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| | {{main|Pure Food and Drug Act|Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906}} | | {{main|Pure Food and Drug Act|Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906}} |
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| − | Widespread outrage followed publication in 1906 of [[Upton Sinclair]]'s novel, ''The Jungle,'' which detailed the horrible conditions in Chicago’s packinghouses. Roosevelt sent Labor Commissioner Charles P. Neill and social worker James Bronson Reynolds<ref>[http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1906/06/05/page/4/article/conditions-in-stockyards-described-in-the-neill-reynolds-report Conditions in Stockyards Described in the Neill-Reynolds Report], [[Chicago Tribune]]</ref> to investigate the meat-packing industry in Chicago. Their report to the president was 'revolting,' but since Roosevelt feared the impact on ranchers and European meat importers, he withheld the Neill-Reynolds report from publication. Sinclair was so upset that he provided specific information to newspapers. Roosevelt then had the commissioners put their report in writing and sent it to Congress. This led to a hearing before Congress; witnesses were asked about seeing a dead hog slide partway into a men's privy. Although Sinclair was a Socialist and his main interest was in the stockyard workers, not consumers, the turmoil over tainted meat helped move Congress to enact the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. The act itself had been drawn up by experts in the Department of Agriculture and remains in effect in the 21st century.<ref>James Harvey Young, "The Pig That Fell into the Privy: Upton Sinclair's 'The Jungle' and the Meat Inspection Amendments of 1906." ''Bulletin of the History of Medicine'' 1985 59(4): 467-480</ref> | + | Widespread outrage followed publication in 1906 of [[Upton Sinclair]]'s novel, ''The Jungle,'' which detailed the horrible conditions in Chicago's packinghouses. Roosevelt sent Labor Commissioner Charles P. Neill and social worker James Bronson Reynolds<ref>[http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1906/06/05/page/4/article/conditions-in-stockyards-described-in-the-neill-reynolds-report Conditions in Stockyards Described in the Neill-Reynolds Report], [[Chicago Tribune]]</ref> to investigate the meat-packing industry in Chicago. Their report to the president was 'revolting,' but since Roosevelt feared the impact on ranchers and European meat importers, he withheld the Neill-Reynolds report from publication. Sinclair was so upset that he provided specific information to newspapers. Roosevelt then had the commissioners put their report in writing and sent it to Congress. This led to a hearing before Congress; witnesses were asked about seeing a dead hog slide partway into a men's privy. Although Sinclair was a Socialist and his main interest was in the stockyard workers, not consumers, the turmoil over tainted meat helped move Congress to enact the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. The act itself had been drawn up by experts in the Department of Agriculture and remains in effect in the 21st century.<ref>James Harvey Young, "The Pig That Fell into the Privy: Upton Sinclair's 'The Jungle' and the Meat Inspection Amendments of 1906." ''Bulletin of the History of Medicine'' 1985 59(4): 467-480</ref> |
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| | ====Coal strike==== | | ====Coal strike==== |
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| | ===Historian of the frontier=== | | ===Historian of the frontier=== |
| − | In ''The Winning of the West,'' a four-volume history of westward expansion, Roosevelt developed the thesis that the western experience shaped and created a new ethnic group or people (what he called a "race"), the true American people. His ideas helped shape the popular culture, especially since his own cowboy persona exemplified all the strengths of the new people. Meanwhile, Professor [[Frederick Jackson Turner]] developed his famous [[Frontier Thesis]], based in part on Roosevelt’s ideas. Turner’s views came to dominate professional historiography and shaped the teaching of history for a century–and is still influential in the 21st century. Roosevelt and Turner shared the view that the frontier was the most significant force in America's cultural and political development, but Turner stressed the complex social and political processes simulated by the frontier, while Roosevelt emphasized that national growth and progress came from the West. Turner envisioned political problems that could befall America if cheap land resources were exhausted. Roosevelt saw a new, highly capable cohort of ruling elites growing out of the conquest of the frontier and leading America to new frontiers.<ref>Richard Slotkin, "Theodore Roosevelt's Frontier Hypothesis," ''European Contributions to American Studies'' 1989 16: 44-71</ref> | + | In ''The Winning of the West,'' a four-volume history of westward expansion, Roosevelt developed the thesis that the western experience shaped and created a new ethnic group or people (what he called a "race"), the true American people. His ideas helped shape the popular culture, especially since his own cowboy persona exemplified all the strengths of the new people. Meanwhile, Professor [[Frederick Jackson Turner]] developed his famous [[Frontier Thesis]], based in part on Roosevelt's ideas. Turner's views came to dominate professional historiography and shaped the teaching of history for a century–and is still influential in the 21st century. Roosevelt and Turner shared the view that the frontier was the most significant force in America's cultural and political development, but Turner stressed the complex social and political processes simulated by the frontier, while Roosevelt emphasized that national growth and progress came from the West. Turner envisioned political problems that could befall America if cheap land resources were exhausted. Roosevelt saw a new, highly capable cohort of ruling elites growing out of the conquest of the frontier and leading America to new frontiers.<ref>Richard Slotkin, "Theodore Roosevelt's Frontier Hypothesis," ''European Contributions to American Studies'' 1989 16: 44-71</ref> |
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| | ==Patriotism== | | ==Patriotism== |
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| | ==Bibliography== | | ==Bibliography== |
| | ===Surveys=== | | ===Surveys=== |
| − | * Buenker, John D. and Joseph Buenker, eds. ''Encyclopedia of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.'' (3 vol 2005), 1280pp; articles on all the major people, events and causes of Roosevelt’s era | + | * Buenker, John D. and Joseph Buenker, eds. ''Encyclopedia of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era.'' (3 vol 2005), 1280pp; articles on all the major people, events and causes of Roosevelt's era |
| | * Mowry, George. ''The Era of Theodore Roosevelt and the Birth of Modern America, 1900–1912.'' (1954) general survey of era | | * Mowry, George. ''The Era of Theodore Roosevelt and the Birth of Modern America, 1900–1912.'' (1954) general survey of era |
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