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Theodore Roosevelt (October 27, 1858 - January 6, 1919) Republican 1901-1904 VP: none 1904-1909 VP: Charles Warren Fairbanks

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was admired by the American people. He was charismatic, vital, and the youngest president to serve thus far. His career began when he took over the office after the assassination of President McKinley in 1901, and continued when he was reelected in 1904. He helped to pass many important pieces of legislation, spurring needed reforms throughout the country. He focused on bettering the lives of the people and was a prominent peace maker. The only downfall of his presidency was the short lived Panic of 1907, which lasted only a year. For his successes, Roosevelt deserves a grade of an "A-".

Roosevelt was known to say "Speak softly and carry a big stick, you will go far". By brandishing the "big stick" he succeeded in accomplishing many of his goals. Major goals of Roosevelt upon entering the office of president were increasing foreign trade, strengthening the navy, and expanding the merchant marine. He accomplished all three of these goals by beginning construction of the Panama Canal. The canal sped up trade, especially between the Pacific Coast and the Carribean, as ships no longer had to sail the whole way around South America. It increased the mobility of both the navy and merchant ships. Roosevelt was also determined to uphold the gold standard, and did throughout his two terms. Another goal of his was to address the need of reforms throughout the nation. He made strides in this area through his "Square Deal", which involved environmental conservation work, consumer protection, and control of large corporations. Creation of the Department of Commerce and Labor, and the passage of the Hepburn and Elkins Acts show his achievement in the area of government regulation of corporations. They reformed the workforce, and broke up powerful trusts and monopolies. The Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act both helped to protect the consumer by making sure products were safe for household use. Conservation efforts were made through the Newlands and Reclamation Act. Roosevelt seemed to accomplish everything he set out to do.

Since Republicans were the majority party in Congress at the time of Roosevelt's presidency, he got along quite well with the two houses. Many important pieces of legislation were passed, thanks to a cooperative team of the president and Congress. Roosevelt asked for Congressional backing for his antitrust policies, and they complied. Actions were taken against the railroad, beef, oil, and tobbaco industries, along with others. Acts such as the Elkins and Hepburn Acts were passed in regards these ideas. Legislation favorable to conservationism was also passed, such as the Reclamation Act of 1902, and the Newlands Act of 1902. Most importantly, Congress agreed on the terms outlined in the Roosevelt Corrollary, an extension of the Monroe Doctrine. This ground breaking new piece of legislation greatly affected United States foreign policy, so Congressional support was vital.

Although Roosevelt made many decisions that were followed by positive outcomes, his actions as a peace maker remain the most positive. One example of this was his holding of peace negotiations between the Russians and the Japanese at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The two countries were currently at war over ports in Manchuria, China, and Roosevelt helped to end the war with the creation of the Portsmouth Treaty of 1905. A year later, he was called upon again to hold negotiations over Spanish disputes in North Africa. He acted as a mediator again in this case, speaking at the international conference in Algeciras, Spain. For his actions in these two cases, he recieved the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906, becoming the first Ameactiorican to recieve the award. With the money he recieved, he created a trust fund to promote industrial peace. After WWI, however, he removed the money and used it to aid war victims instead. All of these actions were very admirable, and clearly had an all around positive outcome. Not only did his decisions benefit the nations invovled, but the rest of the world as well.

The cause of the Panic of 1907 could not be directly pinpointed, but many point to decisions made by Roosevelt when the topic is mentioned. The panic began with the failure of the Knickerbocker Trust Company of New York, and continued with the collapse of a few banks and railroads. At the time of the panic, Roosevelt's brutal anittrust policies were looked upon as the main cause, making them his decision with the most negative outcome. However, Roosevelt can not be penalized too harshly, as this was only one explinantion as to the cause. His policies were said to have unsettled industries, which was a negative factor of them. They definitely frustrated large corporations, and big business men, but that only discomforted a small percentage of the population, and did only that - //discomforted//, not actually hurt them. Big business men were simply limited by these policies, and prevented from corruption. This action of Roosevelt's can be looked upon as having a negative outcome, but since the panic did not affect many people, the source of the panic was not proven to be his policies, and was too short (only a few months) to have any real impact, the outcome is questionable. Roosevelt did not make any decisions with a truly negative outcome, but if one //had// to be chosen it would be this one. Once again, this can be left to interpretation.

Theodore Roosevelt's conservation efforts clearly impacted future generations. They are his most enduring tangible achievement. Not only did they open the door to environmentalists, but they also set the stage for future efforts. Roosevelt focused not only on reserving natural resources, but on using them effectively. He promoted "multiple use resource management" or the combination of recreation and industrial use all on one piece of land. He pushed industries such as logging to use the our country's resources sustainably. This is still one of our countries main focuses today, and was popularized by Roosevelt. His creation of the Newlands Act allowed for dozens of dams to be built, which still provide hydroelectric power as well as employment opportunites today. By the end of his presidency, Roosevelt had reserved 125 million acres of forests for federal use and the later creation of national parks, along with millions of acres of coal deposits and water resources. These were obviously beneficial to our world today, as these lands would have been riped of their resources long ago had it not been for Roosevelt. He influenced youths as well, and helped the Boy Scouts of America to become one of the largest youth organizations. It still is today. All of Roosevelts efforts as a conservationist impacted future generations in a positive way.

The country was obviously better off at the end of Roosevelt's terms as president. We were at peace with foreign nations, and trade was at a high thanks to the building of the Panama Canal. Conservation efforts were under way, making people take pride in the beauty of our great nation. Roosevelt retired from his office as president, but was still largely popular among the people, proving that the country was in a good state at the time of his retirement. If they had not been, feelings toward him would not have been as warm as they were. Roosevelt made many positive contributions during his presidency, but felt it was his time to retire. The Panic of 1907 was the only minor blemish on his spotless presidential record, lowering his grade only slightly from an "A". For his time, Roosevelt clearly deserves an "A-".

Degregorio, William A.. //The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, Seventh Edition (Complete Book of Us Presidents)//. 7 ed. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009. Print. "U.S. Senate: Art & History Home > Origins & Development > Party Division." //U.S. Senate//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2010. .
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