Cabinet

Roosevelt's cabinet on his last day in office, 1909.
At far left: Roosevelt
Left to right in back of table: George B. Cortelyou, Charles Joseph Bonaparte, Truman Handy Newberry, James Wilson, Oscar S. Straus
Left to right in front of table: Robert Bacon, Luke Edward Wright, George von Lengerke Meyer, James Rudolph Garfield

Anxious to ensure a smooth transition, Roosevelt convinced the members of McKinley's cabinet, most notably Secretary of State John Hay and Secretary of the Treasury Lyman J. Gage, to remain in office.^[9] Another holdover, Secretary of War Elihu Root, had been a Roosevelt confidante for years, and he continued to serve as President Roosevelt's close ally.^[10] Attorney General Philander C. Knox, who McKinley had appointed in early 1901, also emerged as a powerful force within the Roosevelt administration.^[11] McKinley's personal secretary, George B. Cortelyou, remained in place.^[12] Once Congress began its session in December 1901, Roosevelt replaced Gage with L. M. Shaw and appointed Henry C. Payne as Postmaster General, earning the approval of powerful Senators William B. Allison and John Coit Spooner.^[13] He replaced Secretary of the Navy John D. Long, with Congressman William H. Moody.^[14] In 1903, Roosevelt named Cortelyou as the first head of the Department of Commerce and Labor, and William Loeb Jr. became Roosevelt's secretary.^[15]

Root returned to the private sector in 1904 and was replaced by William Howard Taft, who had previously served as the governor-general of the Philippines.^[16] Knox accepted appointment to the Senate in 1904 and was replaced by William Moody, who in turn was succeeded as attorney general by Charles Joseph Bonaparte in 1906. After Hay's death in 1905, Roosevelt convinced Root to return to the Cabinet as secretary of state, and Root remained in office until the final days of Roosevelt's tenure.^[17] In 1907, Roosevelt replaced Shaw with Cortelyou, while James R. Garfield became the new secretary of the interior.^[18]

Press Corps

Building on McKinley's innovative and effective use of the press, Roosevelt made the White House the center of national news every day, providing interviews and photo opportunities.^[19][20] Noticing the reporters huddled outside in the rain one day, he gave them their own room inside, effectively inventing the presidential press briefing.^[21] The grateful press, with unprecedented access to the White House, rewarded Roosevelt with ample coverage, rendered the more possible by Roosevelt's practice of screening out reporters he did not like.^[22]

Progressivism

Roosevelt was deeply immersed in the ethos of the Progressive era and was determined to create what he called a "Square Deal" of efficiency and opportunity for every citizen. Roosevelt pushed several pieces of progressive legislation through Congress. Progressivism was the dominant force of the day, and Roosevelt was its most articulate spokesperson.^[28] Progressivism had dual aspects. First, progressivism promoted use of science, engineering, technology, and social sciences to address the nation's problems, and identify ways to eliminate waste and inefficiency and promote modernization.^[29] Those promoting progressivism also campaigned against corruption among political machines, labor unions, and trusts of new, large corporations, which emerged at the turn of the century.^[30] In describing Roosevelt's priorities and characteristics as president, historian G. Warren Chessman noted Roosevelt's

insistence upon the public responsibility of large corporations; publicity as a first remedy for trusts; regulation of railroad rates; mediation of the conflict of capital and labor; conservation of natural resources; and protection of the less fortunate members of society.^[31]

Trust busting and regulation

Public attention focused on the trusts—economic monopolies—typically blamed for raising inflation. Roosevelt seized the issue and became identified as the "trusty buster," although he typically wanted to regulate the trusts rather than break them up. In the 1890s many large businesses, most notoriously Standard Oil, had bought out their rivals or had established business arrangements that effectively stifled competition. Many companies followed the model of Standard Oil, which organized itself as a trust in which several component corporations were controlled by one board of directors. While Congress had passed the 1890 Sherman Antitrust Act to make illegal some moves toward monopoly, the Supreme Court had limited the power of the act in the case of United States v. E. C. Knight Co..^[32] By 1902, the 100 largest corporations held control of 40 percent of industrial capital in the United States. Roosevelt did not oppose all trusts, but sought to regulate trusts that he believed harmed the public, which he labeled as "bad trusts."^[33] According to Leroy Dorsey, Roosevelt told voters that corporations were needed in modern America (and Muckrakers should cool their angry exaggerations). Roosevelt then took the role of moral guardian and advised corporate executives they must adhere to ethical standards. He told them business could be effectively conducted only in terms of a sense of morality and a spirit of public service.^[34]

Conservation

A political cartoon describing Roosevelt as "a practical forester"

