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Roosevelt, driven by a desire for military glory, resigned his government post to lead the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War. The successful charge at San Juan Hill proved to be a decisive victory that instantly transformed him into a national hero, providing the essential fame that propelled his career all the way to the Presidency. -
The cause of Theodore Roosevelt's unexpected first presidency in 1901 was the assassination of President William McKinley, which instantly elevated the 42-year-old Vice President to the nation's highest office, making him the youngest chief executive in U.S. history. This accidental ascension proved profoundly significant because Roosevelt immediately used his "bully pulpit" to champion Progressive Era reforms, expanding the power of the modern American presidency. -
The cause of the Northern Securities Case was the public threat posed by J.P. Morgan's railroad holding company, which Theodore Roosevelt challenged under the Sherman Antitrust Act. The successful dissolution of the trust was the effect, which was significant as it affirmed the federal government's power over corporate monopolies and cemented Roosevelt's reputation as the nation's leading Trust Buster. -
Primarily caused by the miners' demands for higher wages, shorter hours, and union recognition against the coal operators' stubborn refusal, the 1902 Anthracite Coal Strike created a national crisis as it threatened the country's winter fuel supply, forcing President Roosevelt to intervene. This federal mediation resulted in a commission that granted the workers a 10% wage increase and a nine-hour day, establishing a new role for the government as a neutral arbiter in major industrial disputes. -
The National Reclamation Act was passed because President Roosevelt and Western advocates recognized that only a massive federal effort could financially build the dams and canals needed to irrigate the arid American West. This law was immensely significant because it funded and established the federal government's permanent role in large-scale water management, which allowed millions of acres to be "reclaimed" for farming and settlement, transforming the region's economy and landscape. -
Caused by the financial instability for railroads and the unfair advantage given to large trusts due to the practice of secret freight rebates, the Elkins Act of 1903 prohibited and penalized both the offering and accepting of these concessions, establishing equal pricing and successfully enforcing public rates in the railroad industry. This law was significant for asserting greater federal authority over interstate commerce and laying the foundation for future stronger railroad regulation. -
The cause of Theodore Roosevelt's landslide victory in 1904 was his immense popularity which he earned from his first three years of trust-busting, settling the Coal Strike, and initiating the Panama Canal project. The effect of this success was a strong presidential mandate that allowed him to fully implement his Progressive "Square Deal" agenda, with the significance being the permanent expansion of the Presidency's power and role in protecting the public welfare. -
The cause of Yosemite's full Federal control in 1906 was the valley's severe mismanagement and commercial exploitation under state jurisdiction, which was forcefully argued by naturalist John Muir to President Theodore Roosevelt. The effect was the unification of the valley with the surrounding National Park, which was significant because it validated the necessity of strong Federal resource protection and established the foundational model for the eventual creation of the National Park Service. -
The cause of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act was a combination of decades of scientific advocacy against toxic food adulteration by Dr. Harvey Wiley and intense public revulsion by muckraking literature like Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. The significance is that it was the first comprehensive federal consumer protection law, banning the interstate sale of misbranded or adulterated products and creating the federal agency that would eventually become the Food and Drug Administration. -
The Meat Inspection Act of 1906 was directly caused by the public's horrified reaction to the unsanitary and dangerous conditions in meatpacking plants, as revealed by Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, which in turn effected mandatory federal inspection of meat and established sanitary standards for the industry. This created the foundation for modern consumer protection laws by asserting the government's permanent role in ensuring a safe and wholesome food supply. -
Caused by a lifelong passion for natural science, a need to fund his post-presidency life through writing, and a political desire to let William Howard Taft govern without his influence, Theodore Roosevelt immediately left office for the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition to collect thousands of scientific specimens. This provided vast scientific collections to American museums, and successfully removed him from the political spotlight until he chose to re-enter it. -
Theodore Roosevelt, frustrated that his successor, William Howard Taft, and Republican Party bosses had abandoned progressive reform, formed the Bull Moose Party in 1912 after being denied the Republican nomination. This powerful third-party campaign split the Republican vote, ensuring the victory of Democrat Woodrow Wilson, but its platform of federal social welfare and regulation laid the groundwork for modern American liberalism.