Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States of America serving between 1901 and 1909. Roosevelt succeeded as President after the assassination of then President William McKinley . President Roosevelt was among the most visible progressives of his time because of his ability to manage domestic and foreign affairs with monumental results by expanding the executive branch of government. corruption and big business. He developed a program called the Square Deal for the American people to raise their standard of living and to give control to dominant trusts or large corporations. Trusts were technically not legal under the Sherman Act 1890. Attempt to combine corporate interests to create a monopoly on particular products and eliminate competition. The main points of the Square Deal were to evaluate problems related to economic consolidation to identify which companies were good or bad. Most companies attacked him and called him a socialist, but he passionately disapproved of the accusations and even the tenets of Marxism. In truth, he never despised large corporations, but he found that trusts had in one way or another improved the standard of living of nearly all Americans in the last half of the nineteenth century. However, he never liked power trusts because the American people had very little control over them. However, he did not feel comfortable giving workers too much power. Square Deal policies sought to balance the two. His first act and test of executive branch expansion was during the Great Anthracite Coal Strike, when eastern miners...... middle of paper......c structures and other objects of historical interest or scientific federally owned as national monuments. National parks were established in conjunction with the National Forest Service throughout the United States for conservation and recreation purposes. These actions met with opposition from Western settlers and members of Congress who intended to use the set aside land, but also from Indians who were forced to stop hunting and fishing. However, settlers were happy with the Reclamation Act of 1902 which set aside funds to irrigate unlivable and previously barren pieces of land. The expansion of the executive branch's influence proved successful for Roosevelt and future presidents. President Nixon during Vietnam, President Regan during the Cold War, and President Obama were all able to exert a unique influence that began largely during President Roosevelt's presidency.