Roosevelt was a prominent conservationist, putting the issue high on the national agenda.^[60] Roosevelt's conservation efforts were aimed not just at environment protection, but also at ensuring that society as a whole, rather than just select individuals or companies, benefited from the country's natural resources.^[61] His key adviser and subordinate on environmental matters was Gifford Pinchot, the head of the Bureau of Forestry. Roosevelt increased Pinchot's power over environmental issues by transferring control over national forests from the Department of the Interior to the Bureau of Forestry, which was part of the Agriculture Department. Pinchot's agency was renamed to the United States Forest Service, and Pinchot presided over the implementation of assertive conservationist policies in national forests.^[62]

Roosevelt encouraged the Newlands Reclamation Act of 1902, which promoted federal construction of dams to irrigate small farms and placed 230 million acres (360,000 mi² or 930,000 km²) under federal protection. In 1906, Congress passed the Antiquities Act, granting the president the power to create national monuments in federal lands. Roosevelt set aside more federal land, national parks, and nature preserves than all of his predecessors combined.^[63][64] Roosevelt established the Inland Waterways Commission to coordinate construction of water projects for both conservation and transportation purposes, and in 1908 he hosted the Conference of Governors. This was the first time governors had ever met together and the goal was to boost and coordinate support for conservation. Roosevelt then established the National Conservation Commission to take an inventory of the nation's natural resources.^[65]

Roosevelt's policies faced opposition from both environmental activists like John Muir and opponents of conservation like Senator Henry M. Teller of Colorado.^[66] While Muir, the founder of the Sierra Club, wanted nature preserved for the sake of pure beauty, Roosevelt subscribed to Pinchot's formulation, "to make the forest produce the largest amount of whatever crop or service will be most useful, and keep on producing it for generation after generation of men and trees."^[67] Teller and other opponents of conservation, meanwhile, believed that conservation would prevent the economic development of the West and feared the centralization of power in Washington. The backlash to Roosevelt's ambitious policies prevented further conservation efforts in the final years of Roosevelt's presidency and would later contribute to the Pinchot–Ballinger controversy during the Taft administration.^[68]

Labor relations

"The Washington Schoolmaster", an editorial cartoon about the Coal strike of 1902, by Charles Lederer

Roosevelt was generally reluctant to involve himself in labor-management disputes, but he believed that presidential intervention was justified when such disputes threatened the public interest.^[69] Labor union membership had doubled in the five years preceding Roosevelt's inauguration, and at the time of his accession, Roosevelt saw labor unrest as the greatest potential threat facing the nation. Yet he also sympathized with many laborers due to the harsh conditions that many faced.^[70] Resisting the more extensive reforms proposed by labor leaders such as Samuel Gompers of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), Roosevelt established the open shop as the official policy for civil service employees.^[71]

In 1899, the United Mine Workers (UMW) had expanded its influence from bituminous coal mines to anthracite coal mines. The UMW organized an anthracite coal strike in May 1902, seeking an eight-hour day and pay increases. Hoping to reach a negotiated solution with the help of Mark Hanna's National Civic Federation, UMW president John Mitchell prevented bituminous coal miners from launching a sympathy strike. The mine owners, who wanted to crush the UMW, refused to negotiate, and the strike continued. In the ensuing months, the price of coal increased from five dollars per ton to above fifteen dollars per ton. Seeking to help the two parties arrive at a solution, Roosevelt hosted the UMW leaders and mine operators at the White House in October 1902, but the mine owners refused to negotiate. Through the efforts of Roosevelt, Root, and J.P. Morgan, the mine operators agreed to the establishment of a presidential commission to propose a solution to the strike. In March 1903, the commission mandated pay increases and a reduction in the workday from ten hours to nine hours. At the insistence of the mine owners, the UMW was not granted official recognition as the representative of the miners.^[72][73]

Roosevelt refrained from major interventions in labor disputes after 1902, but state and federal courts increasingly became involved, issuing injunctions to prevent labor actions.^[74] Tensions were particularly high in Colorado, where the Western Federation of Miners led a series of strikes that became part of a struggle known as the Colorado Labor Wars. Roosevelt did not intervene in the Colorado Labor Wars, but Governor James Hamilton Peabody dispatched the Colorado National Guard to crush the strikes. In 1905, radical union leaders like Mary Harris Jones and Eugene V. Debs established the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), which criticized the conciliatory policies of the AFL.^[75]

Civil rights

Although Roosevelt did some work improving race relations, he, like most leaders of the Progressive Era, lacked initiative on most racial issues. Booker T. Washington, the most important black leader of the day, was the first African American to be invited to dinner at the White House, dining there on October 16, 1901.^[76] Washington, who had emerged as an important adviser to Republican politicians in the 1890s, favored accommodation with the Jim Crow laws that instituted racial segregation.^[77] News of the dinner reached the press two days later, and public outcry from whites was so strong, especially from the Southern states, that Roosevelt never repeated the experiment.^[76] Nonetheless, Roosevelt continued to consult Washington regarding appointments and shunned the "lily-white" Southern Republicans who favored excluding blacks from office.^[78]

