Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal is a topic I learned had heard about in the past but only learned about in great detail in my AP US History course at school. This article titled “The Square Deal: Theodore Roosevelt and the Themes of Progressive Reform” by Kirsten Swinth covers this topic extensively by talking about the time period and the situation in America before it.

At the time, there was massive protests and the populist movement rallying millions of farmers to march for better policies (Swinth). Furthermore, there was massive pollution in cities and massive amounts of diseases spreading along with low wages and child labor occurring within them (Swinth). These problems, among many others not listed, plagued our country and eventually the people, such as the middle class, began protesting and fighting for change.

According to Swinth, many progressives simply wanted to properly regulate the system in order to create a alleviate many of the problems that were around during the time (Swinth). Theodore Roosevelt was an example of this philosophy, of which many of his reforms were there not to destroy the industrial progress made in America but to merely regulate it to create a fair system for all, perhaps even a “Square Deal.”

For his first term, Teddy Roosevelt was the Vice president to President McKinley who was then sworn in when McKinley was assassinated. As an interesting fact, Teddy Roosevelt was selected to be the VP because the party leaders wanted him to be placated (Swinth). This would rather backfire.

Through his Presidency, Roosevelt saw himself as a “Bully Pulpit” who tried to champion Progressive Causes throughout the country (Swinth). Forty-three anti-trust cases, laws such as the Pure Food and Drug and Meat Inspection Acts, and eight hour workdays for Federal employees were put in during his Presidency (Swinth). These reforms made during his time resonated throughout the country and set the seen for future reform programs along with future politics later on in American history.

Within the span of a few years, American politics were drastically changed with the Square Deal, showing the transition from the Gilded Age to the Progressive Era.