Progressive Era

Progressive Era

During the Progressive Era there was one man who put the United States back on track with his intelligence and dedication. This man was Theodore Roosevelt, the President of the United States. Teddy did three things that changed this era significantly. First, Teddy broke up the large railroad trust. The four big railroads in the Northwest were controlled by one holding company by the name of the Northern Securities Company. Since this company owned all the stock in the four major railroads it set all of the rates. Roosevelt sued the NSC under the Sherman Antitrust Act for having a monopoly. After he sued the railroad company he made all of the railroads controlled by four different people. This was important to the United States because it dropped the price to travel from one place to another. Second, Roosevelt set up the Meat Inspection Act. The Meat Inspection Act brought the following reforms to the processing of cattle, sheep, horses, swine and goats destined for human consumption. First, all animals were required to pass an inspection by the U.S. Drug Administration prior to slaughter. This would ensure that the animals would not have any disease that they could pass on to the humans. Second, all carcasses were subject to inspection at any time after the slaughtering. Third, cleanliness standards were established for slaughterhouses and processing plants. This was important