Compare And Contrast Roosevelt And Woodrow Wilson

Wilson's approach to progressivism was aimed more at commerce rather than with the people. As soon as he became president, he set to tackle the "triple wall of privilege": bank, tariff, and the trusts. He demanded that all trusts must be broken up in order for small businesses to succeed and competition to be restored. When it came to trusts, he showed no mercy, believing that entrepeurship and competition was the key to a healthy economy. Wilson pushed for creation of a Federal Trade Commission, a federal agency which would regulate trade on a continuous basis. He also secured passage of the Federal Reserve Act which created a federal agency to serve as economic watch dog and regulator of the banking industry. He also helped pass the Underwood Tariff Bill, which

The men who were once the President of the United States of America became elected when they were in their forties, fifties, or sixties. George Washington was fifty-seven years old when he became the first president of the United States. Washington was the only president who got all the state representatives to vote for him. He served two terms in office from 1789 to 1797 and was part of the Federalist party. Fast forwarding to 1933 Franklin D. Roosevelt became the 32nd president of America and was part of the democrat party. Roosevelt was fifty-one years old when he was elected president. He served four terms in office from 1933 to 1945. Based from the ratings by historians George Washington and Franklin D. Roosevelt were the great presidents. George Washington and Franklin D. Roosevelt were considered the greatest because Washington effectively formed the United States and lead the United States military to victory and Roosevelt created the New Deal during the Great Depression and gave people hope.

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.

Theodore Roosevelt's 'Square Deal' and Woodrow Wilson's 'New Freedom,' were both programs of reform. Roosevelt covered more areas of reform than Wilson (who focused mainly on economy), and was more of a progressive than Wilson was. As a governor and the first president of the era, Roosevelt set a terrific example of what a president of this time should do. 'Progressing' from bad, and implementing various reforms to do so defined the era. These two programs are comparable in the areas of antitrust, tariff, and labor reform. Though Wilson seemed to have many more acts in each category, mostly economic), he only acknowledged these few areas, unlike Roosevelt who acknowledged a whole array of areas such as labor, economy, politics, consumer

The Progressive Era was a time period between the years 1900-1920 and it marked a time in American history in which society was bursting with enthusiasm to improve life in the industrial age by making political and social changes through government action that ultimately led to a higher quality of life for American citizens. Progressives were known for their beliefs in limiting the power of big business, strengthening the power of the states, and were advocators against corruption and social injustice. These progressive reformers as well as the Federal Government successfully managed to improve the quality of life and establish a precedent for a move active government, although neither was completely successful in solving significant

Progress is not something that comes very quickly. It is a gradual process that takes time, in the interest of our country and the Progressive Era, more than a decade. The presidents of this time, Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson, were like chefs developing a recipe for the betterment of the United States. Every act that was passed, each decision that was made, was a trial or taste-test of the constantly changing recipe for the country. If something angered citizens or drew criticism, the president went back to his office, his kitchen, and was ready to make more changes. Where he left off in the progressive recipe, the next chef took over. He would analyze what had been done, identified his plan of action, and then set to work by either making

    Economically, Wilson followed a similar strategy by administering legislative acts and systems, such as working to lower tariff rates as well as to establish a new type of banking system. Following this effort to curb big business, Wilson tried to lower tariff rates by lobbying in 1913 for the Underwood Act, which would substantially reduce the rates. Because of Wilson’s efforts and perseverance in addressing the issue, “...the new president’s use of the bully pulpit, the Senate voted to cut tariff rates even more deeply than the House had done,” (The Americans 333). Wilson’s persistence in acquiring this reduction of tariff and a greater need to find a way to restore the money that will be lost by these cuts (Federal Income Tax) shows especially how Wilson has economically impacted the Progressive Era. Along with reducing tariff rates, Wilson also aided the era by establishing the Federal Reserve System.

