Theodore Roosevelt accepted the Progressive Party nomination for president at a convention in Chicago, formally splitting from the Republican Party after losing the nomination to his former friend William Howard Taft despite winning nine of twelve state primaries. Roosevelt’s “Bull …
Theodore RooseveltWilliam Howard TaftWoodrow WilsonProgressive PartyRepublican National Committeeprogressive-erathird-partyrepublican-partypolitical-realignmentcorporate-power
When Theodore Roosevelt left office on March 4, 1909, his administration had filed 44 antitrust lawsuits (18 civil and 26 criminal cases, resulting in 22 convictions and 22 acquittals) against major corporations including Northern Securities, Standard Oil, American Tobacco, the Beef Trust, and Du …
Theodore RooseveltWilliam Howard TaftJ.P. MorganU.S. Department of JusticeInterstate Commerce Commissionantitrustcorporate-powerprogressive-eraregulatory-enforcementpresidential-legacy
On the morning of Saturday, November 2, 1907, during the Panic of 1907 financial crisis, J.P. Morgan convened a meeting at his library proposing that U.S. Steel—which already controlled 60% of the steel market—purchase stock in the insolvent brokerage firm Moore & Schley, which had borrowed …
Theodore RooseveltJ.P. MorganElbert H. GaryHenry Clay FrickU.S. Steel Corporation+2 moreantitrustcorporate-powerfinancial-crisisprogressive-eraregulatory-capture
On July 19, 1907, the Roosevelt administration’s Department of Justice filed a major antitrust petition against the American Tobacco Company after one of its subsidiaries was indicted for price-fixing in the Southern District of New York. The suit charged sixty-five companies and twenty-nine …
Theodore RooseveltU.S. Department of JusticeAmerican Tobacco CompanyJames Buchanan Dukeantitrustcorporate-powerregulatory-enforcementprogressive-eramonopoly
President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Pure Food and Drug Act and Meat Inspection Act on June 30, 1906, marking a major achievement in federal regulation of the food industry. The legislation arose from public education and exposés by muckraking journalists like Upton Sinclair and Samuel Hopkins …
Theodore RooseveltHarvey Washington WileyUpton SinclairU.S. Congressregulatory-enforcementpublic-healthconsumer-protectionprogressive-erafood-safety
On June 29, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Hepburn Act into law after a month of conference committee reconciliation, with the Senate passing it 71-3 and the House by substantial margin. The Act fundamentally strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission, giving it power to set …
Theodore RooseveltRepresentative William HepburnInterstate Commerce CommissionRailroad companiesU.S. Congressrailroad-regulationregulatory-enforcementprogressive-erainstitutional-expansioncorporate-power
On January 30, 1905, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Swift & Co. v. United States that the Commerce Clause allowed the federal government to regulate monopolies that have a direct effect on interstate commerce, dealing a major blow to the “Beef Trust” cartel. The case followed …
U.S. Supreme CourtSwift & CompanyArmour & CompanyTheodore RooseveltAttorney General Philander Knoxantitrustcorporate-powersupreme-courtregulatory-enforcementprogressive-era
On March 14, 1904, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Northern Securities Company violated the Sherman Antitrust Act and ordered the railroad holding company dissolved. The decision affirmed the April 9, 1903 federal circuit court ruling against the company formed by J.P. Morgan, James J. …
U.S. Supreme CourtTheodore RooseveltJ.P. MorganJames J. HillEdward H. Harriman+1 moreantitrustcorporate-powerregulatory-enforcementsupreme-courtprogressive-era
On February 19, 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Elkins Act, which made it a federal misdemeanor for railroads to grant rebates or preferential rates and held both the carrier and the recipient liable. The Act was sponsored by Senator Stephen B. Elkins of West Virginia and introduced in …
Theodore RooseveltSenator Stephen B. ElkinsInterstate Commerce CommissionPennsylvania RailroadRailroad companiesantitrustrailroad-regulationprogressive-eraregulatory-enforcement
On February 14, 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Act to Establish the Department of Commerce and Labor, creating the ninth cabinet-level executive department and establishing the Bureau of Corporations as an investigatory agency within it. The Bureau was specifically designed to study …
Theodore RooseveltU.S. CongressGeorge B. CortelyouJames Rudolph GarfieldBureau of Corporationsantitrustregulatory-enforcementprogressive-eracorporate-powerinstitutional-expansion
On October 3, 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt convened an unprecedented conference in Washington bringing together representatives of government, labor, and management to resolve the anthracite coal strike that threatened to leave Americans without heating fuel for the approaching winter. …
On May 12, 1902, 147,000 anthracite coal miners in eastern Pennsylvania, organized by the United Mine Workers under President John Mitchell, went on strike after railroad companies that owned the mines refused to meet with union representatives. The miners demanded better wages, shorter work weeks …
United Mine WorkersJohn MitchellTheodore RooseveltRailroad companiesCoal mine operatorslabor-rightsprogressive-eracorporate-powerfederal-intervention
In May 1902, while the Northern Securities case proceeded through the courts, Attorney General Philander Knox filed a second major antitrust suit under President Theodore Roosevelt against the “Beef Trust”—a cartel of six major meatpacking companies (Swift, Armour, Morris, Cudahy, …
On February 19, 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt’s Department of Justice announced plans to file an antitrust suit against the Northern Securities Company, a railroad holding company formed in November 1901 by J.P. Morgan, James J. Hill, and Edward H. Harriman to control the Great Northern …
Theodore RooseveltAttorney General Philander KnoxJ.P. MorganJames J. HillEdward H. Harriman+1 moreantitrustcorporate-powerregulatory-enforcementprogressive-erarailroad-regulation
The Senate Committee on the Philippines embarks on a highly publicized investigation into “Affairs in the Philippine Islands” after letters from ordinary American soldiers in the Philippines surface in hometown newspapers containing graphic accounts of torture and atrocities. At the …
Theodore RooseveltWilliam Howard TaftSenate Committee on the PhilippinesAnti-imperialist SenatorsU.S. Army soldiers+1 moreimperialismtorturewar-crimesaccountability-crisisphilippines+1 more
Filipino resistance fighters in Balangiga, Samar conduct a surprise attack on Company C of the U.S. 9th Infantry Regiment, killing 54 American soldiers in what becomes described as the “worst defeat of United States Army soldiers since the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.” The …
Jacob H. SmithLittleton WallerAdna ChaffeeTheodore RooseveltFilipino civilians+1 moreimperialismwar-crimesmilitary-atrocitiesphilippinescounterinsurgency+1 more
The United States declares war on Spain following the April 20 ultimatum demanding Spanish withdrawal from Cuba, launching what Secretary of State John Hay will call “a splendid little war” that transforms America into a global imperial power. Spain had severed diplomatic ties on April …
William McKinleyTheodore RooseveltU.S. NavySpanish EmpireCuban revolutionariesgilded-ageimperialismspanish-american-warmilitary-interventionterritorial-expansion