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Republican Theodore Roosevelt became president after William McKinley's term ended in 1901. Teddy was one of the most impactful presidents to this day. He is known for his role as a conservationist, promoting the conservation movement and emphasized effective use of natural resources. He won a Nobel Peace prize in 1906 for helping end the Russo-Japanese War. He also led the nation into becoming more involved in global affairs.
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"The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair was an extremely influential book that was written to expose the terrible working conditions of the meat-packing industry. Due to public response, this book led to the passing of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act. -
Republican William Howard Taft, who is known for being the heaviest president in U.S. history, became president after Teddy Roosevelt. During his presidency, Taft was a "trust-buster" like Roosevelt, meaning he attempted to eliminate monopolies in the economy. He also was one of the leading forces behind strengthening the Interstate Commerce Commission, which set railroad rates.
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The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, in Manhattan, burned down and because of lack of safety precautions, and over 100 women employees died and around fifty were injured. The fire led to changes in safety regulations and more efforts to enforce them. -
The 16th Amendment was ratified in 1913 and gave Congress the power to collect a tax on any source of income. -
Woodrow Wilson was president during World War I, so he was a very crucial figure to the state of the United States today. As president, Wilson created the League of Nations to keep the peace and solve disputes before they erupted to war, thought the United States were never members. He played a huge roll in supporting the middle class, and he passed the 19th Amendment which made women able to vote.
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The Federal Reserve Act, signed by President Woodrow Wilson, established the Federal Reserve System as the central bank of the United States. This was done to provide the U.S. with a flexible, safe, and stable financial system. -
President Woodrow Wilson was slow to enter the Great War, as he was a large supporter of world peace. The amount of sunken American ships became to pile up, though, and Congress decided to declare war on Germany on this day.