Roosevelt's Legacy

Theodore Roosevelt was a man uniquely fitted to the role that he played in American

history. He became President of the United States at the crucial crossroads of the nineteenth and

twentieth centuries. At the turn of the century, the U.S. had faced countless problems as the

result of the industrial revolution's effects on society and politics. Reform was needed and it

took a man of great vision and ambition to make the changes the American public sought to

gain. Roosevelt was the type of man needed by America to improve standards of living, earn

purity in democracy, create fairness in business practice, protect the natural environment and

earning the respect of foreign nations during the United States' rise to global power. Teddy

Roosevelt was at the reigns of America in its gallop to lead the world into the twentieth century;

and with his vast progressive ideals and clear foresight of the nation's path, he found remarkable

success. In many aspects, he can be regarded as the first modern president, as he confronted and

many problems faced by the nation during his time and set standards by which we still follow

today.

As Roosevelt's first major act as President, he focused primarily on the separation of the

Northern Securities trust formed by the economic powerhouses at that time. Roosevelt witnessed

the monopoly that had formed and acted quickly to extinguish it before other trusts of this

magnitude could form. In 1903, he asked Congress to create the Department of Commerce and a

Bureau of Corporations to investigate possible business trusts and prevent unlawful practices.

This allowed smaller businesses a greater chance of success by creating an opportuni...

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...e was awarded

the Nobel Peace Prize.

During the transition from the 19th to the 20th century, America needed a leader to face

the concerns facing the nation as it moved into the modern age. The industrial revolution sparked

many economic concerns such as the formation of monopolies. This revolution also raised issues

of land preservation and conservation when natural resources were being consumed at rates

never before seen in the world. And foreign policies needed reform as America continued

to establish itself as a major world power. Teddy Roosevelt was the type of leader the nation

needed to stand up to these challenges and create solutions for the daunting problems of his time.

It was TR's great ambition which drove the United States into the modern era and his legacy has

branded him as America's first modern chief executive.