Week 2 Forum
This assignment involves you answering ONE of the following questions:
What was the new Indian reservation policy, and why was it a failure?
What was Jim Crow? Would the answer to the previous question serve also to explain the establishment of Jim Crow in the South?
Farmers, like other Americans, had strong ties to the established parties, yet many of them became Populist anyway. Why?
What is the relationship between progressive reform and the struggle for racial equality?
Some observers consider Theodore Roosevelt an anti-business president. Do you agree? Why or why not?
Why did William Howard Taft encounter so much trouble following in the footsteps of Theodore Roosevelt?
In my opinion, I do not think that Theodore Roosevelt was an anti-business president. He only wanted what he thought was in the best interests of the country and the citizens/mass public, interests that were higher than any wealthy or private interests. Bottom line, he felt that oil, bank and railroad trusts, in addition to other large corporations and firms had too much power, enabling these institutions to control their respective markets and prices. Part of President Teddy Roosevelt’s “square deal” political agenda, the program called for business regulations while increasing cooperation between the federal government and businesses. With Roosevelt advocating the federal incorporation of large firms, it allows the government to ensure that private investment decisions would be within the public interest. This is why some people and observers see Theodore Roosevelt as an anti-business president, and given the nickname “Trust Buster” because they feel that the government is controlling how businesses should be run, giving an impression that the government as a whole don’t trust these businesses to handle business fairly.
"Theodore Roosevelt." eHistory at OSU. http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/mmh/1912/candidates/RooseveltBio.cfm (accessed April 12, 2013).
"Theodore Roosevelt [1858-1919]." New Netherland Institute. http://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/history-and-heritage/dutch_americans/theodore-roosevelt/ (accessed April 12, 2013).
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