The Progressive Movement that occurred during the early 20th century was a time of major reform in the United States of America. During this time, there was a group of activists that referred to themselves as the Progressives, and they sought to change society for the people. The way that they intended to do this was change through their ideals of democracy, efficiency, regulation, and social justice. With this movement came the election that changed the course of America’s history “…demonstrating a victory for progressive reforms as both Progressive candidates accounted for 75 percent of all the votes” (Bowles). The candidates in this election were Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. While both of these men considered themselves to be part of the progressives and shared some similar opinions, they also differed from each other greatly and were apparent in their views during this time. These two candidates believed strongly that rising power should come with the presidency, economic improvement, opposition of monopolistic businesses, and they both advocated steering away from the isolationism that the country once upheld. The campaigns of the two men spoke of New Nationalism and New Freedom, and the two campaigns had some commonality between the two of them. Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson both expressed their concerns about the wrongs of corruption and what roles could be served by increased government control and regulation over businesses. This was apparent with Wilson’s platform of New Freedom, which called for “tariff reform, creation of the federal reserve, and antitrust laws” (Bowles). In an article from The Diplomat, James Holmes pointed out major commonality between our Warrior and Priest presidents: Both wr... ... middle of paper ... ...ples rather than the selfish materialism that they believed had animated their predecessors’ programs”(millercenter.org, n.d.). While Roosevelt believed more in the philosophy of “Speak softly and carry a big stick”, Wilson hoped “to cultivate the friendship and deserve the confidence of the Latin American states” (millercenter.org, n.d.). Given these similarities and differences between these two Progressive presidents, it is easy to see how the idea of “Progress” and Progressivism can mean so many different things, while still encompassing the same general set of ideas and principles. Both men aimed to improve the American economy in a time when corporate monopolization was rampant, however, they both set out to achieve the heavier regulation of corporate monopolies in different ways. Two progressive thinkers, two completely different ways of achieving progress.
But if there is one thing to say about both men, that they equally accomplished even though both did it different ways and by different means, is that they worked with Congress flawlessly. Both had the undivided support of their Congress in their actions. Whether it be leading Conservatives supporting Reagan and his foreign policy or Roosevelt when it came down to making changes in policies to better the public, they had the full support of those behind them. Both men seemed to be extremely charismatic when it came to this. It was almost as if that instead of choosing their Cabinets, they had managed to pick their Congress.
His goal of unlimited coinage of silver gained the support of the Populist Party, uncovered injustices, which educated people.... ... middle of paper ... ... President Roosevelt called for a New Nationalism where more government regulation of business and unions, women’s suffrage and more social welfare programs. Progressivism focused on eliminating practices harmful to farmers, workers, tenement dwellers, and consumers by expanding government regulation over the economy. They wanted government to help make it easier for people to have more control over their lives.
...reased under Hoover. Similarly, it underwent erratic fluctuations under Roosevelt as well; increasing, decreasing but one evident trend is that despite the efforts by both men, the total public debt continued to increase. Neither economic policy truly “worked.” The difference though was in the delivery. Hoover advocates a change in economy by forcing large corporations to act with “glass pockets” to expose any unethical tactics they might employ. He does not resolve to make any significant government changes but merely more regulations on those corporations directly contributing to the economy. By this, Hoover shows his conservatism. Roosevelt, on the other hand (Doc G), identifies “the most serious threat to our institutions” to be coming from “those who refuse to face the need for change.” He goes on to identify that willingness as both conservative and liberal.
...n and defeated, Wilson believed firmly that his vision of America leading a world community of nations would eventually be embraced by the American people. Twenty-five years later, the United Nations built its headquarters in New York, a tangible symbol of the bipartisan support that Wilsonian ideals had gained after a second world war. But Wilson's legacy was not confined to foreign policy. His progressive domestic programs helped stabilize and humanize a huge industrial system, and his success in making the presidency the intellectual and political leader of the American government enabled the United States to deal effectively with the challenges and threats of the modern world. But don't forget the credit of Roosevelt's "New Imperialism", it became the hallmark of American foreign policy in the new century, positioning America as the leader of the western alliance.
In the late 1800’s a group of Americans decided that something needed to be done about the decline of moral and ethical values in most Americans. These people called themselves the progressives and started one of the most comprehensive reform movements in the United States to this day. Progressivism became so widespread that by the end of World War I, anyone who didn’t agree with Progressive ideals was labeled a communist. The Progressives had four major goals that they wished to accomplish. These four goals were to democratize America, to Americanize America, the humanization of capitalism and rationalization of the economy. Each goal dealt with a different aspect of America’s society that the Progressives thought needed help. The way these goals were accomplished was to get laws passed that would reform the practices of many Americans. Progressives held that in order to bring American back to its old time, rural values people would need to attend church more.
...y new ideas, presidents after him felt they had a lot to live up to. Franklin D. Roosevelt “cast a long shadow on successors” with his New Deal program. Conservatives were constantly worried about the loss of their capitalist economy, but it is possible that Roosevelt’s greatest New Deal achievement is the fact he never allowed America to completely abandon democracy or turn to socialism or communism. Many New Deal programs fixed economic problems but did not completely solve social ones surrounding equality and discrimination. New Deal programs took radical steps while moving toward government regulation and intervention causing conservatives to fear concentrated power, but the steps and transformations Roosevelt made while in office preserved conservatives’ need of capitalism and democracy in government, defining the New Deal as both radical and conservative.
