What Are The Three Important Men In The Progressive Era

During the Progressive Era, the election of 1912 featured candidates with different ideas for reform. While all of the presidents worked to correct problems during the Progressive Era, President Roosevelt was the most progressive president because he fought for workers rights, regulated business, and conserved land and resources.

In the first two decades of the twentieth century the national political scene reflected a growing American belief in the ideas of the Progressive movement. This movement was concerned with fundamental social and economic reforms and gained in popularity under two presidents. Yet Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson espoused two different approaches to progressive reform. And each one was able to prevail upon congress to pass legislation in keeping with his own version of the progressive dream. These two people, although they had different principles in mind, had one goal: 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

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, and Thomas Jefferson were known for their progressive policies/actions; Theodore Roosevelt’s trust-busting, Thomas Jefferson’s expansion of the U.S. through the Louisiana Purchase, and

Muckrakers were the term applied to the American journalists during the progressive movement. They exposed corruption in government, horrible living conditions, and the unsanitary of factories. These journalists were given the name “muckrakers” by Teddy Roosevelt. Muckrakers like Upton Sinclair, Ida Tarbell and photojournalist like Jacob Riis became the voices of reform. Upton Sinclair wrote the jungle exposing the unsanitary practices in the meat-processing industry. Undercover working for seven weeks in Chicago’s stockyard, collecting evidence before writing the jungle. Ida Tarbell exposed the unfair business practices of Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company: which led to the breakage of its monopoly. Tarbell debited that Standard Oil was

“But the tide was turned, according to historians and Dr. Wiley himself, when the voteless, but militant club of women throughout the country who rallied to the pure food cause” Janssen, 1981, ¶ 12). Undoubtedly, these women supported Dr. Wiley because he had become a popular speaker at their supper clubs where crusading writers of national magazines also joined his campaign by publishing his findings as editorials. Ultimately, legislation closely followed the January 1906 publishing of Upton Sinclair’s best-selling novel The Jungle, which portrayed dangerous working conditions as well as the unsanitary methods of Chicago’s meatpacking industry. On June 30, 1906, The Pure Food and Drug Act was passed providing inspection of meat products and prohibiting the sale, manufacture, and transport of harmful patent medicines.

During the Progressive Era, there were three presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson, they sought to help the community with the rapid industrialization, immigration, and urban growth. The goals of the progressives were the the government should: be more accountable, curb the power of influence, expand powers, and become more efficient and less corrupt. While all the presidents worked to correct problems during the Progressive Era, Theodore Roosevelt was the most progressive president because he conserved natural resources, regulated big corporations, and fought for the working class.

During the Progressive Era, presidents stablished reforms in order to bring progress I science, technology, social organization and economy development. But in my opinion, the one president who was responsible for the most notorious reform was Theodore Roosevelt, with his Antitrust Act. With this act, Roosevelt was able to eliminate bad trusts, which caused a monopoly and no advances to the United States, and preserved the good Trusts, which also caused a monopoly, but brang a huge advantage to the United States, such as the steel trust. In conclusion, Theodore Roosevelt played a major role on the Progressive Era with his Antitrust

Lastly, Theodore Roosevelt had a very imperialist foreign policy, which is highlighted by the actions he took in South America. Chief among these actions were the actions he took in order to acquire the Panama Canal using the American navy to help Panama split from Columbia. By modern standards someone who is a progressive would never do something as imperialist as this because actions like these are generally frowned upon by modern progressives. Because of his stance on tariffs, and the creation of the league of nations Woodrow Wilson had a significantly more progressive foreign policy than Theodore Roosevelt did with his imperialist polices in south

     While the works of Upton Sinclair are not widely read today because of their primacy of social change rather than aesthetic pleasure, works like The Jungle are important to understand in relation to the society that produced them.  Sinclair was considered a part of the muckraking era, an era when social critics observed all that was wrong and corrupt in business and politics and responded against it.  The Jungle was written primarily as a harsh indictment of wage slavery, but its vivid depictions of the deplorable lack of sanitation involved in the meatpacking industry in Chicago resulted in public outrage to the point where Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection

One the key pieces of legislation that was a prime example of the progressive era, was the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. This law came about due to muckraking, and also because of public and political interests. Muckraking, such as Upton Sinclair’s piece, “The Jungle”, helped in the timing of the adoption of this legislature.

During the Progressive Era, the reformers were stricter and did not provide direct help, while the reformers in the New Deal were a little more direct in helping Americans. The progressive era policies were more concerned with correcting the society. All three presidents during this time period, including Theodore Roosevelt, Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson, implemented some progressive reforms. It was the government’s policy to correct social and economic problems as well as to provide assistance for the people. Conversely, during the New Deal, most policies and programs were passed by the federal government.

During the Progressive Era from 1890-1920, America saw three new presidents: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson. This period of time is known as the Progressive Era due to the political and social changes made to move away from a laissez-faire government to a more active government by the administrations of these presidents. Prior to this period, Americans had to suffer through poor working conditions, low wages, social and class inequality and become victims to large corporations that took advantage of the people. In particular, the administrations of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson established the key principles and ideas of economic reform and social reform, which would end up returning the power from the manipulative corporations back to the government, establishing a model for a more active role for the federal government, and improve the lives of Americans. However, even though Roosevelt and Wilson had similar intentions of reforming America, they both had different means of achieving it.

“There is no higher religion than human service. To work for the common good is the greatest creed.” (Woodrow Wilson) This quote from one of the most progressive presidents of all time, really represents what the progressives were after during their movement; during the Progressive Era, American citizens were looking for change socially, politically, and economically due to urbanization and industrialization. Although all 3 of the early 20th century presidents were progressive in their reforms, Theodore Roosevelt was the most progressive out of these because he regulated business, fought for labor reform, and conserved natural resources.

The Progressive Era was a time period of reform. With the industrial and urban boom, Economical, Social, Political, and Environmental corruptions became very prominent. Soon enough, people gathered together for change, a time for progression. These people became Progressives, and eventually, Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, and Woodrow Wilson became the face of the Progressive Era. The Presidents all had their different Ideals, but they all pushed for the same goal, the progression of the United States.

Teddy Roosevelt was a very strong influence during the progressive era; He used his power a president to get what he wanted as a progressive. He helped things like the pure food and drug act pass, and used the Sherman Antitrust act to dissolve Carnegie's Monopoly. He was a very strong leader and was not about to be pushed around, so it was very good to have him as president during the Progressive era when some are fighting for the new and some are fighting for the old.