Roosevelt Intervenes in Coal Strike as Neutral Arbitrator, Origins of Square Deal

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. Roosevelt became the first president to personally intervene in a labor dispute as a neutral arbitrator rather than automatically siding with management. At the meeting, union president John Mitchell outlined the miners’ case professionally while the railroad barons asserted the impossibility of compromise and refused to negotiate. The conference disbanded without resolution, but Roosevelt’s neutral stance marked a revolutionary shift in federal-corporate relations. Secretary of War Elihu Root and banker J.P. Morgan subsequently convinced railroad leaders to accept the findings of a presidentially appointed investigative commission. The union also accepted the commission, and on October 20 voted to end the strike, which concluded on October 23 after 163 days. Roosevelt described his actions as providing a “Square Deal” for both sides—a phrase that became his administration’s motto and campaign slogan. The commission’s March 1903 recommendations increased miners’ pay by 10% and reduced working hours from ten to nine, though it did not grant union recognition. This intervention established the precedent that the federal government could and should act as a referee between capital and labor, fundamentally redefining presidential power and the government’s role in the economy during the Progressive Era.