1900
In this photograph, President Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) sits with the members of his executive cabinet. The year 1906, when this photograph was taken, was especially productive for the reform- minded administration. For example, Roosevelt signed the Hepburn Act, which increased federal regulation of such giant monopolies as John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company and J.P. Morgan’s Northern Securities Company. Previously, these companies and others had been fixing railroad shipping rates to their advantage. Roosevelt also signed the Pure Food and Drug Act, as well as the Meat Inspection Act, to provide basic levels of consumer protections. As president, he initiated many new conservation measures, including the Antiquities Act, which he ultimately used to designate eighteen new national monuments. Finally, Roosevelt was awarded the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize for his successful efforts the previous year to mediate an end to the Russo-Japanese War.