After the highly controversial dinner with Washington, Roosevelt continued to speak out against lynchings, but did little to advance the cause of African-American civil rights. He reduced the number of blacks holding federal patronage.^[79][80] In 1906, he approved the dishonorable discharges of three companies of black soldiers who all refused his direct order to testify regarding their actions during a violent episode in Brownsville, Texas, known as the Brownsville affair. Roosevelt was widely criticized by Northern newspapers for the discharges, and Republican Senator Joseph B. Foraker won passage of a congressional resolution directing the administration to turn over all documents related to the case.^[81] The controversy hung over the remainder of his presidency, although the Senate eventually concluded that the dismissals had been justified.^[82][83][84]

Panic of 1907

In 1907, Roosevelt faced the greatest domestic economic crisis since the Panic of 1893. The U.S. stock market entered a slump in early 1907, and many in the financial markets blamed Roosevelt's regulatory policies for the decline in stock prices.^[85] Lacking a strong central banking system, the government was unable to coordinate a response to the economic downturn.^[86] The slump reached a full-blown panic in October 1907, when two investors failed to take over United Copper. Working with Secretary of the Treasury Cortelyou, financier J.P. Morgan organized a group of businessmen to avert a crash by pledging their own money. Roosevelt aided Morgan's intervention by allowing U.S. Steel to acquire the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company despite antitrust concerns, and by authorizing Cortelyou to raise bonds and commit federal funds to the banks.^[87] Roosevelt's reputation in Wall Street fell to new lows following the panic, but the president remained broadly popular.^[88] In the aftermath of the panic, most congressional leaders agreed on the need to reform the nation's financial system. With the support of Roosevelt, Senator Aldrich introduced a bill to allow National Banks to issue emergency currency, but his proposal was defeated by Democrats and progressive Republicans who believed that it was overly favorable to Wall Street. Congress instead passed the Aldrich–Vreeland Act, which created the National Monetary Commission to study the nation's banking system; the commission's recommendations would later form the basis of the Federal Reserve System.^[89]

Roosevelt exploded in anger at the super-rich for the economic malfeasance, calling them "malefactors of great wealth." In a major speech in August entitled, "The Puritan Spirit and the Regulation of Corporations." Trying to restore confidence, he blamed the crisis primarily on Europe, but then, after saluting the unbending rectitude of the Puritans, he went on:^[90]

It may well be that the determination of the government...to punish certain malefactors of great wealth, has been responsible for something of the trouble; at least to the extent of having caused these men to combine to bring about as much financial stress as possible, in order to discredit the policy of the government and thereby secure a reversal of that policy, so that they may enjoy unmolested the fruits of their own evil-doing.

Regarding the very wealthy, Roosevelt privately scorned, "their entire unfitness to govern the country, and...the lasting damage they do by much of what they think are the legitimate big business operations of the day."^[91]

Tariffs

High tariffs had always been Republican Party orthodoxy. However, the western elements wanted lower tariffs on industrial products while keeping rates high on farm products. Democrats had a powerful campaign issue to the effect that high tariffs enriched big business and hurt consumers; they wanted to sharply lower rates and impose an income tax on the rich. Roosevelt realized the political dilemma and avoided or postponed the tariff issue for his entire presidency; it exploded under his successor and hurt Taft badly.^[92][93] The tariff protected domestic manufacturing against foreign competition, and kept wages high in American factories, thus attracting immigrants. Its taxes on imports produced over one-third of federal revenue in 1901.^[94] McKinley had been a committed protectionist, and the Dingley Tariff of 1897 represented a major increase in tariff rates. McKinley also negotiated bilateral reciprocity treaties with France, Argentina, and other countries in an attempt to expand foreign trade while still keeping overall tariff rates high.^[92] Unlike all other previous Republican presidents, Roosevelt had never been a strong advocate of the protective tariff, nor did he place a high emphasis on tariffs in general.^[95] When Roosevelt took office, McKinley's reciprocity treaties were pending before the Senate, and many assumed that they would be ratified despite the opposition of Aldrich and other conservatives. After conferring with Aldrich, Roosevelt decided not to push Senate ratification of the treaties in order to avoid an intra-party conflict.^[96] He did, however, achieve some minor changes, such as reciprocal tariff treaties with the Philippines and, after overcoming domestic sugar interests, with Cuba.^[97]

The issue of the tariff lay dormant throughout Roosevelt's first term,^[98] but it continued to be an important campaign topic for both parties.^[99] Proponents of tariff reduction asked Roosevelt to call a special session of Congress to address the issue in early 1905, but Roosevelt was only willing to issue a cautious endorsement of a cut in tariff rates, and no further action was taken on the tariff during Roosevelt's tenure.^[100] In the first decade of the 20th century, the country experienced a period of sustained inflation for the first time since the early 1870s, and Democrats and other free trade advocates blamed rising prices on high tariff rates.^[101] Tariff reduction became an increasingly important national issue, and Congress would pass a major tariff law in 1909, shortly after Roosevelt left office.^[102]

Move to Left Center, 1907–1909

In his waning days in office, Roosevelt proposed numerous reforms.

