Question

What were the key reforms of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Wilson? How did each president view the role of the federal government in bringing about reform?

Answer 1

• Theodore Roosevelt came to the presidency in September 1901 as a result of the McKinley assassination. He became chief executive in his own right following a decisive election victory in 1904. Throughout both terms, Roosevelt disappointed Republican conservatives by pressing hard for a variety of reforms.
• Roosevelt, a Progressive reformer, earned a reputation as a "trust buster" through his regulatory reforms and anti-trust prosecutions. His presidency saw the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act, which established the Food and Drug Administration to regulate food safety, and the Hepburn Act, which increased the regulatory power of the Interstate Commerce Commission.
• Roosevelt took care, however, to show that he did not disagree with trusts and capitalism in principle, but was only against monopolistic practices.
• His "Square Deal" included regulation of railroad rates and pure foods and drugs; he saw it as a fair deal for both the average citizen and the businessmen. Sympathetic to both business and labor, Roosevelt avoided labor strife, most notably negotiating a settlement to the great Coal Strike of 1902.
• He attempted to increase railroad regulation with two major pieces of legislation and, heavily influenced by the muckrakers, sought protection of the nation`s food and drug supplies.
• The president further surprised his party by threatening management in order to settle an ongoing coal strike. His vast program of public lands conservation drew both praise and criticism, but established his most enduring legacy. Westerners generally applauded his efforts to reclaim arid lands.
• Roosevelt achieved great public acclaim with his trust-busting initiatives, starting with the taming of J.P Morgan`s Northern Securities Company.
• The Panic of 1907 was blamed on the president`s progressive policies by the Republican conservatives, but fostered the beginnings of major bank reform.
• Defeating Theodore Roosevelt’s third-party “Bull Moose” candidacy in 1912, Wilson went on to enact sweeping Progressive reforms of his own.
• Wilson’s first term saw the passage of much Progressive legislation and focused on tariff reform and segregation.
• Wilson’s second term focused on WWI. By 1917, the United States had entered the war, and Wilson’s focus became supporting manufacturing, managing labor union agreements, and suppressing subversion.
• Wilson was a negotiator and was well versed in international affairs. To this end, he personally oversaw negotiations with postwar Europe, introducing his Fourteen Points statement in the post-WWI peace talks.
  
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