What did president Roosevelt mean by square deal and how did he try to achieve?

Answer 1

Square Deal was the catchy name Teddy Roosevelt gave to his political agenda, it comes from card playing and basically means an honest fair dealing of the cards, equal chance for any player to win, or in broader terms a fair and equal chance for any one to succeed in life.

There were three basic ideas that made up the Square Deal; conservation of Natural Resources, control of corporations, and consumer protection. The Deal's aim was to improve the life of the 'middle class," limit the power of a smaller group of people who controlled most business and finance in America, through monopolies and trusts, in his words " "the representatives of predatory wealth" who were practicing everything from oppressing workers to actual defrauding the public. while protecting business from extreme demands of organized labor and other groups. Teddy also pushed land and resource conservation for later use both commercial and non-commercial against immediate over exploitation and waste. TR was in contrast to his predeccesor's stances which were extreme pro-business to the extent that there were few restrictions on any practice as long as it made a profit. He succeded to the Presidency upon McKinley's assasination but it wasn't until his own election to a second term that he was able to make real progress on his Square Deal.

Among his successes were;

Invigorating the Interstae Commerce Commision and getting laws passed against the trusts and monopolies. For example the Elkins Act stopped Railroads from giving more favorable rates to some people than others. Many railroads and the companies whose products they hauled were owned by the same groups of owners, called trusts, they charged each other lower rates for freight and goods. Smaller shippers, such as farmers, had to pay higher rates. Large monopolies, such as Standard oil, and others could put competitors out of business by charging unprofitable prices in one area, making up the losses in areas they already controlled.

The Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act allowed the Federal Govt. to be in charge of assuring foods were clean, disease free and wholesome ( some reports at the time stated that a typical loaf of bread was at least half sawdust, plaster and/or other fillers) and that medicines and drugs were unadulterated, actually had an effect, and were not actually dangerous ( many "tonics" and medicines, even for children, were 90% alcohol, contained addictive drugs, even poisons such as arsenic)

The Antiquities Act gave the President the authority to set aside certain public land for noncommercial use, as opposed to The Natural Forests for example, whose purpose at the time was primarily to provide low cost timber to business, other lands provided low cost grazing and mining. Land set aside under the Antiquaties Act could not be exploied by business, prior to the act, about the only way to preserve land from exploitation was through a tedious process declaring it to be a National Park. Now land could be set aside as a National Monument, or other name and use by simple Presidential Decree.

Answer 2

President Roosevelt's "square deal" was a term he used to promise a fair and just economic policy that would benefit all Americans. He aimed to regulate big businesses, protect consumer rights, and promote conservation of natural resources. Roosevelt's policies included increased government regulation, breaking up monopolies, and passing laws to protect workers and consumers. Overall, he sought to balance the interests of labor, business, and the public to create a more equitable society.