The ‘Progressive’
Presidents
Theodore Roosevelt
And
Woodrow Wilson
The Other Roosevelt – “Teddy”
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Asst. Secretary of Navy
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Resigned to serve as Lt.
Colonel in Spanish-American
War (Rough Riders)
Governor of New York
Republican V.P to McKinley
(1900)
“Speak softly and carry a big
stick and you will go far”
The 1st Progressive President
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McKinley assassinated
(1901)
TR - 26th P.O.T.U.S.
Youngest at age of 42
Dynamic personality won
reform
Federal Government should
assume control when states
could not handle problems
President should be
“steward” of the people
Roosevelt’s ‘Square Deal’
Progressive Reforms
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Control of Corporations
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Curb the power of the corporations
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Elkins Acts (1903) & Hepburn Act (1906)
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Regulation on the railroads
Consumer Protection
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Intervened when strikes threaten public welfare
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“Trust-buster”: 44 anti-trust suits
Coal Strike (1902)
Meat Inspection Act: Required USDA Meat Inspection
Pure Food and Drug Act: Paved way for FDA
Conservation of Natural Resources
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Environmental Awareness: 148 mil. acres for Forest Preserves
William H. Taft
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Handpicked
successor by
Roosevelt
Never lived up to
‘Progressive’ tag –
restrained concept of
presidency
Best known as largest
president (350 Lbs)
Wilson’s Progressive Reforms
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Unrivaled reforms until FDR ‘New Deal’
Assault on the “Triple Wall of Privilege”
 Federal Reserve Act
 Central banking system of the U.S.
 Clayton Antitrust Act
 sought to prevent non-competitive practices
 Federal Trade Commission Act
 oversight committee to curb unfair business activities
 Sixteenth Amendment
 Levy of Federal Income Tax
The Progressive Era
Not a complete success
 Sparked new ideas and thinking
 Challenged traditional ideas
 Goals were contradictory due to different
schools of thought
 Federal Government still too influenced by
big business/industry
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