In that same year the pure food and drug act was passed which prohibited the selling of dangerous medicines and impure foods. Along with that, the Meat Inspection Act was passed and it helped eliminate diseases caused by meat because it enforced sanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry. However, Roosevelt’s greatest success was in the conservation of the environment. The Newlands Act was passed which created a way for government to irrigate deserts. Roosevelt became an admired public figure because of his involvement in reforming society.
Unlike President Roosevelt, President Wilson believed that every single monopolistic business was bad because it disrupted the economy and must be abolished as a result, so he worked towards “busting trusts. ” Wilson’s reform program, New Freedom, sought to attack what Wilson called the Triple Wall of Privilege – the tariff, banks, and trusts. After it passed, the Underwood-Simmons Bill reduced tariff rates substantial enough to bring real competition to America which helped break the power of the trusts. The Federal Reserve act was happily signed by Wilson and it directly affected the amount of currency circulation.
Related article: Jamestown and Plymouth Compare and ContrastThe Federal Trade Commission Act created an authoritative agency that helped businesses become decorous in the eyes of government. The Clayton Anti-Trust Act used the Sherman Act to name certain business acts illegal. Wilson’s New Freedom was the brand of activism and progressivism that he brought to the national level that was different from others. Both Roosevelt and Wilson held leadership qualities like no other and had strong views for America although they were completely different in their approaches for changing America itself.