Trust-busting: A Response to Business Concentration Most
Republicans viewed their election victory in 1900 as an
endorsement of the party’s policies toward business. Theodore
Roosevelt, who became president in September 1901, did not fully
share that view. Rather than simply maintain the status quo,
Roosevelt sought a mid-course between Republican laissez faire
policies and the socialism advocated by some reform elements.
The president found an ally in an increasingly concerned public
that had been wary of big government solutions in the past, but
was now more receptive. The trusts' continuing growth in numbers
and power convinced many that action was needed. Roosevelt took
the following steps during his first administration to “keep
order” in the American economy: - Department of Commerce and
Labor. In 1903, Roosevelt persuaded Congress to establish a new
cabinet-level department to increase the federal government’s
purview over the interstate commerce actions of business and to
monitor labor relations. Big