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Theodore Roosevelt (10/27/1858-1/6/1919)

Political Party: Republican/ Progressive Party Terms of Office: 2 (9/17/1901-3/4/1909) Vice President: Charles Fairbanks (1905-1909)

President Roosevelt was the ultimate people's presidency. He accomplished many great things in office and almost all of those actions had a positive effect and influence on future generations. He changed foreign policy, accomplished conservatism, and protected the consumer. Because of all of his great accomplishments in office and barely any negative ones, President Roosevelt deserves an A for his presidency.

Throughout Roosevelt's two terms, he had and accomplished many goals. His main goals were protecting the consumer, dealing with global or foreign policy, nature conservation, dealing with trusts, and following the Constitution and the Monroe Doctrine. He accomplished every single one of these goals in some way, shape, or form. Because he had such a high level of care and connection with the American people, Roosevelt felt greatly for the consumer. Roosevelt demanded the Square Deal for "capital, labor and the public at large" and enhanced it by enforcing the 3 C's: control of corporations, consumer protection and conservation of natural resources. During the Anthracite Coal Strike when many workers rebelled against their employers and demanded improvements, Roosevelt first sided with the workers before desperately deciding to threaten to take over the mines and run them with federal troops. Additionally, after the publication of //The Jungle,// which opened up the public's eyes to the horrible conditions of the mills and mines, Roosevelt passed the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 and later the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 to have inspections of the factories and ensure the consumer that they were getting what they bought. In passing the Elkins and Hepburn Act, he strengthened his anti-trust policy claiming there were good and bad trusts, ones that benefitted the people and ones that just greeded for power.

In President Roosevelt's Collary to the Monroe Doctrine he kept an upper hand in foreign policy in Latin America. He said that if any European power should try to make any Latin American country repay their debts and should want to enforce it militarily, the U.S. could intervene and pay off the debts for them. This would keep many Latin American bound to the U.S. instead of any European country. President Roosevelt is notorious for his "Big Stick" policy in foreign affairs and said that he would use military force if needed. He also chose to aid Panama in their revolt against Colombia and in doing so eventually gave the United States full control to build and use the Panama Canal. He also came up with the Gentleman's Agreement to protect his own people living in California and their growing hostility towards the Japanese by restricting Japanese influx into the U.S. In this respect he accomplished his goals in foreign affairs. He most effectively dealt with his goal of nature conservation when he saw the destructiveness put forth by the human race in America, especially in the West. Roosevelt quickly picked up on this and set aside valuable land in national parks and reserves for future generations. All in all, President Teddy Roosevelt pretty much accomplished all of his goals to the fullest.

Although many times President Roosevelt really led his own way in policy making and at times without the consent of Congress (such as in the Roosevelt Collary to the Monroe Doctrine), he and Congress still had a pretty good relationship. They supported many of his proposals and passed many of his ideals. Even when Roosevelt was not immediately supported by legislation, he often turned to his popular appeal with the public for support and usually never had a tough time getting what he wanted form Congress. Also, having a majority Republican legislation helped to coincide in succeeding in these goals.

It is hard to choose one definite most positive outcome of Roosevelt's presidency simply because he did so many good things to benefit the country, but out of all of these, Roosevelt's conservation of nature is the most impactful contribution. The soil and natural resources of the country were quickly diminishing and Roosevelt put a halt on this destruction. This action did not have as much of an immediate result as it had more of a long withstanding result on the future of our country. He put aside valuable land in national parks and preserved it future generations. Not only was this Roosevelt's most positive outcome of his presidency but it was also the outcome that affected the lives of people of future generations and still has effect today. Without this, we would not have the beautiful Grand Canyons or Yellowstone National Park. To choose a negative outcome of Roosevelt's presidency is equally as difficult as choosing the most positive one, but for a completely different reason. Roosevelt hardly had any negativity in his presidency. One could say the Panic of 1907 was the most negative; however, it was short lived and, much to some contrary belief, was not caused on Roosevelt's behalf. If one event was to be chosen as the most negative it would probably be the Roosevelt Collary to the Monroe Doctrine simply because it was kind of an abuse of power on Roosevelt's part and did it without the consent of Congress. Overall it still had a mostly positive effect on the country.

By the end of Roosevelt's two terms the country was far better off. He accomplished many great things in office and achieved pretty much all of his goals. He especially provided for future posterity when he set aside valuable land in his act of conservationism. Although not really Roosevelt's fault the Panic of 1907 was somewhat of a put back for America and it did not last for very long. All in all, Roosevelt left a lasting impression on America and left the country a much better place by the time he stepped out of office. In addition the people loved him, and he passed many valuable laws while in office. For all of these great things President Roosevelt deserves an A for his spectacular presidency.

__Bibliography__

DeGregorio, William A. //The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents//. Fort Lee, NJ: Barricade Books Inc., 2009. Print.