Teddy Roosevelt devoted his adult life to civil service in order to make life for American citizens better. He was a man with a large collection of interests; a man who possessed incredible knowledge; and a man who knew how to interact with people and make them like him. He had a great zest for life and wanted to be admired and in the limelight all of the time. He was a powerful speaker who used his body to make his points strongly in order to enliven the audience. He was also a perfect gentleman who detested dirty jokes and sent for dueling pistols any time anyone made any sign that they were interested in his wife.

Roosevelt was a new type of politician that ended the Gilded Age politician’s control. The Gilded Age politics are described by John J Newman in United States History as “… the era of �

He also tried to reform the production of food. Upton Sinclair, a devout socialist muckraker, had just published The Jungle and while the author intended the book to teach about socialism many people started to question the quality of their food as result of the book. Roosevelt passed the Pure Food and Drug act in 1906 in order to set standard for food production and the labeling of food. Before the law was enacted food products could be mislabeled and could contain inedible products. Many companies promised their product increased vigor, and they were able to keep this guarantee by adding cocaine, alcohol and other narcotics to the recipe. In the same year he made it legal for the government to inspect the accounting books of corporations, aimed at railroads, to make sure there was no corruption.

Roosevelt is also known for his major advances in U.S imperialism policies. He started his presidency trying to placate the fear that he was too racist and impulse driven. He said that he would follow McKinley’s foreign policies, yet he quickly meandered away from McKinley’s policies. His favorite saying which he took from Africa was, “Speak softly and carry a big stick [and] you will go far.” Taking his background as a naval secretary he built up the navy so the country would be “prepared.” Having been the most traveled of all presidents to date, he had an extensive knowledge of other countries’ imperialism. He overwrote the Monroe Doctrine in the Roosevelt Corollary which said American could take over nations in need of western aid “to maintain stability.” He was a fan of making changes fast without notifying the legislative branch finding that legislatures worked too slowly. Thomas A. Bailey asserts in The American Pageant, “Roosevelt was a direct actionist … he kept things noisily moving – generally forward.” (671)

Many historians, such as John J Newman, believe that the Gilded Age ended in 1900 when McKinley took office. (383) However, the other school of thought believes that McKinley’s presidency was a transition period and that the Gilded Age ended slowly during McKinley’s presidency as more reformers gained power and ended when Roosevelt took office. When Roosevelt became president at age forty two many people were critical of the young rambunctious war hero. Both Republicans and Democrats were nervous having a reformer as a president; one such republican senator Mark Hanna of Ohio exclaimed: “Now look! That damned cowboy is President of the United States.” He did not fit the mold of a republican president says John A. Garraty in The American Nation, “He seemed too undignified, too energetic, too outspoken, too conventional.” (585) Roosevelt’s aggressive nature led him to make many reforms. He gave himself more power and taking power from the legislative branch. He gave more power to the newly created Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), so that he could have more control in business. He was known as a trustbuster (which he was;) however, he was not against large corporations. He himself helped build up U.S Steel, the steel company which controlled sixty percent of the nation’s steel industry. The first trust Roosevelt went after was a railroad company called the Northern Security Company which was created in 1901. Roosevelt followed this anti trust suit with about forty others such as against Standard Oil, and the American Tobacco company. Roosevelt felt he could handle trusts better when he told the owner of the trust would be warned first of an impending anti trust suit, then giving the company time to fix itself so that no such suit would be needed. These warnings were known as gentlemen’s agreements.

Because Roosevelt was very fond of nature, he tried to protect the natural resources of the country. He was a conservationist, not a preservationist meaning he approved of using the environment as long it was done without exploiting it. He made forestation laws wh

Some topics in this essay:
Teddy Roosevelt, John Muir, Food Drug, Republican Party, American Tobacco, Platt Roosevelt’s, York City, Gilded Age, Ovidio Espino, United History, gilded age, teddy roosevelt, civil service, party leaders, job york, roosevelt job, gilded age politics, civil service laws, john newman, vice president, roosevelt chose, era “forgettable”, anthracite coal strike, era “forgettable” presidents, anti trust suit,