By 1907, Roosevelt identified himself with the "left center" of the Republican Party.^[103][104] He explained his balancing act:

Again and again in my public career I have had to make head against mob spirit, against the tendency of poor, ignorant and turbulent people who feel a rancorous jealousy and hatred of those who are better off. But during the last few years it has been the wealthy corruptionists of enormous fortune, and of enormous influence through their agents of the press, pulpit, colleges and public life, with whom I've had to wage bitter war."^[105]

Growing popular outrage at corporate scandals, along with reporting of muckraking journalists like Lincoln Steffens and Ida Tarbell, contributed to a split in the Republican Party between conservatives like Aldrich and progressives like Albert B. Cummins and Robert M. La Follette. Roosevelt did not fully embrace the left wing of his party, but he adopted many of their proposals.^[106]

In his last two years in office, Roosevelt abandoned his cautious approach toward big business, lambasting his conservative critics and calling on Congress to enact a series of radical new laws.^[107][108] Roosevelt sought to replace the laissez-faire economic environment with a new economic model which included a larger regulatory role for the federal government. He believed that 19th-century entrepreneurs had risked their fortunes on innovations and new businesses, and that these capitalists had been rightly rewarded. By contrast, he believed that 20th-century capitalists risked little but nonetheless reaped huge and unjust, economic rewards. Without a redistribution of wealth away from the upper class, Roosevelt feared that the country would turn to radicalism or fall to revolution.^[109]

In January 1908, Roosevelt sent a special message to Congress, calling for the restoration of an employer's liability law, which had recently been struck down by the Supreme Court due to its application to intrastate corporations.^[110] He also called for a national incorporation law (all corporations had state charters, which varied greatly state by state), a federal income tax and inheritance tax (both targeted at the rich), limits on the use of court injunctions against labor unions during strikes (injunctions were a powerful weapon that mostly helped business), an eight-hour work day for federal employees, a postal savings system (to provide competition for local banks), and legislation barring corporations from contributing to political campaigns.^[111][112]

Roosevelt's increasingly radical stance proved popular in the Midwest and Pacific Coast, and among farmers, teachers, clergymen, clerical workers and some proprietors, but appeared as divisive and unnecessary to eastern Republicans, corporate executives, lawyers, party workers, and many members of Congress.^[113] Populist Democrats such as William Jennings Bryan expressed admiration for Roosevelt's message, and one Southern newspaper called for Roosevelt to run as a Democrat in 1908, with Bryan as his running mate.^[114] Despite the public support offered by Democratic congressional leaders like John Sharp Williams, Roosevelt never seriously considered leaving the Republican Party during his presidency.^[115] Roosevelt's move to the left was supported by some congressional Republicans and many in the public, but conservative Republicans such as Senator Nelson Aldrich and Speaker Joseph Gurney Cannon remained in control of Congress.^[116] These Republican leaders blocked the more ambitious aspects of Roosevelt's agenda,^[117] though Roosevelt won passage of a new Federal Employers Liability Act and other laws, such as a restriction of child labor in Washington, D.C.^[116]

States admitted

One new state, Oklahoma, was admitted to the Union while Roosevelt was in office. Oklahoma, which was formed out of Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory, became the 46th state on November 16, 1907. The Oklahoma Enabling Act also contained provisions encouraging New Mexico Territory and Arizona Territory to begin the process of gaining admission as states.^[118]

Big Stick diplomacy

Roosevelt was adept at coining clever phrases to concisely summarize his policies. "Big stick" was his catch phrase for his hard pushing foreign policy: "Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far."^[124] Roosevelt described his style as "the exercise of intelligent forethought and of decisive action sufficiently far in advance of any likely crisis."^[125] As practiced by Roosevelt, big stick diplomacy had five components. First it was essential to possess serious military capabilities that force the adversary to pay close attention. At the time that meant a world-class navy. Roosevelt never had a large army at his disposal. The other qualities were to act justly toward other nations, never to bluff, to strike only if prepared to strike hard, and the willingness to allow the adversary to save face in defeat.^[126]

Great power politics

Victory over Spain had made the United States a power in both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. It was already the largest economic power. Roosevelt was determined to continue the expansion of American influence, stating in his 1905 Inaugural Address:

We have become a great nation, forced by the fact of its greatness into relations with the other nations of the earth, and we must behave as beseems a people with such responsibilities. Toward all other nations, large and small, our attitude must be one of cordial and sincere friendship. We must show not only in our words, but in our deeds, that we are earnestly desirous of securing their good will by acting toward them in a spirit of just and generous recognition of all their rights....No weak nation that acts manfully and justly should ever have cause to fear us, and no strong power should ever be able to single us out as a subject for insolent aggression.^[127]

