Progressive

Progressive Essay In the first two decades of the 1900’s the nation’s politics showed an increase in American belief of the ideas of the progressive movement. This movement was focused with basic social and economic reforms and gained popularity under two presidents. Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson supported two different approaches to progressive reform. Even though both presidents had different ideas, each had one goal and it was to make changes to the nation for the better of the people and the country. Setting out to reach this goal, Roosevelt came to be a president of the common man while Wilson became the better progressive president. Even though they were both progressives, the two presidents had different paths in their minds for the future of the U.S. Their ideas and priorities were clearly different in their speeches, New Nationalism by Roosevelt and New Freedom by Wilson. Wilson's New Freedom looked to the destruction of all trusts to promote economic competition and permit small businesses to flourish. While the federal government was to use its power on a one time basis to bust all trusts, the federal government was to have no role in regulating business. Any regulation would have to be done by state governments. This contrasted markedly with Roosevelt's New Nationalism, which called for an even stronger role for the president and the federal government in regulating the economy. New Freedom and New Nationalism differed, in their views of federal governmental power. Roosevelt wanted to use it while Wilson did not. Roosevelt became the president of the common man, gaining immense popularity and appeal from the citizens. This was because many of the actions that he has taken toward progressivism were for the common people, which included factory workers, laborers, children, and women. Under his presidency, He passed laws to ensure the safety of food and drugs sold in the American marketplace. He placed millions of acres of land under federal protection, preserving America's natural resources. He regulated interstate commerce and helped laborers to get a fair chance at negotiating. In his New Nationalism platform, he called for women's suffrage, an end to child labor, pensions for the elderly, unemployment insurance, and increased regulation of the trusts. However, Wilson was less of a people’s man because he was a strong supporter of states rights and felt that such issues as women's suffrage and child labor laws were issues for the state. Wilson rejected a stronger role of government in human affairs. These two presidents produced the formation of the progressive movment of the early 1900’s. Roosevelt and Wilson both made changes that drastically had to be made for the better of the people and the country. Each set out to reach their goals and by doing so Roosevelt became the president of the common people, and Wilson the better progressive president.