Trust-Busting: Theodore Roosevelt’s Effectiveness in Regulating Big Business

A major part of both policies was the breaking up and regulating of trusts. Roosevelt never wanted to dissolve or destroy the large corporations rather he saw them as necessary parts of American life. However he felt that these companies must be bounded tightly to strict moral standards. Roosevelt followed the idea of "rules of reason" which was the policy of "busting" bad trusts, leaving good ones alone. He was the person who would decide which trusts were good and which ones were bad. He earned the name of " trustbuster" when he had filed a suit against the Northern Securities Company (which was followed by 43 other cases). This was Roosevelt's first case, in which he filed a suit against a large corporation for the purpose of "trust busting."

This bill, the first of its kind, promoted an involved Federal Government actively reinforcing fair business practices across the country. Unfortunately, the change occurred over a decade prior to the Gilded Age’s onset and did not force the aggressive and proactive measures needed to balance the damage already done. As a result, the Federal Government did not become fully involved in the economic crisis until after the Gilded Age

The questions that remain in people heads is did the federal government do its job in regulating business? Or was it overstepping its boundaries with these acts? During the Progressive Era Reforms it was thought to address issues that occurred during the Glided Age. Regulating business can be tricky, my thought is that to regulate means the US Government would make laws to oversee, adjust, fine tune and correct the unfair business tactics in industry and big business, not to run

Roosevelt regulated business through trust-busting and protecting american consumers. One way that displayed trust-busting was when he sued Northern Securities Railroads for a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act (allows and recommends that the federal government investigate and pursue trusts), the company was looking to build a monopoly in the northeast. Eventually, the Supreme Court ruled in the government’s favor and the company was dissolved. This was one of the first examples of Roosevelt rooting out big monopolies. More examples of Roosevelt’s trust-busting were him going after companies/industries such as: Standard Oil, American Tobacco, and the Meat Industry. Another way he displayed trust-busting was creating the Department of Commerce and Labor, which monitored big corporations. A way that Roosevelt protected American consumers

During the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, the railroads themselves created a large market for the steel and iron industries.4 The steel and oil industries were booming and corruption was rampant. Andrew Carnegie had cornered the market in the steel industry and John D. Rockefeller had cornered the oil market. Rockefeller bought up his competition after essentially putting them out of business by flooding the market with refined oil bringing down prices and profits. He was determined to pay no one a profit because he wanted it all for himself. He created a plan called vertical integration which consolidated his businesses into one by creating The Standard Oil Trust.5 These two men became known as barons and got rich beyond belief. In 1890, the Government enacted the Sherman Anti-Trust Act to prevent large firms from controlling one single industry and finally put a stop to these monopolies and trusts, 6 but it was not rigorously enforced until the 1900’s. This act was designed to restore competition and

The businessmen and bankers were against Roosevelt's “New Deal program.” (Source B). “They feared his experiments, were appalled because he had taken the nation off the gold standard and allowed deficits in the budget, and dislike the concessions to labor.” (Source B). Mr. Roosevelt did not like being talked about like this so he responded with a new program of reform which was: Social Security, heavier taxes on the wealthy, new controls over banks and public utilities, and an enormous relief program for the unemployed. Yet another action taken by him to ensure that all the American people were satisfied. And in response to the people who still has fear in them Roosevelt says that “The only thing you have to fear is fear itself.” (Source

President Theodore Roosevelt, a leader of progressivism was highly in favor for a reform at a national level. He believed it was the governments duty to regulated businesses and improve the life's of the people. While the second industrial revolution brought major industrial achievement it also gave corporate bosses excessive amount of power, which they used to bend political parties to their favor and progressives such as president Wilson hoped to rectify this(Document 2). During this progressive movement many Americans focused on reform the country in ways that would creating a limitation on major business, such as Rockefeller Standard Oil, that used a unfair monopoly system to build their empire, which was damaging the economy. Roosevelt being the first to take signification action on trust-busting, such as passing the Hepburn Act which was enacted in 1906 set a precedent for the power of the federal government. The Hepburn Act set a maximum price for the freight rates on the railroads and it extended the reach of the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulation of pipelines, freight companies, sleeping-car companies, bridges and ferries. During this period the federal government passed an incredible amount of legislation that mainly regulated the problems in the society to provide a greater sense of regulation and protection for the people. Problems such as overbearing freight prices, vile food preparation and inconsistent economic status were issues that needed to be amended. Roosevelt also focused of the conservation of natural resources to help further developed the nation land and it's usefulness(Document 6). Anti-trust acts, Federal Reserve Acts were also established to break trusts to help improve market rates and improve the quality of life for the working class through more regulations on businesses by the federal government. Roosevelt trust-busting helped

