Progressives a re t hose who g radually d evelop s omething in s tages o r steps. T hese a re
the people t hat w ere t rying t o eliminate g overnmental corruption. These p eople i nclude presidents
Roosevelt, T aft, a nd Wilson, a longside Wisconsin g overnor Robert M . L a F ollette. H ow c an w e
name a ll o f t hese influential male r eformers w hen t he w omen had s uch a strong hand i n this
movement that s wept a cross the n ation l ike a w ildfire. Social a ctivists s uch as Susan B . A nthony
and J ane Addams f ought f or t heir f eminine r ights a nd s ay. P rogressives h ad s et the stage f or
possibly one o f t he most p owerful movements in A merican h istory.
Ideas:
● Labor
● Equality
● Political r eforms
● Graduated i ncome tax
● Women’s Suffrage
Accomplishments:
● Poverty reduction (Graduated i ncome t ax)
● Women’s Suffrage
● Controlled i mmigration
● Worker’s c ompensation
● Power of c orporate interests a nd p olitical m achines broken u p
Failures:
● Minority groups ignored
● Government commissions were c orrupt, no m atter how many people there were
● Over regulation h urts b usinesses
● Boss r ule r emains
TR:
Following the assassination o f P resident McKinley, vicepresident, Republican, and
Progressive Theodore Roosevelt takes office in 1901. T his first s elf proclaimed “bullmoose”
president sets the stage for presidents t o c ome. In t he past, the nation’s leaders had peered i nto
the t unnel t hat t hey d eemed t he Constitution; they only did w hat t he C onstitution s aid they c ould.
This is b y no means wrong, but Roosevelt d ecides to t ake it t o a different p erspective. He l ooked
at what our c ountry w as founded upon a nd h e saw a large field, outsides trimmed with white
picket f ences. The o nly restrictions that w ere p laced on him were what the Constitution stated he
could n ot do. C orrespondingly, our y oungest national leader at 42, had many different views o n
how h e w ould a ct a s p resident. He brought his p rogressive ideas t o t he table a nd turned i t a round.
● Trustbuster
Teddy R oosevelt k new that m any trusts were c orrupt a nd exploited workers, but n ot a ll
trusts a re b ad. His legacy a s a “ trustbuster” is partially inaccurate because t his t itle implies t hat he
destroyed a ll t rusts, which i s f alse. Roosevelt b roke a part t he bad t rusts and r egulated/monitored
the good trusts. F rom 1 9011908, 44 t rusts had been broken due to R oosevelt and h is b eliefs.
● People
The S quare Deal was introduced b y Roosevelt and i t is t he agreement between t he
businesses and the c onsumers a nd workers. This deal took t he p ower away f rom those t hat h eld
Congress i n t he palm of t heir h and, therefore g iving some power b ack to the working p eople. O ur
youngest p resident i s the p resident t hat t ruly t ries to g ives rights t o t he working force e ver s ince
the Industrial Age had begun. He c hanged the r ole o f the g overnment a nd its r elationship w ith t he
people it g overned.
● Conservation
While fighting a s t he l ieutenant colonel o f t he Rough R iders Regiment during t he
SpanishAmerican War, T heodore R oosevelt r ode f ar a nd w ide a cross the countryside. While
volunteer s erving in the army, h e s aw t hat t he p lains h ad b een overgrazed and t he e nvironment
had been d estroyed, thus he spent his p residency endlessly adding t o f orests, r eserved lands for
public u se instead o f l osing them t o p rivate property, a nd and i ssuing t he National Reclamation
Act. This act uses the m oney from t he s ale of p ublic dams t o fuel this irrigation project. Theodore’s
progressive a genda p rompted many t o fight for their o wn b eliefs.
Taft:
Instead of r unning for a third term, President Roosevelt decides to s tep d own f rom t he
presidential p osition with due r espect to W ashington’s l ead a nd a ppoints W illiam Howard T aft to
be the nation’s n ext leader. Taft, i naugurated M arch o f 1909, h ad some big s hoes t o f ill. A s a self
proclaimed p rogressive, T aft had b een j ust short of f illing Teddy’s s hoes. T he footsteps h ad b een
followed, but T aft s aw the p ath a t ouch d ifferently. Taft t ook Roosevelt’s progressive table, a dmired
the w ork, t hen flipped i t u pside down.
● Equality
Though Taft i dentifies as a p rogressive, h is a ctions show o therwise. O ne o f the main p arts
of the P rogressive M ovement includes equality, racial and economic; Taft helps neither. To start
with, T aft i s the f irst president t o completely s egregate t he White House. T his goes c ompletely
against the equality p ortion o f t his m onumental movement. Secondly, Taft h ad s et into place t he
PayneAldrich T ariff, w hich moderates the high r ates o f the A ldrich B ill. T he Aldrich Bill m ade
fewer cuts and increased m any r ates of t he citizens. T his h ad a ngered many A mericans, a nd
especially P rogressives b ecause the s ocial classes we s till greatly s plit.
● Conservation
Breaking R oosevelt’s progressive table, T aft h ad distributed t he public lands t o t he highest
bidder. The very l ands that Roosevelt had conserved so they c ould renew themselves b ack to
their f ormer l uscious g reen. Instead o f t he lands being in conservationist c ontrol, t hey were s old to
the public. T his went against one of R oosevelt’s b iggest beliefs, and t he Bullmoose p arty h ad a
problem with T aft’s n ot P rogressive actions.
