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The presidency of Theodore Roosevelt started on September 14, 1901, when Theodore Roosevelt became the 26th president of the United States upon the assassination of President William McKinley, and ended on March 4, 1909. Roosevelt had been the vice president for only 194 days when he succeeded to the presidency. A Republican, he ran for and won by a landslide a four-year term in 1904. He was succeeded by his protégé and chosen successor, William Howard Taft. A Progressive reformer, Roosevelt earned a reputation as a "trust buster" through his regulatory reforms and antitrust prosecutions. His presidency saw the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act, which established the Food and Drug Administration to regulate food safety, and the Hepburn Act, which increased the regulatory power of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Roosevelt took care, however, to show that he did not disagree with trusts and capitalism in principle, but was only against monopolistic practices. His "Square Deal" included regulation of railroad rates and pure foods and drugs; he saw it as a fair deal for both the average citizen and the businessmen. Sympathetic to both business and labor, Roosevelt avoided labor strikes, most notably negotiating a settlement to the great Coal Strike of 1902. He vigorously promoted the conservation movement, emphasizing efficient use of natural resources. He dramatically expanded the system of national parks and national forests. After 1906, he moved to the left, denouncing the rich, attacking trusts, proposing a welfare state, and supporting labor unions. In foreign affairs, Roosevelt sought to uphold the Monroe Doctrine and to establish the United States as a strong naval power, he took charge of building the Panama Canal, which greatly increased access to the Pacific and increased American security interests and trade opportunities. He inherited the colonial empire acquired in the Spanish–American War (1898). He ended the United States Military Government in Cuba and committed to a long-term occupation of the Philippines. Much of his foreign policy focused on the threats posed by Japan in the Pacific and Germany in the Caribbean. Seeking to minimize European power in Latin America, he mediated the Venezuela Crisis and declared the Roosevelt Corollary. Roosevelt mediated the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), for which he won the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize. He pursued closer relations with Great Britain. Biographer William Harbaugh argues: In foreign affairs, Theodore Roosevelt’s legacy is judicious support of the national interest and promotion of world stability through the maintenance of a balance of power; creation or strengthening of international agencies, and resort to their use when practicable; and implicit resolve to use military force, if feasible, to foster legitimate American interests. In domestic affairs, it is the use of government to advance the public interest. "If on this new continent," he said, "we merely build another country of great but unjustly divided material prosperity, we shall have done nothing." Historian Thomas Bailey, who generally disagreed with Roosevelt's policies, nevertheless concluded, "Roosevelt was a great personality, a great activist, a great preacher of the moralities, a great controversialist, a great showman. He dominated his era as he dominated conversations...the masses loved him; he proved to be a great popular idol and a great vote-getter." His image stands alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln on Mount Rushmore. Although Roosevelt has been criticized by many for his imperialism stance, he is frequently ranked by historians among the top-five greatest U.S. presidents of all time. Accession Roosevelt served as assistant secretary of the navy and governor of New York before winning election as William McKinley's running mate in the 1900 presidential election. Roosevelt became president following the assassination of McKinley by anarchist Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, New York; Czolgosz shot McKinley on September 6, 1901, and McKinley died on September 14. Roosevelt was sworn into office on the day of McKinley's death at the Ansley Wilcox House in Buffalo. John R. Hazel, U.S. District Judge for the Western District of New York, administered the oath of office. At age 42, Roosevelt became the youngest president in U.S. history, a distinction he still retains. Roosevelt announced: It shall be my aim to continue, absolutely without variance, the policy of President McKinley, for the peace and honor of our beloved country. Roosevelt would later state that he came into office without any particular domestic policy goals. He broadly adhered to most Republican positions on economic issues, with the partial exception of the protective tariff. Roosevelt had stronger views on the particulars of his foreign policy, as he wanted the United States to assert itself as a great power in international relations. Administration Cabinet Anxious to ensure a smooth transition, Roosevelt convinced the members of McKinley's cabinet, most notably Secretary of State John Hay and Secretary of the Treasury Lyman J. Gage, to remain in office. Another holdover, Secretary of War Elihu Root, had been a Roosevelt confidante for years, and he continued to serve as President Roosevelt's close ally. Attorney General Philander C. Knox, who McKinley had appointed in early 1901, also emerged as a powerful force within the Roosevelt administration. McKinley's personal secretary, George B. Cortelyou, remained in place. Once Congress began its session in December 1901, Roosevelt replaced Gage with L. M. Shaw and appointed Henry C. Payne as Postmaster General, earning the approval of powerful Senators William B. Allison and John Coit Spooner. He replaced Secretary of the Navy John D. Long, with Congressman William H. Moody. In 1903, Roosevelt named Cortelyou as the first head of the Department of Commerce and Labor, and William Loeb Jr. became Roosevelt's secretary. Root returned to the private sector in 1904 and was replaced by William Howard Taft, who had previously served as the governor-general of the Philippines. Knox accepted appointment to the Senate in 1904 and was replaced by William Moody, who in turn was succeeded as attorney general by Charles Joseph Bonaparte in 1906. After Hay's death in 1905, Roosevelt convinced Root to return to the Cabinet as Secretary of State, and Root remained in office until the final days of Roosevelt's tenure. In 1907, Roosevelt replaced Shaw with Cortelyou, while James R. Garfield became the new secretary of the interior. Press Corps Building on McKinley's innovative and effective use of the press, Roosevelt made the White House the center of national news every day, providing interviews and photo opportunities. Noticing the reporters huddled outside in the rain one day, he gave them their own room inside, effectively inventing the presidential press briefing. The grateful press, with un.... Discover the Abraham Lincoln Theodore Roosevelt Carl popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Abraham Lincoln Theodore Roosevelt Carl books.