Square Deal Analysis

In his first term in 1901, Roosevelt installed the “Square Deal” as his new domestic policy, which promised consumer protection and control of corporations through a series of measures and acts; and the “Big Stick Diplomacy” as his new foreign policy, which he famously explained it as: “speak softly, and carry a big stick.” In regards to labor, trusts and foreign policy, the role of the federal government under the Roosevelt administration changed drastically— the newly established labor, trust, and foreign policies included into the federal government pushed the United States towards a progressive era that saw an increase in government power over domestic and foreign affairs; yet had its limitations— Roosevelt created very ambiguous methods to control trusts and foreign affairs that was quickly obscured as soon as William Howard Taft came to power, and Taft’s reversed decisions produced a major division in the Republican party split between the Progressives and the Taft-supporters.
As part of the Square Deal to control corporations, a series of new measures and policies were created and approved to ensure and protect laborer rights on a federal level. Prior to Roosevelt, the federal government barely supported labor— rather it used injunctions and military actions against labor union strikes, as demonstrated by the railroad strikes of 1877 and the Pullman Strike of 1894. However, during his presidency, Roosevelt wanted a compromise between workers and corporations, and was quick to eschew the use of federal troops, although not as quick to recognize unions. His solution to strikes, influenced partly by the Anthracite coal strike of 1902 and other labor unrests, was the establishment of the “Square Deal” that met the demands of ...

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...cy. From better working conditions and greater standards of living to the active supervision of modern corporations, the powerful federal government we have today reflects a lot upon Roosevelt’s efforts from a century ago. Many of the protective domestic provisions fought for in Roosevelt’s terms are now mere conventional responsibilities that we heedlessly expect our government to fulfill. In addition, modern foreign policies are also reminiscent of the foreign policy developed in Roosevelt’s time; the US has now adapted the reputation and the responsibility to “police” many foreign affairs, although collaboratively with other major countries through the United Nations. Ultimately, Roosevelt’s administration established a direction of government control that shaped the modern organized bureaucracy that keeps a watchful eye on labor, corporations and foreign affairs.