"They don't understand balance, not an ounce of it."
Theodore Roosevelt, thrust into the presidency after McKinley's assassination by an anarchist, had no love for corporations.
From the moment he took office, he waged war against monopolies.
The dissolution of trusts, the arbitration of the coal strike, enforcement of corporate audits, and the revival of the Sherman Antitrust Act were among his first actions.
For decades, laissez-faire economics had been sacred in America, but Roosevelt shattered that illusion, earning the people's unwavering support by striking at the heart of corporate greed.
"How goes the dismantling of Rockefeller's empire?" he asked.
"Nearly complete, Mr. President. His holdings have been fragmented into dozens of smaller entities."
Though Rockefeller's wealth remained intact, his empire's influence was gutted. It didn't matter. The Antitrust Act had been designed to cripple corporate overreach, and it was doing precisely that.