During his two terms of presidency, Wilson fared well in terms of persuading the Congress, which had mostly consisted of conservative Democrats, to pass acts that adhered to the Progressive legislative agenda. However, this can be partially attributed to the fact that many of these acts were aligned with the ideals of Democrats. Some of the issues that characterized the period between the late 1890s and the early 1920s were economic inequities, poor working conditions, and insufficient social welfare. Progressive reformers sought to foster efficiency, protect social welfare, promote moral development, and secure economic reform. As one can see, the Progressive reformers were focused on properly addressing the major issues of the time period. Therefore, it can be assumed that President

The Progressive Era was a time in which there was a lot of social activism and political reform as a result of the lack of equality in the nation between the social classes, sexes, and job amongst other things. During this time, there were a lot of political figures that rose up and spoke about the inequalities that the society had. Ultimately, this caused political disputes and the people of the nation wanted to see a change. This change came from two presidents that sought to help the nation progress; Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. Both presidents fought for the same general vision; however, they achieved different things. Progressivism became the ultimate goal for the two presidents, where they sought to "clear up corruption in all

In the period of time following the Reconstruction Era the Progressive era came about, presented with abundant opportunity but also hindered by significant economic, political, and social issues. America was pining for a leader who could provide solutions to all of these issues, caused by rapid industrialization. In 1901, Theodore Roosevelt emerged as a leader for the progressivism movement, which focused on reforming the major issues that society faced at that time such as fear of immigrants and corporate greed. Roosevelt was recognized as a friend to the common people as well as a trustbuster, and this furthered his reputation as being the savior of the issues of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s because he pushed to reform as many obstacles presented to him as he could. Even though he gained his presidential spot due to the assassination of President McKinley he still proved to be the most effective president in dealing with the issues of the late 1800s and the early 1900s.

To Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover had been unwilling to deal with the crisis, the Great Depression, and failed to provide a solution. But these failings gave Roosevelt his chance to take action. He came up with new and bold ideas that was exactly what the country needed after the years of inaction by Hoover. For example, when the Stock Market had crashed in 1929, unlike Hoover, FDR recognized the flaws in it straightaway, the flaws that had allowed for the bank failings and the overall crash. And then immediately proposed ideas to do what was possible for a fix.

Progressivism originated as the optimistic vision that society was capable of improvement, and that continued growth and advancement were the nation's destiny. This, however, would require direct, purposeful human intervention in social and economic affairs. Progressive reformers wished to limit the disperse authority and wealth by empowering the government to regulate or break up trusts at both state and national levels. They also believed in the importance of social cohesion. Individuals were not autonomous; rather they are each part of a great web of social relationships. Therefore they pushed for reforms to help women, children, industrial workers, immigrants, and even African Americans to

A true idealist, his crusades against these evils were truly heartfelt and in his mind, the best action to take for the nation. Beginning with the Underwood Tariff of 1913, it was the first lowering of taxes since the Civil War and stood against the protectionist lobbying. Next, he introduced the Federal Trade Act, which set up the Federal Trade Commission to investigate and halt unfair and illegal business practices. Also, the Clayton Anti-Trust Act deemed certain businesses illegal (trusts and horizontal mergers), declared unions legal, and also strikes, boycotts, picketing and the collection of strike benefit funds were ruled legal. The, a landmark legislation, the Federal Reserve Act in 12 districts would print and coin money as well as set interest rates. In this way the "Fed," as it was called, could control the money supply and effect the value of currency. The more money in circulation, the lower the value and inflation went up. In effect, the less money in circulation, the greater the value and this would lower inflation. Theodore’s true successor, Wilson finished Roosevelt’s job on the trusts and branched out towards the other deleterious aspects of the nation as well. He gave the surging mainstream progressive movement an innocent morality he naturally possessed.

Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt were two of America’s great presidents. This is why I feel that both men were equally important in what they did and said they would do. Both in their own ways have added a little of what makes this country what it is today. Both had their own beliefs of how reform, empowerment of the people and foreign policy should be accomplished. As president, the main goal was to do what they felt best for the American people. In doing so, how different could they really be?

Two great men, two great presidents, led our nations to excellency and great success. Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson were hard working, intelligent men who were very familiar, but were also different in many aspects. Through their dedication to our country and their passion of politics they have made our country better.