Extent of Government Change Under Essay

It was during this time that the Federal Government first began promoting things like worker safety on the job. For example, the Railway Safety Appliance Act was passed during this time. It required railroads to install safety devices such as steps and handrails on their engines and cars to reduce the number of industrial accidents. President Theodore Roosevelt vastly increased the traditional perception of the role of the federal government. His policies, such as â€Å"Big Stick Ideology† abroad and the â€Å"Square Deal† at home, expanded the influence of the government on manifold levels. Two cases, however, that of trust-busting and that of conservation, specifically accentuate this expansion. In the year 1901, President William McKinley had just been assassinated, and America needed a leader to which she could turn to. Theodore Roosevelt became the new president, and unbeknownst to the people, would immortalize the presidency forever. Roosevelt made considerable efforts at the conservation of the planet for future generations by use of the Newlands Reclamation Act of 1902 and by establishing the Bureau of Reclamations and broke up the destructive and all too powerful trusts that were ruling corporate America by instating the Clayton Antitrust Act and the Expedition Act of 1903, during what would later become known as the Progressive Era. During Theodore Roosevelt’s term in office, changes in the government began to be made. Roosevelt’s mindset was to change the role of the government for the betterment of the economy during the Progressive Era. Through trying to break up trusts in the government, such as the Sherman Anti-Trust Acts, he believed he could change the U.S. government for the better. Conflicts from labor (the Square Deal) and conservation during the Progressive Era helped Roosevelt change multiple roles of the federal government.