, Roosevelt served as a Rough Rider. During the Spanish-American war, Roosevelt and Wood created a Volunteer Cavalry that got called "Roosevelt's Rough Riders." The Rough Rider participated in important battles such as the battle at the San Juan Hills. During this battle, Roosevelt led charges up Kettle Hill on a horse, while the rest of the Rough Riders followed. This ignited Roosevelt's political career and made him a popular war hero. -
Theodore Roosevelt First Inauguration as President
On Saturday, September 14th of 1901, Theodore Roosevelt unexpectedly became president. Because President William McKinley was assassinated, Theodore Roosevelt became the 26th president. At 43 years old, Teddy Roosevelt became the youngest president so far. -
Reclamation Act is Passed
In 1902 congress passed the Reclamation act. This act was also known as the Newlands act and it used money from the sale of western land to fund large irrigation projects. Because of this act, the Roosevelt dam in Arizona was built, as well as the Shoshone dam in Wyoming. This act set the standard that the Federal Government would assist in the managing of water resources in the Western part of the country. -
Theodore Roosevelt Breaks Up a Coal Strike
On Friday, October 3, 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt called both coal mine workers who were going on strike for better conditions and the coal mine operators who were refusing the terms into the white house to negotiate. During this meeting, Roosevelt broke up the coal strike through negotiation and nonviolent means. This changed the way that strikes were treated in the future. -
Elkins Act is Passed
On February 19th, 1903, Roosevelt signed the Elkins Act into law. This act changed regulations on railroads and helped prevent rates from continuing to inflate. Under this act, railroads could not change set rates without first telling the public. This act also made it illegal for railroad officials to give shippers rebates for using their specific railroad. Shippers were also outlawed from accepting rebates. -
Roosevelt Wins the 1904 Election
In 1904, Theodore Roosevelt ran for president and won. While he had already been serving as President, he had not previously been elected. In the months leading up to the election, Roosevelt campaigned hard to ensure that he would be elected and serve as President again. Roosevelt won with 336 electoral votes and the overwhelming support of the people. -
Northern Securities Case
In 1904, Roosevelt prosecuted the Northern Securities Company. This company was the combination of the two largest railroad companies. This eliminated competition and created a monopoly. Roosevelt claimed that this was against the Sherman Act. The Supreme Court sided with the Federal Government in 1904 and the Northern Securities company dissolved. This move showed that the executive branch was stronger than big corporations and gave Roosevelt the nickname "Trust Buster." -
Food and Drug Act is Passed
In 1906, Roosevelt passed the Food and Drug act. This act forced labels on food and medications to be honest. This stopped companies from making outlandish claims about their products like that they could, "cure cancer." This act also banned harmful products from being put into food and medication and stopped the sale of contaminated food and drugs. -
Meat Inspection Act Passed
In 1905, an author named Upton Sinclair wrote a novel called The Jungle. This book described the disgusting conditions in meatpacking houses. These descriptions distressed the public and Roosevelt was urged to take action. In 1906, Roosevelt signed the Meat Inspection act, which forced meatpackers to adhere to strict cleanliness policies and created a system of federal meat inspections for meat processing houses. -
Yosemite is Placed Under Federal Control
On May 15, 1903, Roosevelt visited Yosemite with a naturalist. After several days of exploring the land and sleeping under the stars, Roosevelt was moved by the beauty of Yosemite. This inspired the President to place Yosemite back under federal protection. On June 11th, 1906, Roosevelt signed a bill that put Yosemite back under Federal control and made it a part of Yosemite National Park. -
Roosevelt Leaves for Africa
On March 23rd of 1909, President Roosevelt left to go on an expedition to Kenya and eastern Africa. He went with his son, Kermit Roosevelt, and three Smithsonian scientists. The purpose of this trip was to capture footage, photographs, and the corpses of animals to put in the new Smithsonian Natural History museum. This would later be called the National Museum of Natural History. -
Roosevelt Nominated as the Candidate for the Bull Moose Party
In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt was nominated for the presidency by the Bull Moose Party, also known as the Progressive Party. This party came from Republicans that were against William Howard Taft being the nominated Republican. Had he won, this would have been Roosevelt's third term as president. Roosevelt received more votes than Taft, but the Republican party split caused Democrat Woodrow Wilson to win.