One of the things that Theodore Roosevelt tried to do,
both as a President, and later, as a presidential candidate, was to
define the role of the federal government. A big piece of the
puzzle was to determine the way that the federal government would
relate to big business, particularly big business serving a public
function. In Europe, many national governments chose to take
ownership of some businesses, particularly railroads and public
utilities. Roosevelt had a different take on the role of the
federal government of the United States.
What role did Roosevelt think was proper for the
federal government, and why?