Roosevelt saw a duty to uphold a balance of power in international relations and seek to reduce tensions.^[128] He was also adamant in upholding the Monroe Doctrine, the American policy of opposing European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere.^[129] Roosevelt viewed the German Empire as the biggest potential threat, and strongly opposed any German base in the Caribbean Sea. He responded skeptically to German Kaiser Wilhelm II's efforts to curry favor with the United States.^[130] Roosevelt also attempted to expand U.S. influence in East Asia and the Pacific, where the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire were rivals trying to expand their role in Korea and China. He kept an important aspect of McKinley's rhetoric in East Asia: the Open Door Policy calling for keeping the Chinese economy open to trade from all countries.^[131]

To gain visibility in European affairs Roosevelt helped organize that Algeciras Conference that temporarily resolved the Moroccan crisis of 1905–1906. France and Britain had agreed that France would dominate Morocco, but Germany suddenly protested aggressively. Berlin asked Roosevelt to help and he facilitated an agreement among the powers in April, 1906. Germany gained nothing of importance but was mollified for a while until it instigated the even worse Agadir Crisis of 1912.^[132][133]

Aftermath of the Spanish–American War

The United States and its colonial possessions when Roosevelt entered office

Military reforms

1904 commentary on Roosevelt's "big stick" policy in the Caribbean

Roosevelt placed an emphasis on expanding and reforming the United States military.^[147] The United States Army, with 39,000 men in 1890, was the smallest and least powerful army of any major power in the late 19th century. By contrast, France's army consisted of 542,000 soldiers.^[148] The Spanish–American War had been fought mostly by temporary volunteers and state national guard units, and it demonstrated that more effective control over the department and bureaus was necessary.^[149] Roosevelt gave strong support to the reforms proposed by Secretary of War Elihu Root, who wanted a uniformed chief of staff as general manager and a European-style general staff for planning. Overcoming opposition from General Nelson A. Miles, the Commanding General of the United States Army, Root succeeded in enlarging West Point and establishing the U.S. Army War College as well as the general staff. Root also changed the procedures for promotions, organized schools for the special branches of the service, devised the principle of rotating officers from staff to line,^[150] and increased the Army's connections to the National Guard.^[151]

Upon taking office, Roosevelt made naval expansion a priority, and his tenure saw an increase in the number of ships, officers, and enlisted men in the Navy.^[151] With the publication of The Influence of Sea Power upon History, 1660–1783 in 1890, Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan had been immediately hailed as an outstanding naval theorist by the leaders of Europe. Roosevelt paid very close attention to Mahan's emphasis that only a nation with a powerful fleet could dominate the world's oceans, exert its diplomacy to the fullest, and defend its own borders.^[152][153] By 1904, the United States had the fifth largest navy in the world, and by 1907, it had the third largest. Roosevelt sent 16 battleships of the Great White Fleet around the world in 1907–1909. Pulitzer prize-winning biographer Henry Pringle states that sending the fleet was, "the direct result of the Japanese trouble."^[154] He made sure all the naval powers understood the United States was now a major player. Though Roosevelt's fleet did not match the overall strength of the British fleet, it became the dominant naval force in the Western Hemisphere.^{[155][156][157]}

Rapprochement with Great Britain

Britain was ending its long tradition of no allies, and was looking for friends. It concluded alliances with France and Japan and sought friendship with the U.S. in what was called "The Great Rapprochement." London supported Washington in the war against Spain, agreed to let the U.S. build the Panama Canal alone and agreed the U.S.A should be the policeman of Central America. Washington supported Britain against the Boers in South Africa.^[158][159]

Venezuela Crisis and Roosevelt Corollary

In December 1902, an Anglo-German blockade of Venezuela began an incident known as the Venezuelan Crisis. Venezuela owed heavy debts to European creditors and would not pay. Roosevelt became suspicious that Germany would demand territorial indemnification and a permanent German military presence in the Western Hemisphere.^[130] Roosevelt mobilized his fleet and threatened the smaller German fleet unless Berlin agreed to arbitration. Germany complied and American arbitration ended the episode without violence^[162][163]

TR used his navy to dominate the Caribbean; 1904 cartoon by William Allen Rogers

In 1904, Roosevelt announced his Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. It stated that Washington would intervene in the finances of unstable Caribbean and Central American countries if they defaulted on their debts to European creditors. In effect Roosevelt guaranteed their debts, making it unnecessary for European powers to intervene. They did not do so.^[164]