● Trusts
Everyone pins Roosevelt as the “ trustbuster,” but Taft had t ore a part f ar more trusts than
Trustbuster T eddy e ver d id. Totalling around 9 0 t rusts, Taft believes all t rusts to b e b ad, a nd this
action o f h is is hurting t he i ndustries due t o over regulation. T here i s n o differentiation i n T aft’s
eyes, o nly the bad. O ur 27th president h ad n ot a dequately filled the shoes of the youngest
American p resident y et.
Wilson:
Elected i n 1 912, D emocrat Woodrow W ilson s lips into his presidency d ue t o the d ivision in
the Republican p arty a s Taft a nd Roosevelt quarreled a bout. W ith o nly 42% of the p opular v ote,
Wilson t akes office, j ust t he electoral college a nd less t han half of America b acking him, a nd that’s
rough. This least f avored c andidate serves t he u sual t wo four year terms a s m any p residents do,
and wins o ver the h earts of m any of the progressives, but n ot a ll. B rilliant Wilson, who l ead the
fight f or p eace d uring WWI, r efused t o fight f or m inority s ocial justice w ithin h is own c ountry.
Wilson sees h igh c ement w alls s urrounding t he f ield when R oosevelt saw o nly t he picket fences.
He is u sing a g lue stick to fix the P rogressive t able b uilt by Roosevelt b ut s mashed b y Taft. He
seeks t o m ake A merica m ore e qual, b ut only goes a bout it financially, which a ngers m any
Americans. W ith W ilson a nd t he end of h is term, t he Progressive E ra comes to a close.
● New Freedom
Wilson’s New F reedom policy calls f or a s maller g overnment. This p olicy g ives s tates m ore
rights t o do a s they s ee fit, mainly i n social justice m atters. D uring his p residential c ampaign in
1912, W ilson h ad p romised t he m inority g roups t hat h e w ould give t hem c ivil r ights and equality,
but w ith t he New Freedom p olice, h e did no s uch thing. S tates had the r ight t o turn the other w ay
while d ealing with t he m atters o f lynching or d iscrimination. T his is n ot w hat he h ad promised us
Americans, b ut I d igress. Along w ith these state r ights, W ilson’s policy r egulated trusts, b ut i n a
different w ay than T aft. I nstead of destroying t rusts as p revious p resident Taft d id, W ilson s ought
to r egulate w hat was left o f t he trusts a s R oosevelt d id.
● Tariffs
For t he f irst t ime in sixteen years, tariffs had b een revised d ownward. W ilson h ad w on h is
first v ictory due to the p assage o f t he U nderwoodSimmons Tariff. This tariff was put into place
especially because the 16th A mendment h ad r ecently been p assed a llowing Congress t o c ollect
income t ax. The n ew g raduated income t ax is bringing the g overnment much m ore m oney than
the t ariffs e ver h ad, t herefore t here i sn’t m uch m ore of a n eed to t ax us citizens so greatly o n
imports a nd e xports.
● Equality
During h is c ampaign in 1 912, D emocrat c andidate Woodrow W ilson had p romised
America t hat he w ould give and e nforce more c ivil r ights to m inority g roups. Once he w as e lected,
he did no such thing. President W ilson, w ho won o ver t he support o f t he N ational Association for
the Advancement o f Colored P eople (NAACP), then states that s ocial justice is a m atter of state
and t hat the national government has n o p art in such t hings. M any a rgue that t he g lue stick just
won’t w ork f or this table, b ut W ilson had already brought o ut t he n ails t o fix t he progressive t able.
Court C ases/ Amendments
● Income Taxes
Ratifies F ebruary 3, 1 913, t he 1 6th A mendment passes, g iving Congress t he r ight t o
collect income taxes. The tax i s a graduated o ne, m eaning that t he m ore y ou make, t he m ore t he
government collects. So f ar, the economic s tatus o f America has i mproved d ue t o this i nstead of
the t ariffs t hat were placed e xtraneously upon America.
● Prohibition
The 18th Amendment prohibits the s ale, manufacture, a nd transport o f alcoholic
beverages, hence i t is dubbed “Prohibition.” E nacted on J anuary 17th, 1920, this amendment
enraged and s till enrages many Americans, but t he w omen remain happy and satisfied. T here i s
less alcohol i n circulation; therefore less husbands violently coming home i ntoxicated. Let’s h ope
this amendment i s never repealed.
● Women Suffrage
Ladies, y our p rayers a nd p rotests have paid o ff. The 1 9th Amendment h as j ust been
passed l ast month g iving a ll women t he r ight t o v ote. Y ou w ill not be a rrested i f you go a nd t ry to
have a s ay in w ho i s your next n ation’s l eader. Get t hinking n ow l adies, because the E lection of
1920 i s right a round the corner!
The Jungle
Upton S inclair’s book, T he J ungle, i s a dramatic a nd d eeply m oving story t hat exposed the
horrible, b rutal conditions i n Chicago’s stockyards only t wenty y ears ago. I t s harpes t he m oral
focus f or u s about h ow astonishing the o dds a re against immigrants a nd o thers w ho want to w ork
or their d windling portion o f t he American Dream. F ollowing a Lithuanian f amily, we see the
horrors t hat are b ehind the c losed doors of t he meat p acking i ndustry. Dominated b y a society that
circles around wealth and g reed, at the e xpense o f m any, i ndividuals and f amilies f all a part. Is
there s till hope?
Upton S inclair’s n ovel w as read by the one a nd o nly President Theodore R oosevelt, w ho
then passed t he M eat Inspection A ct and t he Pure F ood and D rug Act d ue t o t he a trocities he had
read about. This s tory w ill t ug at t he s trings of y our h eart and k eep y ou enthralled u ntil t he l ast
word. If the b ook hasn’t b een c lutched i n y our h ands, I’d h ighly recommend you d o a s q uickly a s
possible. It i s a must r ead.