Unlike McKinley, who was a supporter of monopolistic business, President Roosevelt began trust busting. With the passing of the Sherman Antitrust act, the monopolies had to dissolve their companies into many smaller ones where they could not hold all the shares.He was famous for trust busting companies owned by John D. Rockefeller and J.P Morgan. He believed that the president should be the mediator between conflicting economic forces in the nation, especially between capital and labor forces. He promised to fight for the people and dispense favors to none. He also got the United States more involved in affairs around the world. He is the reason we are so involved in other countries business today. He thought we should help out other countries by exporting our values and ideals out to them; he wanted us to have a defense against countries who prey on the weakness of others. One of his most famous foreign policies is the Roosevelt Corollary. The Roosevelt Corollary was an extension of the Monroe Doctrine that said the U.S would intervene in any Latin American country that manifested serious economic problems. He also made many reforms in the labor area. He stopped the widespread labor strikes against big business and passed the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 and The Pure Food and Drug Act. These acts banned foods with misleading labors or harmful chemicals from being made, sold, and shipped. President Roosevelt left a lasting impression on our nation.
Henry Ford was also an important figure of the Progressive Era. Henry Ford didnt create the automobile, but he made the automobile affordable to the everyday man. He revolutionized the work place. He was manufacturing inexpensive automobiles and paying his workers a reasonable steady salary. He treated his workers like real people and perfected the assembly line. He created the ideal version of future American businesses. .
After Roosevelts term was over , his hand picked successor, another republican, William Howard Taft took office in 1909.