The Bull Moose: Theodore Roosevelt

The Bull Moose Theodore Roosevelt was on commerce to deliver a speech while seeking his third term in the oval office. However, before being able to give forth said allocution, Roosevelt was shot in the chest by a crazed gunman. Yet rather than receiving medical care, he insisted on delivering his 90-minute oration, with the bullet still lodged in his chest (Klein). This unabated passion Roosevelt maintained throughout his bureaucratic career was a fundamental part of what made Roosevelt one of the most distinguished and prominent political figures of the 20th century. Aside from the commitment Roosevelt held for his nation, he was well renowned for the progressivist and conservationist legislations made while America laid under his dominion.

“Between 1901 and 1909 Roosevelt set aside more than 243 million acres of scenic lands” (Weeks). These policies were consummated, often without full fledged support from congress, and left many congressmen infuriated at Roosevelt’s endeavors to preserve America’s parks and forests . Roosevelt was a visionary, as he persisted on with his ventures to safeguard America’s parks and forests for subsequent generations, despite the unsavory reception. Roosevelt is also esteemed for the literature he composed comprised of conservationist and preservationist ideals. For instance he wrote, “We have become great because of the lavish use of our resources. But the time has come to inquire seriously what will happen when our forests are gone, when the coal, the iron, the oil, and the gas are exhausted, when the soils have still further impoverished and washed into the streams, polluting the rivers, denuding the fields and obstructing navigation” (qtd. In “Theodore Roosevelt and Conservation”). Roosevelt recognized that the inconsiderate disregard and superfluous consument of natural resources conducted by the American society, could lead to disastrous consequences, which meanwhile few were so perceptive. Having such an outspoken dignitary was momentous for the conservationist movement, as

The dissolvement and abolishment of these malicious corporations under his presidency bestowed the title of “trust buster” upon him. Roosevelt, without apprehension, began his assault on big business virtually as promptly as he had assumed office. Seeking out J.P. Morgan, who, at the time, controlled the majority of the railroad industry, Roosevelt chose to enforce the Sherman Antitrust act, established years before yet never imposed, the denouement being the outright liquidation of the railroad trust (“The Trust Buster”). Roosevelt chose to enforce the law rather than to submit to commercial enterprise, despite those before him intentionally overlooking these unlawful business customs. Roosevelt choose to oppose and maim the exclusive proprietorship of these syndicates, which spurred the growth of a more unrestrained market to prevail which ameliorated american industry. Roosevelt had a noticeable tendency for siding with the people over large companies. In fact, later that year a coal strike broke out in Pennsylvania, dubbed The Coal Strike of 1902, that Roosevelt set out to resolve, once more, not in the anticipated manner (Grossman). Roosevelt decided to force a compromise between the labor force and the coal company, historically up until this point the government stood almost invariably with the Company experiencing a strike. Rather than carrying on