Similarities Between Roosevelt And Wilson

In the early nineteenth century during the Progressive Era, three significant reformers shared the same goal: rid their government of corruption. From order of office, the three reformers were President Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson, often referred to as the “Progressive Presidents”. Without a doubt, these men differ in backgrounds, social classes, interests, and ultimately, their goals; all in which we will focus in on two presidents: Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.

President Theodore Roosevelt was sworn into office on September 14, 1901, eight days after the assassination of President William Mckinley. Roosevelt came from a prominent family. He graduated from Harvard University and instantly won a seat

as a Republican New York assemblyman. However, as the reformer he was, he left politics in mid-1880s due to his party’s opposition to reform. Returning back east, he won appointments as a U.S. Civil Service commissioner, head of the New York City Police Commission, and McKinley’s assistant secretary of the navy, and after serving in the War of 1898, was elected as New York’s governor. From all this, Roosevelt learned about the problems America faced at municipal, state, and federal levels. Then, Republican bosses chose Roosevelt to go against McKinley, but Teddy still ended up in the White House, calling for a vigorous reform, representing a major shift for Republicans.
On the other hand, there was Woodrow Wilson.

He was a Virginian-born New Jersey governor, who happened to have much in common with Teddy Roosevelt. Wilson compiled a magnificent reform record, which includes a passage of a direct primary, workers’ compensation, and utility regulation. Then, winning the Democrats’ vote in 1912, he possessed the moral certainty that characterized many elite progressives. Now, his goals were less persuasive than Roosevelt’s, and only gradually ingrained a reform program called New Freedom. He forewarned, “If America is not to have free enterprise, then she can have freedom of no sort whatever.” Then he claimed Roosevelt’s program represented collectivism, while his preserved political and economic liberty. But, President Roosevelt was really all large-scale enterprises, but he wished to identify and punish “malefactors of great wealth” who abused their power. He even helped re-enforce acts such as the Interstate Commerce Act and the Sherman Antitrust Act. Then, in 1910, he called for a New Nationalism. He argued private property had to be controlled “to whatever degree the public welfare may require it.” Roosevelt and Wilson will be enlightened on other reformers and thoughts, all affecting the election of

1912.
Other reformers like Robert M.

La Follette and W. E. B. Du Bois contributed in shaping America. La Follotte proposed an idea called the Wisconsin Idea, where greater government intervention in the economy, with reliance on experts, particularly progressive economists, for policy recommendations. He even gained the ability to allow Wisconsin citizens the right of recall and referendum. Then, in 1907, reformers created the National Child Labor Committee to emphasis labor conditions for women and children, with the creation of the Muller v. Oregon– upheld Oregon law limiting women’s workday to ten hours– the following year. But, that was not their only concern, reformers like Du Bois was focused more on Civil Rights. Du Bois called for a talented tenth of educated black to develop new strategies, which will be led into the creation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909. Over the coming decades, these groups grew into a powerful force for racial justice. But, towards the election of 1912, labor issues moved up on the nation’s

agenda.
The election of 1912 had four candidates– Taft, Roosevelt, Wilson, and Debs. Democrats managed to have a blind spot on their opposition to African American rights, and Republicans also evidently failed to end segregation or pass antilynching laws. The high hopes African American leaders had for the Progressive Party were soon crushed when the new party refused to seat southern black delegates or take a stand for racial equality. After considering Deb, Du Bois voted for Woodrow Wilson, along with thousands of other African Americans in hopes the Democrats’ reform energy would benefit Americans across racial lines. Pulling with only forty two percent of the popular vote, Wilson won. He launched a Democratic program of economic and labor reform, and despite the limitations of the Progressive Era, the reforms laid the foundation for a modern American state.