Theodore Roosevelt's tenure as the 26th president of the United States began on September 14, 1901, and expired on March 4, 1909. Roosevelt, a Republican, took office upon the assassination of President William McKinley, under whom he had served as vice president, and secured a full term in the 1904 election. He was succeeded by his protégé and chosen successor, William Howard Taft.

A Progressive reformer, Roosevelt earned a reputation as a "trust buster" through his regulatory reforms and antitrust prosecutions. His presidency saw the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act, which established the Food and Drug Administration to regulate food safety, and the Hepburn Act, which increased the regulatory power of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Roosevelt took care, however, to show that he did not disagree with trusts and capitalism in principle, but was only against monopolistic practices. His "Square Deal" included regulation of railroad rates and pure foods and drugs; he saw it as a fair deal for both the average citizen and the businessmen. Sympathetic to both business and labor, Roosevelt avoided labor strikes, most notably negotiating a settlement to the great Coal Strike of 1902. He vigorously promoted the conservation movement, emphasizing efficient use of natural resources. He dramatically expanded the system of national parks and national forests, and signed the Antiquities Act which gave the president authority to create national monuments from federal lands.

In foreign affairs, Roosevelt sought to uphold the Monroe Doctrine and to establish the United States as a strong naval power, he took charge of building the Panama Canal, which greatly increased access to the Pacific and increased American security interests and trade opportunities. He ended the United States Military Government in Cuba and committed to a long-term occupation of the Philippines. Much of his foreign policy focused on the threats posed by Japan in the Pacific and Germany in the Caribbean. Seeking to minimize European power in Latin America, he mediated the Venezuela Crisis and declared the Roosevelt Corollary. Roosevelt mediated the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), for which he won the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize. He pursued closer relations with Great Britain. Biographer William Harbaugh argues: In foreign affairs, Theodore Roosevelt’s legacy is judicious support of the national interest and promotion of world stability through the maintenance of a balance of power; creation or strengthening of international agencies, and resort to their use when practicable; and implicit resolve to use military force, if feasible, to foster legitimate American interests. In domestic affairs, it is the use of government to advance the public interest. "If on this new continent," he said, "we merely build another country of great but unjustly divided material prosperity, we shall have done nothing."William H. Harbaugh, "Roosevelt, Theodore (27 October 1858–06 January 1919)" American National Biography (1999) online Historian Thomas Bailey wrote, "Roosevelt was a great personality, a great activist, a great preacher of the moralities, a great controversialist, a great showman. He dominated his era as he dominated conversations...the masses loved him; he proved to be a great popular idol and a great vote-getter."Thomas A. Bailey, Presidential Greatness (1966) p. 308 His image stands alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln on Mount Rushmore. He is frequently ranked by historians among the five greatest U.S. presidents of all time...

Accession

Roosevelt served as assistant secretary of the navy and governor of New York before winning election as William McKinley's running mate in the 1900 presidential election. Roosevelt became president following the assassination of McKinley by anarchist Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, New York; Czolgosz shot McKinley on September 6, 1901, and McKinley died on September 14. Roosevelt was sworn into office on the day of McKinley's death at the Ansley Wilcox House in Buffalo. John R. Hazel, U.S. District Judge for the Western District of New York, administered the oath of office. At age 42, Roosevelt became the youngest president in U.S. history, a distinction he still retains.

Roosevelt announced:

Roosevelt would later state that he came into office without any particular domestic policy goals. He broadly adhered to most Republican positions on economic issues, with the partial exception of the protective tariff. Roosevelt had stronger views on the particulars of his foreign policy, as he wanted the United States to assert itself as a great power in international relations.

Administration Cabinet

Anxious to ensure a smooth transition, Roosevelt convinced the members of McKinley's cabinet, most notably Secretary of State John Hay and Secretary of the Treasury Lyman J. Gage, to remain in office.Morris (2001) pp 9–10 Another holdover, Secretary of War Elihu Root, had been a Roosevelt confidante for years, and he continued to serve as President Roosevelt's close ally.Morris (2001) pp 22–23 Attorney General Philander C. Knox, who McKinley had appointed in early 1901, also emerged as a powerful force within the Roosevelt administration.Morris (2001) p. 62 McKinley's personal secretary, George B. Cortelyou, remained in place. Once Congress began its session in December 1901, Roosevelt replaced Gage with L. M. Shaw and appointed Henry C. Payne as Postmaster General, earning the approval of powerful Senators William B. Allison and John Coit Spooner.Morris (2001) p. 78 He replaced Secretary of the Navy John D. Long, with Congressman William H. Moody. In 1903, Roosevelt named Cortelyou as the first head of the Department of Commerce and Labor, and William Loeb Jr. became Roosevelt's secretary.

