What was the greatest social reform of Theodore Roosevelt's administration?

Answer 1

The “Square Deal” because he vowed not to favor any group of Americans but to be fair to all.

Roosevelt was the first president to successfully invoke the Sherman Antitrust Act against monopolies and continued to restrict businesses throughout his Presidency.

Alan Greenspan, in his essay (12 June 1998) entitled "Antitrust" condemned the Sherman Act as stifling innovation and harming society. He said "No one will ever know what new products, processes, machines, and cost-saving mergers failed to come into existence, killed by the Sherman Act before they were born. No one can ever compute the price that all of us have paid for that Act which, by inducing less effective use of capital, has kept our standard of living lower than would otherwise have been possible." However, Mr. Greenspan also acknowledges that the need for the Sherman Act was borne out of Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company, which at the time (1890 by date of the Act) culminated as the result of the lack of oil competition. (Imagine this one!).

Teddy Roosevelt was merely attempting to put his best foot forward on the behalf of all Americans. Legal interpretation and the unintended result of the Sherman Antitrust Act for use as a union prevention tool, interpreted in my view what TR did not intend. As you know Barbara it would be 1914 before the Clayton Antitrust Act and the anti union tool of the Sherman Antitrust Act would be revoked.

So, there you have it - a coin toss? Sherman Antitrust or Clayton Antitrust? Which do you prefer? Teddy Roosevelt was just your basic, intelligent, "square guy" who wanted a "square deal".

For the record - I don't believe in unions, they merely have a tendency to serve themselves and not their due paying members. That and the fact that I want my work to stand on its own merit.

Gerry :)

Answer 2

Yes, the Pure Food & Drug Act of 1906.

It is interesting to note, however, that the reform went far too little regarding what Roosevelt had in mind. He thought that the Act left far too much power in the hands of industry, with far too few safeguards; case in point, the meat and poultry industries agreed to have observers to insure standards, but they were observers that they put in place themselves.

Regardless, the Act was a great step forward as far as quality control, and left the door open for further reform.

Answer 3

Creation of the Federal Health and Drug Administration based on Upton Sinclair's book the Jungle in 1906