A debt crisis in the Dominican Republic became the first test case for the Roosevelt Corollary. Roosevelt reached an agreement with Dominican President Carlos Felipe Morales to take temporary control of the Dominican customs house. Roosevelt sent economists such as Jacob Hollander to restructure the economy, and ensured a steady flow of revenue to the foreign creditors. The intervention stabilized the political and economic situation in the Dominican Republic, and the U.S. role on the island would serve as a model for Taft's dollar diplomacy in the years after Roosevelt left office.^[165]

Panama Canal

Roosevelt regarded the Panama Canal as one of his greatest achievements

Roosevelt at the controls of a steam shovel excavating Culebra Cut for the Panama Canal, 1906

Roosevelt sought the creation of a canal through Central America which would link the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Most members of Congress preferred that the canal cross through Nicaragua, which was eager to reach an agreement, but Roosevelt preferred the isthmus of Panama, under the loose control of Colombia. Colombia had been engulfed in a civil war since 1898, and a previous attempt to build a canal across Panama had failed under the leadership of Ferdinand de Lesseps. A presidential commission appointed by McKinley had recommended the construction of the canal across Nicaragua, but it noted that a canal across Panama could prove less expensive and might be completed more quickly.^[166] Roosevelt and most of his advisers favored the Panama Canal, as they believed that war with a European power, possibly Germany, could soon break out over the Monroe Doctrine and the U.S. fleet would remain divided between the two oceans until the canal was completed.^[167] After a long debate, Congress passed the Spooner Act of 1902, which granted Roosevelt $170 million to build the Panama Canal.^[168] Following the passage of the Spooner Act, the Roosevelt administration began negotiations with the Colombian government regarding the construction of a canal through Panama.^[167]

The U.S. and Colombia signed the Hay–Herrán Treaty in January 1903, granting the U.S. a lease across the isthmus of Panama.^[167] The Colombian Senate refused to ratify the treaty, and attached amendments calling for more money from the U.S. and greater Colombian control over the canal zone.^[169] Panamanian rebel leaders, long eager to break off from Colombia, appealed to the United States for military aid.^[170] Roosevelt saw the leader of Colombia, José Manuel Marroquín, as a corrupt and irresponsible autocrat, and he believed that the Colombians had acted in bad faith by reaching and then rejecting the treaty.^[171] After an insurrection broke out in Panama, Roosevelt dispatched the USS Nashville to prevent the Colombian government from landing soldiers in Panama, and Colombia was unable to re-establish control over the province.^[172] Shortly after Panama declared its independence in November 1903, the U.S. recognized Panama as an independent nation and began negotiations regarding construction of the canal. According to Roosevelt biographer Edmund Morris, most other Latin American nations welcomed the prospect of the new canal in hopes of increased economic activity, but anti-imperialists in the U.S. raged against Roosevelt's aid to the Panamanian separatists.^[173]

Secretary of State Hay and French diplomat Philippe-Jean Bunau-Varilla, who represented the Panamanian government, quickly negotiated the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty. Signed on November 18, 1903, it established the Panama Canal Zone—over which the United States would exercise sovereignty—and insured the construction of an Atlantic to Pacific ship canal across the Isthmus of Panama. Panama sold the Canal Zone (consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending five miles (8.0 km) on each side of the centerline) to the United States for $10 million and a steadily increasing yearly sum.^[174] In February 1904, Roosevelt won Senate ratification of the treaty in a 66-to-14 vote.^[175] The Isthmian Canal Commission, supervised by Secretary of War Taft, was established to govern the zone and oversee the construction of the canal.^[176] Roosevelt appointed George Whitefield Davis as the first governor of the Panama Canal Zone and John Findley Wallace as the Chief Engineer of the canal project.^[62] When Wallace resigned in 1905, Roosevelt appointed John Frank Stevens, who built a railroad in the canal zone and initiated the construction of a lock canal.^[177] Stevens was replaced in 1907 by George Washington Goethals, who saw construction through to its completion.^[178] Roosevelt traveled to Panama in November 1906 to inspect progress on the canal,^[18] becoming the first sitting president to travel outside of the United States.^[179]

East Asia

Troubles with Japan

The American annexation of Hawaii in 1898 was stimulated in part by fear that otherwise Japan would dominate the Hawaiian Republic.^[186] Likewise Japan was the alternative to American takeover of the Philippines in 1900.^[187] These events were part of the American goal of transitioning into a naval world power, but it needed to find a way to avoid a military confrontation in the Pacific with Japan. One of Theodore Roosevelt's high priorities during his presidency and even afterwards, was the maintenance of friendly relations with Japan.^[188]

In the late 19th century, the opening of sugar plantations in the Kingdom of Hawaii led to the immigration of large numbers of Japanese families. Recruiters sent about 124,000 Japanese workers to more than fifty sugar plantations. China, the Philippines, Portugal and other countries sent an additional 300,000 workers.^[189] When Hawaii became part of the U.S. in 1898, the Japanese were the largest element of the population then. Although immigration from Japan largely ended by 1907, they have remained the largest element ever since.

