Matt+-+TR+-+SP09

Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt Born: October 27, 1858 Death: January 6, 1919 Party: Republican Date of Terms: September 6, 1901 - March 4, 1909 Vice President: Charles Warren Fairbanks 1. Teddy Roosevelt was a very tough and charismatic person that came into office with the idea that progress must be made, no matter which direction it was going. Although Teddy did some pretty important stuff during his time as president, I think he deserves a grade of a B because of the fact that he overstepped his power as the president with actions like the Roosevelt Corrolary. 2. One of the biggest and most widely known goals of Teddy Roosevelt was the construction of the Panama Canal. This goal was accomplished by first aiding Panama in gaining independence after they revolted from Colombia in 1903. Next, the government created a treaty which was later signed by Panama which gave the U.S a ten mile strip of land which could be used to build the canal. Then the project began under the direction of George Goethals. In 1914 it was completed and in 1920 it was open for traffic. To this day, the Panama Canal is being used by many countries and the U.S is still paying annual sums to Panama. Another great goal of Teddy was to conserve more wildlife instead of abusing it which caused him to recieve the name "the Great Conservationist." He accomplished this task by first passing the Reclamation Act of 1902 which gave funds to companies to make dams in the Western Region. Also, he reserved 125 million acres of forest, 68 million acres of coal lands, and 2,500 of water-power sites. He also created the first wild-life refuge in Florida in 1903 and designated Devils Tower in Wyoming as the first national monument in 1906. These were the main goals of the Roosevelt presidency. 3. The relationship that Theodore Roosevelt had with congress was an okay one. I say this because there wasn't a lot legislationthat got vetoed by Teddy but it didn't seem like Teddy and congress actually did stuff together. For instance, Teddy basically came up with the whole idea of conservation and he didn't really get congress' approval on the matter; he just got them to make some bills and acts for him. Also, with the Roosevelt Corrolary (sorry if I misspelled that), TR just did what ever he felt like doing with letting congress discuss it first. (Kind of like George Dub when he declared war on Iraq WMD's :) 4. The most positive action that president Roosevelt took while in office was the creation of the Panama Canal. It had the most positive outcome because it created a shorter pathway to the much desired Asian market for people that lived in places like Western Europe or on the East Coast of America. It also had the most positive outcome because it is still in use today by many countries today. It can also be argued that the National Park System creation was the most important but it isn't something that is used by other countries. The most negative action that was taken during the Roosevelt presidency was the anti-trust policy that squeezed the corporations of funds which would cause the panic of 1907. This had a negative affect because, like most financial panics, it caused many banks to be closed and in this case caused several railroads to be closed. 5. Two decisions that changed the lives of future generations was the beginning of wild-life conservation and the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. The conservation policy affected future generations because it was the start of the national park system which has conserved millions of acres of land throughout the country which is still in place today. Also, it helped many Americans to become more conscious of their actions towards the enviroment and what they do with it. The meat inspection act helped future generations because the food producing of the early 20th century was absolutely disgusting and unsanitary which meant that a lot of the food that was made had a lot of diseases on it. This act helped to create the inspection of foods before they were shipped out to stores. Although there are still mis-haps with food today (Peter Pan peanut butter) this act got rid of many other incidents that were probably going to happen. 6. In conclusion, Roosevelt was a very active president that was not afraid to take action even if it was for the worst. I believe the country was better off after TR ended his second term because he made some key new addtions to the world like the Panama Canal and the National Park System. But, overall he deserves a grade of a B because of the fact that he overstepped his power as president during some of his administrative actions. Degregorio, William A. //The Complete Book of U.S Presidents.// New Jersey: Barricade Books Inc. 2005.