Root returned to the private sector in 1904 and was replaced by William Howard Taft, who had previously served as the governor-general of the Philippines.Morris (2001) pp. 308–309 Knox accepted appointment to the Senate in 1904 and was replaced by William Moody, who in turn was succeeded as attorney general by Charles Joseph Bonaparte in 1906. After Hay's death in 1905, Roosevelt convinced Root to return to the Cabinet as Secretary of State, and Root remained in office until the final days of Roosevelt's tenure.Morris (2001) pp. 394–395 In 1907, Roosevelt replaced Shaw with Cortelyou, while James R. Garfield became the new secretary of the interior.

Press Corps Building on William McKinley's use of the press, Theodore Roosevelt increased the White House's role as a source of national news, regularly providing interviews and opportunities for photographs.George Juergens, "Theodore Roosevelt and the Press" Daedalus (1982): 113–133 online.John M. Thompson, "Theodore Roosevelt and the press." in A Companion to Theodore Roosevelt (2011): 216–236. Noticing the reporters waiting outside in the rain one day, Roosevelt provided them with a room inside the building, establishing a more regular setting for the presidential press briefing. The unprecedented access Roosevelt provided to the press led to extensive coverage of his presidency, rendered the more possible by Roosevelt's practice of screening out reporters he did not like.Rodger Streitmatter, "Theodore Roosevelt: Public Relations Pioneer: How TR Controlled Presidential Press Coverage." American Journalism 7.2 (1990): 96–113.

Judicial appointments

Roosevelt appointed three associate justices of the Supreme Court. Roosevelt's first appointment, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. had served as chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court since 1899. Confirmed in December 1902, Holmes served on the Supreme Court until 1932. Some of Holmes's antitrust decisions angered Roosevelt and they stopped being friends.Richard H. Wagner, "A Falling Out: The Relationship Between Oliver Wendell Holmes and Theodore Roosevelt." Journal of Supreme Court History 27.2 (2002): 114–137. Roosevelt's second appointment, former Secretary of State William R. Day, became a reliable vote for Roosevelt's antitrust prosecutions and remained on the court from 1903 to 1922.Morris (2001) pp. 313–314 In 1906, after considering Democratic appellate judge Horace Harmon Lurton for a Supreme Court vacancy, Roosevelt instead appointed Attorney General William Moody.Paul T. Heffron, "Theodore Roosevelt and the Appointment of Mr. Justice Moody." Vanderbilt Law Review 18 (1964): 545+. download. Moody served until health problems forced his retirement in 1910.

Roosevelt also appointed 71 other federal judges: 18 to the United States Courts of Appeals, and 53 to the United States district courts. These nominations were prepared by the Justice Department, in consultation with Republican leaders, especially senators from the home state. The average age of the appointees was 50.7 years, with 22 percent younger than 45.Sheldon Goldman, "The age of judges." ABA Journal 73.12 (1987): 94–98 online.

Domestic policy

Progressivism

Roosevelt was deeply immersed in the ethos of the Progressive Era and was determined to create what he called a "Square Deal" of efficiency and opportunity for every citizen. Roosevelt pushed several pieces of progressive legislation through Congress. Progressivism was the dominant force of the day, and Roosevelt was its most articulate spokesperson.Kirsten Swinth, "The Square Deal: Theodore Roosevelt and the Themes of Progressive Reform" History Now (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, 2014) online Progressivism had dual aspects. First, progressivism promoted use of science, engineering, technology, and social sciences to address the nation's problems, and identify ways to eliminate waste and inefficiency and promote modernization.see George Mowry, The Era of Theodore Roosevelt and the Birth of Modern America, 1900–1912 (1954), ch. 1 Those promoting progressivism also campaigned against corruption among political machines, labor unions, and trusts of new, large corporations, which emerged at the turn of the century.see Lewis L. Gould, The Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. (2011), ch 1 In describing Roosevelt's priorities and characteristics as president, historian G. Warren Chessman noted Roosevelt's While a progressive at heart, Roosevelt did not shirk from saluting the past of America, he made notable speeches at the Jamestown Exposition, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, and he notably was the first Republican to visit Andrew Jackson's Hermitage, further cementing the fact that a new epoch had begun after the war between the states.

Trust busting and regulation