President Roosevelt made sure there was a strategy to defend the islands against possible Japanese aggression, especially in 1907 when tensions were high. In June 1907 he met with military and naval leaders to decide on a series of operations to be carried in the Philippines which included shipments of coal, military rations, and the movement of guns and munitions.^[190] The October 23, 1907 Puck magazine cover^[191] shows President Theodore Roosevelt defending the nation of Japan from attack – Roosevelt is wearing a military uniform with the Japanese Imperial seal on his hat. He holds a rifle and confronts two rolled-up U.S. newspapers labeled the 'Sun' and 'World' who are also holding rifles and confronting Roosevelt – In the magazine caption, Roosevelt stated that the war talk predicting a future conflict between the U.S. and Japan was based entirely on these incendiary newspapers, which sought to increase their sales, and for that reason, these newspapers had attacked Roosevelt's representative Minister William Howard Taft, who Roosevelt had again sent to Tokyo to promote improved communications between their two nations. Much of the confrontation was sparked by racism shown against Japanese Americans living in California.^[192]

Roosevelt saw Japan as the rising power in Asia, in terms of military strength and economic modernization. He viewed Korea as a backward nation and did not object to Japan's attempt to gain control over Korea. With the withdrawal of the American legation from Seoul and the refusal of the Secretary of State to receive a Korean protest mission, the Americans signaled they would not intervene militarily to stop Japan's planned takeover of Korea.^[193] In mid-1905, Taft and Japanese Prime Minister Katsura Tarō jointly produced the Taft–Katsura agreement. Nothing new was decided but each side clarified its position. Japan stated that it had no interest in the Philippines, while the U.S. stated that it considered Korea to be part of the Japanese sphere of influence.^[194]

Regarding China, the two nations cooperated with the European powers in suppressing the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900, but the U.S. was increasingly troubled about Japan's denial of the Open Door Policy that would ensure that all nations could do business with China on an equal basis.

Vituperative anti-Japanese sentiment (especially on the West Coast) soured relations in the early 20th century.^[195] President Theodore Roosevelt did not want to anger Japan by passing legislation to bar Japanese immigration to the U.S. as had been done for Chinese immigration. Instead there was an informal "Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907" between the foreign ministers Elihu Root and Japan's Tadasu Hayashi. The Agreement said Japan would stop emigration of Japanese laborers to the U.S. or Hawaii, and there would not be segregation in California. The agreements remained effect until 1924 when Congress forbade all immigration from Japan—a move that angered Japan.^[196][197]

Charles Neu concludes that Roosevelt's policies were a success:

By the close of his presidency it was a largely successful policy based upon political realities at home and in the Far East and upon a firm belief that friendship with Japan was essential to preserve American interests in the Pacific ... Roosevelt's diplomacy during the Japanese-American crisis of 1906–1909 was shrewd, skillful, and responsible.^[198]

Herman S. Shapiro. "Kishinever shekhita, elegie" (Kishinev Massacre Elegy). Musical composition in New York attacking the Kishinev pogrom, 1904.

Election of 1904

1904 electoral college results

Before and during his presidency, Roosevelt built up a strong following within the Republican Party, but his re-nomination in 1904 was far from certain at the end of 1901.^[204] Many expected Senator Mark Hanna, a confidante of former President McKinley, to win the party's 1904 presidential nomination.^[205] Support for Hanna was especially strong among conservative businessmen who opposed many of Roosevelt's policies,^[206] though Hanna lacked his own national organization, and even in his home state he was opposed by influential Senator Joseph Foraker.^[207] Hanna and another prominent party leader, Matthew Quay of Pennsylvania, both died in 1904.^[208] Other potential rivals for the 1904 Republican presidential nomination, including Leslie Shaw and Charles W. Fairbanks, failed to galvanize support for their candidacies.^[204] At the 1904 Republican National Convention, Roosevelt secured his own nomination, but his preferred vice-presidential running mate, Robert R. Hitt, was not nominated.^[209] Senator Fairbanks, a favorite of conservatives, gained the vice-presidential nomination.^[208]

The Democratic Party's presidential nominee in 1904 was Alton B. Parker, the chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals. Democratic leaders hoped that Parker, whose political positions were largely unknown, would be able unify the populist followers of William Jennings Bryan with the conservative supporters of former President Grover Cleveland. Parker was unable to unite the party, and many Democrats supported Roosevelt.^[210] Democrats alleged that the Republican campaign extorted large contributions from corporations, but these allegations had little impact on the election.^[211] As Parker moved his party in a conservative direction, Republicans performed well among progressives and centrists.^[212] Roosevelt won 56% of the popular vote while Parker received 38% of the popular; Roosevelt also won the electoral vote 336 to 140. Roosevelt's victory made him first president to be elected to a full term of his own after having succeeded to the presidency upon the death of a predecessor. His popular vote margin of 18.8% was the largest margin in U.S. history until the 1920 presidential election.^[213] On election night, as it became clear that he had won in a landslide, Roosevelt pledged not to run for a third term.^[214]

Election of 1908 and transition

Republican William Howard Taft defeated Democrat William Jennings Bryan in the 1908 election.