There are different types of businesses, for example, some use monopolies, trust and pools, while other eliminate competition for higher prices. As stated in “Progressive reformers regarded regulation as a cure for all sorts of socioeconomic and political problems” , “The Sherman Act of 1890 attempted to outlaw the restriction of competition by large companies that co-operated with rivals to fix outputs, prices, and market shares, initially through pools and later through trusts” , meaning, competition is the

It is clear that trusts are contrary to public policy and hence in conflict with the common law. They are monopolies organized to destroy competition and restrain trade. . . .

Roosevelt 's going to embrace what he likes to call a square deal for the American people the square deal is going to embrace the three C 's Roosevelt 's going to want to control the corporations or have control of the corporations for his actions. Roosevelt 's going to be seen as a trust buster, this will be one of the first times that the government is going to use the Sherman Antitrust to effectively break up a monopoly. Roosevelt utilized the legislature as a vehicle to assist the general population intrigue, he saw the administration as a Bully pulpit to lecture thoughts to the general population and get the American individuals on his side. He was exceptionally occupied with both local and outside approach and he sets the political plan for the entire nation. His political program the square arrangement, intended to recognize great organizations that gave valuable items and administrations at reasonable costs from detestable partnerships that existed just to profit. Roosevelt was also a

After using the Sherman Act, Roosevelt started using new legislature to conquer the Trusts and make labor conditions more tolerable. The first department that he made to conquer Trusts was the Federal Department of Commerce and Labor. The Commerce Department could not break down the Trusts, but they could make working conditions better for all workers, and also set rates so the corporations could not over charge. The Commerce department set a maximum rate for the railroad companies in which they could charge companies. This way, the companies tnies could not survive and compete. Also, the

Roosevelt also went after the Northern Securities, a railroad holding company established by J.P. Morgan. Then, he went after Rockefeller's standard oil trust. By the time Roosevelt left office he had attacked twenty five different monopolies. He created the Department of Commerce and Labor to report on any illegal activities that businesses were participating in. This was truly progressive of him, in his attempt to help the little guy.

Furthermore, economics also played a key role in describing whether liberalism or conservatism triumphed in this era. President William Howard Taft encouraged a policy known as "Dollar Diplomacy" where the United States invested in foreign countries in order to gain power. This dollar diplomacy would make money for as well strengthen the US. Later Taft went on to become more of a trust buster than Roosevelt. His most noteworthy bust was the Standard Oil Company, one of the largest trusts of the time, which was ordered to be broken into smaller companies in 1911. He then went on to attack another one of the largest trusts, The US Steel company which Roosevelt had allowed to survive since he deemed it as a good trust. Roosevelt became furious as Taft when he heard of this. Taft then passed the Payne-Aldrich bill which he unwisely named "the best bill that the Republican Party ever passed" which split the Republican Party into old school/more

In his acceptance speech for his party’s nomination, President Roosevelt referred to the bankers, industrialists and big corporations of that time as ‘economic royalists’. He shared his concerns about how these financial and industrial institutions were becoming too powerful and were only acting in

Roosevelt’s change in of mind was in essence a shift in execution as he now viewed changing the economy through government control and consumption. Brinkley illustrates these changes as he states “ On issues of political economy… a consensus had begun to emerge behind a new kind of liberalism : a liberalism less inclined to challenge corporate behavior than some of the reforms ideas of the 1930’s had done… a liberalism strongly committed to the use of more “ compensatory,” tools- a combination of Keynesian fiscal measures and enhanced welfare-state mechanism- to ensure prosperity” ( Brinkley 139). The proposed stability included bank regulations, welfare programs, anti-monopoly , and overall legislation that brought upon equality in American society. However, to those older liberal this new behavior seemed conflicting because it did not follow the idea of challenging the economic elites. Roosevelt’s plan evidently had the shared goals with older liberalism, but its Keynesian ideology meant working with economic elites , instead of challenging their power to boost