Square Deal
Encyclopedia
The Square Deal was President
Theodore Roosevelt
's domestic program formed upon three basic ideas: conservation of natural resources, control of corporations, and consumer protection. Thus, it aimed at helping middle class
citizens and involved attacking plutocracy
and bad trusts
while at the same time protecting business from the most extreme demands of organized labor.
he treated the United Mine Workers
representatives and company bosses as equals; this approach continued during his efforts to regulate the railroads and other businesses during his second term.
During the 1904 campaign, Roosevelt remarked that he had worked in the anthracite coal strike to provide everyone with a "square deal." In his second term, he tried to extend his square deal further. One of his first targets was the railroad industry. The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, establishing the Interstate Commerce Commission
(ICC) had been an early effort to regulate the industry; but over the years, the courts had sharply limited its influence.
One of the major elements of Roosevelt's Square Deal was the promotion of anti-trust suits. During his administration, the federal government initiated actions against 44 major corporations. He argued that some "bad" trusts had to be curbed, and "good" ones encouraged and that executive agencies sought out which were "good" and which were "bad." As such, Roosevelt pushed for the courts, which had been guided by a clearly delineated standard up to that point, to yield to the wishes of the executive branch on all subsequent anti-trust suits.
In 1903, with Roosevelt's support, Congress passed the Elkins Act
. This stated that railroads were not allowed to give rebates to favored companies any longer. These rebates had treated small Midwestern farmers unfairly by not allowing them equal access to the services of the railroad. The Interstate Commerce Commission controlled the prices that railroads could charge, which had the long-term negative effect of weakening the railroads, as they faced new competition from trucks and buses
.
Meat had to be processed safely with proper sanitation, giving the advantage to large packing houses and undercutting small local operations. Foodstuffs and drugs could no longer be mislabeled, nor could consumers be deliberately misled.
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
's domestic program formed upon three basic ideas: conservation of natural resources, control of corporations, and consumer protection. Thus, it aimed at helping middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
citizens and involved attacking plutocracy
Plutocracy
Plutocracy is rule by the wealthy, or power provided by wealth. The combination of both plutocracy and oligarchy is called plutarchy. The word plutocracy is derived from the Ancient Greek root ploutos, meaning wealth and kratos, meaning to rule or to govern.-Usage:The term plutocracy is generally...
and bad trusts
Trust (19th century)
A special trust or business trust is a business entity formed with intent to monopolize business, to restrain trade, or to fix prices. Trusts gained economic power in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some, but not all, were organized as trusts in the legal sense...
while at the same time protecting business from the most extreme demands of organized labor.
History
President Theodore Roosevelt abandoned long-standing legal principles in favor of arbitrarily weighing strikers' demands equally to property rights of owners. In the coal miner's strike of 1902Coal Strike of 1902
The Coal Strike of 1902 was a strike by the United Mine Workers of America in the anthracite coal fields of eastern Pennsylvania. Miners were on strike asking for higher wages, shorter workdays, and the recognition of their union...
he treated the United Mine Workers
United Mine Workers
The United Mine Workers of America is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners and coal technicians. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the United States and Canada...
representatives and company bosses as equals; this approach continued during his efforts to regulate the railroads and other businesses during his second term.
During the 1904 campaign, Roosevelt remarked that he had worked in the anthracite coal strike to provide everyone with a "square deal." In his second term, he tried to extend his square deal further. One of his first targets was the railroad industry. The Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, establishing the Interstate Commerce Commission
Interstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission was a regulatory body in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including...
(ICC) had been an early effort to regulate the industry; but over the years, the courts had sharply limited its influence.
One of the major elements of Roosevelt's Square Deal was the promotion of anti-trust suits. During his administration, the federal government initiated actions against 44 major corporations. He argued that some "bad" trusts had to be curbed, and "good" ones encouraged and that executive agencies sought out which were "good" and which were "bad." As such, Roosevelt pushed for the courts, which had been guided by a clearly delineated standard up to that point, to yield to the wishes of the executive branch on all subsequent anti-trust suits.
In 1903, with Roosevelt's support, Congress passed the Elkins Act
Elkins Act
The Elkins Act is a 1903 United States federal law that amended the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The Elkins Act authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission to impose heavy fines on railroads that offered rebates, and upon the shippers that accepted these rebates. The railroad companies were...
. This stated that railroads were not allowed to give rebates to favored companies any longer. These rebates had treated small Midwestern farmers unfairly by not allowing them equal access to the services of the railroad. The Interstate Commerce Commission controlled the prices that railroads could charge, which had the long-term negative effect of weakening the railroads, as they faced new competition from trucks and buses
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
.
Meat had to be processed safely with proper sanitation, giving the advantage to large packing houses and undercutting small local operations. Foodstuffs and drugs could no longer be mislabeled, nor could consumers be deliberately misled.
Legislation
In addition to the Elkins Act, more legislation pertaining to the Square Deal was enacted during the Roosevelt administration:- The Antiquities ActAntiquities ActThe Antiquities Act of 1906, officially An Act for the Preservation of American Antiquities , is an act passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906, giving the President of the United States authority to, by executive order, restrict the use of...
of 1906 gave the president authority to restrict use of particular public land. - The Hepburn ActHepburn ActThe Hepburn Act is a 1906 United States federal law that gave the Interstate Commerce Commission the power to set maximum railroad rates. This led to the discontinuation of free passes to loyal shippers. In addition, the ICC could view the railroads' financial records, a task simplified by...
of 1906 strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission; prior to that, the commission had minimal resources to carry out its duties. - The Pure Food and Drug ActPure Food and Drug ActThe Pure Food and Drug Act of June 30, 1906, is a United States federal law that provided federal inspection of meat products and forbade the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated food products and poisonous patent medicines...
of 1906 and the Meat Inspection ActMeat Inspection ActThe Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906 was a United States Congress Act that worked to prevent adulterated or misbranded meat and meat products from being sold as food and to ensure that meat and meat products are slaughtered and processed under sanitary conditions. These requirements also apply...
of 1906 were both widely accredited to Upton SinclairUpton SinclairUpton Beall Sinclair Jr. , was an American author who wrote close to one hundred books in many genres. He achieved popularity in the first half of the twentieth century, acquiring particular fame for his classic muckraking novel, The Jungle . It exposed conditions in the U.S...
's The JungleThe JungleThe Jungle is a 1906 novel written by journalist Upton Sinclair. Sinclair wrote the novel with the intention of portraying the life of the immigrant in the United States, but readers were more concerned with the large portion of the book pertaining to the corruption of the American meatpacking...
, which revealed the horrific and unsanitary processes of meat products.