Federal Reforms
Theodore RooseveltTeddy, The Bull Moose, The Old Lion, The Great White Chief; Theodore Roosevelt had many nicknames. He was seen by many as The Trust Buster. He wanted big businesses or "trusts" to charge fair prices on their goods or services. He wanted businesses to be equal for competition so that small business could be competitive. Because of this, he set forth the Hepburn Act, which puts regulations on the railways; and the Anti-Trust Acts.
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More on Theodore RooseveltNot only did Teddy pass the Anti-Trust Act, but he also passed the Pure Food and Drug Act along with the Meat Inspection Act. This provided better health and sanitation, for the consumers. He also signed for the New Lands Reclamation Act, which regulates water. It gave pure water around the nation. Additionally, it provided for the development of energy resources, like The Hoover Dam in Colorado.
Keating-Owen Labor Act of 1916The Keating-Owen Child Labor Act of 1916 outlawed child labor in manufacturing (aka Wicks Bill) by prohibiting the sale in interstate commerce goods by factories that employed children under 14. Children now can not work at night or more than 8 hours a day. The basis for the action was the constitutional clause giving congress the task of regulating interstate commerce.
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Newlands Reclimation Act (1902)The Newlands reclamation act was authored by Francis G. Newlands from Nevada. This act funded irrigation projects for the arid lands, in Western America. It brought water, and irrigation to areas that had dry climate such as Nevada. This encouraged agriculture and population, and economic growth to areas that before could not even accommodate life.
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Elking Act (1903)The Elkins Act of 1903 was named for Senator Stephen B. Elkins of West Virginia. This piece of legislation was championed by the Pennsylvania Railroad as a way to end the practice of rebates. Rebates were refunds to businesses which shipped large quantities on the railroads, and many railroad companies disliked it. The Elkins Act tried to get rid of the trusts, giving Theodore Roosevelt the nickname, "Trust-Buster"(http://www.nps.gov/history/logcabin/html/tr3.html)
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Pure Food and Drug Act (1906/1911)The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 was signed by Theodore Roosevelt. He and many others where appalled by the food industry described by Upton Sinclare, in the works of "The Jungle". The Pure Food and Drug Act was also signed with the Federal Meat Inspection Act. These two acts are very important for both the consumers health, and just knowing what they are purchasing with the introduction of food labels. The Pure Food and Drug Act also helped save people's lives, because of the cleaner medicine and sanitary environments in which these are presented in.
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Meat Inspection Act (1906)The Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906 (FMIA) is a United States Congress Act that works to prevent adulterated or misbranded meat and meat products from being sold as food and to ensure that meat and meat products are slaughtered and processed under sanitary conditions. These requirements also apply to imported meat products, which must be inspected under equivalent foreign standards. USDA inspection of poultry was added by the Poultry Products Inspection Act of 1957. The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act authorizes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to provide inspection services for all livestock and poultry species not listed in the FMIA or PPIA, including venison and buffalo. The Agricultural Marketing Act authorizes the USDA to offer voluntary, fee-for-service inspection services for these same species.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Meat_Inspection_Act)
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Anti Trust Acts
Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890)In 1906 the Sherman Anti-Trust Act introduced by John Sherman proposed to check out corporations and trusts who were in violations of the law. This law outlawed monopolies, and practices that restrained trade such as price fixing.
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Clayton Anti-Trust Act (1914)In 1914 the Clayton Anti-Trust Act introduced by Henry De Lamar Clayton Jr. He wanted to stop trusts from being unfair to consumers, so he proposed to stop unfair competition among businesses. This strengthened the Sherman Anti-Trust Act by spelling out specific activities businesses could not do.
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Other
Federal Reserve Act (1913)Who owns the Federal Reserve System? Really it isn't "Owned" by anyone, it is not a private entity, or a profit-making institution. (Who owns) What the federal reserve does is to provide the establishment of federal banks to furnish an elastic currency, or in laymen's terms print money. This was started in 1913 and today only 12 federal banks do this. According to investopdia "Prior to 1913, panics were common occurrences, investors were unsure about the safety of their despots. The act gave banks the ability to print money to ensure economic stability" (investopdia)
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Federal Trade Act (1914)The Federal Trade Act was established by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914, the commission was authorized to issue "cease and desist" orders to large corporations to stop unfair trade practices (Sherman Act). Wilson wanted to create this because the monopolies were a major concern to the consumer, and also to small businesses.
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