He showed that the people were not as free to conduct whatever deeds they wanted and that the federal government was still in charge and that laws would have to be obeyed or people would be punished if they broke the laws. He also showed that the government will only meddle in such affairs reasonably and not be tyrannical.
This was shown through active confrontation with the people who thought they could do what they wanted. For example, during the progressive age Roosevelt engaged in breaking monopolies and trusts which didn't include physical violence but did include breaking unjust treatment of the country and exploitation of laws.
