Theodore Roosevelt and proto-US imperialism

If it wasn't for Teddy Roosevelt, I suppose you'd all be begging wealthy landowners for the possibility to enjoy a little bit of access to the vast resource that is now the public lands (isn't hypothetical history fun!).

On the other hand, Roosevelt felt that the equality for the black race would come through progress from one generation to the next.[6] For this, he was lauded by liberal whites, and was received as the usher of a new era in the black community.[7] William McGill, a black preacher in Tennessee, wrote: "The administration of President Roosevelt is to the Negro what the heart is to the body. It has pumped life blood into every artery of the Negro in this country."[8] Pope Leo XIII remarked approvingly of TR’s determination “to seek equality of treatment of all the races.”[9]

Roosevelt wrote to a friend that, regarding the difficult issue of race relations, “I have not been able to think out any solution of the terrible problem offered by the presence of the Negro on this continent, but of one thing I am sure, and that is that inasmuch as he is here and can neither be killed nor driven away, the only wise and honorable and Christian thing to do is to treat each black man and each white man strictly on his merits as a man, giving him no more and no less than he shows himself worthy to have.”[10] Additionally, Roosevelt risked outrage (and perhaps physical harm) while speaking to a heavily armed crowd in Butte, Montana during his 1903 Western tour: “I fought beside colored troops at Santiago [Cuba], and I hold that if a man is good enough to be put up and shot at then he is good enough for me to do what I can to get him a square deal.”[11]

Perhaps his attitude is best understood in comparison to those of others in his time, who accused him of “mingling and mongrelization” of the white race; notably Democratic Sen. Benjamin Tillman of South Carolina, who commented on Roosevelt's dining with Booker T. Washington: “The action of President Roosevelt in entertaining that nigger will necessitate our killing a thousand niggers in the South before they learn their place again.”[12]

One of Roosevelt's first notable acts as president was to deliver a 20,000-word address to Congress[91] asking it to curb the power of large corporations (called "trusts"). He also spoke in support of organized labor to further chagrin big business, but to their delight, he endorsed the gold standard, protective tariffs and lower taxes.[92] For his aggressive use of United States antitrust law, he became known as the "trust-buster." He brought 40 antitrust suits, and broke up major companies, such as the largest railroad and Standard Oil, the largest oil company.[93]

In May 1902, anthracite coal miners went on strike, threatening a national energy shortage. After threatening the coal operators with intervention by federal troops, Roosevelt won their agreement to an arbitration of the dispute by a commission, which succeeded in stopping the strike, dropping coal prices and retiring furnaces; the accord with J.P. Morgan resulted in the workers getting more pay for fewer hours, but with no union recognition.[94][95]

Journalist Ray Baker quoted Roosevelt concerning his policy towards capitalists and laborers: "My action on labor should always be considered in connection with my action as regards capital, and both are reducible to my favorite formula – a square deal for every man."[96] Roosevelt thought it was particularly important for the government to supervise the workings of the railway to avoid corruption in interstate commerce; the result was the Hepburn bill, which established control over railroad rates.[97]

Roosevelt responded to public anger over the abuses in the food packing industry by pushing Congress to pass the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 and the Pure Food and Drug Act. The Meat Inspection Act of 1906 banned misleading labels and preservatives that contained harmful chemicals. The Pure Food and Drug Act banned food and drugs that were impure or falsely labeled from being made, sold, and shipped

1912 Presidential election, which he lost as candidate of the new Progressive Party aka Bull Moose Party.

Roosevelt's platform echoed his 1907–8 proposals, calling for vigorous government intervention to protect the people from the selfish interests;
"To destroy this invisible Government, to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.[143][144] This country belongs to the people. Its resources, its business, its laws, its institutions, should be utilized, maintained, or altered in whatever manner will best promote the general interest. This assertion is explicit... Mr. Wilson must know that every monopoly in the United States opposes the Progressive party... I challenge him... to name the monopoly that did support the Progressive party, whether... the Sugar Trust, the US Steel Trust, the Harvester Trust, the Standard Oil Trust, the Tobacco Trust, or any other... Ours was the only program to which they objected, and they supported either Mr. Wilson or Mr. Taft"[145]