The function of our Government is to insure to all its citizens, now and hereafter, their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. If we of this generation destroy the resources from which our children would otherwise derive their livelihood, we reduce the capacity of our land to support a population, and so either degrade the standard of living or deprive the coming generations of their right to life on this continent. If we allow great industrial organizations to exercise unregulated control of the means of production and the necessaries of life, we deprive the Americans of to-day and of the future of industrial liberty, a right no less precious and vital than political freedom. –President Theodore Roosevelt to Congress, February 1909 The main topic of President Roosevelt’s letter is natural resources . According to Roosevelt, industrialization might threaten the standard of living in the future. Roosevelt recommends that the problem be solved through .