Explain and discuss how Wilson and Roosevelt changed the role of the Essay

Explain and discuss how Wilson and Roosevelt changed the role of the presidency in legislative initiatives and how they made the presidency more powerful during - Essay Example He used the Sherman Anti-trust Act of 1890 to do what no one before him had been able to accomplish: attacking the huge Northern Securities Company, which held a monopoly over railroads in the northwest. He filed dozens of antitrust suits ("The Sherman Antitrust Act"). Though his efforts were aggressive, he realized he needed a different tact to achieve widespread victory over the trusts. Roosevelt continued his legislative attack on the railroads with the Elkins Act, which made it illegal to give rebates to shippers who used particular railroads. In an act of huge significance, it also stated railroads could not change set rates without notifying the public ("The Elkins Act"). The Hepburn Act of 1906 regulated free railroad passes, which the companies passed out as a "perk" to those in Washington, DC, who could provide assistance to the causes of the railroads (Kubiszewski par. 1, 2). After reading Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, Roosevelt led Congress to enact the Meat Inspection Act (1906) to establish cleanliness standards and processing requirements for the meatpacking industry. The Pure Food and Drug Act (1906) followed, calling for truth in labeling of food and medical products ("Turn of the Century"). In what would be called a "green" law today, Roosevelt-initiated legislation also extended to conservation of natu