Within the period of 1900-1920, many national reforms were rising to the top as Progressive Era reformers and the federal government heard the voices of the people. The effectiveness of Progressivism is a controversial subject for some, but the future was changed through the events of any actions a president made, the rights of people, and unfair treatment and conditions. This era brings changes to our society that also changes the future of it. These two decades brought forth successful times in bettering America.
A progressive president is one that modernized the United States in a way that brought them to a new level. They used new styles of the presidency that helped them get the job done, like addressing the people of the country and letting them know what is going on.. These presidents had to walk the fence in many cases. By this I mean be on the people or consumers side and also had to be on the big business' side. In the early 1900's the position of the presidency took a turn towards modernism.
Along with reforms by citizens the presidents of the Progressive era also fought to make things right. President Roosevelt was a war hero, and a great leader of the United States. During his role as...
Industrialization led to the rise of big businesses at the expense of the worker. Factory laborers faced long hours, low wages, and unsanitary conditions. The large corporations protected themselves by allying with political parties. The parties, in turn, were controlled by party leaders, rather than by the members. Many people felt that all power rested with the politicians and businessmen. Reformers known as Progressives attempted to undo the problems caused by industrialization. The Progressive movement sought to end the influence of large corporations, provide more rights and benefits to workers, and end the control possessed by party leaders. At the national level, Progressivism centered on defeating the power of large businesses. The Progressive Era was a period in American history in which improving working conditions, exposing corruption, improving the way of life, expanding democracy, and making reforms were the objectives at hand. With the emergence of the Progressive Era two important figures gradually emerged as well. One of the mentioned figures, President Theodore Roosevelt, succeeded to the Presidency when President McKinley was assassinated in 1901, helped the Progressive movement greatly. Another figure, although a Democrat is Woodrow Wilson who much like Roosevelt still pushed for progressive reforms. Each of the mentioned figures did their share in re-establishing a “fair” government that would work for the people and not for the large corporations and mon...
I believe that "New Freedom" and "New Nationalism" can be compatible because they share similar qualities but also could not be compatible for the reason that their ideas on how to run the country are different. "New Nationalism" states that putting individual needs ahead of the nations needs is wrong, which a point the two speeches have in common. Another similar point "New Nationalism" and "New Freedom" share is that both candidates show familiar judgment in without huge corporations there would less of a gap between the rich and the poor. Also without this gap of the rich and poor, our nation would be better as a whole. "New Nationalism" acknowledged that monopolies and trusts are acceptable as long as they are being of service to the people. "New Freedom" motioned that the nation should discharge all monopolies so that there would be less need for government interference. Wilson accredited this because he believes that monopolies are shown to be secured by government and can essentially control the regime because of all the money they give.
In conclusion, Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson were very different people who held different beliefs on America, but nonetheless, these two men gave their all in making America a better place. Without these two leaders, America could have been a very different place today. Who knows, I might have been writing this paper in German had it not been for them.
Thesis The Progressive Era and the New Deal Era had a significant amount of similarities with policies and programs to reform the American society and improve lives and fight poverty in America. Although the Progressive and New Deal Era had many similarities, there were still differences between them. Both the Progressive and the New Deal Era’s main goal was to improve American society. Both of the Progressive and New Deal’s accomplishments were rooted in the economic depression and the need for change before the era, the Guilded age in the 19th century for the Progressive era, and the Great Depression for the New Deal era. As the Guilded Age was ending, and the Progressive Era was emerging, most American families had to live with the harsh reality of sweatshops, slums, child labor, corruption in government and businesses, disease, and racial prejudice.
After Theodore Roosevelt was elected as president in the election of 1904, TR immediately brought new excitement into the office. Theodore Roosevelt was ultimately known for his progressive reforms and his foreign policies; he adopted the idea that foreign policy is a main priority and that shifts and changes in industry and foreign trade will lead to social and political changes within the nation. With this idea, it is significant to understand that T. Roosevelt believed that if American citizens abuse focus on our industry, the nation and government will collapse and will not be benefitting in terms of welfare and foreign relations. He expresses this idea when he states, “tremendous changes wrought by the extraordinary industrial development of the last half century are felt in every fiber of our social and political being (T. Roosevelt, 1905). This idea that foreign policy is somewhat more important than domestic policies is very different when compared to president Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR is known to believe that foreign policies should come after domestic growth, and that Americans cannot progress and become better in foreign policies when citizens are still struggling with themselves domestically. Unlike Theodore Roosevelt, FDR believes that if necessary, the United States should go to war in order to protect themselves and their ground. Theodore Roosevelt had the idea that war was unnecessary and believed in peace, so this idea was very different from that of his family. In his Inaugural Address, FDR states, “I shall ask Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis -- broad Executive power to wage a war against the emergency,...” (F.D. Roosevelt, 1933). With the idea that war