Roosevelt had mixed feelings about a third term, as he enjoyed being president and was still relatively youthful, but felt that a limited number of terms provided a check against dictatorship. Roosevelt ultimately decided to stick to his 1904 pledge not to run for a third term, and he threw his support behind a successor so as to avoid a potential pro-Roosevelt delegate stampede at the 1908 Republican National Convention. Roosevelt personally favored Secretary of State Elihu Root, but Root's ill health made him an unsuitable candidate. New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes loomed as a potentially strong candidate and shared Roosevelt's progressivism, but Roosevelt disliked him and considered him to be too independent. Instead, Roosevelt settled on his Secretary of War, William Howard Taft, who had ably served under Presidents Harrison, McKinley, and Roosevelt in various positions. Roosevelt and Taft had been friends since 1890, and Taft had consistently supported President Roosevelt's policies.^[215] Many conservatives wanted to re-take leadership of the party from the progressive Roosevelt.^[216] Senator Joseph Foraker, who like Taft was from Ohio, briefly emerged as the main conservative candidate for the GOP nomination.^[217] However, Taft defeated Foraker's attempt to win control of the Ohio Republican Party and entered the convention as the strong favorite over Foraker, Hughes, and Senator Philander Knox.^[218]

At the 1908 Republican convention, many chanted for "four years more" of a Roosevelt presidency, but Taft won the nomination after Roosevelt's close friend, Henry Cabot Lodge, made it clear that Roosevelt was not interested in a third term.^[219] In a speech accepting the Republican nomination, Taft promised to continue the policies of Roosevelt, but as the campaign progressed he minimized his reliance on Roosevelt, and did not ask the president to publicly campaign for him.^[220] The Democrats nominated William Jennings Bryan, who had been the party's presidential candidate in 1896 and 1900. Bryan, a populist Democrat widely regarded as a strong speaker, thought that Taft was a weak candidate and hoped that the public would tire of the Republican leadership the country had experienced since the 1896 election.^[221] The platforms of the two parties differed little: both called for antitrust actions, railroad and labor regulations, and a revision of the tariff.^[222] As election day approached, it became clear that Taft would retain the loyalty of Republican voters and win a wide victory over Bryan, who had failed to find a winning issue on which to campaign. Taft won 321 of the 483 electoral votes and 51.6% of the popular vote. Republicans also retained control of both houses of Congress. Roosevelt regarded the victory of his chosen successor as a vindication of his policies and presidency.^[223] As he left office, Roosevelt was widely regarded as the most powerful and influential president since Abraham Lincoln.^[224] Taft's decision to retain few members of Roosevelt's Cabinet alienated Roosevelt, although Roosevelt continued to support his successor throughout the transition period.^[225]

Rhetoric of righteousness

Roosevelt's rhetoric was characterized by an intense moralism of personal righteousness.^{[226][227][228]} The tone was typified by his denunciation of "predatory wealth" in a message he sent Congress in January 1908 calling for passage of new labor laws:

Predatory wealth—of the wealth accumulated on a giant scale by all forms of iniquity, ranging from the oppression of wageworkers to unfair and unwholesome methods of crushing out competition, and to defrauding the public by stock jobbing and the manipulation of securities. Certain wealthy men of this stamp, whose conduct should be abhorrent to every man of ordinarily decent conscience, and who commit the hideous wrong of teaching our young men that phenomenal business success must ordinarily be based on dishonesty, have during the last few months made it apparent that they have banded together to work for a reaction. Their endeavor is to overthrow and discredit all who honestly administer the law, to prevent any additional legislation which would check and restrain them, and to secure if possible a freedom from all restraint which will permit every unscrupulous wrongdoer to do what he wishes unchecked provided he has enough money....The methods by which the Standard Oil people and those engaged in the other combinations of which I have spoken above have achieved great fortunes can only be justified by the advocacy of a system of morality which would also justify every form of criminality on the part of a labor union, and every form of violence, corruption, and fraud, from murder to bribery and ballot box stuffing in politics.^[229]

Works cited

Primary sources

• Brands, H. W. The selected letters of Theodore Roosevelt (2001) online
• Hart, Albert Bushnell, and Herbert Ronald Ferleger, Theodore Roosevelt Cyclopedia (1941) online
• Morison, Elting E. ed. The letters of Theodore Roosevelt (8 vol Harvard UP, 1951–1954); vol 7 online
• The Complete Works of Theodore Roosevelt (2017) 4500 pages in Kindle format online for $1 at Amazon, primary sources