Question

The Hepburn Act, pushed through Congress by President Theodore Roosevelt, was significant in that it _______.

• A. strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission.
• B. created the U.S. Forest Service.
• C. empowered the Department of Agriculture to inspect meat.
• D. strengthened the Sherman Antitrust Act.
• E. made child labor illegal.

Answer 1

The correct option is A strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission.

This 1904 act, along with the 1903 Elkins Act, dealt with railroad regulation. Neither act went as far as some Progressives, such as Robert LaFollette, wanted, but they did strengthen the Interstate Commerce Commission. Theodore Roosevelt was closely linked with the environmental conservation movement. He expanded the acreage of the national forests, but the Forest Service had been created earlier (B). Meat inspection (C) was addressed in the Meat Inspection Act of 1906. The Clayton Antitrust Act (1914), passed during the Wilson administration, strengthened the Sherman Antitrust Act (D). Child labor (E) was addressed in the Keating-Owen Child Labor Act (1916), which was later struck down by the Supreme Court.