Theodore Roosevelt:26th President of the United States
Theodore Roosevelt had been Vice-President for only six months when President William McKinley was assassinated in September, 1901. In 1904, the voters elected him to a full term as President.
As President, Roosevelt used his power of leadership to help the United States meet challenges at home and abroad. He fought for reforms that would benefit the American people, including the break-up of business monopolies, regulation of the railroads, protection from harmful foods and drugs, and the conservation of natural resources. In foreign relations, Roosevelt strengthened the U.S. Navy, began the construction of the Panama Canal, kept European nations from interfering in Latin America, and helped end the Russo-Japanese War.
| Election of 1904 | ||
| Candidate Theodore
Roosevelt |
Popular
Vote 7,623,486 |
Electoral
Vote 336 |
| His Vice-President and Cabinet | |
| Vice-President | Charles W. Fairbanks |
| Secretary of State | John Hay Elihu Root (1905) Robert Bacon (1909) |
| Secretary of the Treasury | Lyman J. Gage Leslie M. Shaw (1902) George B. Cortelyou (1907) |
| Secretary of War | Elihu Root William Howard Taft (1904) Luke E. Wright (1908) |
| Attorney General | Philander C. Knox William H. Moody (1904) Charles J. Bonaparte (1906) |
| Postmaster General | Charles E. Smith Henry C. Payne (1902) George B. Cortelyou (1905) George von L. Meyer (1907) |
| Secretary of the Navy | John D. Long William H. Moody (1902) Charles J. Bonaparte (1905) Victor H. Metcalf (1906) Truman H. Newberry (1908) |
| Secretary of the Interior | Ethan A. Hitchcock James R. Garfield (1907) |
| Secretary of Agriculture | James Wilson |
| Secretary of Commerce and Labor | George B. Cortelyou Victor H. Metcalf (1904) Oscar S. Straus (1906) |
| United States Events During His Administration | |
| States
Admitted to the Union Oklahoma (1907) Population in 1907 ~90,000,000 |
|
| 1902 | The federal government sued the Northern Securities Company on charges of trying to reduce competition. |
| 1902 | Roosevelt intervened to end a strike by the United Mine Workers of Pennsylvania. |
| 1902 | Congress passed the Reclamation Act. |
| 1903 | Congress established the Department of Commerce and Labor. |
| 1903 | The Elkins Act prohibited railroads from making rebates to favored shippers. |
| 1903 | Roosevelt sent a message over the newly completed cable across the Pacific Ocean. |
| 1903 | A six-man tribunal upheld U.S. claims in the Alaska boundary dispute with Great Britain. |
| 1903 | The U.S. Forest Service was established. |
| 1903 | The Wright Brothers made the first powered airplane flight. |
| 1906 | An earthquake devastated San Francisco, California, and left some 700 persons dead. |
| 1906 | Congress passed the Meat Inspection Act and the Food and Drugs Act. |
| 1906 | Congress passed the Hepburn Railway Rate Act. |
| 1907 | A financial panic started when prices dropped suddenly on the New York Stock Exchange. |
| 1907 | A "Great White Fleet" of U.S. warships sailed on a 14-month goodwill tour. |
| 1908 | The first "Model T" Ford went on the market. |
| World Events During His Administration | |
| 1901 | The first wireless telegraph message to flash across the Atlantic was sent. |
| 1902 | The British defeated the Dutch in the Boer War in South Africa. |
| 1903 | The Panama Canal Zone was obtained by the United States from Panama. |
| 1904 | American officials took over the customs system of Santo Domingo. |
| 1905 | Japan defeated Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. |
| 1905 | Albert Einstein published his theory of relativity. |
| 1907 | Delegates from 44 nations attended the second conference on world disarmament at The Hague in The Netherlands. |
| 1908 | The United States and Japan signed the Root-Takahira Agreement. |
Notes and Trivia
Roosevelt was the first President to travel to a foreign country while in office. He did so in 1906, when he visited Panama to view the construction of the Panama Canal.
The east and west wings of the White House were built during Roosevelt's administration.
Questions or comments about this page?
"Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)." The West.
2001. www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/i_r/roosevelt.htm
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site. www.nps.gov/sahi/
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site. www.nps.gov/thrb/
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site. www.nps.gov/thri/
Theodore Roosevelt National Park. www.nps.gov/thro/
The Robinson
Library
American History.--United States: General History
and Description.--Early
Twentieth Century, 1901-1960.--Theodore
Roosevelt's Administration, 1901-1909.--Theodore Roosevelt.
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