| An Overview of Theodore Roosevelt's
Administration 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.
official White House portrait, by John Singer
Sargent
| Election
of 1904 |
| Candidate Theodore
Roosevelt
Alton B. Parker
|
Popular
Vote 7,623,486
5,077,911
|
Electoral
Vote 336
140
|
| 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
Theodore Roosevelt is the youngest person to date to
be inaugurated President; he was 42 years, 322 days old
when he succeeded William McKinley.
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.
Sources
The West www.pbs.org
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site www.nps.gov/thri/
Theodore Roosevelt National Park www.nps.gov/thro/
See Also
President
William McKinley
Panama Canal
William Howard Taft
Oklahoma
Department
of Commerce
Wright
Brothers
San
Francisco, California
Panama Canal
White
House
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