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The Rough Rider at San Juan Hill
Before Theodore Roosevelt became President, he served in the military as a "Rough Rider" during the Spanish-American War. No one favored Cuban independence more than Roosevelt. As Assistant Secretary of the Navy, he prepared the Navy for war with Spain. -
Theodore Roosevelt Becoming President
Theodore Roosevelt became the president after the assassination of President William McKinley. With being not quite 43, he became the youngest President in the Nation’s history. -
Coal Strike of 1902
The Coal Strike of 1902 was a strike during Theodore Roosevelt's presidency where miners wanted higher wages, shorter workdays, and the recognition of their union. Because of the strike, it threatened to shut down the winter fuel supply to major American cities. -
National Reclamation Act
The National Reclamation Act of 1902, signed by President Theodore Roosevelt, was a federal law that funded irrigation projects for the arid lands of 20 states in the American West. It required that water users repay construction costs from which they received benefits. -
Elkins Act Passed
The Elkins Act of 1903, signed by President Theodore Roosevelt, prohibited railroad companies from giving rebates to businesses that ship large quantities of goods while also giving businesses power to artificially lower shipping prices. -
Northern Securities Case
The Northern Securities Case established President Theodore Roosevelt’s reputation as a trustbuster. It was the first example of Roosevelt’s use of anti-trust legislation to dismantle a monopoly. -
Wins First Full Term as President
Theodore Roosevelt, the incumbent Republican, soundly defeated the Democratic nominee, Alton B. Parker. Roosevelt’s win marked the first time that a president not originally elected to the office succeeded in retaining the presidency. -
Passage of Pure Food And Drug Act
The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, signed by President Theodore Roosevelt, prohibited the sale of misbranded or adulterated food and drugs and laid a foundation for the nation’s first consumer protection agency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). -
Yosemite under Federal Control
Due to Yosemite being threatened by commercialization, overgrazing, and logging, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the American Antiquities Act of 1906 that transferred the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove back under federal protection and control. -
Meat Inspection Act of 1906
The Meat Inspection Act of 1906 was a piece of legislation, signed by President Theodore Roosevelt, that prohibited the sale of adulterated or misbranded livestock and derived products as food and ensured sanitary slaughtering and processing of livestock. -
Leaves Presidency & Visits Africa
Theodore Roosevelt left his presidency in 1909 to go on an African safari. He spent months in the wilds of East Africa, hunting big game in parts of what are now Kenya and Uganda, to collect specimens for the new Smithsonian's Natural History Museum. -
Theodore Roosevelt Runs for Presidency in Bull-Moose Party
In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt ran for president in the Bull-Moose Party. He won 27.4% of the popular vote that year, which was higher than Taft's 23.2%, making Roosevelt the only third-party presidential nominee to finish with a higher share of the popular vote than a major party's presidential nominee.