The Progressive Presidents– Roosevelt, Taft and Wilson

Roosevelt’s Square Deal When Roosevelt took office after the assassination of William McKinley, it was the worst nightmare for the Republican Party. Roosevelt had previously served as governor of New York. Because of his Progressive policies (ones that hurt big business), major Republicans pushed for McKinley to select Roosevelt as his vice-president in an attempt to curb his power and influence. When he became president, he started pushing his Progressive reforms in his program known as the Square Deal. The goals of this program were to keep the wealthy and powerful from taking advantage of small business owners and the poor. The name was derived from the following quote: When I say I believe in a square deal, I do not mean to give every man the best hand. If good cards do not come to any man, or if they do come and he has not the power to play them, that is his affair. All I mean is there shall be no crookedness in the deal.”  

Trustbusting and Regulating Industry  Roosevelt was not afraid to use the power of the federal government when he felt it was necessary. In one incident, Pennsylvania coal miners went on strike for a pay raise and shorter workday. Though Roosevelt sympathized with the miners, he recognized that a strike would hurt the American public the most. He arranged a sit down between labor and management, and when that failed, he threatened to send in federal troops to work in the mines. This led to a small pay raise and 9-hour days for the workers. After the event, Roosevelt established the Department of Labor and Commerce to monitor interstate commerce.

Trustbusting and Regulating Industry Roosevelt increased government regulation of railroads by passing the Hepburn and Elkins Act. Soon, Roosevelt gained a reputation as a ‘trustbuster’. However, he distinguished between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ trusts. A trust could be ‘good’ because of its greater efficiency. However, it could also be ‘bad’ when it bullied smaller companies or cheated consumers. Roosevelt made food and other consumables safer by passing the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act. Passed in response to Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, it helped lead to the formation of the modern-day Food and Drug Administration which enforces the two acts.

Managing the Environment Roosevelt had always had a deep respect for nature, and this had a large impact on his policies while president. There were two naturalists whom Roosevelt relied heavily on to influence his policies. John Muir believed in the idea of preservation, which meant that the wilderness should remain untouched. Gifford Pinchot, however, believed in the idea of conservation, which meant that natural resources should be protected until they could be utilized for the public good. Roosevelt also helped push legislation to irrigate the Southwest with the passage of the National Reclamation Act.

Taft Becomes President After two terms, Roosevelt’s influence helped him to select the next president, William H. Taft, whom he believed shared his ideas. He passed two main pieces of legislation: Payne-Aldrich Act lowered tariff rates, though minimally compared to what the Progressives wanted. Mann-Elkins Act gave the government control of telephone and telegraph rates. Taft differed from Roosevelt in the belief in the ‘rule of reason’ regarding trusts, which weakened the power of anti-trust legislation.

The Election of 1912 In the election of 1912, there were three candidates:  William Taft– Republican Party Theodore Roosevelt– Progressive (“Bull Moose”) Party Woodrow Wilson– Democratic Party The Republican Party was effectively split. The more Progressive-minded Republicans voted for Roosevelt, while Taft had the support of big business. A divided Republican Party opened up the door to let a united Democratic Party win the presidency.  

Progressivism’s Lasting Legacy The Progressive Era witnessed many changes in almost every facet of American society. In regards to politics, changes occurred regarding election rules and who was eligible to vote (women); Economically, regulation of big business through the establishment of gov. agencies and legislation remains to this day; Improvement in both work and housing conditions bettered the standard of living for poor workers. When Wilson took office, he wanted to reignite the progressive legislation that Roosevelt had begun, and Taft had since weakened. His collective goals were known as the New Freedom because he wanted to provide new opportunities (freedom) for small businesses. He would accomplish this by putting in place strict government controls on corporations.